Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools-PD @ The Elllis School

Independent school teachers learning to incorporate the A(rts) in STEM .

For more details see course description bellow.





A 21st century classroom gives students the opportunity to be
inventors rather than just users of technology. Integrating robotics
into your classroom helps feed a student's natural curiosity about
technology by enabling them to incorporate robotics into something they
are making that is meaningful or useful. Integrating robotics into your
curriculum can enhance  students’ motivation, confidence, and
learning. 

In this workshop, faculty from The Ellis School and the CMU Create Lab
will teach participants how to integrate robotics into your curriculum
to provide powerful opportunities for students to develop multiple and
creative ways of learning.   You will learn about the Arts & Bots kit
developed out of research from the CREATE Lab of Carnegie Mellon
University and used at The Ellis School in both Middle and Upper
Schools.

With a free, easy-to-learn drag-and-drop environment, students armed
with paper, glue, cardboard, and a little imagination can program
their creations without prior experience. The project engages both
girls and boys from elementary school through high school. Arts & Bots
is a flexible program that can be adapted to many contexts and
subjects in and out of school.
 
This unique workshop and presentation will conclude with a tour of the
CREATE Lab and Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Participants will also get to keep the robot kit they use in class.

 

A Model of Arm Muscles - Terry Richards

Description:

This is a model of the right arm bones showing the humerus, radius, ulna, and wrist.  Attached to the model are "muscles" involved in the functions of extension and flexion of the arm at the elbow and the flexion and extension of the wrist.  The muscles are made from strips of pantyhose or red craft foam.  "Tendons" made from rubber bands connect the muscles to the bones at the various attachment points (origin and insertion).  Further testing of the muscle materials will be done. 

 

Credit:

Terry Richards

The Ellis School

Mini Project Idea: Scientific Term Pronunciation Decoder - Terry Richards

The mini project is based on and inspired by the LISTEN Project in the CREATE Lab. The project would be designed to teach Human Anatomy and Physiology students how to pronounce common scientific or medical terms including ones most likely to be mispronounced.  This project will involve listing the common medical terms associated with each unit, determining the correct pronunciation (using a variety of resources), and finally creating a recording of each term.  This recording would be the voice of the Robot Diaries robot “Decoder” created by different groups of students.  The “Decoder” could possibly be a model of a female physician/scientist who is a specialist for the unit.  The project would be a collaborative such that the terms would be divided among groups of students and each would then listen to the others’ robot.

Classroom experience supports that the students would feel more comfortable when making their end-of-term presentations as their speech would be more accurate and professional when correct pronunciation is used.  A student’s presentation appears unrehearsed when she stumbles over the difficult-to-pronounce words.

 

 

Terry Richards