Weston Middle School
Technology/EngineeringCourse Materials
Students are introduced to the engineering design process, mechanical design, and computer programming through a series of activities and projects based upon the Lego Mindstorms NxT robotics protoyping system.
Students learn construction methods with Lego Technics beams through the design of a sturdy chair. Use of gears to gain increases of speed or torque are explored.
The NxT microcomputer and NxT-G programming environment are introduced. Programming using sensors, motors, sounds, and programming structures such as loops, switches, and parallel sequences are explored through a series of design challenges.
Finally, the various building and programming techniques learned are applied to one or more open-ended design challenges, such as a rollerball chain-reaction device, sociable robotic animals, transportation network, miniature-golf range, or exploration voyage, which emphasize engineering systems.
" In order to succeed sooner, you've got to fail more often."-
- IDEO
Links
Nexi- a sociable robot at MIT