Many ZOOM into Engineering (elementary and middle school level) experiments are available in Spanish in addition to English. See http://pbskids.org/zoom/printables/activities/ and look for the ESP designation. This site provides handouts in PDF format that you can print out and take to the classroom. All of the instructions are included, just check and see what supplies you will need and your visit is practically planned! Some example are attached below.
This idea is to take and educational web-based game, and set it up stand-alone in the classroom. Then divide the classroom into two teams and let them play. By "Game" I mean something like using Create & Share video-phone and one team is a group of surgeon specialists and the other team is a remote hospital in Venezuela where a flood victim needs a particular surgical procedure (one person on the team would be the "victim.")
A script would need to be written whereby the surgeons give "instructions" and the remote doctor does them. (Similar to previous NEW activities where instructions must be followed precisely, often leading to misinterpretation.)
Objective: With this experiment, students will learn more about how transistors work, how they are used to make decisions and how see some example applications
Terms to understand:
Transistor: This is the basis of any electronic device you could mention that you have in your home, school, car, computer, games, etc. In most cases, it is really a simple switch which is either on or off, like answering a question, yes or no. The simple model of a transistor is shown below: 
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Objective: To illustrate how computers communicate large amounts of information over a single wire or communication channel Terms to know: Protocol: A set of rules that are used to accomplish a task more quickly, more efficiently and more reliably. Handshaking: An indication that the current task has been completed. An example would be acknowledging the receipt of a piece of e-mail by sending back a reply. Soft skillsTue, 2006-09-12 21:28 — texSeveral years ago when I was a trainer at Intel (I'm now in HR) I did presentations at Tigard HS at a career day. What I did could be adapted for any career field. I happened to be doing the presentation to English classes. I talked about what a trainer does and then I tied it into what they were studying and the required skills for the field of training. This covered not only writing skills but creativity and critical thinking, decision making skills, working in teams, etc. Prize problemsTue, 2006-09-12 21:27 — texMaterials: Procedure: Instruct each student to think of a problem. They could be problems in life, in the community or school, even in the world. Have each student write their problem on a post-it, with one copy for each team. (Example: If there are four teams, each student needs four post-its.) Nuclear powerTue, 2006-09-12 21:27 — texI am a former Naval Nuclear Reactor Operator and would like to recommend an activity of sharing with high school students what nuclear power is all about—dispel some fears, confirm some others, etc. I would like to see our youth more informed about what nuclear power is all about and make an informed decision on how they feel about nuclear power.  Thanks to Erin Wheeler in Oregon for providing this activity idea. Mouse trap vehicleTue, 2006-09-12 21:26 — texSupplies:
Procedure: Materials under stressTue, 2006-09-12 21:23 — texExperiment 1: Materials Deform Under Stress In this exercise, we will explore the behavior of elastic bodies under load, identifying parts that are under stress (compression or tension). In the following steps, observe the space between the grid lines on the flexible (elastic) urethane foam beam. Internet experimentsTue, 2006-09-12 21:22 — texIn the spirit of Intel's mission of building block supplier to the Internet, I would like to see us develop 'Internet access experiments' where we in the classroom can set-up the parameters for an experiment, then run the experiment over the Internet! Please check out the WEB site: http://chem.engr.utc.edu/ (I have run experiments and they are great!) You can drive the experiments from the school using a laptop PC (or the classroom PC) and a phone line or other connection. The kids in the class can develop a 'theory' and set up a simple experiment to see if their theory 'works'. |