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Communication ECA Phase I 20180124 The Hammer

The hammer turned out to be a fun project. Although this class was more difficult than the previous classes, everyone was able to finish their work and fully understand what they were working on. The kids also worked on their class assignments and did the experiments at the end of the class. We really do understand that the classes are extremely fun and entertaining, but we ask the children to make sure their work is done before 8 o’clock so they still have enough time for putting their pieces in their boxes before the class is finished. Next week the kids will be working on The Sweeper which is another interesting project.

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Communication ECA Phase III Class 2: Wind Turbine 20180117

The theme of today is the wind turbine. The wind turbine model transferred the wind energy generated by a fan to electrical energy stored in the power meter. The experiment is a very good mimic to the real wind turbines used in real world. The students finished the model building part quickly, and then they all conducted and finished the experiment. During which I explained the STEM information, which is the power equals to voltage multiplies current. All students finished the experiments and filled the lab sheets. They love the challenging project.

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Communication ECA Phase I 20180117 The Balance

The balance was an interesting project which gave the kids a chance to make an applicable tool and turn the classroom into a laboratory. They figured out the framework pretty quickly and at the end of the class were given an experiment. The experiment not only meant more playtime, but also meant practicing more of the concept they were experimenting with (concepts such as weight, mathematical equality, and simple Newtonian mechanics). Although the second class was a bit more challenging than the first, I was really happy to see that all of the kids finished their works in time. I will look forward to our class next week where we will be working with the Hammer.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 2: Windmill 20170117

The topic of today is the windmill. The students built a windmill to learn the energy conversions between wild energy and rotational energy by means of blades. Windmills were used to mill grain, pump water in the history, but the majority of modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate electricity, or wind pumps used to pump water. In the class, we used a weight as water to mimic the pumping water process. The STEM information behind this section is the energy transformation as well as force and motion concepts. All students finished the model and conducted tests with a different level, they enjoyed the class.

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Communication ECA Phase III Class 1: Hand Generator 20180110

Phase III is the highest level of class in Play2Learn Education Lego Challenge Program. In the next 8 weeks, different energy form transformations will be discussed including energy experiments between kinematic energy and potential energy, electrical energy and kinematic energy, heat (light) energy and electrical energy.

The first class was to build a hand generator that transfers kinematic energy to electrical energy. The kinematic energy is generated by the students’ hand. The generated energy was stored in the power meter. In the first class, the basic skills to use the power meter and motors were explained. The section was intense because the students need to learn the principle model knowledge and finish the hand generator model building. However, after the first class, they gained a good understanding of the power meter and motors which laid a solid ground for the following classes.

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Communication ECA Phase II Class 1: Letter Balance 20180110

Phase II is the middle-level class of Play2Learn Education Lego Challenge Program. In the next 8 weeks, the students will have good opportunities to learn and practice the basic mechanical mechanisms including lever, wheel and axle, pulley, wedge and screw.

The topic of today is the lever study using the letter balance model built during the class. The students first built a letter balance model, then they conducted the experiments to weigh various amount water to feel the level balance rule. The STEM information behind this section is the level balance rules. The level model composing of a four-bar mechanical mechanism that will be discussed more in the following classes. All the students finished the model building part and did the experiment with different level. They enjoyed this section. More principle modules will be delivered to the student can learn some basic mechanical rules in Phase II.

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PBP Phase 2: Class 1: Letter Balance

Today we built the Letter Balance after splitting into groups of two. All the students managed to finish quickly and even got their homework done in class. We learned about estimating weight and force due to gravity, while there was not enough time to explain torque the children seemed to enjoy themselves.

Next week’s model is the Windmill
The children were all we behaved and worked well with each other and I hope that they will continue to do so.

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PBP Phase 1: Class 1: Power Car

Today we built the Power Car and students seemed to have a fun time, while we didn’t have enough time to learn about gear ratios, the children learned the basic skills of assembling pieces and getting acquainted with their sets.
Two of the boys were extremely fast in building their sets ( I am not the best with names so it will take me time to learn them). The topic for next week is the Balance. All the children were very good at cleaning up and we hope that they’ll be just as good next time.

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PowerCar

The first class went really well and I was very happy to see the kids excited to play with legos. It also gave us a chance to examine the children’s capabilities and see if they are a right fit for the class. They all finished their projects sooner than the allotted time which was amazing. Every week, the project will build on previous works and will get slightly more difficult, this way the kids will also have more fun by facing a challenge. As a result, starting from next week the children will also be given homework in order to practice the concepts they learn. I will be looking forward to seeing everyone in the class.

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AmbroseU Phase I 20171107 Imagination

The last class turned out to be extremely fun as the kids had the opportunity to use their imagination and build what they liked. It was also a test for them to see whether they could retain the concepts from the previous classes. I was happy to see them using mechanical engineering concepts coupled with electrical rotors to build a complex project. It was not only easy to see their enthusiasm especially in the last class, but also throughout the term. Now that everyone has successfully graduated phase 1 I hope to see them in the next phase that begins in January. 

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