Communication ECA Phase 1 Class 1: Car Race 20170911

Hello! It was really great meeting you all last week! Last class we built a model car using a battery pack and a motor. We learnt about connecting gears and used our knowledge of gear ratios on our cars! We found out that when the big gear is attached to the motor it spins the small gear faster giving our cars more speed. Everyone really enjoyed the race we had afterwards to test our models. Next week we will keep working on trying to keep our Lego pieces organized and together as we build our next model. I look forward to seeing you all!

Intro to Lego Mindstorm EV3 and build color reader robot

Today is the first class of the eight Lego robotic programming classes. All student are excited about building the advanced Lego robots. We achieved two goals: Assemble the Lego car with two wheel drive, and taste of the color reading program. The students learned the fundamental programming loop, switch, and functional modules. They are hooked to the robot. In the next class, I will continue the exercise to make sure each student build their own color reading robot.   

PBP Phase 2: Week 3: Simple Machines part 1

Today we learned about levers, wheel and axle, and belts and pulleys. This section of the course is very heavy in theory so some of the children don’t like to listen however it is crucial that they do so. We discussed the three different classes of levers, and pulley ratios. We will be continuing with simple machines next week as well before moving onto a more complex build. Please ask the students to take apart their kits completely and put the components into the right sections we’ve had several instances of this not happening and as such I had to repair a box latch. Additionally I am finding a lot of pieces on the floor after each class, as such I ask that the parents help make sure the kids clean up after themselves. 

PBP Phase 1 Week 6: Dragster

Today we built the dragster and brushed up on the same principles of inertia that we learned last week. The kids really liked the dragster however they had a bit of a difficult time building it. Next week we’re building the Fishing Rod. If the students want to study ahead please have them learn about gears and pulleys. Please get the students to clean up a bit better. 

PBP Phase 3 Week 5: Pneumatics Basics

Today we learned about pneumatics using the pneumatics basic models. The students learned about the relationship between volume and pressure. The kids played around and experimented with their models quite a bit. The topic for next week is the scissor lift. Please have the students organize their kits. 

PBP Phase 3 Week 6: Scissor lift

Today we built the scissor lift to explore the applications of pneumatics. Additionally we saw how levers can be used for mechanical advantage. 

The topic for next week is the robot hand. Please tell the students to be wary of dropped pieces and not to simply dump everything out onto the table. 

PBP Phase 1 Week 5: Flywheeler

Today we built the Flywheeler and learned a little bit about inertia. The kids were confused about the model since the goal of the models wasn’t about speed but about energy storage and distance. The topic for next week is the Dragster and please ask the students to clean up a bit better.

PBP Phase 3 Week 4: Wind Turbine

Today we built the Wind Turbine and learned a bit about wind energy and power. The kids loved it and some of them found a way to spin their wind turbines a little too fast. The topic for next week is an introduction to Pneumatics. Please ask the kids to clean up better as dropped parts were found today. 

PBP Phase 1 Week 4: Sweeper

Today we built the sweeper and learned about gear combinations. The students compared it more to a weed whacker than a sweeper and liked playing around with it. The topic for next week is the Flywheel car. Please ask the kids to clean up and organise their kits a bit better as many pieces were found on the ground. 

ECA Phase I Week 4 201901: Sweeper

Did you watch how the sweeper do some cleaning? It is really a good example of gear combination. This class is to help us to understand what is:

  1. Driving Gear
  2. Driven Gear

How do the different sized gears affect the sweeper’s performance?

The class was run smoothly. Wesley made a good construction. The sweeper uses 2 same sized gears. Students found sweeping work performs different if the different gear combination is employed.

I really suggested our students to try the bigger driving gear + the smaller driven gear, it shows a powerful work.

Good luck!

Play2Learn Education