Sunday, February 10, 2013

Imaginative Bridges - 5 (Film and Television)

Film and Television.

Can we use the same methods that film and television directors use to hook our students?
Can we use these methods to create a compelling experience for our students and our classrooms?

Hopefully yes.

How do we set the scene for our classrooms and our students?  The typical first day of high school class is usually filled with administrative dribble and classroom rules.  NOT COMPELLING, for me as a teacher or for my students.

Can I get them focused on something compelling in the class right at the start of class and forego the administrative trivia, that's my hope for this semester.  This semester I sent my students all of the administrative forms, syllabus, assignments, projects and directions before the class started and asked them to read them ahead of time and to drop the class if they were unwilling or unable to participate fully in the class and the underwater robotics competition.  This includes missing several days of school and their other classes.  An overnight trip to Alpena on a Friday and a Saturday for the Great Lakes Regional ROV Competition and possibly a trip to Seattle in June after school is out should they be successful in the Regional Competition.

I also set the grading standards for an "A" specifically high.  In order to get an "A" in the class they must qualify for the International ROV competition by placing 1st or 2nd at the Great Lakes Regional Competition and they must attend the Great Lakes competition in order to receive a "C" or high in the class.  This tends to weed out those who are not serious about being in the class.  The Great Lakes Regional Competition includes teams from Michigan and Ohio.

I started this class by showing the following video talking about the competition.


This video shows the 2012 MATE International ROV Competition and shows the students what to expect in the coming months.

I did this to focus the students on the COMPETITION.  Not on the school work.  I want them to focus on the mission and how they will show that they have met the expectation of the class.  They will do this by demonstrating their proficiency at the Great Lakes Regional ROV Competition and the MATE 2013 International ROV Competition.  I want the students to form an emotional attachment to the competition.  To their ROV and their TEAM.

Once I had them hooked I talked about the school work.  The project and class has four major assignments.
1.  Design, Build and Operate and ROV.  Then use it to complete the 2013 ROV Competition.

2.  Prepare a poster presentation.

3.  Prepare and deliver an oral engineering presentation to a group of engineers.

4.  Complete and submit a twenty page technical paper explaining your design.

The 2013 Great Lakes Regional ROV Competition will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan.

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