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Miami Schools Will Open Four New Schools

This school year Miami Schools is opening four new schools and several new facilities to cope with increased student enrollment for the 2006-2007 school year. The new schools will cater to elementary, middle and high school students.

Miami Schools has added the Ronald W. Reagan High School in the northwestern part of the district. This is an area that is expanding rapidly. The new high school will cover about 20 acres and house extremely modern facilities. The Ronald W. Reagan High School will have 250,000 square feet of classrooms, computer lab, an 800 seat auditorium, a 700 seat cafeteria, a Media Center and a gymnasium. Also on campus there will be a number of outdoor areas: fields for football, soccer, softball and baseball as well as basketball, tennis and racquetball courts.

The most innovative part of Miami Schools’ Ronald W. Reagan High School is that it is an academy based design. This means that ninth grade students will be tested and surveyed to discover their interests and areas of strengths and then be encouraged to select from three academies. The three academies on campus will be Cambridge Academy, Information and Communications Technology Academy, and the Classical Arts Academy. These academies will both have separate facilities and share common school facilities. This is part of Miami Schools continuing educational reform plan.

In the southern part of the district, Miami Schools will open the new Norma Butler Bossard Elementary School. The campus will cover 7.5 acres. The school will be equipped with a Media Center, music and art centers, a cafeteria that will accommodate nearly all the students, a three story classroom building, bilingual rooms, a well equipped science laboratory, and a Wellness Center. The Wellness Center will be available for staff and student use. This school is named for Norma Butler Bossard, who had served as the Miami Schools language arts division head for many years.

Another innovation for the Miami Schools is the newly constructed David Lawrence, Jr. K-8 Center. The K-8 Center will be a world class facility that is adjacent to Florida International University. Miami Schools will work in conjunction with Florida International University to provide professional development for Miami Schools’ teachers and Florida International University’s education majors. The K-8 Center will be able to house nearly 1,600 students. The state of the art facility will include a Media Center, computer labs, art labs, and music centers. The K-8 Center will be home to the Johnson and Wales University nutrition and cooking workshops. These workshops are part of “Healthy Eating/Healthy Choices,” a grant the school received from Health Foundation of South Florida. The cooking workshops will be open to staff and parents.

The last addition Miami Schools is the Young Women’s Preparatory Academy. This is the first all female school to be operated by Miami Schools. The Young Women’s Preparatory Academy will accommodate 450 girls in grades 6-12. The Young Women’s Preparatory Academy will have a thorough educational curriculum that will develop the academic, personal and social skills of the students. The school aims to prepare its students for postsecondary education and the world.

Have you ever attended a seminar and said, “Wow, I wish I could speak like that”? Well, I’ve got some great news for you. You can be a public speaker.

There is no such thing as a born public speaker. Public speaking is a learned skill, basically anyone can do it. You just need to follow some simple rules and practice. If you know how to talk, you can become a public speaker. Becoming really good at public speaking requires some risk.

Now understand there is risk involved. You risk being rejected when you ask someone out on a date, and you risk getting into an accident every time you drive your car.

If you were afraid of getting into an accident, you’d never get behind the wheel, right? It has been proven that one of our greatest fears, believe it or not, is public speaking.

The key to getting up in front of an audience is believing that you have something to share with them that may make a difference in their lives – by entertaining them, warning them, encouraging them, or giving them direction or information. In order to be good at anything, you have to practice.

It’s easy to become discouraged if you expect to be as good as Zig Ziglar, Tom Antion Bill Brooks and Jim Cathcart right out of the shoot. But if you knew their backgrounds you will find that it took a long time before they were able to do what they do so well.

The thing to remember is the only person you need to compare yourself with is yourself. You must constantly work for your personal best, so when you are preparing your speech and practicing, all you need to ask yourself is, “is your second speech better than your first?” Did you learn something new as you prepared for your speech? Did you learn something from the feed-back comments of others after you gave your speech? That’s all you need to do. You can use what you’ve learned to make the next speech your best and then use the same process for each speech you give thereafter. Just take one step at a time.

Find your Niche

The more you like your topic, the more your audience will want to hear about it. There are three ways to determine your power fields, interests, majors and pet peeves. Start with process one and follow these recommendations.

But before you do that, you need to understand, to become a successful public speaker you must be passionate about your public speaking career. You MUST, eat drink and sleep public speaking. You must be focused, determined and control any and all distractions to become successful in this field. It is an absolute must that you love what you’re doing. Yes, it’s important you must enjoy helping people and be around people – communication is a two way process. “The reason I do this basically is that I enjoy being in front of people. I get fired up, excited and enjoy the interaction. Yes, ego is involved also. It’s a rush!”

Now, back to where we were. Below are some questions to ask yourself to find your niche. “Your audience will know if you really care about what you’re speaking on – believe me! So, find your niche.”

PROCESS 1

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What are your hobbies?

What do you like to do at holidays?

What is your favorite travel destination?

What do you like to talk about with friends?

On what issue do you hold a strong opinion?

What issue do you like to know more about?

What values are you standing for?

What special expertise do you have?

What do you fix well?

What special skills do you have?

What special professional or personal experiences have you had in your life?

What speech topic or debate in the news recently focused your attention?

PROCESS 2

Associate. Lets say you like to talk about Donald Trump. Now write down all things that come up in your mind. All the things related to Donald Trump. E.g. real estate, business successes, scandals, TV productions, his friends, and so on. In other words, you are building a topic tree around Mr. Trump. This method takes some time, but you can apply it on almost every candidate issue.

PROCESS 3

Is it of great interest to you?

Does it really excite you?

Is it something you’re already interested in?

Did you always want to know more about it, but didn’t have the time to find out?

Do you love to talk about it?

Do you already know more about the speech topic?

Are you passionate about your subject?

Most importantly, regardless of the subject, YOU MUST BE PASSIONATE ABOUT PUBLIC SPEAKING AND THE TOPIC BE PRESENTED!

Once you have found your niche(s), perfect it/them. If you’ve noticed, you can have more than one. It is strongly suggested you have multiple subject matter. Personally, I have eight seminars from one hour to a two week on site venue. Don’t limit your marketability with only having one or two. Versatility is the name of the game. But which ever you choose become the expert in that/those subject(s). Stay up to date with changes, technology or whatever impacts change to your subject. Constant research is the key here. Remember, people are paying for your knowledge!

Tools of the Trade:

To start on this subject, I will layout the common tools required to maintain your trade:

1. Laptop Computer

2. Digital movie camera (professional is suggested here)

3. Mobile Projection (presentations)(see InFocus)

4. Thumb Drive (2GIG min)

5. Headset Microphone Wireless System

6. Digital micro recorder

7. The most important tool of all your voice.

• Voice is essential to your profession. To take care of your voice properly is essential to your longevity

• Do’s to project and save your voice:

1. Get an annual check-up from a throat specialist — Prevention is always better than a cure.

2. Consider professional voice training. A voice teacher, professional choir director or singer can make a world of difference in techniques and your sound.

3. Drink six to eight glasses of water daily — this helps to moisten throat tissue and cuts down on dryness which leads to irritation.

4. Drink only water, lemonade or warm liquids when using your voice for long periods of time. Ice cold liquids have a tendency to shock or paralyze the throat and causes strain.

5. Use warm salt water solution or warm lemonade to gargle with after long hours of selling especially if your throat feels tired.

6, Use a quality sound system. Don’t buy because of price — buy because of sound.

7. Let the sound system do the work for you — that’s why you have it. Control crowd with sound system. Turn it up if they’re too noisy — silence will quite them also. Keep them attentive but not by yelling.

8. Relax your body and voice. You can feel tightness and tension — relax, breathe deeply, relax, breathe deeply.

9. Keep throat moist at all times. Small pieces of candy held in corner of mouth help produce saliva. Avoid menthol candies, cough drops, etc. They tend to cause dryness. NEVER, NEVER chew GUM! Yes it does produce saliva but looks disgusting. “Every time I see one chewing gum during a presentation I see a barnyard animal chewing cud!” – “Okay, my pet Peeve!”

10. Project voice naturally. Talk naturally but project upward and outward through diaphragm. Talk to furthest person from you to help projection.

11. Practice and try to cultivate the habit of ‘diaphragmatic breathing” whenever you have to speak. Your voice will hold up much better, sound stronger, and be more pleasant for others to hear.

• DON’TS: Here are a few that can affect your voice quality and lead to throat problems.

1. Don’t strain — learn proper breathing techniques and protection techniques. Prolonged straining of your voice causes the vocal chords to rub violently together causing blisters or nodules often requiring surgery and then voice therapy to correct.

2. Don’t scream or shout excessively — Auctioneers don’t speak without a good sound system.

3. Don’t use a cotton handkerchief over mike — dust and cotton particles from the handkerchief cause dryness and strain.

4. Don’t rely on throat lozenges, sprays, pills, steam to ease throat. This is a dead give-away to problems. Don’t spray antihistamines to clear nose. They dry out throat tissue excessively and often cause drainage into throat. Grosse, but true.

5. Don’t speak out of pitch — too high or too low a pitch causes voice strain, how do you find your pitch? Talk or hum to determine pitch.

6. Don’t cough, sneeze or clear throat excessively — causes incredible stress on vocal chords and irritation from rubbing together that may lead to nodules.

7. Don’t speak louder or change your pitch when you have head congestion. You may feel you can’t be understood unless you adjust your voice but remember, your audience’s ears are not congested and they can hear you fine. Slower, more careful articulation will help your clarity.

8. Don’t smoke! If others around you are smoking, drink water. This greatly reduces the likelihood of throat irritation.

9. Don’t ignore warning signs — hoarseness, laryngitis, sore throat (especially after speaking), swelling, lumps or continued irritation. Don’t wait — get it checked by a doctor and hydrate.

Remember; don’t skimp on quality with your tools. Your tools are important and cost should not be a factor. You get what you pay for!

Delivery

As a speaker, you never want to “die” in front of the room, but if you take the wrong position, it may very well affect how your received.

Lots of research on covert influence shows that it really does matter where one stands when we present our subject matter.

To satisfy yourself that the position of your body in relationship to others is important, try this. Ask several to help you out. Place two chairs face to face, just about 3-4 feet from each other. Now, assuming you are sitting in one, slide the other over about two feet to the right, so when the other person is sitting across from you, you’ll be to their right, and vice versa.

Now have each person sit across from you as you present a short subject. Have them appraise you on a scale from 1-10 how comfortable they are with you. After they have done so, move your chair so that they are now across from you, and on your left and repeat the process. Do this with as many people as you can, because the results are overwhelming. You’ll be shocked to find that almost everyone rates you as being much more comfortable when you are on their right side. Not only that, but research also indicates that you will be seen as more attractive as well. See how this might be beneficial?

So, how do you use this information in a live presentation? While there are more complex strategies, the basic use of this is not only powerful, but simple.

When you first take the stage, you’ll want to stand near the center, just off to the right of the audience, or your left. As the presentation progresses, you will want to use both sides of the stage; the side to the right of the audience for anything you want them to associate positive feelings to, and the left side to the things you want them to link to negativity. Ain’t science wonderful?

Nerves

Your mouth is dry, heart pounding, and knees knocking. You go into panic, facing a dreaded public speaking engagement.

“Now understand, I have been speaking since 1973 and have given hundreds of seminars and each and every time I’m nervous.”

Here are a few tips that may help combat those symptoms and reduce nervousness.

1. Deep breathing will help your brain work to capacity, and forcing the slower pace will quell the panic.

2. Exude confidence; Stand tall, with shoulders back and chest out. Smile. Even though you don’t feel happy or confident, do it anyway. You will look confident and your body will fool your brain into thinking it is confident. It works!

3. Keep you mouth and throat hydrated. Plan to keep a drink on hand while you are speaking, though this sounds impossible. Place (room temperature) water strategically placed so you can re-hydrate during your presentation. Know when in your presentation it would be less noticed. If all else fails tell your audience that you need to hydrate. You can make it humorous.

4. Adrenalin sends the blood rushing to the fight/flight centers of your brain at the base of the skull. Place your hand on your forehead and press gently on the bony points. This will bring the blood to the parts of the brain that need it to present your speech best.

5. Know you are prepared. Obviously this depends on actually being prepared, so take every opportunity in the days leading up to the speech to prepare your material. Be familiar with the structure of the presentation, and the ideas to use. Memorize the most important parts, and the parts you might forget.

6. Know your audience, its critical! Their average age, gender, race, income levels, education, generally their demographics. Remember, the more you know your audience the more it will put you at ease.

7. Remember, you are the expert! Yes, there are people who might know more about your subject. I think this way, “if there is a person that knows more about the subject being presented in the audience, then why they are not up here presenting and I seated in the audience?”

7 Keys of making a Speech

1. Grammar – Use correct grammar. Write out your speech in advance and read it aloud a few times. This will help you catch most of the mistakes privately. Ask a friend to listen to the speech and give you feedback or note any grammatical errors.

2. Filler Words – Unnecessary words that do not help convey your point can be distracting. Avoid the use of “uh, ah, um, you know, like, and I mean.” In order to avoid run-on sentences, insert a one-second – pause – between sentences instead of using “and” or “so” to connect two or more sentences. Before you take the stage practice saying any difficult words you plan to use.

3. Body Language – By this, I am referring to unintentional cues you give such as looking at your notes, not making eye contact, slumped shoulders, hands in pockets jingling money, or slouching on the lectern. Practicing in front of a mirror will help you discover your own quirky movements.

4. Gestures – These are intentional movements you use to make a point or illustrate the importance of a word. Make your gestures large enough to be seen by the person sitting in the back of the room. Step away from the lectern when using the lower part of your body; otherwise your movement will not be seen.

5. Vocal Delivery – Avoid monotone and jazz up your presentation by varying your tone (emphasis or emotion), pitch (high or low voice), and rate (fast or slow). All these help keep an audience interested in what you are saying.

6. Topic– Your focus should be on your audience. An interesting topic is important, but should be relevant to your listener’s needs. Prepare ahead of time. Write key points on small 3×5 note cards to remind you of what is next. Reading off cue cards is discouraged. Only use them if necessary. Know your subject!

7. Visual Aids – Not all presentations require or need visual aids. However, visual aids and handouts make a your presentation more interesting.

Impromptu Speaking

If you have ever given a presentation at work or at a special event you know how nerve-wracking it can be. A little nervousness is normal. It shows that you care and are excited about the opportunity you’ve been given to speak. Having nervousness overcome your ability to function in front of an job interview panel can be harmful.

Practice impromptu speaking as a way of learning to respond effectively on a moment’s notice.

Here are a few suggestions about how to rehearse for successful impromptu speaking. For this exercise you will require:

• A timer, stopwatch or clock with a second hand sweep.

• A friend – If you don’t have anyone to practice with, you’ll have to watch the timer yourself.

• A topic – here are three:

1. What is procrastination and how it impacts ones personal life.

2. You have a friend that has asked you for some advice on why his business is not taking off. You know it is his focus and time management that needs real help.

3. Please give your advice on how to deal with rush-hour traffic.

Take each topic listed above one at a time. Have your friend read one topic aloud then set the timer for two minutes.

Your friend will give you a silent signal when you’ve reached one minute and again when you have reached two minutes. Try to keep speaking until you get the one minute signal. Then, wrap up when you get the two minute signal.

Compose your thoughts as quickly as possible and begin addressing the topic. Give a simple opening statement. You may repeat the topic question as your opening. Then, give your opinion about the topic by answering the questions to the best of your ability. Give a summary of what you presented.

Guest Speaker

Being a guest speaker in front of the right audience can be an excellent way to attract new business. Many clubs, organizations, conventions, and trade shows seek guest speakers who can provide useful information to their audience. The opportunity to speak in front of an attentive group can certainly boost your business, whether you are a service or product provider.

Design your speech or presentation so that the audience leaves with useful information that will help them. Avoid giving a sales pitch; this will be a turn-off for both the audience and the speaker-coordinator.

Here are a number of reasons why being a guest speaker can attract more business:

You are perceived as an expert in your field.

You have an opportunity to get free publicity to promote the event.

You have the opportunity to hand out information to each attendee (with your contact name on it).

You can ask for names and addresses of attendees to build your contact database.

You can chat one-on-one with the attendees after the meeting. Make sure you have a business card!

Check out your local Chamber of Commerce, local trade shows, or your local Convention Center. In some cities there are Professional Meeting Planners who often seek speakers. Your participation as a speaker at one event may lead to other contacts in the industry.

The choice of a career involves a lot of planning. It is the decision of a lifetime. It is essential for you to be passionate about your career. There are a number of career options to choose from and still many more within the paradigms of the existent ones. Your career is your chosen line of work that you are genuinely interested in and hope to make a living from the activities involved. It is very important to take into consideration the element of satisfaction that a career is supposed to offer. The drive to excel in your chosen field and add positively to your career track should make the choice worthwhile.

There are many career options available today, such as business, industry and academics. While some people opt for sales and promotional work, some choose the creative track, such as a career in the Fine Arts.

Some careers involve the full-time participation of special skills. Some capitalize on written and verbal skills, while some concentrate on leadership qualities to delegate work effectively. Your career options also determine the basic qualifications required to pursue a particular field. Graduate and diploma courses are available for many career options. Some of the most popular career choices involve the contribution of special technical know-how in a particular area.

Technical Education

Technical education is available at numerous special institutions and dedicated websites. This type of education is very flexible, offering immediate employment upon completing the course. There are day and night time courses and full and special summer courses available for the students to choose from. This makes it possible for students to continue their regular activities and pursue a technical course. Technical education is best for:

-People who desire individual and special training with hands on experience, to apply the newly acquired knowledge.
-Those who want to keep working on their full-time jobs and want to use holidays or vacation time to continue their basic education
-People who do not have the time, money or inclination to complete traditional degree courses.

Special technical training is available in the spheres of criminal justice, health care, computers and business.

Technical education program:

Technical education programs are usually offered at special technical schools. These programs aim at providing specialized training, rather than traditional education. Students are required to fulfill the following basic requirements:

-A high school diploma or its equivalent.
-Completed 17 years of age.
-Be able to take an entrance exam or submit SAT or ACT scores.

However, the requirements of institutions are different and there are a number of alternatives provided to candidates.

Technical education involves the completion of either a short-term diploma course or a bachelor?s degree program. Students can choose to major in aviation maintenance, computer science, auto collision technology, legal assistance and paramedic training.

The programs and majors offered should be researched thoroughly to pick the desired area of study. Various schools offer choices within education programs that are required for a specific trade. Making the decision to pursue technical education ensures the possibility to earn a living upon completion of the course. The institutions offering technical education are many, with each one offering a wide selection of courses.

I. Introduction

“You can’t achieve what you can’t conceive.”

-Author unknown

The United States of America may lose its supremacy as a superpower if our children of today can’t grasp the technologies of tomorrow. The trend has already been set. High-level engineering jobs are currently being outsourced to other nations, not only because of cheaper costs, but inadequacies of filling them in the states. Let’s face it; there are not too many Americans who strive to have a doctrine in Electrical Engineering to do research and development. To other countries like Korea, many students see Math as the “universal language” and foresee a technically based doctorate level diploma as a necessity for excelling in their country. To many, this is the only road out of poverty. American children, stereotypically, do not have this fear to motivate them. Many children in this “superior” country just view mathematics as something needed to pass a proficiency test. Its value is discarded. The implementations are unseen. The desire of children to follow this type of career path is decreasing. Obviously, these future implications are disturbing and may some day be detrimental to the foundation of our country. However, I believe nurturing children’s enthusiasm in needing to use math may be the answer. Not surprisingly as stated in Robots for Kids, “Robots rank right up there with dinosaurs when it comes to grabbing the attention of elementary school students…” [1 p. 232]. Hence, I predict an interest, active participation, and proper guidance in robotics will increase nationally recorded math scores.

II. Staggering Math Scores

The facts don’t lie. According to the US Department of Education in 1999 [2], the United States ranked 12th among 4th graders, a staggering 28th among 8th graders, and just 19th among seniors in nationally recorded math scores. How can poverty stricken and problematic country like Israel be three rankings ahead of us with 8th graders? Clearly, money isn’t the answer. Nor do I believe Israelis have fewer fears about violence than our inner city children do to distract them. Although I’m a bit perplexed by the answer, I believe solution lies in a child’s own aspirations and inner desires. Many of our youth dream to be professional athletes or pop singers. That’s what they see. That’s what they know. That’s what they love. These young easily influenced children view these avenues not only as fun, but also as a means for financial freedom. With mathematics being the “universal language,” children in other countries may see this as the only way to break through levels of poverty and thrive in life. Let’s face it; math can be a difficult subject to grasp. Unless one either has the first name ‘Albert’ or discovers motivational reasons to put forth extra effort, the scores will suffer. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has found that “students who agreed that they like math and that math was useful for solving problems, scored higher than students who disagreed” [3]. To no surprise, many educators have already taken this as a given. The question that now arises is how to motivate the children? Or better yet, how does one follow a handed-down curriculum while taking advantage of today’s enticing technologies? As stated by Druin and Hendler, “I believe the desire for learning has to do with an animating idea or an engaging project. New technologies enable students of all ages to pursue richer, far more complex learning experiences. With robots, students can truly be scientists, engineers, designers, and builders” [1 pp. 161-62].

  Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12

Rank Nation Score Nation Score Nation Score

1 Singapore 625 Singapore 643 Netherlands 560

2 Korea 611 Korea 607 Sweden 552

3 Japan 597 Japan 605 Denmark 547

4 Hong Kong 587 Hong Kong 588 Switzerland 540

5 Netherlands 577 Belgium 565 Iceland 534

6 Czech Republic 567 Czech Republic 564 Norway 528

7 Austria 559 Slovak Republic 547 France 523

8 Slovenia 552 Switzerland 545 New Zealand 522

9 Ireland 550 Netherlands 541 Australia 522

10 Hungary 548 Slovenia 541 Canada 519

11 Australia 546 Bulgaria 540 Slovenia 518

12 United States 545 Austria 539 Germany 495

13 Canada 532 France 538 Hungary 483

14 Israel 531 Hungary 537 Italy 476

15 Latvia 525 Russian Fed. 535 Russian Fed. 471

16 Scotland 520 Australia 530 Lithuania 469

17 England 513 Ireland 527 Czech Republic 466

18 Cyprus 502 Canada 527 United States 461

19 Norway 502 Belgium 526 Cyprus 446

20 New Zealand 499 Sweden 519 South Africa 356

21 Greece 492 Thailand 522    

22 Thailand 490 Israel 522    

23 Portugal 475 Germany 509    

24 Iceland 474 New Zealand 508    

25 Iran 429 …(28th)United States 500

   

Figure 1: Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) of 1999 Math scores [2].

Figure 2: Average mathematics scores by students that state “I like math” [3].

Figure 3: Average mathematics scores by students that state “Mathematics is useful for solving everyday problems” [3].

III. Robots in the Media

Television may be lending a helping hand in the educational pursuit of sparking kid’s interest in robots. Maybe the eyes have been blessed to see Honda’s commercial of a 4 foot robot walking down the driveway to pickup a Sunday paper. This completely autonomous robot, which appears to be wearing a space suit, is currently on tour around the world. This “Advanced Step in Innovative MObility,” or better known as ASIMO, is the result of a robotics program that began in 1986. Being the most advanced humanoid robot in existence, this intriguing creation walks on two legs, has 26 degrees of freedom, can walk up steps, and is currently on a North American Educational Tour. Recently, this technological marvel visited the Bronx schools in an attempt to “encourage the interest in the study of robotics and science” [4]. Even a section on the website is dedicated to teacher’s resources for children. With ASIMO, Honda is truly giving our youth “The power of dreams” [4].

Sony is also doing its part to “Change the way you see world.” AIBO has become a pet of the future for many while the SDR-4X II is all the rave. AIBO is an autonomous dog that can learn, do tricks, and express feelings. This approximately $2000 piece of entertainment is completely programmable for upgrading and educational purposes. Be prepared for the pet to express 6 different types of feelings, act according to its environment and attention it’s receiving, seek out its toys, and without human help it will wake up and fall asleep on a charging station. Not only does the dog mature overtime, but also it won’t dirty the carpets as a puppy! The SDR-4X II, on the other hand, literally has become the rave among youngsters. This humanoid can be caught “raving” (a techno dance technique), throwing balls, doing tai chi, and even jogging. Even better, the video clips available on the Internet and television demonstrate five of them doing it in unison. And it gets better! This robot also has face recognition, a 20,000-word vocabulary for speech recognition and synthesis, color recognition, and still finds time to map out a room for optimum placement to show off. Now only if this thing didn’t need to be charged. Oh, did I mention work is already being done on that [4, 5]?

The stated robots do a wonderful job of creating attention for themselves and portraying to youngsters “cool” jobs to have when they grown up. However, I believe the television show Robot Wars is a driving force for inspiring them to begin building. I can vouch as living proof of that statement. Turn on TechTV and you will have the pleasure of watching robots battle to the death in an arena that has gusts of fire, pits to oblivion, and flippers that launch unfortunate robots through the air to their doom. Combine this with hundreds if not over a thousand screaming children in the stands and this show becomes a quick favorite. The program’s website even provides a daily quench for the thirst of building. Direct links are provided on how to start creating robots from home. GI Joes begin to look like baby toys in comparison to a 500 pound robot that shoots fire, spins blades, has crushing pinchers, and is moving strictly to survive and destroy someone else’s creation. Inside this 20- by 54-foot arena is the ultimate in robot combat and competition. Children love it [7, 8]!

IV. Creative Avenues

A common place many turn to when compelled to build a bot is David Cook’s book, Robot Building for Beginners. Following these instructions, not only will a line following robot be built, but math is unavoidably used and pursued. In order to understand speed, one must first understand Revolutions Per Minute, trade offs between speed and torque, battery levels, friction, robot mass and ways to manipulate these values with different voltages, gear ratios, and tire sizes. Trial and error is always an option and, might I add, a popular one amongst beginners. Remember, robotics is something that making a mistake is ‘OK’ and a tremendous amount of the learning results from these mistakes. However, this is where a teacher steps in and provides a ‘bag of tricks’ to the knowledge hungry children. I believe Miller and Stein say it best when they detail reactions from a second grade class:

“…several students will stare with awe and admiration at the one or two students who know their multiplication tables and can predict how many times a motor needs to turn to make the wheel on their robot turn once… All of a sudden radii, circles, circumferences, and so on have utility—as one of our students suddenly loudly exclaimed, “So that’s what pi is for!”” [1 pp. 231-32].

Wow, all that to just determine speed. Lets not forget that the person reading the book is going to learn about materials science (i.e. textile strength), basic electronics (voltage = current * resistance), mechanics (loads and stress), diodes, resisters, capacitors, LEDs, and all the tools and procedures to use them effectively. At first glance, this may seem like a lot to learn for a child. Remember this: it’s not the teacher’s lessons being forced on the kids, it’s their own! What child becomes enthused with a question stating, “If Jack is half as old as Jill, and Jill is one third as old as Jan? Then how old is Jack on Jan’s 60 birthday?” Building robots is a teacher’s dream–true problem solving with the added benefit of enthusiasm [9].

With DC robots, the sky is the limit on how technical the project will become. However, sometimes quicker and less complex solutions may be more appropriate. BEAM technology uses solar energy to power very simplistic, yet captivating, robots. This acronym for Biology Electronics Aesthetics Mechanics represents an area of robotics using no computational power, inspirations from Mother Nature, a focus on designs that appeal to the eye, while making it all work with the small amount of power given from a solar panel. There are rarely circuit boards used, no programming is involved, and just a few inexpensive are parts needed. My first BEAM robot involved a paper clip, a pager motor, a solar panel, a capacitor, and a little solder. In about 20 minutes, the 5 parts came to life! The beauty of these robots is the simplicity to build, the parts are cheap to buy or easily found in techno junk around the house, and only a soldering iron is necessary to build them. While these robots generally take the form of a bug or some other small creature, they have a large appeal to children. Projects are very quick. This fact alone adheres to those with a short attention span who want immediate feedback on their progresses. In addition, many of the basic principals of science and biology are incorporated in the design and can be discussed with respect to solar energy. Visits to the zoo will become more educational as children will seek out animals to mimic their moments and appearance. “Construction material and project ideas that appeal to a broad range of interests allow multiple entry points into science, mathematics, engineering, design, art and music for all types of learners. These materials not only make new knowledge domains accessible, but also provide new ways for children to relate to domains of knowledge to which they have already been exposed” [1 p. 22]. In addition, an obvious challenge of this solar technology is to minimize the current used and find ways of storing (capacitors) what little energy that is available. Hence, young robotists will learn the importance of reading and comprehending part data sheets in order to choose the appropriate parts wisely. Naturally, some of the most basic problem solving techniques are utilized at its finest [10].

When the pupil is young or the soldering skills have not quite matured, Lego Mindstorms is always an exceptional choice. Actually, anyone of any age will find this technical and robotic line of Legos a wise investment. Not only are the parts reusable and nonexclusive to a particular project, but also they can be programmed in various languages on a computer from Visual Basic to Lego’s own object oriented programming language. No cables are needed either. All of this can be done via an infrared transmitter! It’s difficult to fathom how Legos have walked hand-in-hand with technology. For example, let’s take a closer look at the kit “Robotics Invention System 2.0.” This set includes a battery operated RCX Microcomputer used to store programs and connect all the peripherals, 718 pieces which include 2 motors, 2 touch sensors, and 1 light sensor, a USB infrared tower, and a simple yet powerful picture based programming language on CD. Of course, all the Legos from any of the prior kits can be used in conjunction with this educational tool. In addition, at the Mindstorms website, there is a free online program in which to create projects choosing any Lego in existence. This 3D virtual environment is ideal for posting creations on the web or experimenting with Legos that have yet to be purchased [11, 12, 13].

As a result of the software included, children can have their first robot built in less than an hour after purchase. There are a slew of practice lessons, training sessions, and missions included on the CD. Each of these training sessions teaches a specific capability of the Robotics System while describing various ways to test, troubleshoot, and tweak the constructions. Eventually, the lessons will escalate into such capabilities as: using sensors to interact with the environment, programming with icons that represent blocks of code, and create environmental responses for the robot to do anything its creator desires. By the time the CD is completed, nearly all the fundamental techniques necessary to complete projects will have been covered [11, 14].

Already, there are over a dozen books written about Lego Mindstorms with detailed how-to’s of creating everything from a scanner, musical instrument, and a picture creator, to a spy bot, fingernail polisher, and M&M color sorter. I even own books that describe the creations of an ATM machine, card dealer, elephants that squirt water, and even a robot that does the work of cleaning the Lego’s from the floor [15]. By completing these projects, according to Cole and O’Conner, “(Educational) benefits include helping children to improve their concentration skills, work with instructions, problem solve, and develop patience” [16]. This line of Legos created by MIT professors is currently being used with thousands of educators across the world. Since most children only view the robot as a “toy”, they tend to stay highly focused and engaged throughout the lessons. Thus allowing more productive group settings, more creative and in depth solutions to given scenarios, and development of interpersonal skills and team-building skills. All of this is accomplished without the use of a pencil [17, 18]!

V. Case Study

If something can’t be measured, then I believe it cannot be proven or improved. My hypothesis is that with an interest, active participation, and proper guidance in robotics, the TIMMS scores on average will increase at least 10 points over a year’s time. Since the tests are taken at 4th, 8th, and 12th grade years respectively, this undertaking would need to involve an entire school system and then relate the scores to the year’s prior. Remember, the content of an experience, and not so much the tools, are what is vital to learning. Hence, the roles, guidance, and trainings of the teachers and designated robot/BEAM/Lego Mindstorms “experts” cannot be stressed enough. It is naive to consider placing a computer in front of a person and expecting one to be capable of building a network, creating a webpage, or becoming fluent in a programming language. The same goes for robotics. When launching this curriculum upgrade in the beginning of a fall school year, it is essential to educate the teachers during the prior summer. Obviously, this time will be spent to understand the equipment, discuss and personalize previously created and borrowed lesson plans, and provide an entire summer of uninhibited experimentation. However, this is also a period to overcome any fears or dislikes of technology and change. “For example, some people uncomfortable with new ways can replicate the old ways by using technology. It is a safe way to sneak up on change… Some teachers, who have little experience with new technologies in their classroom, have been known to force-fit new technologies to well-worn curricula” [1 p. 159]. For this case study to be effective, educators must embrace breaking through the mold of “old school” comfortable habits and adhere to the potentials of what technology can foster. This is, of course, the pursuit of “richer, far more complex learning experiences [1 p. 161].

The procedure itself is laid out in a similar pattern amongst the different grade zones. Months prior to the start of the school year, a letter detailing the curriculum changes should be sent out to all the parents. This letter should brief the intentions and communicate resources that a parent could turn to for pre-exposure to themselves and their children with the upcoming technologies. Parental support and involvement are essential to exceeding expectations in this new process.

A. Elementary School

Beginning with the elementary level, grades 1-5, the year should begin with a speaker. Here, Lego Mindstorms will be introduced and accompanied with a display case full of inventions. Demonstrations will be shown to all. This will incite interest and curiosity amongst the listeners. Also, leaving these creations in a strategic trophy-case-like display will perpetuate the excitement and foster a desire for involvement. Lego Mindstorms will be added to the curriculum. This time invested can be substituted for some of the weekly sciences and designated math time slots. When executed properly, the lesson plans of different mathematical principals can be shared as helpful hints to the students. Also, in replacement of the annual science fair, a “Lego Fair” could be established. This will provide for more parental involvement regarding the Mindstorms. How many projects are really done 100% by the student anyway? Also, a sense of pride and achievement will be attained in the ownership of a creation on display for everyone to see. In addition, having the student stand by the project during showing to answer questions and provide detailed descriptions and demonstrations will solidify the understanding, theories, and principles used in the creation process.

Just as in high school, I believe tenure and seniority should have its perks. Assuming the continuation of this curriculum advancement, 4th and 5th graders would eventually have 3 and 4 years of Mindstorms experience under their belts. Thus, allowing for more advanced projects and deeper problem solving capabilities. To add fuel to this fire, a monthly competition could be established solely for the “upper class people.” This could involve creating a solution to build a robot that follows a line and picks up Legos, a race around a track following a line, or even a robot that can navigate through a simple maze. Whatever the challenge; a secret agenda should be accomplished. Carefully choose a project that is best solved using principles that coincide with the forecasted science or mathematical lesson plans that month. I believe this would serve as an honor to be old enough to participate in these activities. Student involvement would inevitably increase as a result. Also, what’s better than having a child seeking out mathematical tricks from the teacher, i.e. how to use fractions for simplification of programming timings, in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage over a fellow classmate? Stated in business terms, competition fosters innovation. Then last of all, administer the TIMMS tests and compare the scores to a prior non-Lego integrated year.

B. Middle and Junior High School

In a similar fashion, grades 6th through 8th will experience robotics with a heightened level of technical skills necessary to complete the projects. The main differences are the integration of electrical components, basic electrical principles, soldering techniques, and solar technology used in the foundation of BEAM technology. A guest will also be brought in at the start of the school year for the technical overview and exhibitions of a display-case amount of BEAM robots. However, this speaker will also be an electrical engineer. This expert will relay the pertinence of the BEAM skills to be learned as they are utilized in the real world. Also, the professional should state the educational path best taken in math and science to prepare for a college major in this field. As with the elementary children, the creations will be left on display and questions will be welcomed both during the presentation and on a one-on-one basis.

Since students will more than likely be changing classes for the different subjects, the science labs should be equipped with the necessary tools for the solar robots. This robotics class will need to be slotted in a certain portion of the week in replacement of the sciences. In addition, a yearly BEAM robot fair should also be created. Robots that interact, seek out light, and intertwine independent ideas (as apposed to just following directions out of a book) should be suggested. A new twist will be added to this fair though. Students will be required to provide a write-up that details schematics, electrical calculations, and descriptions of the robot. This should even include how light transforms to energy for the motor. This insures that the student is actually understanding the creation and learning the principles—not just excelling in the field of directions following. If the Beam Robot Fair is the yearly event for all grades, the monthly projects for the privileged 8th graders could be a robot race. I would like to better name these functions “The Solar Roller Races.” Here, students will create solar powered drag cars to race their fellow classmates. These simple creations will be entered into a bracketing system in which the monthly winners will have their names engraved on an annual plaque. Winners could be encouraged to retire that car and work on a new one for the next month. This will encourage continued devotion to these races from everyone. And as the last step in this process would be, TIMMS test should be administered to the students and compared to prior non-robot years.

C. High School

With no surprise, the most involved, demanding, and in depth robotic projects will be asked of those in high school. The sky is the limit on the complexity of any project here. Also, in hopes of keeping the robotics program alive for many years, those who began with the Lego Mindstorms will be able to utilize their skills since first grade on the projects. Robot bases can easily be made of Legos and light can also be used as a power source. Students will eventually learn there are advantages and disadvantages to every decision they make.

The school year for grades 9-12 will follow in line with K-8 and begin with a visit from a speaker. This speaker will be an Electrical Engineer fluent in the field of robotics. Again an overview will be given, creations will be demonstrated, a Q/A session will take place, career paths will be detailed, and specific class routes will be suggested. Although the speaker descriptions appear to just be reiterations of other grade levels, the importance cannot be stressed enough. Many teenagers begin career paths based upon what they enjoy. Hopefully, those who become passionate about robotics understand the importance of accelerated classes for technical majors in college. This fact cannot be forgotten. The classes specific to robotics will be offered to each grade level with increasingly more in depth coverage for the higher grades.

Also, instead of a yearly robot fair, I desire the yearly event to be participation in FIRST. “For Inspiration in Science and Technology” is a 6 weeklong competition modeled after an MIT 2.70 mechanical engineering class [1 p. 248-49]. As described on the FIRST website:

“The FIRST Robotics Competition is a national engineering contest which immerses high school students in the exciting world of engineering. Teaming up with engineers from businesses and universities, students get a hands-on inside look at the engineering profession. In six intense weeks, students and engineers work together to brainstorm, design, construct and test their “champion robot.” With only six weeks, all jobs are critical path. The teams then compete in a spirited, no-holds-barred tournament complete with referees, cheerleaders and time clocks.

The partnerships developed between schools, businesses, and universities provide an exchange of resources and talent, highlighting mutual needs, building cooperation, and exposing students to new career choices. The result is a fun, exciting and stimulating environment in which all participants discover the important connection between classroom lessons and real world applications.

Each year, the competition is different, so returning teams always have a new challenge to look forward to. However, the details are kept secret until the unveiling at the Kick-Off workshop. This provides a high level of excitement as everyone sees the new challenge for the first time and ideas immediately being forming in people’s minds” [19, 1 pp. 248-49].

Upper class people will also have their privileges in high school. The monthly event open to 10th and 11th graders could be robot sumo. Here, students will create completely autonomous robots and mimic the rules of one of Japan’s most popular sports—sumo. Instead, the idea is for the size and weight class restricted robots to push each other out of a circular ring. Robot sumo has already made its way into many robot clubs, high schools, and universities. The popularity of this event can be credited to its low part costs and simplicity of rules. In 2001 alone, more than 4,000 robots competed in a 4-month season in Japan and those numbers are growing at an exponential rate. Innovation is what keeps this “game” growing in numbers and proves invaluable for student participation and educational advancement [20].

Naturally, in order to prove my hypothesis, the high school students would also need to be administered an internationally recognized TIMMS exam. These scores would then need to be compared to non-robotic years.

VI. Conclusions

Although the robotic case study has not been implemented to test my hypothesis, I will make predictions on the findings. As forethought, I also believe the conclusions to be correct to a high amount of accuracy. There are many ingredients to this success and I will attempt to touch on most of what I consider obvious outcomes. However, as a person of science, I admit that these ideas are not factual and even incomplete without the study actually taking place.

Public displays of projects and competitions have fostered extraordinary outcomes. So does the cooperative participation with all students. In time, I believe this will portray robotics as a “cool” thing to do in school. This being the case, some of the educational barriers will be hurdled in the process. Especially during the competitions, students will be working with the adults and not for them. Realizations that it is not the gender, race, creed, sex, or social status that matters in reference to partnering in robotics, but what they know and can contribute to the cause is a vital lesson. The differences in people will be grayed out while their possibly unknown qualities will shine. Robotics gives a chance for people who generally wouldn’t have associated with each other to seek each other out for their robotic potential [1 pp. 287-88].

Specifically looking at gender differences, it is important to note the participation of females in robotics. A finding from Robocamp states, “It appears that girls in particular may need encouragement and a formal structure in order to experiment and be creative… They would do more advanced exercises only when specifically asked” [1 p. 321]. Another finding exhumed from the book Robots for Kids details finding at an elementary school in Reston, Virginia. Believing the importance of ideas to be best left in the author’s words,

“We (KISS Institute for Practical Robotics) distributed flyers to the fifth and sixth graders (ages 10-11), and the next day 30 registrations appeared: 29 boys and 1 girl.

This overwhelming imbalance highlighted an obvious need to reach out to girls, and this inspired immediate action on our part. We received permission to present short robot demos for second graders. During these demos, students were invited to push buttons, flip levers, and otherwise interact with a couple of real robots. We then distributed flyers to the second graders for an after-school robotics class. This time we had enough response to form two classes, and about 40 percent of the registrants were girls.

Four years later when this group became sixth graders, we again offered a fifth/sixth-grade class. This time half the students who signed up were female. None of this resembles an actual scientific study (why we are developing); however, there was a fairly strong indication that when students had a fun experience with robots at an early age, they were much more likely to pursue that topic at a later point in their life. Presumably, the same effect would occur later in life, in that students would be more likely to choose college courses and/or career paths further down the line after having been exposed to fun experiences with robotics in middle and high school” [1 pp. 232-33].

Along with the proposed findings that more students will choose a technical career later in life, I believe that local robotics clubs will also begin forming in the community. This will lead to in depth community involvement of older more experienced people volunteering for robotics help in the local schools. Hence, this cycle will lead to better teachings and of course better projects. Also, I believe this will help perpetuate a more enjoyable school experience for children. This can be proven just by a jump in attendance. Another way to validate the statement is to look at the children’s Christmas/birthday lists. I believe they will include more robotic related materials than before.

All of these reasons encapsulate why math scores will improve. More specifically, I believe scores will improve by at least 10 points on the TIMMS scores as compared to non-robotic years. I say this because,

“In regular classes many teachers try to use grades to motivate students, and sometimes they miss the mark. It is best for students to push themselves to excel, so teachers give exams to test student achievement and attach a grade to motivate students to do their best. But one of the real problems of…education is that grading standards vary widely and continually slip downward. At the same time, students would seem to be foolishly wasting their time if they did anything more than the minimum required to get an ‘A’ in a class” [1 pp. 289].

Also, I foresee a higher enrollment in advanced math and science classes. This is, of course, a result of more students having their eyes opened to technical careers and taking proactive educational steps to achieve these dreams. If more students enroll in advanced math classes, then more students will score better on nationwide math based exams. In addition, lets not forget that students have been unknowingly working on problem solving skills and math based robotic inspired formulas for the duration of the year. The best part is that these processes were probably utilized in a majority of the student’s free time as projects were being created and completed. If portions of students are inspired to focus on robotics every spare hour they are free, increased math use is unavoidable. Hence, with this practice, so is improvement upon these skills. A 12-year long study of the continued robotic intervention of the 1st graders to their 12th grade testing would be interesting. The implications of perpetuated involvement in the robotics field would be fascinating.

People under the legal age of 18, or dare I categorize them as children, possess all the tenacity, creativity, and capacity to learn, as do adults. Channeling these incredible energies into something as positive and productive as robotics will have effects that ripple on beyond our comprehension. As best stated by a high school participant in FIRST, Daniel Lehrbaum shares his insight on people.

“…I think if students are put in a position where their opinions are valued and their designs are valued and people listen to them, suddenly they can rise to that new level. I think the one thing is that people fill the shoes that you put them in. If the engineers and advisors (that assist the team with FIRST) put them in really big shoes, they are going to fill them. They will do the things they need to do to get the job done. Especially if they are, you know, dedicated to the cause. People can do incredible things” [1 p. 271].

References

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