PLTW (-:

PLTW stands for, ‘Project Lead The Way.’ PLTW this year is totally something new and different as a whole. I’ve talked to some classmates and they really enjoy the class this year so far and how Mrs. Sauter has it set up for us. For a lot of us it was a big change at first, but we adjusted and this class is very unique, and not many schools get to endure a class like this. PLTW this year for 8th grade takes place in the Maker Space, we’re the only grade who get’s to have every PLTW class in the Maker Space.

 

Modules

Every 2 weeks we start a new module. Every 6 weeks we change groups, there’s also a blog post due every 6 weeks. My favorite module so far has been the media tech module. The module I’m currently working on is the construction fabrication module, it’s something very different and hands on, my group and I are very much enjoying it. There’s a challenge 1 and challenge 2 to go along with every module. Challenge 1 is usually independent and challenge 2 is done as a group. There’s also a quiz and reflection to go along with each module.

 

What’s The Point?

I feel there are a few reasons Mrs. Sauter decided to change the way the class works this year. A big reason was to get us prepared for high school. Each person is exploring all the three different pathways. Engineering, media tech, and bio med, are what all the modules originate from.

-Lestle Soto

The MakerSpace

Bryana Sanchez

One of the biggest news at Ann Richards and Newest additions to the school is the Makerspace. This is 2 parts combined to make a classroom and workspace. The 2 parts are a place where we do most of our building and where we work ifyou’re experimenting withe the Engineering pathway especially.  The other room is were all of our computers are and where you will spend most of your time editing pictures or videos for the Media Tech pathway or writing a blog like this one.

Here at Ann Richards when you enter 8th grade you are expected to start thinking about what pathway you want to take when you start high school. There are 3 pathways, Engineering, Media Tech and Bio-med. In pltw we are able to get a feel what these pathways are about ands what we will do if we chose them with a thing called modules. What are modules? Modules are like a mini experience of the pathways wrapped up into 1 week period of learning and hands objectives you’re expected to complete. Under the modules the 3 pathways have different ‘objectives’ Under Engineering there are:

-Engineering

-Mechanical Systems

-Computer Automated drafting

-Construction and Fabricating Basics

I am currently working on Mechanical systems as I have just finished with the 1st part/section of  Engineering. Under Media Tech there is

-Media Tech

-Blogging

-Photography

For Media Tech I’ve done the 1st part then moved on to engineering because i wanted to explore more than one pathway. There is one more Pathway that we have and that is Bio-med, under that there is

-Bio-med

-Stimulations and Applications in Medicine

-Prosthetics

So far my favorite modules that I have done are the Media Tech: Media Tech’ and the one I’m currently working on Engineering: ‘Mechanical Systems’. Creating the makerspace was no easy task and it is still not yet completed but its getting there. Thanks to Mrs. Sauter, the pltw teacher we have this amazing space to help us prepare for the years to come. Pltw is the main class that helps decide what your high school classes will be and will help you when you go to college. This is a great class for students to express their creativity and explore doing new things that they might’ve never thought they would’ve enjoyed doing.

By: Elissa Torrez

In 8th grade we have to pick a path way,  Media Tech, Engineering, or Biomedical Science. In the PLTW class we are in groups and have to do modules about each pathway.

I have done the Biomedical module, Media Tech module and the Engineering module. My first module I did was the Biomedical module you and your group had to make a poster about how you think medicine will be in the future. As I was doing this module I realized that the Biomedical Science field really interests me. So after that module I did the Simulation Applications In Medicine module. In that module, you and your group had to pick a computer simulation and make a presentation about it. My partner and I chose the Dynamics of Seasonal Epidemics simulation. We made a prezi, in the prezi it had the background of computer simulations, an explanation of our simulation and how my partner and I thought this simulation could help doctors, and how we track data in the future.

After both the Biomedical modules I did the blogging module, as a group we all had to write a blog and post it to our class blog. Currently I’m doing the Engineering module. My group and I have to build a bridge out of tooth picks, thread and liquid glue. Personally I don’t really favor Engineering but this module is somewhat fun.

I know by the end of the school year we all will have to decide which path way we would like to study. I think the PLTW class and the modules are great ways to help us choose what we want to do for high school and possibly major in college and is certainly helping me decide which path I want to take to help change the future.

Most of the reader by now know what PLTW means and if not I’ll refresh your mind. Our PLTW class is basically to explore our three pathways, we get to explore all three pathways to help us make a choice on which pathway we want to focus on in high school.

This past week I got to explore engineering construction and fabrication basics. Basically we designed a bird house. We researched a certain bird and cut wood and nailed it and basically made it out of wood, nails,etc.

In this process we learned how to use a nail gun, saw, drill , wrenches, and we also learned basic materials that you will use when you build like nails, screws, drill bits, and washers.

Hello! My name is Lendy! In my 8th grade PLTW class were doing modules and we pick these modules by what were interested about. For example one of my favorite modules was Construction & Fabrication. In that module we had to do a bird house. The bird house had to be all 90 degree angles, but before my group and I started building we first needed to learn how to use the tools and the safety rules. I thought this was boring and that I already knew all the tools we were going to use, but in reality I had no clue how to work saw, a drill, etc.

Building this birdhouse thought me to do things on my own! As our school helps us prepare us to make our own decisions, we get the freedom to do the modules that we feel we are great for us. Of course nobody thinks the same way and sometimes we don’t have the same interest. When sketching plans to do a 90 degree birdhouse, I never really thought about how in the world was I going to build it. Yea it was hard because my teammates and I thought differently but we decided to add to our Ideas in one birdhouse. What I really enjoyed about this module was that it really brought me into this new world all about engineering. I never knew engineering was Construction & Fabrication, Mechanical System, Computer Animated Drafting, and so many more! I never knew about it until now, and I’m happy I know what I want to work on for, I guess the rest of my life, and that is to be an engineer. Thanks to the Ann Richards program PLTW.

Yazmeen Vazquez

In Gateway to Technology, we work on different modules like Engineering, Media Tech, and Biomedical Science, and we work on other modules in those major modules. We do these modules in order to help us learn what Pathway we want to take in High School.

Right now I’m doing the Media Tech module and in that module I have done Intro to Photography, Blogging, and I’m working on Screen Printing. In the Intro to Photography module we made a pinhole camera and took a picture of a red button, it did not come out well but we still kept trying and we did it at the end. In the Blogging module my team and I made a blog post on the pinhole camera we made for the module Intro to Photography. Right now in the Screen Printing module we are making a design to screen print onto a shirt, the design had to be related to our class. We made a walkie talkie saying “I got you bro”, and what it symbolizes is that people make walkie talkies and that is part of the Engineering pathway, and the “I got you bro” says that we all have each others back.

That is a little bit of what we do in Gateway to Technology, I hope I get to tell you more later on.

Modules

These past weeks we have been doing different modules that are centered around  Media Tech, Biomedical Science, or Engineering. These modules that we have been working on are so we can focus on what pathway we want to choose in high school, and giving us an idea of what we want to do when we want to grow up.

I think Media Tech would be cool and fun, but only if you are into working with computers and enjoy it. My opinion would be that if you like computers and would one day would want to learn how to make like a phone or maybe even make a popular website like Instagram or Facebook.

Biomedical Science would be for people, who, in the future want to be doctors, or something that has to do with human health. I would recommend it for people who would be interested in this pathway or is even considering it. I think you should give it a try,even if you don’t really know, but want to learn more about it. You never know, you might end up making a cure for a major disease.

Engineering I would recommend this pathway for people who think it would be cool to learn more about building different things and working with different tools. You can even take this pathway to learn more about it, and if you get interested in it you might even end up finding something that you really like.

Making a choice can be easy for some people because they might already have kind of an idea of what they really want. But don’t feel pressure you have more time to think about it and if you don’t really know at the end of the year pick something you might want to learn more about or be interested in finding your future.

  By: Nayeli Espinoza

At first we had to start at challenge #1 because we were just starting the module about photography and we were learning how to make the pinhole camera through the steps in the module. Than we started to build a prototype that was our example that taught us how to make it when we actually got the pringles can and we had to make it pitch black so no light would go through and then we were trying to make it perfect so that we could have a good grade in that module.

 

Our first challenge was to build the pinhole camera that was very hard when we first had started because we were so confused and I thought I  was doing everything wrong (which I had) but my group had helped me get back on track.

My second challenge was to do the group blog I helped with the conclusion which depended on everybody else but I did the conclusion by myself cause everybody else did not do their part that they said they would.

I had a role to play and I brought some of the materials that were necessary to make the pinhole camera work like the pringles can and  I helped in any way I possibly could and I tried the hardest that I could.

The camera is a working progress because it takes many steps to make it work you have to keep trying to make it better. Our group worked hard on this, and tried their hardest and sometimes we got really frustrated because we didn’t know what to do or we were just confused at some point, but we did not give up. And my experience in photography is that you have to work hard on everything. And not push yourself hard or else you’re going to fall hard.

Makerspace                                                                                       Thalia Gomez

Hello world,

In Project Lead the Way (PLTW) we are doing modules. The modules are based on pathways we have for high school. Right now the purpose of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is to decide what our pathway will be in high school, since we are 8 graders and will soon will be 9 graders.

From all the modules I liked the biomedical and engineering modules most. But I decided to write about the engineering module. In the engineering module you get to build a bridge, and try to get it to hold the most weight. The purpose for this module is to understand engineering, realize what engineers do for us, and know the different types of engineers there is.

We were being like civil engineers, because we were building a bridge. Civil engineers build bridges, highways, and work with transportation (etc…). Our constraints were: that bridge had to be 18 inches, 2 inches wide (max.), and 2 inches tall (max.), and couldn’t weigh more than 40 grams.

At the beginning of building our bridge we struggled  for the toothpicks to stay together, for the weight to stay under or at 40 grams, and to make our bridge strong enough to at least hold 3,000 grams. Which was our goal, for our bridge didn’t look strong enough to begin with. While building the bridge we tested a lot of ideas for our bridge to be strong. In the Design Process of building a bridge, we liked and disliked a lot of designs, but then we decided to use triangles and 3 sturdy poles.

The poles are used for support, and the triangles are used to stand all the weight, but the poles support so the bridge won’t break and bend too much. Our bridge was built with the 3 poles at the bottom separated a little bit, and the triangles on top for the poles support.At the end our bridge ended up holding 4,300 grams which was the most grams any bridge can hold because we only had a limited amount of weights.

In this module you need the skill of patience, time management, and the most important team work. It might seem really easy but you will notice that by yourself you will not complete that much because building a bridge is really hard. Due to the time, because you might not have enough time, and it’s also really exhausting to stick and keep sticking back toothpicks because the glue might not be strong enough.