Week of Dec 1

This Week in IED
Welcome back! I hope that you had a good break and enjoyed the week off.  It's hard to believe, but there are just 3 weeks of school left before the semester break.  It will be a busy time as we work to complete the work from this semester and prepare for the semester exams.

We started learning Inventor in IED before the break (A day classes) and will continue that this week.  After an introduction to Inventor, you will build your puzzle cube pieces and assemble the cube in Inventor.  You will even learn how to create a movie of the puzzle being assembled and disassembled.  Following that, we will start our portfolios to showcase all of the good work that you have done this year and begin preparations for the fall exam.

Speaking of the fall exam, you will begin getting information about exemptions from semester exams.  Students who have not missed more than 3 class periods (remember that tardies affect your absences in all classes) and have an 85 semester average are eligible to exempt a semester exam once during the year.  You are limited to 3 exemptions per semester, and you can not exempt the same class both in the fall and spring.  When the information comes out, you will need to pick up a sheet specifically for you from your grade-level alpha office.  However, be aware that you may not exempt the IED exam in the spring.  It will be an End of Course exam that is required of all students taking IED.  So, if you want to exempt your engineering exam, the fall is the only time in which you can take advantage of it.

Agendas for This Week
Monday (from Friday before Thanksgiving) - Software Model Creation
Tuesday-Wednesday - Puzzle cube part and drawing files
Thursday - Friday - Puzzle cube assembly & presentation files

This week at RRHS
Nothing special in terms of schedules this week at school.  Each day will be regular bell schedule.  You should hear announcements soon regarding exemption information.  You will need to pick up the exemption form from your grade-level/alpha office and get signed by any teachers whose semester exams you wish to exempt.  Remember that you are limited to only 3 exemptions per semester and can not exempt the same exam (Geometry, for example) in both the spring and fall.  This requires that you consider a number of factors and choose wisely which exams you will exempt now.  Also, note that you may not exempt the engineering final from the spring as it is a required end of course exam for every student.

What is special is that the end of the semester is near.  We have two weeks of classes, and then final exams will begin December 15.  Taking out the time for exams makes this another short six weeks.  

College Rep Visits This Week
Friday - The University of North Texas

Week of Oct 26

IED classes will continue the research in to the engineering advancements that lead to changes in a product that you are probably familiar with already.  We will spend Monday through Wednesday conducting the research and building the presentations and then present on Thursday and Friday.  Be sure that you are focusing on the engineering and technology advancements that contribute to the improvements.  This is a project grade and will count twice the weight of other assignments.

After that is complete, you will begin working on the puzzle cube project.  You will start with designing your cube with a physical model, moving to a graphical model and then finally a solid model using Inventor.  Note that our school license allows you to download an education copy of Inventor for use at home in your class work. I will give you more information about that as the time gets closer.

Agendas this week
Monday - Wednesday - Product Innovation Research

If you are interested in the A&M Spark Conference on November 22, you should sign up right away.  I have already started registering teams from RRHS, and the deadline from A&M is November 7.

This Week at RRHS
This is Homecoming Week, and you can check out the schedule of events including "dress up days", the parade and pep rally on the RRHS web site.  That means that a pep rally is on Friday, which means pep rally schedule.

Also, we are at the middle of this grading period.  Expect progress reports to come home on Thursday.  You also need to be aware that this "six weeks" period is only five weeks long.  That means that there are now only two weeks and at most a week and a half after you get your progress report before the end of the six weeks. One week after that starts our full week of Thanksgiving break.  The year is certainly going by quickly.

Key Dates:
November 7 - End of 2nd six weeks grading period
November 21 - RRISD Thanksgiving holiday begins
December 1 - School begins after the holiday
December 15-18 - Fall final exams.  School releases for the Christmas holiday starting December 19.

College Recruiter Visits This Week
Tuesday - University of Houston
Thursday - Texas Lutheran University
Friday - University of Houston at Victoria

Week of Oct 13

This Week in IED
IED will finish up looking at unit conversions and dimensions this week.  You will have a quiz over unit conversions Thursday and Friday and then learn how to properly dimension a drawing so that someone else can understand the size, shape, and location of all of the features of a part that you might design.  On Thursday, you will learn how to take measurements using a dial caliper, which is capable of taking measurements down to 0.001" resolution.

There is an opportunity for some lucky juniors to participate in the High School Aerospace Scholars  program through NASA.  I have more detailed information on this on the Internships page linked above, but applications are now open.  High school juniors can apply to participate in a number of online sessions throughout the school year and then attend a summer internship/camp at NASA in Houston this summer (2015).  The culmination will be to participate on a research project with NASA engineers and to present your project results in front of NASA staff and media.

The A/B schedule is a little strange this week due to the holiday and PSAT testing day on Wednesday.  Wednesday should be an A day according to the rotation, but all students will be involved in PSAT testing or other related activities, so Thursday will be an A day, followed by the 2nd B day of the week on Friday.

Agendas This Week
I will link the agendas for each day here on the class page so that you can have more detailed information about what we are doing each day.
Thursday - Making Linear Measurements

This Week at RRHS
If you look at the calendar, you would think there is a mistake with both Wednesday and Thursday being listed as an A day.  That is, in fact, actually the case - sort of.  All sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT test Wednesday morning, and the seniors and freshmen will be involved in related activities as well. Therefore, the only "normal" A day schedule will be Thursday.  Tuesday and Friday will be regular B days, and the schedule will return to normal next week.

Other than that twist, the schedule is normal.  No late start or pep rally schedules to contend with.  The six weeks, however, is not normal.  We will have only 5 weeks in this six week grading period, so staying on top of grades is even more critical than it normally would be.  The progress reporting period will end next Friday, and you will have less than 2 weeks from the time they come home before the complete end of this six weeks.  The school year is flying by quickly!

College Rep Visits This Week
None.  The next scheduled visit by a college rep will be Concordia next Tuesday.

Week of Oct 6

This week in IED
We have now finished the sketching unit and will begin one on statistics and measurement, starting with a lesson on linear measurement in both metric and customary units and then conversion between the two systems.  We will also have a quiz over sketching and the dimensions on Wednesday & Thursday.

I am beginning something new.  I can link the agendas for each day here on this site, and the agendas contain links to the pages for each individual lesson.  In that way, you can get access to Powerpoint and video instructions for the lessons as well as the assignment itself from anywhere you have computer access.  This should make it easier for you to keep up with the work and to know "what we did when I missed class".   If the agenda for each day of the week is not here at the start, check back as the week progresses since I will update this page as information central.  You will also find a link to the agenda on the calendar entry for that day.

If you are interested in the Spark conference at Texas A&M on November 22, you need to get your full team registered (or yourself, if you are not part of a team) right away.  Registrations are filling up.

Agendas for this week
Monday-Tuesday: Linear measurement
Wednesday-Thursday: Unit Conversions
Friday: Linear dimensioning

This week at RRHS
Grades are due (for me) first thing Tuesday morning, so I will need all assignments from the last six weeks on Monday.  Also, expect report cards to come home Wednesday or Thursday.

Thursday is a late start day, with school starting at 9:25.  All teachers will be in department meetings before school Thursday, so there are no tutorials.

College Visits
Wednesday - Baylor Univeristy
                      Le Cordon Bleu
Friday - Texas Christian University (TCU)

This Week in IED

In IED, we will continue learning to draw different styles of sketches used by engineers.  Next up is the multiview (orthogonal drawings) and more sketching practice.  Then, we will take a look at how some of our favorite items have changed over the years due to engineering design developments.

Every year, we send teams to the Texas A&M University Engineering Expo, this year named the Sparc Conference. Students will form teams and compete against each other and teams from other high schools around the state in two of six competitions. The conference is held this year on Saturday, November 22. If you are interested, talk to your friends and start forming a team of at least 6 but not more than 8 students. If you can't build a team of 6 on your own, I can add you to one of our other teams or combine smaller teams. Fill out this interest form so that I can register the teams. There is no cost to you to enter the contest or even transportation. We will provide a bus to take the teams to the A&M campus.



You can choose to compete in one of the following 6 competitoins:

• ReservWars - Challenge competitors to understand the structure and function of petroleum reservoirs, as well as how to “clean up” when the war is over (after an oil spill). 
• The Boat Float - Have you ever wondered how huge ships made of steel float in the water? Explore the principles of buoyancy and density by designing a boat that will float! 
• Galaxy Glider - Do you want to put your knowledge of airplanes and physics to the test? Then come and join the Galaxy Glider Contest. 
• Bottle Rocket Cars - Propel your way to the top of the bottle rocket car racing circuit! Design a car that is propelled by a fizzy reaction and watch it beat the clock! 
• Code to Survive - Survival is an unforgiving game, and it's your job to keep your organism alive. You must program a brain to gain competitive edge! 
• The Egg Express - Can you deliver the goods? Your engineering team must construct a casing for an egg that will withstand free fall to a hard surface from various heights, as well as have the capability to float. 

See me if you have any additional questions, but I need to register teams this week before registration fills up.

This Week at RRHS No special schedules this week; just the normal routine except that this is the last week of the first six weeks. Make sure that you are on top of all assignments and grades as I will need the weekend to get any work graded and entered before report cards come out next week. .

College Recruiter Visits This Week:
Monday - University of Alabama
Wednesday - Johns Hopkins
Friday - Southwestern University
               The University of Chicago

Check with the counselors' office to sign up if you are interested in speaking with representatives of one of these universities.

Week of Sep 22

This Week in IED
We will continue a study of different drawing techniques for 3-dimensional drawings by finishing isometric sketching first and then learning to draw one and two point perspective drawings.  Also, be sure that you are keeping your engineering journals up to date (table of contents; sign, date & number each page; put all notes and work in your journal, including any handouts that I give you.)  I will be checking journals this week.

Every year, we send teams to the Texas A&M University Engineering Expo, this year named the Sparc Conference.  Students will form teams and compete against each other and teams from other high schools around the state in two of six competitions.  The conference is held this year on Saturday, November 22.  If you are interested, talk to your friends and start forming a team of at least 6 but not more than 8 students.  If you can't build a team of 6 on your own, I can add you to one of our other teams or combine smaller teams.  Fill out this interest form so that I can register the teams.  There is no cost to you to enter the contest or even transportation.  We will provide a bus to take the teams to the A&M campus.

You can choose to compete in one of the following 6 competitoins:

• ReservWars - Challenge competitors to understand the structure and function of petroleum reservoirs, as well as how to “clean up” when the war is over (after an oil spill).
• The Boat Float - Have you ever wondered how huge ships made of steel float in the water? Explore the principles of buoyancy and density by designing a boat that will float! 
• Galaxy Glider - Do you want to put your knowledge of airplanes and physics to the test? Then come and join the Galaxy Glider Contest. 
• Bottle Rocket Cars - Propel your way to the top of the bottle rocket car racing circuit! Design a car that is propelled by a fizzy reaction and watch it beat the clock!
• Code to Survive - Survival is an unforgiving game, and it's your job to keep your organism alive. You must program a brain to gain competitive edge! 
• The Egg Express - Can you deliver the goods? Your engineering team must construct a casing for an egg that will withstand free fall to a hard surface from various heights, as well as have the capability to float. 

See me if you have any additional questions, but I need to register teams this week before registration fills up.

This Week at RRHS
No special schedules this week; just the normal routine.  However, be aware that this is the fifth week of our six weeks, which ends next Friday (October 3).  Make sure that you are on top of all assignments.

Monday - RRISD College & Career Fair at the RRHS cafeteria
                 Boise State University
Wednesday - University of Arkansas
                       Birmingham-Southern University
Thursday - Louisiana State Univeristy
                   University of New Hampshire
Friday - American University    

Check with the counselors' office to sign up if you are interested in speaking with representatives of one of these universities.

Week of Sep 15

This Week in IED
Now that we are finished with 3 weeks of school, it is time for progress reports that should be delivered to the students on Thursday.

IED students are completing research and a presentation on their favorite (and least favorite) field of engineering.  This presentation from class on Friday outlines what needs to be included and a list of web sites that you can use in your research.  Presentations may be in Powerpoint, Prezi, Google Slides, or another presentation media of your choosing as long as you clear it with me first.  After that, we will research the history of a common product, such as a television or automobile and make a presentation to the class on it.

Since CTE has duty every morning this week, I will not be available for tutorials except for after school hours.

Robotics Kick-off
If you are interested in Robotics, make plans to attend the kick-off meeting on Monday.   We need to organize who will be going to the kickoff event on Saturday (Sep 20) at Motorola in Oak Hill. I will provide bus transportation to the event, and we will load in front of the 100 bldg at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and return about 4:00 p.m.  You MUST sign up to attend the event since Motorola is a secured facility.

This Week at RRHS
We will return to a normal schedule this week: no pep rallies or late starts.  However, be aware that there is a faculty meeting on Thursday, so I will not be available for tutorials.  Also, expect progress report cards to come home on Thursday.

College rep visits for this week:
Tuesday -  the Universtity of Texas
                  the University of Massachusets
                  Savanah College of Art and Design
Wednesday - California Baptist University
Friday - the University of Utah

Week of September 8

This week, we will continue studying the design process.  We will learn about writing design briefs and put the design process in to practice before studying different fields that are available to you in engineering.  Later, we will research the history of innovation of a product that you choose and make a presentation on how it has changed over the years.

This week at RRHS
Remember that RRHS' Open House is Monday evening and starts at 6:00 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony of the A Plus Credit Union branch housed in our new 1300 building followed by a brief PTSA meeting.  Parents are invited to attend the evening and then visit our classrooms.  I look forward to meeting you and to discussing your child and our the year that we will have.

College Visits This Week
Tuesday - University of Dayton
Tuesday - Texas State University
Friday - Texas Tech

Welcome Back!
Here we go for yet another school year.  Welcome to Round Rock High School and to the RRHS engineering program.  Introduction to Engineering Design (IED) is the foundation course in this program and serves as a prerequisite to our other engineering classes: Principles of Engineering (PoE), Digital Electronics (DE), Civil Engineering & Architecture (CEA) and Aerospace Engineering (AE).  This course will teach you the basics of engineering, teamwork, the design process, brainstorming, and allow you to explore many different fields of engineering. Check this blog page regularly as I will update it with class information as well as other items that will be of interest to students and parents alike.

Be sure that you take advantage of all of the resources available to you in order to keep up with all that is going on in our school, the engineering program, and this course.  For starters, give me contact info about yourself and your parents (or your student) using this form.  It allows me to collect and use this information much more efficiently than paper forms.   The form is also linked in the Helpful Links section to the right of this post.

You will also want to keep an eye on the tabs at the top.  Through these, I plan to keep you informed about college recruiter visits to RRHS as well as scholarship and internship opportunities to students interested in an engineering or technical field.  You can even browse through the history that is posted there as many of these 'ships are repeated annually.

The calendar on the right is a direct link to the Google Calendar that I use to plan out our lessons.  I have also placed a link to Canvas, the Learning Management System (LMS) that we will use this year.  PLTW provides this LMS access to all students and provides the latest curriculum via that site.

Be sure to review the First Day Packet (Syllabus) and return the $35 lab fee and required signatures to me by the end of next week.  If I can be of any help, please feel free to call or email me.  I look forward to seeing all of our parents at the RRHS Open House September 8!

Week of Feb 17

This week in IED
IED will continue with the Reverse Engineering unit, covering functional analysis and structural analysis.  Now that you know how to conduct visual analysis, you will examine the Automoblox cars for form, fit, and function, making conjectures about the parts and their purpose.  Eventually, you will propose some improvements to the cars.  Remember that both Monday and Tuesday will be A days since Monday is our first bad weather make-up day.

Make sure that you have all of the work completed by Friday, the last day for this grading period.

Company Visit Opportunities

There are 2 opportunities for you to visit a local high-tech company, Samsung Austin Semiconductor.  The plant at Samsung is amazing enough to visit and learn how a modern microelectronics chip manufacturer works, but they also provide a chance for you to interact with their engineers to learn what a typical day in the life is like as well as what advice they have for you as you work your way through high school and prepare for college.  The tour of their factory floor, which is fully automated, is worth the trip by itself.  The interaction with engineers and activities that they provide to help you take to heart the lessons that you learn in all of your classes is a bonus.  Students who have attended over the past 2-3 years always rate this as their favorite trip each year.  

The first opportunity is very limited and selective.  Four RRHS students will be selected to attend Semi's High Tech U.  This event takes place over 3 days at Samsung and Texas State University.  It is in-depth and does require a commitment since you will be missing 3 days of classes.  However, if you can take those days and stay on top of your school work, it is well worth it.  The link provided above has a link to the application, which you apply directly to Semi.  RRISD typically provides a bus to transport students to Samsung and Texas State from one of our high schools.  If you have questions or are interested, see me for a permission form.  The dates for High Tech U are March 3-5

The second trip date is March 28, when we can take up to 20 students to Samsung for a 1/2 day visit.  We will leave RRHS at 8:30 and return around 2:00.  If you would like to attend, sign up on this form and see me for permission forms.  

This week at RRHS
Due to the missed bad weather days, the end of the six weeks has been extended until this coming Friday, so report cards will not be given out until next week.  Also, remember that Monday is the first bad weather make-up day.  This week will start with 2 A days in a row and the resume the normal B-A-B schedule for Wednesday-Friday.

Be sure that you are keeping an eye on the $cholar$ship Li$t tab above as I posted some new ones a couple of weeks ago. I also have an opportunity for a female senior (pretty specific) who would be interested in attending Texas State.  I can put you in touch with a potential $10,000 scholarship for the fall of 2014.

College Visits this Week:
Wednesday - US Marine Corps (Seniors only)
                     the University of Texas at Austin
                     Texas State University
Next Monday - the University of Alabama

Week of Jan 27

It seems like forever since I've seen 4th period!  When we have class again (on Thursday), we will be starting the reverse engineering unit, beginning with a lesson on visual analysis.  If you have not completed the CAD modelling packet, you will need to find time to come in before or after school during tutorial times in order to complete the designs.

Internships & Summer Camps
If you haven't already discovered the tabs for scholarships and for summer camps, now would be a good time.  About this time of year, I start getting information from companies, universities, and agencies like NASA about opportunities that are available to high school engineering students.

Specifically, for now, A&M has a summer camp for aspiring architects, called Camp Arch.  Check out their web site and pick up an application from Mrs. Hernandez in the main office if you are interested.  Also, UTSA hosts a summer engineering camp with 2 options (overnight or day only).  Look for more details on their respective web pages or on my Internship & Summer Camps page, linked on the tab above.


Field Trips & Extra-curricular opportunities
Sign-up for the A&M Engineering Expo is still available.  The sooner you get your team together and sign up through me, the more likely it is that you will get your choice of competitions.  The expo is March 22, and the bus will leave RRHS at 6:00 a.m. for College Station, returning by 10:00 p.m.  All activity events, meals, and the event t-shirt are covered for you through A&M and the engineering activity fund.  Also, don't forget to fill out the required RRISD and TAMU permission/behavior forms.

Students may attend the Edison Lecture series with us this year on Feb 6.  The bus will leave from the 700 bldg bus loop at 10:00 a.m. and return by 2:00 - in time for C Lunch.  The topic this year will be Mobile Computing, so you can expect exhibits related to the challenges of mobile computing and hear UT professors talk about the challenges of solving problems surrounding making our computing power more mobile as give some insights as to what you can expect to see as the "next big thing". If you are interested, sign up on the form below so that I know who will be attending and (of course) fill out the required permission forms.


This week at RRHS
Report cards will (now) be sent home on Thursday, a day later due to the weather cancellation on Tuesday.

DE students can earn credit through ACC based solely on your course grade (no EoC exam requirement).  The credit would automatically show up on your ACC transcript if you qualify once you enroll in classes at ACC.  A letter was sent home last week offering you the opportunity to "opt out" of using your social security number as the ACC identification number for this process.  Any student who does NOT return the letter signed by his or her parents will have their social security number assigned as the student ID for ACC.  Please make sure to return these or contact me if you have any questions.

Week of January 13

This week in IED
IED students will continue working on the many Inventor modelling tools this week.  Once we complete that, late this week, we will move on to reverse engineering - looking at the form, fit, and function of an existing design to determine how it can be improved.

If you are interested in the Texas A&M Engineering Expo, to be held March 22, find some of your friends to form a team and sign up via the form below.  Note that there are 2 forms that are required by A&M as well as 2 forms required by me in order to join a team for this event.  Be sure that you complete all of the forms quickly so that your team gets their first choice of competitions.

This week at RRHS
Herff-Jones will be on campus Wednesday & Thursday for seniors to order caps & gowns. Be sure to stop by their table in the 1100 bldg during lunches to get yours ordered.

College Visits
Monday (1/13) - Harvard

Texas A&M Engineering Expo
The Student Engineer's Council at Texas A&M has combined the FADE competition from the past with the physics and science departments festival to create the Texas A&M Engineering Expo.  The expo includes several design competitions, including one in which student teams create an alternative energy car that must travel across a 30 foot bridge and deliver the maximum amount of energy (impact, hit, crush) to a 3" diameter target on the other side.  You may form the teams from students at RRHS, and we will cover the team entry fee and bus transportation for you.  For planning purposes, I need to know who is going and on what teams.  You need to fill out the Google Docs form below so that I can get the information necessary.  In addition, you MUST fill out both the TAMU release forms and the RRISD forms.