TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Robot Design Challenges
Through the two lessons and five activities in this unit, students' knowledge of sensors and motors is integrated with programming logic as they perform complex tasks using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots and software.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is a Computer Program?
Through four lesson and four activities, students are introduced to the logic behind programming using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Do Sensors Work?
Through six lesson/activity sets, students learn about the functioning of sensors, both human and robotic
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Are Gears? What Do They Do?
Learners are introduced to an important engineering element- the gear. This prepares them to apply this knowledge in four associated activities in order to create successful solutions to design challenges that use LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is a Program?
Using a few blindfolds and a simple taped floor maze exercise, students come to understand that computers rely completely upon instructions given in programs and thus programs must be comprehensive and thorough. Then students learn to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Do You Make a Program Wait?
Building on the programming basics learned so far in a corresponding Robotics unit, students learn how to program using sensors rather than by specifying exact durations. Working with the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots and software, they...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Do You Make Loops and Switches?
Students learn how to program using loops and switches. Using the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots, sensors and software, student pairs perform three mini programming activities using loops and switches individually, and then combined.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is Bluetooth?
Students learn about electrical connections, how they work, and their pervasiveness in our world. Two specific skills explored are Morse code and the function of Bluetooth. Using bluetooth, they control LEGO robots remotely from Android...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Are We Like Robots?
Students explore the similarities between how humans move and walk and how robots move, so they come to see the human body as a system from an engineering point-of-view. Movement results from decision making (deciding to walk and move)...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is a Robot?
This lesson introduces students to the major characteristics of robots. The associated activity uses the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT system as an example. Before studying robots in more detail, it is important for students to consider the many...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Does a Robot Work?
This lesson introduces electricity, batteries and motors using a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot. The associated activity guides young scholars to build a simple LEGO NXT set-up and see the practical implementation of the concepts discussed....
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Do Human Sensors Work?
This instructional activity highlights the similarities between human sensors and their engineering counterparts. Taking this approach enables students to view the human body as a system, that is, from the perspective of an engineer....
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is a Sensor?
Learners gain a rigorous background in the primary human sensors, as preparation for comparing them to some electronic equivalents in the associated activity.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is a Motor? How Does a Rotation Sensor Work?
Students learn about electric motors and rotational sensors. They create a basic program using the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT interface to control a motor to move a small robot.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Does a Touch Sensor Work?
Students look at human senses and their electronic imitators, with special focus on the skin and touch sensors. They have a chance to handle and get familiar with the LEGO touch sensor, including programming LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Does a Sound Sensor Work?
Students learn about how sound sensors work, reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of hearing. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to appreciate how robots can take sensor input and use it to make...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Does a Light Sensor Work?
A mini-activity, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT intelligent bricks and light sensors gives students a chance to investigate how light sensors function in preparation for the associated activity involving the light sensors and taskbots.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Foucault Pendulum
Students learn about the Foucault pendulum, an engineering tool used to demonstrate and measure the Earth's rotation. Student groups then create small experimental versions, each comprised of a pendulum and a video camera mounted on a...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Does an Ultrasonic Sensor Work?
Students learn how ultrasonic sensors work, reinforcing the connection between this sensor and how humans, bats, and dolphins estimate distance.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Timing a Speedbot!
Students strengthen their communication skills by first learning the meaning of base units and derived units. Then, working in groups, students measure the time for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots and calculate the robots' average speeds at...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Claw
Students learn about gear ratios and power by operating toy mechanical cranes of differing gear ratios. They attempt to pick up objects with various masses to witness how much power must be applied to the system to oppose the force of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Fence That Farmland!
Students develop and solidify their understanding of the concept of perimeter as they engage in a portion of the civil engineering task of land surveying, using the technology of a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot to automate this task.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Projectile Motion
Students are introduced to the concept of projectile motion, of which they are often familiar from life experiences,such as playing sports such as basketball or baseball, even though they may not understand the physics involved. Students...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Save the Stuffed Animal! Push & Pull
Students develop an understanding of the concepts of "push" and "pull" as they "save" stuffed animals from danger using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robots. After learning more about the concepts through a robot demonstration, students explore...