In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Vista Teach Instructional Services

Offering a completely mobile S.T.E.M. Education Program!

2012 - 2013 PROGRAM INFORMATION

Students, Grades 1–8:

•LEGO Robotics – hands-on, building & programming

•Logo Programming – high-level, recursive programming

•Scratch Programming – game & simulation programming

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Vista Teach Instructional Services Sue Sorrentino, M.S. Education Program Director Phone: 585-414-7170 Email: sue@vistateach.biz Website: www.vistateach.biz

At Vista Teach, our LEGO Robotics courses are all about learning while having fun, where the best learning happens. We bring professional equipment ($50,000+) and highly qualified, NYS certified teachers right into the classroom and provide a hands-on, interactive experience. We specifically provide proprietary, comprehensive, and meaningful instruction we have successfully developed and implemented, over the last four years.

And, of course, we are well-known for our exceptional classroom management skills with effectively managing today’s energetic & enthusiastic students as well as managing and continually organizing(!) thousands of “little plastic LEGO elements” – whew!…

All we require are secured classrooms & tables – we are a completely mobile and turn-key, full-service, educational provider!

Does robotics education sound a little futuristic to you? Actually, robotics education is taking the education world by storm. Today around 10% of schools in the United States have a robotics program preparing students for participating in a wide variety of robotics competitions. These competitions appeal to the competitive nature of students and incorporate physics, mathematics, programming, problem solving, teamwork and leadership skills.

LEGO Robotics Courses…

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Robotics Systems Taught:

LEGO WeDo Robotics (Grades 2-4, as well as Grade 1 enrichment students) •This robotics system is great for introducing students to foundational building and programming concepts providing more seamless transitioning to the LEGO NXT-G Robotics System designed for middle school students and used in National & International FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Tournaments. Students are provided laptop computers, LEGO construction kits, motors, sensors, etc. Check out our exciting videos at www.vistateach.biz

LEGO Motorized Mechanisms (Grades 3 through 5) •Utilizing LEGO Mechanisms with LEGO WeDo Robotics and hundreds of other uniquely customized LEGO pieces, motors, battery boxes, IR receivers, controllers, etc. – students are provided both structural as well as high-level programming challenges: CLICK HERE for sample challenges

LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics (Grades 5 and up) •Using the official FLL Tournament NXT Base & Resource Sets and NXT 2.1 programming software, students are taught foundational building and programming concepts in preparation for participation on FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Teams. Along with learning programming concepts as well as creating their own programs for solving specific problems and missions, students are also taught how to test the functionality of their models, problem-solve, etc. Specific training activities include: detecting touch, distance, dark line; line-following; calibrating sensors, navigation and manipulation using sensors etc. Students are encouraged to build and program smart robots with finding ways to incorporate navigation points on the game field and analyze where they are in reference to their targets using various methods and sensors (limiting the use of odometry, or dead reckoning). CLICK HERE for sample lessons

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Logo Courses - Grades 2-8 (and beyond)…

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Logo is a high-level, recursive programming language noted for its ease of use and graphics capabilities.

Logo's syntax is more understandable for novices and can easily be understood by very young children.

Logo's graphics language is called turtle graphics, which allows complex graphics images to be created

with a minimum of coding.

Logo is the simplest programming language and was developed by Seymour Papert in 1968. It was

developed originally as a teaching tool.

Students can also draw

their Logo programs

using the built-in holder

and a felt-tip pen on the

Pro-Bots!

Mandlebrot Inspired Fractal Exploration

Fractals are based on a set of mathematical principles Benoit Mandlebrot developed to model patterns in the natural world showing repeating patterns at different scales. Logo and recursive Logo procedures offer an intuitive and accessible way to explore fractals with programming specific Logo procedures and commands.

Vista Teach provides students with laptop computers, programming software, Pro-Bots, felt-tip pens, along with our: proprietary, comprehensive, and meaningful curriculum…

“Using Scratch, we learn how to design, think, collaborate, communicate, analyze, and

program in a computer language.” – Michael Badger

Use Scratch to: •Demonstrate math concepts (when teaching variables, set up an interactive game that uses a variable to keep score or moves based on the variable data; also, Scratch can easily demonstrate the X and Y coordinate system)

•Inspire students to read and write with having them animate each scene or the total story. Turn their persuasive essay into a Scratch project!

•Have a student who only wants to play video games? Make a deal. They can play only the games he or she creates and programs in Scratch…

•Programming concepts covered in Scratch: Conditional Statements, Loops (Iteration), Boolean Logic, Variables, Arrays (Lists), Synchronization and Coordination, Threads, Dynamic Interaction, Random Numbers, etc.

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Grades 3 and beyond…

Programming

Our In-School Programs include:

•Three, 1.5-hour instructional course sessions per day (with additional time needed for class prep including set-up & take-down before and after each session)

•Servicing 10-20 students per course session depending upon the specific programs chosen

•Each of the 3 instructional courses runs for 3.5 weeks for a total of 10.5 hours per individual course session with the (following) second 3.5-week session offering a course repeat for new class of students or choice of different course offerings for the same or new class of students – see Sample Program Schedule on next slide

•Two instructional days per week for a 7-week STEM Education, Enrichment Program

•Direct instruction by two NYS Certified Teachers trained in and utilizing comprehensive & proprietary course curriculum, along with providing all course materials, including:

•Student hands-outs, data tables, course requirements, (proprietary) Student Activity Manuals, etc.

•Laptop computers with all software programs, updates, etc.

•Our STEM Education courses include $50,000+ worth of professional equipment (IB’s, motors, sensors, etc.) providing each student the opportunity to build their own, individual models and smart robots!

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“Sample” In-School Quarter Schedule:

Let’s assume there is a heavier population of 3rd through 6th grade enrichment students. The following schedule is just one of many possible course (& time) configurations. We work closely with each school to custom tailor the best fit instructional programming.

1st 3.5 Weeks Tuesdays & Thursdays (10.5-hour sessions):

9:00-10:30 Intro to Logo Programming, Gr. 3 & 4 (10 students)

10:45-12:15 Intro to LEGO WeDo Robotics, Gr. 1 & 2 (15 students)

1:00 – 2:30 Intro to LEGO NXT Robotics, Gr. 5 & 6 (10 students)

2nd 3.5 Weeks Tuesdays & Thursdays (10.5-hour sessions):

9:00-10:30 Intro to Scratch Programming, Gr. 5 & 6 (10 students)

10:45-12:15 Intro to LEGO WeDo Robotics, Gr. 3 & 4 (20 students)

1:00 – 2:30 Intro to LEGO NXT Robotics, Gr. 5 & 6 (10 new students)

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Program Costs Included in our program costs:

•Professional level salaries for 2 NYS Certified Teachers

•63+ hours of instruction x 2 Instructors (not including ongoing “lab/materials” set-up fees)

•Did we mention our faculty members hold NYS Teaching Certifications as well as years of corporate experiences as Electrical, Mechanical, and Software Engineers? No wonder we are passionate about getting our students “hooked” on S.T.E.M. content areas aligned with evolving technologies!

•Staff salaries for all program prep work, including: inventorying, restocking, replacing parts (including used batteries), clearing out all student files – computers & IB Bricks (and re-charging), installing software updates, organizing and printing out all instructional materials & handouts, packing, transporting, unloading, repacking, etc.

•Use of all professional equipment ($50,000), including: laptop computers, programming software, numerous construction kits, motors, sensors, intelligent bricks (IBs), Pro-Bots, (proprietary) Student Activity Manuals, Official FLL Tournament Tables, Field Sets, Mission Structures, etc. – Each student works with approximately $1000 worth of professional equipment!

•End-of-Program Open House & Presentation – our “signature highlight” and most popular program event – highly attended by parents, family members, friends, etc…

Program cost: Contact Sue at sue@vistateach.biz for customizing a comprehensive, STEM Education Enrichment Program at your academic institution.

In-School Programs EDUCATION & ENRICHMENT

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Fan-tastic Challenge Steps to designing your Fan / Windmill

• Window fans use sensors in the form of switches to determine fan speed.

• Build your own fan that has a lever with a tilt sensor attached (be creative)

Initial test program:

• Program the fan to turn at a speed of 7 for 4 seconds

Challenge:

• Can you program your fan to gradually increase in speed from 1 to 10, then decrease all the way back down? (Remember…you are not needing to consider the switch with tilt sensor quite yet…)

Challenge Project #4:

Fan-tastic Challenge – continued… Challenge Project #4.1:

Okay, all you amazing robotics engineers, can you program your fan to use the tilt sensor to turn the fan at three different settings: off, medium, and high?

Ooops! We need to teach you a key programming concept before going any further. So… You need to (politely of course!) bug your instructor to let you in on this “little secret”…

Challenge Project #5B:

The CATAPULT!

Can you build and program… a self-loading CATAPULT?

Okay, builders and programmers, can you build a catapult that…

•Fires a 2x2 round brick when something/someone walks by? •Automatically reloads itself so it can be ready for the next unsuspecting target?

Hey, are you up for such a challenge? …Sure you are!!!

Challenge Project #5B:

STOP HERE! Time to complete your challenge project…

1. Use our provided “building bin lids” for gathering all elements, motors, USB hubs, etc. (Don’t forget to grab a USB extension cable!)

2. Let an instructor or assistant know when you are done and be prepared to discuss the following guiding questions:

1. How did you come up with your model design? What sensors did you use if any, and how did they function? Did you use gears or pulleys, or both? How many motors did you use?

2. How did you program your model?

3. How does your model perform?

4. What obstacles did you experience and how did you solve for them?

5. What else would you like to share?

BACK to Robotics System slide…

Challenge Project #5B:

BACK to Robotics System slide…