Technology @ Hebron

For the final part of the Conceptual Physics project based around car design, students had to prep their 3D printed cars for the test ramp and were then given three chances to record their fastest speed down the ramp (recorded with a radar sensor) and longest distance travelled off the ramp. Any car that did not make it down the ramp was disqualified for that turn.

We then finished off the project by running racing heats side-by-side to see which of the cars in each class was the fastest to a specified finish line at the end of the ramp. We even raced the fastest design against the best car from last years project.

Here are a few shots from the race prep and race day classes and a close-up of some of the finished designs the students created using the 3D printer and Tinkercad:

And finally, a YouTube playlist of some of the different cars heading down the testing ramp is embedded below:

As in previous years US History students took a trip this trimester to Boston. They spent the day walking along the Freedom Trail and, in groups, documenting the tour by taking pictures and movies with their iPads. Once back in school they had to work in their groups to put together a professional video, edited with either iMovie or the Clips app, recreating their walking tour from the different footage and photographs they had taken.

Using either of these apps students had to go through several production steps to complete their films, including: collecting together clips and photographs on to one iPad; constructing their timeline – ordering/trimming clips & images together; adding titles – including an intro title and credits; removing any unwanted audio and recording any additional voice over; watching through the entire video to check for any editing errors; and finally saving, renaming and sharing their finished movie.

Here are a couple of examples of the completed tours, again made using photographs and video from the trip and either the Clips app or iMovie:

A project that Freshmen complete every year in their Conceptual Physics course is designing and creating cars that are raced down a ramp and measured for speed and distance travelled. Students design their cars completely using Tinkercad to create parts to be printed on the 3D printer.

The project started with an introduction to professional car design based around this video from BMW. We talked through the three main steps of: drawing and sketching their design ideas; prototyping using clay to create a 3D model; and then manufacture. We also spent some time discussing wheel design and how wheels could be attached to the main body of their cars.

We then worked through these same steps using the sketching tools in the Notability app (or pen and paper) to create 2D designs, professional-grade modeling clay to create their prototypes and finally Tinkercad to design their car parts for the 3D printer for manufacturing.

A selection of photos of the students working on their iPads and in the Library iMac lab, some of their car sketches, clay prototypes and a selection of the finished printed models can be seen below:

To wrap-up the academic year here is a compilation video showing off the breadth and depth of technology integration projects completed this year using the iPads, Chromebooks, the two computers labs and the 3D printer. Most of the projects included in the video have been written about on this blog and you can browse the different Tech in the Classroom posts using this link.

Students were assigned a decade beginning with the end of WWI to the modern day. With that specific time period, students gathered information on specific people, places and things (actual things or events) that had a significant impact at that time and made a significant contribution to the people, places and things to come in future decades.

They then turned this research into a multimedia timeline using the Timeline 3D app on their iPads. This was presented to the class in 3D with the students scrolling through their events, but you can click on the images below to see a couple of examples of the completed timelines as one large document.

Ms. Hanby, History Teacher

Throughout the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Behavior course students examined, discussed and attempted to rationalize horrendous events in human history. Genocide, ethnic cleansing and slavery; racial, religious and gender supremacy, terrorism and collateral damage. The goal was to encourage students to reflect on these elements in the realm of Patterns of Human Behavior and Portraits of Human Greatness.

Having taken the time to separate the victims from the perpetrators, analyze the bystanders as well as highlight the characteristics of heroes in all manners of definition, students then created a digital, interactive poster incorporating these overarching themes.

Ms. Hanby, History Teacher

Using the new Google Sites, for their end of year exam Spanish I students created cultural websites based around a Spanish speaking country of their choice. The sites had to contain a page covering the basic information about their country, a specific topics pages highlighting one specific area about that country, a day in the life of page and a grammar lesson video page. And using the different tools and options inside Google Sites they had to customizes the design of each page and neatly layout their text, images and multimedia objects.

Screenshots illustrating the different page layouts and designs can be seen below: