Superadvertising 2014!!!

Whether the Superbowl is a good game or not, you can always count on companies and advertising agencies to bring out their "A game" for the commercials. What was your favorite add that you saw?

I thought this one was pretty funny last year. My dog Lucy has a bit of a "goaty" look at times and she can be a real beggar for food so this commercial resonated :)


Advertising isn't engineering, but as designers and problem solvers, there are some interesting considerations worth thinking about. Any technical project takes planning and money and there's a risk/reward payoff for the venture just like with these commercials.


To add a little variety to this week's CAD work, please complete the following on your online portfolio:

- What commercial most caught your attention this year? Use html code to embed the video on your blog.

- What about the commercial made it memorable?

- How much does it cost to air a commercial during the super bowl?

- What other expenses go into producing a commercial? What kinds of costs might these activities incur? (there's not a "right" or "wrong" answer for this, do some google research and justify a value)

- How many "widgets" (whatever the company is selling) will the company have to sell to cover the cost of their commercial? Share some math that justifies your answer.

- Do you think this ad will cover it's costs directly (sell as many "widgets" as it cost to produce and air)? Does a superbowl ad have value beyond direct sales that it generates?

App Development!

Would anyone be excited about an app development course? The idea had been brought up and had administration traction (not sure where things stand now with the looming staff cuts...)

Here we have Sam, Jason and Marshall testing out Thirsty Dwarf! They're going to try their hand at building some custom sprites...

Guys, here is a sprite sheet you can reference for your sprite work:

Lego Robotics Challenge!

The Principles of Engineering courses are starting their units on robotics! We will begin with a series of introductory challenges that will create some opportunities to think about software and hardware integration in the context of machine inputs and outputs.

Autonomous Challenge 01 - "Straight Line" race

• Create an autonomous vehicle with Lego Robotics parts (task) in order so that it will traverse a 3ft straight line course. This activity serves as an intro/familiarization to your Lego Robotics kits (purpose).
• Design, build, document and share your solution.

Autonomous Challenge 02 - "Bent" course race

• Modify your design so that it can navigate a course with a turn in it (see layout at the back of the room). This change is designed to make you implement a solution that requires some sort of sensor input.
• Design, build, document and share your solution.

Share your experience to this point on your online portfolio:

• Intro
• 2-3 sentences summarizing what we're up to.
• Write from the perspective that the reader is not familiar with our course/efforts.
• Challenge Review
• Challenge 1 - straight course
• Photo of course to set context of challenge
• Build photo
• Competition/Action photo
• Describe outcome
• Feedback: describe things to sustain and things to improve
• Challenge 2 - "bent" course
• Photo of course to set context for design change
• Build photo
• Be sure to describe how you addressed the change to the challenge
• Competition/Action photo
• Describe outcome
• Feedback: describe things to sustain and things to improve

Engineering Projects: "Masterpiece" Overview

We're talking through these in class today to introduce your "Masterpiece" effort. We will go into more detail as far as how you can earn "XP Points" at a later time.

Professional Interview

A primary objective of our Engineering courses is to give our students a perspective on the different fields of engineering one could pursue beyond High School. What better way to work towards this awareness than to conduct an interview with an engineer?


A selection of interesting people with engineering backgrounds. How many of these people can you name?:

























Overview
Conduct a personal interview with a professional in the field of engineering, engineering technology, or another high-tech, high-demand field. Interview documentation must follow the outline format described below and consists of three major components: Professional Background; Interview; Interviewer Reflection. Completed interview documentation must be posted to your online portfolio (blog).


1. Discuss with your instructor who you would like to interview. Obtain instructor approval.

2. Contact the person you will be interviewing and obtain consent.


Professional Background

3. Gather the information below. Use the buddy system for all interviews. No interviews are to be conducted in private

a. Interviewee name:

b. Interviewee’s specific degree:

c. Interviewee’s place of employment:

d. Interviewee’s email address and/or phone:


Professional Interview

4. Conduct your interview. Be sure to cover the following questions. Are there any other questions you'd like to ask?

· Please describe your engineering field.



· What is your current job title?



· Please describe your particular job and duties.



· What is your average work schedule?



· Starting with high school, describe your educational background chronologically.



· If you had it to do over, related to your career or education, would you do anything differently?



· What advice would you give to me as someone interested in pursuing a career path similar to yours?


Personal Reflection

5. Reflect on your completed interview and answer the following questions. You may also add additional reflections or thoughts.

a. What surprised you the most about the interview?

b. What was the most important piece of information that you learned form the interview?

c. How has this interview influenced your feelings about your future career?