"Asking the Right Questions": The Cornerstone of Problem Solving

The goal of the Engineering Projects class (3rd Period) is to give our students the experience and tools for a great start on the path of technical leadership.

For the 2nd Semester, students will team up and select a topic to present on that will help us all gain insight on how to attack problems worth solving.

Here are the slides from our discussion this morning. If you're looking for a good read over break, consider one of the books listed below. The core concepts of these books will help improve your understanding of how to choose problems worth tackling and techniques you can use to enhance direction, alignment and commitment from those you collaborate with:

UNO

Speaking of integrated circuits (see the Google post beneath this), some hardware arrived today for our Principles of Engineering students just in time for the holiday.

What could these be?:

Why is an Integrated Circuit on Google Today?

Click through here to find out why people like Steve Jobs looked to Robert Noyce as a mentor.

Tiki Smasher!!!

Marco and Hunter have been putting together a little game in our Engineering Projects class.

"Tiki Smasher"! Coming soon to a smart phone near you...

"I Love It When A Plan Comes Together"...

... well, we hope this one comes together!

4th Period reminded me there was a Holiday Door Decoration contest and was enthusiastic to participate. So we took today to brainstorm/prototype some engineering based decoration solutions.

Having an impromptu contest pop up is the perfect way to engage our Creative Problem Solving minds and it was neat to see how effective the class was at developing concepts and informally collaborating:





The proof is in the pudding however so we'll see if we're able to get something organized. Judging is after lunch tomorrow so we don't have a lot of time!

Contests/Problems seem to bring the best out of our teams. My goal is to have all of our efforts revolve around team based problems/challenges and I am working to that end.

6th Period Puzzle Cubes in Progress

How Many Pieces are Possible?

We've had some great debates about how many puzzle pieces you can make with 5 cubes.

Here is one students start at a list of possible parts using 3, 4, 5 and 6 cubes. These are very nicely drawn (please use this as a standard to achieve in your part drawings):



I found the following list of solutions online. How many combinations are there with 5 cubes?

? - What math can we use to predict how many possible part combinations there are?
? - Do all of these parts meet our design criteria/constraints?

Puzzle Cube Challenge

Puzzle Cube Criteria and Constraints
• Given 27 wood blocks, assemble a 3x3x3 puzzle cube.
• The cube must be made of 5 puzzle pieces, no more, no less.
• Each puzzle piece may be assembled from 3 to 6 wood blocks.
• You may not repeat any of the puzzle pieces in a given cube.
• Make your cube as challenging to solve as possible! (we'll have a contest!)


Deliverables

1) Possible Puzzle Pieces
• How many individual puzzle pieces are possible for 3, 4, 5 and 6 cubes?
• Draw as many as you can with a 1:1 ratio of squares to cubes on isometric graph paper.
• Submitted and graded as a team effort.

2) 2 or More Puzzle Cube Solutions
• Use your 27 cubes and tape to model at least two possible cube solutions.
• Solutions must adhere to our Criteria and Constraints.
• Record the puzzle pieces for each of your solutions on isometric paper.
• Use the shading techniques we've learned for isometric drawings.
• Choose a solution and specify why you selected it.

3) Build Your Cube
• Use Elmer's glue to glue up the pieces of your chosen solution.
• Color each piece of your cube a distinct color using our class crayons.

4) Step By Step Instructions
• Using isometric paper, create step by step instructions that shows how to solve your cube.
• Each step must show the assembly from the previous step and how the next piece fits in with them ("x+y=z").
• Use the shading techniques we've learned for isometric drawings.

5) CAD Modelling
• Create an assembly of each of your pieces in Inventor.
• Create an assembly of your entire cube in Inventor.
• Create Multiview drawings of each of your pieces in Inventor.
• Create an explosion of your cube assembly in an Inventor Presentation (.ipn) file.
• Animate your explosoion. Make sure you sequence the movement of your pieces so that they don't overlap each other while in motion.
• Record your animation and post the video to your blog.

Renewable Insulation Challenge!

The largest amount of energy consumed within the average home is related to maintaining adequate climate control through heating and cooling systems. To conserve energy and decrease expenses associated with climate control, proper home insulation techniques are required. Insulation technologies relating to materials and application have advanced throughout the home building industry with time. The home building industry once relied on straw and newspaper for insulating material. The industry currently utilizes technology such as fiberglass and blown expandable foam. Insulation material advancement is driven by consumers demanding insulation material designed for high insulation value along with positive occupant health and environmental impact. Many homeowners today are designing new “green” homes. To meet the needs of green consumers, insulation manufacturers are developing insulating materials made from recycled products such as jeans, t-shirts, and other low volatile organic products that can be treated with boric acid. Manufacturers have found that going green has other benefits to the homeowner as well, such as cotton’s ability to provide excellent soundproofing.





Criteria:
• Design a renewable composite insulation material.
• Achieve the highest R value in the class with your design.



Design Constraints:
• Composite insulation material must have overall uniform thickness less than or equal to one inch.
• Composite insulation material must have consistent internal composition.
• Individual insulation material(s) must be environmentally friendly.
• Individual insulation material(s) must be recyclable.
• Individual insulation material(s) must be economical.
• Composite insulation material dimensions must not exceed the overall dimensions of Heat box apparatus top.



Measurements and Calculations
See class handout


Conclusion Questions

1. Explain how your house might lose energy through radiation.



2. What modifications could be made to your team’s insulation design that allow for more energy efficiency?



3. Which beverage would be more beneficial for cooling you on a hot summer day – a cup of ice cold water or a cup of hot cocoa? Justify your choice.



4. How do birds insulate their bodies to prevent energy loss on the skin’s surface?

Where's This?

Does this look familiar to anyone?

A team in the Engineering Projects class has been working on modelling a familiar location.

Binary Counting

This is a neat video that Dan shared with me. Digital data ultimately is a series of 1s and 0s. We had talked about this in a few of our classes and this video can help you visualize a counting system based on switches:

Nice Guys Finish First

Congratulations to our Boys Water Polo team for seizing the CIF championships this evening. It was a nail biter of a game! Two periods of overtime followed by a round of sudden death. Good thing we have the week off 'cause I'm too hoarse from yelling to want to do much talking on Monday.

Special congratulations to all of our Engineering Water Polo contingent, in particular Nick, Joe and John.

This game was fun for me to watch. It was hosted at my old stomping grounds, LJHS. I got to watch the game with Dr. Petterson, my childhood buddy who played varsity goalie all four years of our high school era. He really knows his stuff and it was like having my own personal commentator to point out all the intricacies of this gripping match. I learned a lot.

The Bishops and Islanders teams line up to start the game:


Story is the split between expecation and outcome. The Islanders set us up for a great story this evening by letting Bishops take an early lead of 0-3. It was looking grim for some time.

The game was tied up by the fourth quarter and after two periods of overtime, the score was tied up yet again. The game progressed into a final Sudden Death:


Amazing! The Islander's score in sudden death to clench the title!:


How many people can you count in the pool? Yes, that's more than both the teams... extatic Islanders were jumping in from the stands! What an exciting game.

Lego Time!

We had some quality building going on today. Here are some of the guys from 6th Period hard at work:


Each student selected 25-30 pieces in turn from the available pool of parts. This meant it was more challenging to come up with a compelling design. Never the less, everyone seemed to create something interesting.

Will made an awesome chicken!:


Lexi made this neat tree that looks straight out of an 8 bit video game:


It's not easy making something from scratch. Nice job today 5th and 6th periods.

Lego Dims

These Lego dimensions will be helpful for a project we start after Thanksgiving (assuming the District gets our Inventor licenses sorted out!).

What is this below and what might we be doing with them?...

"Cooperate and Graduate"

We've been spending a lot of time in our Engineering Design sections working on team based technical drawing quizes. Learning to work with colleagues is an important career skill. Here's a clip from tonight's 60 minutes that backs me up.





This is a CBS/60 Minutes video so please excuse any advertisements the player forces you to watch...

Service

It was thoughtful of the PTO to leave a nice Veteran's Day note for me at yesterday's luncheon they put on for all the CHS teachers. Thank you for the thought and also for the excellent food (apparently catered by Sapori if anyone has the chance to eat there).



It is the spirit of service, and the goal of spreading a design thinking mindset, that has me excited about the courses I'm developing to encourage leadership and innovation. I gained great experience as a servant leader in the Army and am happy to have a chance to put these skills to good use again. With any of my efforts teaching, I have the student's best interests at heart.

I had some amazing adventures when I was in the Army 10+ years ago. Here are a few pictures from that era:

LT Olson as "Apache 16": Platoon Leader 1-A-1-4IN


Preparing to depart on a night infiltration. Last minute coordination at the Tactical Operations Center meant I hadn't camoed up yet.


CPT Olson on the left. One day prior to conducting a Motorized Rifle Regement attack (100+ armored vehicles rolling out). Which piece of equipment that I'm carrying is the most important to this dismounted reconnaissance mission?


Despite being an Infantry Officer, I spent *a lot* of time maneuvering combined arms armored units (Tanks + APCs). Don't let the smile fool you, a few days in the snow in a metal box gets cold fast (although I did love this work!)...

Flat Top

What's going up on the deck of the Carl Vinson?

Find out more about tomorrow's game here.

Turn Off "Word Verification" Please! :)

Engineers,

I love to provide feedback on your posts. When I have to enter word verification over and over on the comments I leave, it starts to make me a little crazy!




Please turn word verification off on your blogs!

Go to Settings>Comments on your blogger control panel:



Scroll down and find the word verification section. Select "No":


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3rd Period - I'm Out Today!

Hi 3rd Period,

It looks like I'm going to miss our class as well today. Dane's Nanny called in sick this morning so I'm stuck at home! I love my time with Dane but I wasn't expecting this change of plan today.

Please continue working today on the Scrum tasks you've comitted to.

We will have a scrum meeting on Thursday and review:

1) What you've done
2) What you plan on doing
3) Any roadblocks you've encountered

Thanks,

Mr. Olson

2nd Period - Tasks While I'm Out!

Dear 2nd Period,

I'm attending the School District's strategic planning meeting this morning. Please work on the following in the listed priority. I expect you all will complete #1 (The Deep Dive). Any extra time after that is a chance to get going on #2. #3 is very good so take a look at that if you have time.

Thanks!

Mr. Olson


1) Watch and complete The Deep Dive, an introduction to "Design Thinking" (this may be familiar to a few of you!)
2) Review and begin thinking about who you'd like to talk to for your Professional Interview assignment.
3) Steve Jobs' Stanford Comencement Speech