What To Cover In a Short "DIY Tech" Course?

edumacator writes "Our school is working hard to provide our students with relevant opportunities of study. We have a short 'seminar' period that meets three days a week for thirty minutes. I've chosen to teach a seminar on 'Home Grown Technology' even though I'm an English teacher and only an amateur techie. If you had thirty minutes, three days a week, for nine weeks, what would you teach a group of high school students? I'm considering the Wii-mote smartboard and multitouch displays, but I'm afraid I'm overreaching."

Comments

Lego Mindstorms

[Ethanol-fueled]

Lego Mindstorms would be a good, fun place to start.

Engineering! Fun and applicable!

[sh()gun]

I've always thought that teaching something that combined science, engineering, and Vo-Tek would be highly practical in high school.

How about Small Engines? You can buy a small lawnmower engine (and a manual) and teach them principles of mechanics and combustion while also levening parts of "how things work" as well as basic repair techniques. Eventually you put the thing back together and start it up. You can even show how to mess with it to trick it out or solve common problems.

Not only would this get kids interested in science and engineering, but it would be practical.

Re:Engineering! Fun and applicable!

[apoc.famine]

That's a damn good idea. Another one would be to teach nothing at all. Seriously.
 
There is sooooo much DYI tech that's been done floating around. Just expose them to it. HD video from the edge of space on a weather balloon. Multi-stage water-rockets which can go up 1km. Homebrew wifi antennas which can cover miles. Diesel-electric engines crammed into sedans. Ruben's tubes. Railguns.
 
Rather than teach, expose them. Show them what's been done. Challenge them to go beyond that. The point of DIY tech is it's...."do it YOURSELF!" It's not "have my teacher show me how to do it".
 
Seed their dreams, and let them figure the rest out.

Digital Electronics.

[camperdave]

First I'd teach some basics: Ohm's law, serial/parallel circuits, etc. Then using a transistor as a switch to turn LEDs and/or relays on and off. Then build up some AND and OR gates, followed by some address decoding and control logic. Throw in some parallel port I/O stuff in as well.

DIY Tech?

[odin84gk]

This sounds a little broad. Are you looking at it from a hacker scene? Electronics and Mechanical building? Electrical, mechanical, and chemical technology?

Most of the projects posted on blog.makezine.com would be a good starting point. While the wii is cool, it only touches on a small number of technologies. I would recommend having a final project in mind, and developing the skills required to finish that final project. For example,

1.) Basic electronics (How to solder). Use a kit from ladyada or sparkfun.com. If you get a small enough kit, a beginner can solder a kit in less than 10 minutes. (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9206 might be fun). Addon: How to use a voltmeter
2.) Basic programming (Create a simple program on the PC).
3.) Basic woodworking: How to use a drill, saw, and other tools Safely.
4.) Basic Plastic/Metal working: Create a professionally looking project enclosure. (Look at the proper glues, cutting methods, tricks for a decent enclosure)
5.) Basic Chemistry: Creating a mold, possibly making gears for # 6
6.) Basic Mechanical: Creating a gearbox
7.) Basic Plumbing/hydrolics/pneumatics: How to get water/air from point A to point B
8.) ...

The best programs will have an end project in mind, such as a small car or an elaborate prank. Each step will be directly related to the final product, giving the students a purpose and motivation to do well.