Robotics Parent Letter

Robotics Parent Letter

My name is Mr. Merrill and I teach Robotics at Shadow Hills Design and Engineering Magnet Academy. I am really excited about the opportunities your child will have in my class. We have the largest robotics lab in the Antelope Valley, and tons of technology. The Palmdale School District has invested heavily in my program and they are committed to giving your child the opportunity to learn advanced skills. During the year, I teach five different robotics classes:

           2nd, 4th, 5th, & 6th Period Lego Robotic Programming using Labview

3rd Period Lego Structures

1st Period Advanced Lego Robotics

In addition to the classwork mentioned above, I also have opportunities for students to become members of the award winning Shadow Hills Falconbots Robotics Team. Our team participates in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL). This is our 7th year of existence and we have had a great run of success over the years. I am always looking for new 6th and 7th grade students to join our team (sorry 8th grade students, but the season begins in August). I’m looking for students who have taken a robotics class, have shown skill in my classroom, and exhibit a passion for LEGO robotics. Taking one of my classes as a 6th or 7th grader is the first step towards becoming a Falconbot. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to be recognized at the Shadow Hills 8th graduation by completing the Robotics Pathway. Completion of this pathway is done by completing every robotics course at Shadow Hills (there are six total) and becoming a FLL robotics team member. For more information regarding FLL and the Robotics Pathway, do not hesitate to contact me.

Class Descriptions

LEGO Robotic Programming: This course is a self-paced tutorial-based program that teaches my students how to program the LEGO EV3 robot using Labview. This is an introductory course and is not a typical lecture type class. During the semester, I spend very little time lecturing in this class. I am mainly a facilitator to your child’s path to programming knowledge. My students use the Carnegie Mellon Introduction to EV3 Programming website to access the lessons and videos that will teach them how to program their robots. They have their own computer and robot. Furthermore, they have complete freedom to move around the classroom to collaborate with their fellow students and complete the physical and virtual tasks required by the curriculum. There is no homework in this class. All course work is done within the class, so attendance is essential. If you would like to see what the program looks like, you can access my website at:

 https://sites.google.com/a/palmdalesd.org/falconrobotics/website-builder/home/lego-activity-guide

Materials Needed: Your child will need to purchase a 100 page Composition Notebook to keep track of their progress throughout the semester.

LEGO Structures: This course teaches your child how to build with LEGO bricks. This is also an introductory course, and is a part lecture and part lab class. Your child will be learning the principles of simple machines using LEGO bricks. The class begins by teaching your child the basics of LEGO terminology, levers, inclined planes, screws, pulleys, and gears. The last half of the class puts all of that knowledge together and transitions into motorized applications and the use of pneumatics.  Each lesson follows a “We Do” and “You Do” philosophy. This means that we build models together while learning basic scientific principles and finish by applying what we learned into project based open-ended builds. I also provide many opportunities for students to show off their building skills with competitions. There is no homework for this class. All the builds for this course are completed within the class, so attendance is essential. If you would like to see a list of the models we will be building this semester, you can access my website at:

https://sites.google.com/a/palmdalesd.org/falconrobotics/website-builder/home/lego-structures

VEX IQ Robotic Programming: This course is a self-paced tutorial-based program that teaches my students how to program the VEX IQ robot using Graphical RobotC. This is an introductory course and is not a typical lecture type class. During the semester, I spend very little time lecturing in this class. I am mainly a facilitator to your child’s path to programming knowledge. My students use the Carnegie Mellon Introduction to VEX IQ Programming website to access the lessons and videos that will teach them how to program their robots. They have their own computer and robot. Furthermore, they have complete freedom to move around the classroom to collaborate with their fellow students and complete the physical tasks required by the curriculum. There is no homework in this class. All course work is done within the class, so attendance is essential. If you would like to see what the program looks like, you can access my website at:

https://sites.google.com/a/palmdalesd.org/falconrobotics/website-builder/home/graphical-vex-iq-activity-log

Materials Needed: Your child will need to purchase a 100 page Composition Notebook to keep track of their progress throughout the semester.

Advanced Lego and VEX IQ Programming & Structures:  This course continues the lessons learned in both the programming and structures classes, and enrollment is by invitation only. The first semester is for Lego and the second semester is for VEX IQ. The advanced Lego course extends the knowledge learned in the previous classes. It starts by learning more advanced programming techniques and ends with several open-ended projects that will show case their robotic skill and knowledge. This class is led by student inquiry and the content can change based on the interests of my students. However, we will be creating and programming Lego Sumo robots and great ball contraptions to name a few. This class also contains my FLL team members who will spend some class time preparing for their competitions. The advanced VEX IQ class is for 8th grade students exclusively and represents the culmination of their robotic lessons. This course follows the basic formula laid out in the advanced Lego course in the first semester. Again, the class is inquiry based and can change based on the interest of my students. We learn basic and advanced VEX IQ building and programming techniques. We will complete many projects that will show case their knowledge such as engineering building projects, robot soccer, battlebots, and the assembly line challenge.

Here are some videos you can watch from my YouTube Channel that highlight our Battlebot competition and Assembly Line Challenge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8HkOCoEmo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCLlTuhvkQ&t=12s

Materials Needed: None

To complete the Robotics Parent Letter Assignment, please send me an email. Please include your child's name and period in the subject line :)

sdmerrill@palmdalesd.org