Course Overview:

The Industrial Technology Program at J.L. Stanford Middle School is a semester-long program concentrating on various aspects of mechanical, structural, and electrical engineering designed to excite and challenge all students. The program is meant to acquaint students with various aspects of technology with emphasis on hands-on experiences. The whole class program exposes students to both the practical skills as well as the more theoretical learning. Each unit of study will introduce basic tool skills and their related safety issues along with important math and science concepts. Some of the larger issues discussed include the social and environmental impact related to technology and manufacturing, possible career opportunities, and the design process.

While this course is intended for all students regardless of ability, it is my hope to enlighten and inspire our female students especially. Middle school years are typically when girls drop out/lose interest in technical matters. It is my hope that this course will maintain the excitement and curiosity about technology in general and cause them to sign up for future technology classes.

Units of study:

Design Process: The design process and basic construction techniques are taught through projects. Basic manufacturing processes are introduced and connections to real life skills are introduced.

Orthographic Projection: Students will continue with more advanced orthographic (3-View) drawing and make the transition to CAD.

Trebuchet Engineering Challenge:

Students will design and build trebuchets. This group engineering project will focus on design, simple machine principals, manufacturing, and evaluation. The engineering loop will be evident.

Workstation Rotations: Students will continue their independent studies in the workstations of their own choosing. Presently we offer Mechanical CAD, Architectural CAD, Electric Vehicles, Robotics, Voice recognition, Flight, Electronics, Graphics, Metal and Wood Working, Digital Photography and Editing.

CO2 Race car Engineering Challenge:

Students will design a small race car that is propelled with a CO2 cartridge. The car will be developed in a wind tunnel where students will experience the effects of drag and lift on the performance of their vehicles. The vehicles will be tested and raced on a computer monitored race track where data will be collected for evaluation. As always the engineering loop will be evident.