Senior Sean Smith finishes up some homework online.
Photo By: Stephanie Ford
Some students are currently working on Introduction to Engineering Design in the new engineering class that is helping students advance their skills in the field of engineering.The class mainly covers a program named Inventor and on that program students can create anything they want to. The first project they are creating is a Japanese type puzzle. It consists of five different parts of 1 inch 3-D squares put together to form into one cube. On the program students can flip the cube around to see each side, make it explode to see all the different parts and have it go back together to see how each piece fits. With that they will be building the object with those measurements by hand. The main name of the class is Project Lead The Way and it is more like the bigger picture of the class, with a smaller picture for each year of the class. There will be four different parts of the class so that a starting freshman can take all four years of the class. However, the first class is called Introduction to Engineering Design.
What exactly makes this class different from others at Plymouth High School? Lenhart says, “It’s different because it is funded by PLTW state and federal grants.” Sibod explains, “We will be doing all of our work on a computer program.” Students getting the chance to work with new technology will help them expand their views on the world.
Senior Eric Blake says, “My main goal is to learn the process that engineers go through on a daily basis.” For the students that are planning to take on engineering as a career this class will be of great assistance to them. Freshman Michael Hartman says, “To be able to draw more interesting products on the computer.” A lot of the class has to do with creating things on the computer that people can follow off the computer. For Hartman he believes that this class will help for his future career by being able to learn how to work with multiple things at once time like he will be later on in life with the engineering career. Freshman Will Sibod says, “It will prepare me for the high expectations,” of being an engineer. Since this is not a typical, easy job for someone with no experience Sibod will have a headstart like the others taking this class. This class is not an easy “A” type of class as it takes a lot of commitment to get things done efficiently. Sibod says, “In order to succeed you have to pay attention.” Paying attention in class is important for every class a student takes but when one is dealing with the specifics like in this class it is fatally important to make sure one knows what exactly needs to be done. Wiers says, “The research can take a lot of time.” Most classes just require research for a project every now and then, but this class is a research based class and every project the students do requires them to research what they do before they do it. Kaser says, “If you don’t have commitment you will fall behind.” If one is not committed to the class and willing to spend extra time outside class it may become a challenge.