This article is about students in Ishpeming who are using a 3D printer to design and build small scale items such as mini houses. The students are able to incorporate STEM using the 3D printer to help further their understanding of geometry. There is also student centered learning involved because the kids all design their own pieces to be printed.
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Clouds purpose in writing this article is to discuss differing beliefs on how geniuses come about. His conclusion on the matter is that genius is a combination of raw intelligence, as well as hard work and a good environment to grow up in. All of this worrying about exactly how geniuses come about and trying to produce more geniuses is somewhat absurd. Kids do not have to grow up being boring math and science freaks in order to do great things. If kids are allowed to follow their own passions and are supported in their own decisions, they will succeed, whether they are considered to be some genius or not.
Schooling today is based simply off test scores, and that is wrong. A test score does not show someone’s creativity, logical thinking ability, or the type of person they are. With all the ridiculous state mandates on education, who were made by lawmaker who have no idea about education and live in their own political world, students are being turned into just another number and are constantly being judged simply on the score they received on a test. Education is about way more than a test score, it is about learning. Learning is not simply memorizing history facts, math equations, and grammatical rules, it is much deeper than that. Learning involves opening your mind to the world around you and using your knowledge to accomplish your dreams. Schooling is headed in the completely wrong direction and it needs to change soon.
The author interprets genius as having the ability to think not based on past experiences, but with a completely open and clear mind. This allows a person to come up with new ideas, as they are not being restricted to what they have already learned. The authors believes the shared strategies of genius are looking at problems in many different ways, making thoughts visible, producing not just a few ideas but many, making novel combinations, forcing relationships, thinking in opposites, thinking metaphorically, and preparing for chance. My genius hour project requires me to think outside the box and come up with numerous ideas to solve the same problem. I will then be able to use the idea I believe will be the most successful. My plan will also need to be drawn out, making my thoughts visible and closer to a reality instead of just a thought.
The article CNN did about genius hour demonstrated that many kids throughout the U.S. love genius hour and the freedom it gives them from regular school work. A lot of students begin get fed up with all the standardized tests and school work in class that gives them no creative freedom. Genius hour is a break from all that and allows students to be different and try something they have never done before. Many teachers are also encouraging kids to remember that failure is okay, as long as they learn from that failure. This helps kids learn to think outside the box and to not be so afraid of their idea not working. I can use this lesson in my own genius hour project. Designing and building my own welder is not going to be the simplest or easiest project. There are many different factors that will affect my project and if it will be successful or not. I am not worried about failing, though. This is something I have wanted to try for a while and I am going to do my best to make it work. If it doesn’t, at least I will have tried and hopefully learned something that I can use in the future, maybe to attempt the project again.
My plan for this genius hour project is to create a home built welder using basic parts that can be readily found in many people’s garages or at junkyards. I want to be able to help people who do not have a welder and would really like one but can not afford the purchase. The welder may not be the nicest or most efficient, but I want it to be able to make sound welds on fairly thick metal such as 3/16”. I plan on building the entire thing without incorporating any welding because others who want to build it will be doing so without a welder, most likely. I believe I will be using a small engine such as a Briggs and Stratton 5 horse and run a belt from it to a car alternator. This will produce a dc electrical current that can be run to an electrode used for welding. Different sized alternators will give produce different maximum amps. Also, varying the motor rpms will be a way to control the amps, so the welder should be adjustable. I plan on doing more research and performing tests on car alternators to figure out what else I will need, as well as researching others who have built their own welders.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2017
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