SI Tech CAD in the Community
VISIT Plus
I have personally seen the decimation of shop classes and the presence of Career and Technical Education vanish from the halls of middle schools in NYC. Many parents assume the step after high school is college and then a second or third round of college that follows... but this simply is not the case now, and never was. There is a reason why all students need to experience CTE classes and build up the skills needed to correctly choose their path to a successful and enjoyable adult life. VISIT Plus was a program that targeted two middle schools primarily populated with underprivileged students, IS 49 and IS 61. The classes we chose were full of driven students that were hopefuls for attending SI Tech in their future. The idea was that they would be programmed in their schools to remain together over two years in their school STEM classes. The classes would VISIT my classroom to learn about 3D modeling and 3D printing, as well as the room of Mr. Colangelo where they would learn about Electrical Engineering, as well as practical skills working with electricity such as wiring, soldering, and testing of voltages. The normal VISIT program, as well as this program, are directed by the talented SI Tech teacher Mr. Barry Levine. Unlike regular VISIT, in VISIT Plus the classes return eleven times to SI Tech to work on a joint SI Tech/Middle School STEM unit of study.
The middle school STEM classes were headed by Mrs. Sacco from IS 61 and Ms. Bengals /Ms. Diglio from IS 49. They came to us three times towards the end of 2018 during which I began showing them how to use TinkerCAD, a free and robust online 3D modeling program made by Autodesk. The students were introduced to the task as well, which was to be given an store-bought RC Car and modify it to have a custom 3D modeled and printed car body, the capacity to hold a small solar panel, and redesign the battery compartment to hold 5 rechargeable batteries. I modeled the chassis of the car and distributed it to them as a base to work with when designing the car body. They were also given access tot he car itself to make proper measurements in addition to my accurately modeled 3D drawing in TinkerCAD. The middle schools each received a 3D printer and spools of plastic for supplies. The idea was that their home school STEM curriculum was to be built around the VISIT Plus idea and run concurrently with their VISITS to SI Tech. The following school year they were each to have eight regularly scheduled VISITS and then a culminating activity at the newly opened District 31 Borough President's Hall of Science at the Petrides Education Complex. The students would each present their idea there as a fully 3D printed model that has been wired properly to have a working solar charging system.
The team back at IS 61 remained diligent in making everything work on site, and all thanks go to Mrs. Jennifer Sacco for that. Their class remained largely intact, they visited the school on all scheduled times, and the students performed brilliantly. Unfortunately IS 49 had trouble following through with the plans for the scheduling of their STEM classes probably due to a change in Principal over the summer in between our working years. The teachers worked hard to roll with the changing classes, and revolving door of students selected into the program, but ultimately they designed pretty good models, but were unable to print them for the culminating event. I thank Ms. Diglio and Ms. Bengals for doing their best to make things happen and salvaging what they could out of the program. The culminating event at THE BP Hall of Science was outstanding. The kids raced their cars and beautifully articulated their design ideas when presenting to us. I hope VISIT Plus gets its second generation some time soon, as it was a phenomenal idea and allowed me to have great influence on potential SI Tech students. Thank you to all whom helped, especially my students.
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