Week of Dec 17

Exams this week are on Monday (7th period, 2:10) and Tuesday (5th period, 11:15).  Remember that school is out at 1:15 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  School is out at 9:05 on Friday, so have a good and safe holidays.

I am postponing the portfolio until January.  I won't have any time in class for it, but you can work on it at home or after school and turn it in after we get back from the break.

EXCITING NEWS!  Novacentrix presented to our engineering classes last year.  One of the vice presidents is a RRHS graduate and very involved in helping our program.  He is offering for our students to participate in teams in a project and possibly present at a professional conference in February.  Novacentrix makes conductive ink and they demonstrated for us that you could print a circuit directly on a sheet of paper using a standard ink jet printer. (The ink, of course, is special and not available at Office Depot.)  We will have more details for you in January, but for now be thinking about 3-5 other people that you would like to work on a team with.  The teams will be tasked with designing an object that integrates electronics in the design, and you can create your designs on the 3d printer.  For example, you might make the train design (remember that from IED?) that has an LED for a light.  When you press a button, the light lights up.  It is a simple concept, but this is a new and emerging field.  The team with the winning design will be asked to present their results and process at the 3d manufacturing conference in February.

Don't forget about High Tech U
You have just another 2 weeks to get your application in before everyone else for Semi High Tech U.  If you are interested, you will need to submit your application on Semi's web site (above).  RRHS students are able to apply right now even though they will not open the applications to the public until after January 1.  The dates again are Feb 20, 21, & 22.  You would have to be able to miss those three days of school, but it is well worth it!

Have a happy holiday break, and be careful.  I look forward to seeing all of you back in one piece on January 7.

1 More Week!!!! (practically)

The end of the semester is fast approaching.  You will get the final exam review this week.  Even if you are exempting, you need to complete the review as it will be good practice for your EoC exam next spring.  It is a good time for you to brush up on the concepts covered this fall and know what is important to remember.  Remember that (1) you may not exempt the DE exam in the spring  and (2) to turn in your completed exemption form to the office by 4:30 Tuesday.  Check out the rules & procedures as well as the final exam schedule on the RRHS home page.


Any women interested in engineering?  Would you like a free lunch and a chance to talk with engineering students and faculty at UT?  The UT Society of Women engineers is hosting an Encounter with Engineers on Saturday February 9.  The link will take you to their event page where you can learn more about the day's events and how to register. You must register by January 11, 2013.  That is over a month off, but don't put it off if you are interested.  You can apply online.  Below is a summary from their web page to get you a little more information.
Encounter with Engineering (EWE) is a day-long program created to introduce engineering to high school girls. EWE is a great introduction the different engineering fields and is a great opportunity for students to find out about engineering, what they can do with a degree, and talk to engineering students. This event is entirely free, and lunch is provided. Many of our past EWE participants have been inspired to pursue a career in engineering. We strongly encourage girls in grades 10 and 11 to participate.

Also, NASA is sponsoring the WISH program (Women in STEM High School) for junior and senior girls interested in engineering.  This is an internship in which you would get to work on an actual NASA space exploration project with other high school students and present your team's results at the Johnson Space Center in Houston over a week's time this summer.  If you are interested, check out the WISH web site, but be aware that the deadline to apply is January 3.  

Make sure that you finish all designs and breadboarding this week so that your grades can be updated.  Next week, we will only be taking and grading final exams.  We will also start an electronic portfolio on Livebinder.  You will post pictures of your house designs and projects that we did this semester.

Week of Nov 26

It's hard to believe that it is only 4 short weeks until we are out for the Christmas break and that the year is already half over.  Of course, one of those weeks will be taken up with final exams and preparations.  That means that there are some things you need to know about soon.

For all of the PLTW engineering classes, an End of Course exam is required, which will be given during the times of the spring semester exams.  That means that you will not be able to exempt your DE exam in the spring regardless.  If you want to exempt the fall semester exam and qualify per the school guidelines, you are free to do so. However, it is a preview of at least part of the exam that will be given in the spring.  The schedule for exams and guidelines can be found on the RRHS web page.

Back to videos.  We will pick up this week with a NOR only design of a circuit that saves chips ($$) in production parts.  It is very similar to the NAND only design in many respects. Be sure to watch the short video talking about how to design a circuit using only NOR chips before you come to class.

We need to pick up the pace of the class a little.  There is too much dragging behind and being ok with that (meaning, "I will do today's work next time in class, and that work the next time" and so on...)  With the end of the semester approaching, there is a pretty hard deadline to get all of that done.  If you aren't able to finish your work in class, make arrangements with me to come in during tutorials or take the work home to finish.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! The semester is going very quickly.  It is already time for Thanskgiving, which means that semester final exams and the end of the semester are not far behind.

Speaking of semester finals, students who are eligible per school rules to exempt may exempt the fall semester exam for IED.  No one will be able to exempt the spring final exam as this is an End of Course exam that is required by PLTW for all of our students.  In short, if you think you might want to exempt one of the IED exams this year, it must be the fall exam, if you qualify for exemptions per school rules.

We should finish up the NAND design lesson on Tuesday by completing the Voting Booth circuit on breadboards.  Make sure to take pictures so that you can include them in your portfolio when we create them later on.  You should also have finished the Karnaugh mapping and Majority Vote (breadboards) by the end of class Tuesday.  We only have a few weeks remaining before those previously mentioned final exams.  

Week of Nov 12

We start a new unit this week on Wednesday which will introduce us to NAND logic and NOR logic.  The last project from the combinational logic unit (Majority Vote) is a major grade that will go on the new six weeks.  Make sure that you finish simplifying the MV expression and demonstrate that on Multisim and the breadboard.  We will introduce K-Maps on Wednesday, which is a much easier way to write the simplified AOI expression than having to go through the pains of Boolean simplification.  Make sure to watch the video before class Wednesday.

Report cards will be handed out during 2nd period Thursday.  It is hard to believe that the year is already 12 (Well.  Really 11) weeks gone.  This six weeks will be extremely quick since we have finals and the end of the semester looming in just 5 more weeks.

Speaking of finals, the exam schedule is out and posted in my room. As far as DE goes, you may exempt the fall semester exam but not the spring.  PLTW requires that all students take the EOC exam, which I will give during finals week in May.  If you want to exempt your DE exam and are eligible to do so, you will definitely want to do so this semester.

Finally, I have duty every morning this week, so there are no morning tutorials.

Semi High Tech U - Feb 20-22

Semi High Tech U is a three day "educational field trip" sponsored by SEMI, a consortium of various companies in the semiconductor (commonly called "computer chip") industry.  The link above includes a video that describes and allows you to see what goes on at a typical High Tech U.  Many companies who take part in making the integrated circuits used in not only computers but also cell phones, games, MP3 players, cars, televisions, and garage door openers among thousands of other products put together activities and host students from all over central Texas to help you to understand the challenges faced by engineers in their companies.  This is a good chance to get exposed to how the math, science, language, and other skills that you are learning are being put to use right now in some of the most fast-paced jobs available.  You will also get to meet and interact with engineers, managers, recruiters and others who work for these companies.  You can ask questions about their jobs, experiences, studying engineering, and even conduct a mock interview.  It is a great chance to enhance your resume and job-searching skills.

The team at the Austin High Tech U last year set the HTU world record for the fastest time in the "human calculator" activity.

High Tech U is specifically for all students interested in pursuing a technical field.   Events are held all over the world, but the one for the Austin area is currently scheduled for February 20, 21, and 22.  It will require that you are able to miss school for three consecutive days (2 A days and a B day), so I am telling you now so that you can plan ahead.  There is not cost to you to attend, and transportation will be provided to and from the event every day by RRISD (probably even someone you know very well).

Students who wish to attend must apply directly to Semi.  They will make the selections, but there is no limit on the number of students who can attend from any one school.  Last year, we were restricted to five students from RRHS through a special arrangement between RRISD and Semi.  Applications will be accepted beginning in January, but RRHS students may submit applications NOW.  Download the application and submit it per the instructions as soon as possible to enhance your chances of being selected.  Even if you are not certain that you will be able to attend, apply now.  You can always turn down the offer later if  you are accepted.  Also, previous High Tech U students may apply, but remember that Semi makes the selection this year.  Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.

Week of Nov 5

Check out the video for DeMorgan's theorem before class on Tuesday.  We will continue simplifying Boolean expressions and then apply that to simplify the Majority vote circuit on Thursday.  Since you will ultimately breadboard your majority vote circuit, you want to be sure that you can simplify it as much as possible.

This week is the last week of the six weeks.  Make sure that your grades are up to date before Friday.  Look for report cards to come out next week.  In preparation for the grade deadline, this Wednesday will be  a WOW day, but Thursday will NOT be a late start   Make sure to plan your schedule for the week accordingly, and take advantage of the tutoring time during the WOW period Wednesday afternoon.

This Saturday is the FADE competition. Teams will need to be at the front of the school (100 bldg) in time to  leave at 5:30 a.m.  Check my FADE update page for details and more information.  It is exciting to see the teams working through their ideas and preparing to represent RRHS well in College Station.

Week of Oct 29

This week, we will start making AOI logic circuits.  Starting with designing in Multisim and then building on a breadboard.  We will make our designs "come to life".  For now, we are not worried about simplifying our expressions.  We will learn how to simplify logic expressions on Friday.

I expect a string of videos for the next little while.  All of the topics will be new and complicated.  We will want to have the extra time to practice in class instead of having to listen to the foundation of the topic. The video for Wednesday is on building your designs on a breadboard.  I will update this blog with a video for Friday (simplifying logic expressions using Boolean algebra).

I also have the video for Friday up as well.


Wednesday is WOW, so you have a chance to make up missing or incomplete work, if you need to.  Also, Thursday is a late start day.

Progress reports will be sent home this week.  Look for those as well.  Note that this is a 5 week six weeks, so the grading period ends next Friday (11/9).  Be sure to stay on top of assignments and grades as you will have one less week after progress reports to get caught up.

Week of October 22

We start a more in-depth study of the AOI combinational logic this week.  It includes a study of binary number conversions and writing truth expressions, truth tables, and designing combinational logic circuits.  Make sure that you leave your journals in class this week, so that I can complete a journal check for you before grades are due next Tuesday.  Watch the video on Thursday's lesson before class.

Don't forget that Friday is a pep rally, and Thursday is a late start.  Consult the RRHS main web page for the bell schedules on those days.

This is also the last week of the mid-six weeks progress reporting period.  All work needs to be done and turned in by Friday so that we can finalize grades early next week.  Progress reports will be sent out next Friday (November 2).

Money for College  
Be sure to keep up with the Scholarship Page that I have tabbed at the top of this page.  I will drop scholarship opportunities there as I find out about them.  The latest is Milwaukee School of Engineering.  They offer scholarships for students who have successfully completed one or more Project Lead the Way class.  If you are in our engineering program, want to major in engineering in college, and need more help than you are getting from A&M or Texas, MSOE might be worth looking in to for you with up to $12,000 in scholarships provided.  I will update it from time to time with others as they come available.

Week of October 9

Everyone should be finished with the combinational logic activity by now.  We will cover sequential logic on Tuesday and continue some Thursday and then analyze the digital portion of the game board counter.  We will start the next major unit next week, which looks at combination logic more in depth - first how to design with AOI and then using NAND gates.  Check Moodle for a video on this topic. 

Don't forget that Monday is a holiday.

Samsung Field Trip
For those going on the Samsung field trip on Tuesday, be at my room (601) at 8:45.  We will meet there so that you can leave any items that you don't need with you in the storage room.  Samsung does not allow any type of electronic devices (including phones, MP3 players, cameras, and USB drives or storage cards) in their facility.  It would be best for you to leave them at home or with a friend on Tuesday.  The bus will be unattended and unlocked in Samsung's parking lot and may not be secure for you to leave valuable items.  The bus needs to leave at 9:00 because Samsung wants to start at 9:45.  In addition to the travel time, it will take 10 or so minutes to get everyone signed in through security.  We should return to the school between 2:00 and 2:30, so you will be back for the start of 8th period. Samsung will feed us a pasta bar for lunch. 

PSAT October 17
Juniors and Seniors will take the PSAT test during the morning periods of next Wednesday (Oct 17).  Freshman and sophomores are still expected to be at school and will have classes planned for them.  When all have finished testing, we will continue with the regular 7th & 8th period schedules for the afternoon.

Oct 1 - Last Week of the Six Weeks

This is the last week of the first six weeks.  The year is going by so fast that it's hard to believe.  I always like to look back to the start of school and see much we have already accomplished.  If you have any missing work, be sure to get that in to me (or have me check your journal) this week.  Wednesday will also be the second WOW day of the year, another opportunity for you to make up missing work before the grade deadline this Friday.

We have finished up the unit on basic electricity and will start focusing on digital electronics this week.  The first step will be to introduce the combinational logic components: and, or, and inverters.  These gates are the building blocks of everything else that we will do this year.  I will create the videos to introduce this topic and post Monday afternoon.  Be sure to check Moodle before class on Tuesday so that you don't start out behind.  Also, all of the previous activities need to be completed and noted in your journals.

Make sure that you are leaving your journals in the room as well as keeping them up to date.  I record the third journal grade this week.  Every journal page should have a number, date, and signature (or initials), and you should update the table of contents every day at the end of class.


If you haven't paid the $35 lab fee, please do so this week.  This money is critical to pay for the supplies and equipment that we use in the engineering classes.  If you are unable to pay at this time, please let me know.  I can tell you if you have paid or not, so just shoot me an email or ask in class if you are not sure.

If you are going on the Samsung field trip next Tuesday, make sure that you are keeping up to date on your school work in all classes.  Remember that you will miss 5th, 6th, and 7th periods and should clear with your teachers how you will make up the work before you miss on a planned absence such as this.  Samsung security does not allow for cell phones or other electronic devices on site.  Since the bus does not lock, your best advice would be to leave your phones, iPods, cameras, USB drives, or other electronic devices at home that day.

Future Aggies Design Exhibition
I submitted registration for 19 RRHS students to participate in the FADE design competition on Friday, an exciting and great group of students.  The schedule for the day is now posted on the link above (and in a previous post below).  We will not be given details of the design challenge until October 10 when all teams are simultaneously informed of the task, leaving us with exactly one month to complete the challenge.  While we don't know the exact task that will be given, we do know that it will be based on one of the 14 Grand Engineering Challenges.  For those of you registered, look over those challenges and familiarize yourself with the possible tasks that may be given to us.  More information about teams and details will be sent to you this week.

FADE Registration Deadline is THIS THURSDAY

There are a lot of you interested in FADE (Future Aggies Design Exhibition), and that is exciting.  I just got word today that the original deadline of October 5 has been moved up to this Friday, September 28.  I need to put together the teams and have definite commitment by Thursday so that I have time to fill out the forms.

I have hard copies of all that you need, but they are linked here as well.  I need 4 things from you:

• The FADE Behavioral Agreement
• Texas A&M Medical Waiver
• RRISD Permission & Waiver -   This is actually 2 forms: the medical waiver & permission form and an academic permission form.  The academic form needs to be signed by all of your teachers to indicate that you are aware of your responsibility to keep up with your school work and pass classes in order to take part in this extra-curricular activity.
• Give me information needed for the registration form by filling out this registration form.  

There is no cost to you.  All charges will be covered through the engineering activity account and grants (Let's hope!). 

The schedule for the day has been posted on the FADE web site.  Check that site for updates and more information as it becomes available.  The schedule for the day will be as follows.

7:00 am - 8:00 am	Team Check-in
8:00 am - 11:00 am	Design Competition
11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Lunch / Student Panel
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm	Campus Tour
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Department Tours
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm	Dinner / Awards Ceremony

In order to make it to College Station by the registration time, we will need to leave RRHS at 6:00.  Lunch and Dinner are provided by A&M, but you may want to bring money for breakfast and snacks during the day.  

Let me know if you have any questions.  

September 24

DE classes will finish up our study of analog electronics this week with the design of the 555 timer used in your Game Board Counter.  You will learn how to design a circuit to connect to the timer that controls how fast it counts and for how long. 

Then, we will start in to digital design with combinational logic.  In it, we will learn about the different types of combinational logic gates and chips that are the foundation of what we will be using throughout the rest of the year.

Also, this week will see our first WOW period.  On Work it Out Wednesday, students will  have a tutorial opportunity during the school day in order to make up missing work or get extra help.  Check with teachers for any classes which you are failing and request a WOW pass.  Thursday is again a late start day.  

Parents, be sure to check over your student's progress reports that were given to them on Friday.  If you have any questions, let me know. 

FADE Design Competition & Texas A&M Field Trip

Check out the information on FADE (Future Aggies Design Exhibition).  This event is option and will take place after school hours, so it is optional.  If you are interested, let me know.  I will have permission forms this week that you will need to fill out and have parents sign.  The deadline for us to sign up teams of 4-6 students is next Friday, October 5 this Friday September 28.  On October 10, we will be given an engineering challenge to solve from the Fourteen Grand Engineering Challenges, although, I don't know right now exactly what that will be.  The student teams will then have one month, until November 10, to create a solution to the challenge that we are given.  On November 10, which is a Saturday, we will travel by bus to the campus of Texas A&M to present our solution and see how other students solved the same problem.  The cost is free to students participating, and lunch and dinner is being provided for all participants.  For now, start forming teams of which you want to be a part and let me know that you are interested.  I will have sign-up and permission forms on Tuesday. 

If you are interested, I need the information on this form in order to get you registered.  Please fill this out to let me know that you want to participate and to give me the needed information. I must have registration and permission forms back by this Thursday.

September 18

I did not make a comment on today's agenda, but I have made and posted videos about breadboarding (Thursday's lesson) in Moodle.  There are actually three videos. The first one explains the basics of breadboards, and the second one explains how to connect a circuit using a breadboard.The third video is actually how to strip wire insulation to be used in circuits.

On Tuesday, we learned to use the main piece of software for our class, Multisim.  Multisim is made by National Instruments and is used to design and simulate electrical circuits.  While we are using it now for simple circuits, we will use it throughout the year to simulate all of our digital circuits as we learn how to use more and more components.  We will construct those simple circuits on Thursday on prototyping tool called a breadboard. 

Progress reports will be sent out on Friday, so look for those to come home before the weekend.  If you have questions regarding your grades, please let me know as soon as you can.  Also, next Wednesday (Sep 26) will be our first WOW.  If you have some missing work or low grades, take advantage of that  in-school tutorial times to make it up.

This Thursday will be a Late Start.  School starts at 9:25.

Circuit Theory Videos are available

There are 3 videos linked in Moodle.  I interrupted recording on the first one, so be sure to catch the 3 minute part 2 of Series Circuits.  The third video covers parallel circuits. 

I'll never win an academy award, but I like making these videos. 

September 10

There are several events that you should be aware of this week outside of our engineering classes.

First of all, parents are invited to attend the Open House on Monday, September 10.  Parents will gather in the 1100 (new) building cafeteria for a short PTSA meeting and instructions at 6:00.  Beginning at 6:30, you will follow your student's schedule with 10 minutes in each class to meet the teachers and hear a brief overview of each class, grading, objectives, etc.  Students were given an invitation letter Friday during 2nd period and should have written their schedule down on that letter to give to you.  Please come to see us Monday night, and get a copy of your child's schedule and a campus map so that you will know where to go.


For DE, we will continue learning to solder and then learn circuit theory (Ohms law, Kirchoff's voltage law, and Kirchoff's current law).  Be prepared for a quiz over safety and component identification on Wednesday.  Also, I will use the topics this week to start "flipping" the classroom.  Expect that there will be some videos for you to review at home prior to class so that we can spend more class time actually doing the work. 

Don't forget to check out the other pages that I have linked through this site displayed as tabs above the blog posts.  One is a collection of scholarships that are available to RRHS engineering students to apply for and get assistance in paying for college. I have added a link to the college visit schedule for our school.  On Thursday (Sep 13), Rochester Institute of Technology will be here and wanting to talk to our junior and seniors.  If you are interested, check with your counselor to sing up for a time to talk with them.  RIT is one of the colleges that offers college credit for participation (with an appropriate EoC and course grade) in PLTW courses.  You can start out college with 4 hours of credit already earned for successful completion of each of our PLTW courses. 

September 3

I hope that you enjoyed your long weekend.  We continued some basic skills today: finished the resistor identification lab, and extended what we know about scientific notation to engineering notation and standard SI units.  On Thursday, we will learn to solder and practice on a simple circuit board.  If you solder everything correctly, you will get a light show out of it.  Before Thursday, make sure to review the soldering video that I made.  It is linked in MOODLE along with another one, if you want some more details. 

This Friday is the deadline to bring your $35 lab fee to me.  If you are unable to get the lab fee to me this week, please let me know.

Mark your calendars for next Monday, September 10, which will be RRHS Open House.  Parents will have a short PTSA meeting and then a chance to run through your child's full schedule, meeting all of us as your student's teachers.  It is always a good time but very fast-paced.  Typically, parents will spend about 8 - 10 minutes per class period in each room.

Be sure to go to sign up through Remind 101 for quick updates via email and/or text message.  That will allow me to send out quick reminders and short updates from time to time.

Finally, we will see our first "late start" day this Thursday.  Check the RRHS page for the late start bell schedule.  Classes start later, at 9:25, in order to allow teachers to work and plan together in PLCs.  This schedule occurs on most Thursdays this year (but not all). 

This has started out as a great year.  We all are looking forward to an exciting year of Dragon Engineering! 

Welcome back 2012-2013!

Welcome back for another school year.  You may soon notice some of the changes this year, and I think they will help make it a better year at RRHS than ever before.  We'll talk more about those changes soon. 

This is the blog for my Digital Electronics (DE) classes.  DE is the third course in the PLTW engineering curriculum.  This course is quite different than the other classes you have taken.  Almost all of our work will involve building circuits on the computer simulator, using prototype breadboards, and using a programmable board.  What that means is that you will spend a LOT of time trouble-shooting and problem solving. Because that troubleshooting takes so much time, I want to run this class differently.  Frequently, when we have new material to learn, I will create videos that teach the theory that students will watch at home.  Then, when they come to class, we are able to spend more time practicing and getting feedback immediately. 

I will keep this site up to date not only with class news but other information that is useful to my students and parents, such as other web links, opportunities to work with industry partners, and even scholarship opportunities.  The calender on the right hand side of the page will keep a running list of what is going on in class as well as other key school dates (holidays, A/B days, etc.).  Above that is a list of useful links.  Since the curriculum is protected by copyright, I can not place actual classwork on this public blog.  The students will get used to accessing my information on my Moodle site.  I use Moodle to run the entire class, so all work and instructions will be found there throughout the year.

Look for a packet to come home from your student's first day that describes our class in more detail.  I am also sending a half-sheet home that has multiple methods to contact me.  One of those methods will be Remind101.  I will use that to send out short text messages or emails when there is pressing news or reminders (such as materials to bring to class, field trip deadlines, etc.).  Feel free to sign up now using the Remind 101 signup instructions.

I look forward to this year.  Be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do to make it more enjoyable and productive. 

RIT Visit

Welcome back!  Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT in Rochester, NY) will be at RRHS for a campus visit on September 13.  RIT is the school who issues the articulated credit for all of the PLTW classes.  In case you are interested and since you already have a couple of credits banked up with them, you may sign up for a time to visit with the recruiter in your designated alpha office. 

If you want to explore RIT from the comfort of a warmer setting (like your living room), check out their web site. 

It's Finals!!!

The last week of the year is here.  Check here to make sure you know when all of your final exams will be.  As for the most important one (that would be DE), it is Wednesday morning from 9:05 - 11:05. 

Also, I have started posting scholarship information.  These all apply to seniors in 2012-2013, but I will be keeping up with a list of them as I come across information on them.  Check the $scholar$hip Li$t page (listed above to the right)  frequently to see if one just might apply to you. 

Week of May 7

EoC Testing & Change of Rooms

Due to EoC testing taking place in our room this week, DE will meet in room 737 on Tuesday only.  On Thursday, we will be back in the lab as usual. 

Everyone needs to wrap up the state machine designs and move on to the final project (toll booth design) on Thursday.

Course EoC
Remember that an end-of-course exam is required for all PLTW courses.  That will be given during the time for our final exams, so there are no exemptions for the spring final from this course.  I discussed this with you at the start of the year and at final exam time in the fall.  More details will be out soon as we get ready to finish up the year.

We will finish up state machines to end the year.  Complete the state machine introduction activity on Monday and then you will create a state machine to operate a toll booth arm.  That will serve as the project for this unit. 

Get those Field Trip Permission forms in!

Athena Manufacturing May 1/National Instruments May 3
I need the field trip permission slips back right away. If you want to go on the Athena Manufacturing trip on Tuesday, you MUST turn in permission forms Monday morning. Please bring them by my room before school. If you are going to National Instruments on Thursday, I need your permission forms by Tuesday at the end of the day. Be sure to let me know that you are interested in one or both trips through this sign-up form.  It is also shown in the post from last week below.

Final Exam/EOC
Look for information about the EOC exam for IED soon.  As a reminder, the EOC exam is required by our curriculum, PLTW, and will serve as the final exam.  As a result, exempting the spring final is not optional for any of the engineering classes.

Week of March 5

On Wednesday, students will be taking the TAKS test, so we will only have class (1st period) on Monday and Friday.  Also,

We will finish up designs using asynchronous counters.  Students will breadboard an asynchronous modulus counter on Monday put those designs on to the PLD board on Friday. 

Samsung Visit.  

I have tentatively scheduled our visit to Samsung for this year for March 20, the Tuesday after spring break.  Any student interested MUST sign up here.  I will not accept verbal requests.  Also note that we have limited spaces, so students will be selected based on academics and your interest in high-tech engineering careers. 

I doubt that I have to remind you, but next week is spring break (March 10 - 18). 

Feb 27 - 2 weeks to Spring Break

Only 2 weeks until we get a spring break!

This week is a WOW week.  If you need to make up some work, ask for a WOW pass. 

Robotics Demo on Friday
Dr. Julien is bringing her robotics demo back to RRHS on Friday for 5th & 6th periods.  If you would like to attend and did not get a chance last year, let me know.  We will meet in the Lecture Hall of the 1100 building. 

Samsung Field Trip

The Samsung field trip has been set up for Tuesday, March 20.  That is an A day.  If you didn't get to go last year, now is your chance.  Samsung has a planned group of activities to show you what life in a high-tech company is like and how those jobs relate to various lessons that you encounter at school.  You get a chance to interact with actual engineers.  Look for permission forms and a sign-up (online, of course) next week. 

Feel free to use the QR code here to correctly spell my email address.  I will start using this more and more to make it easier to reach me via email. 

Week of Feb 13

Mr. Dick Folz will speak to our class on Monday.  Mr. Folz is an engineer with experience in the electricity generation industry.  He will present his experiences and advice as well as conduct a problem-solving exercise for us.

We will finish up the Date-of-Birth project on the Programmable Logic Boards.  Hopefully, the permission issues are worked out that have prevented you from generating your own bit files.  If I have created the bit file for you and yours works correctly, I need to check your date of birth display on Monday.

The next step will be to create a copier jam detector circuit, in which we will interface the PLB with some of the VEX hardware to generate input signals.

If you are interested in attending the Edison Lecture Series and/or the AT&T Labs field trip on February 23, let me know by filling out this form.  Also be sure to pick up a permission form and return to me by this Friday.  The AT&T Labs portion of the trip is limited, so not everyone who is interested may be able to attend.

Week of January 9

Welcome back for the spring semester.  I hope that  you had a restful break and are ready for a full spring semester. 

This week, we will learn how to use a 7 segment display in order to display alphanumeric messages.  On Wednesday, will start a 3 day project to create a circuit to display your month, day, and year of birth on two 7 segment displays. 

Don't forget that next Monday (January 16) is a school holiday.

High Tech U - February 8, 9, & 10

Select engineering students have the opportunity to participate in Semi's High Tech U February 8-10.  Semi is an organization of manufacturing companies that make equipment for the semiconductor (computer chip, to most people) industry.  They are hosting this 3 day event for select high school engineering students to explore possibilities of a career in the high tech industry, clarify career choices and preparation needed, and to increase interest in related fields.  The link above will take you to Semi's web page for more detailed information.  In addition, you can watch the video below about the event.  If you are interested, let me know immediately as I must turn in nominations by this Wednesday.  Successful applicants should be:

• above average students (grades, particularly math & science, are good)
• age 13 - 17
• have an interest in a high tech field (particularly electronics)
• a good representative of RRHS.

All 5 RRISD high schools will send representatives, so you will mingle with students from our other high schools as well as be portraying RRHS to them.  

Students and High Tech U from Jim Clark on Vimeo.