Getting I.T. Right

On 11/14 and 11/21 twenty-nine Round Rock ISD teams from 16 campuses competed in the Central Texas First Lego League Qualifier Events. Congratulations to the middle schools teams at CD Fulkes, Canyon Vista, Cedar Valley, Deerpark, Grisham, Hopewell, and Walsh and to the elementary teams at Bluebonnet, Cactus Ranch, Callison, Caraway, Forest Creek, Gattis, Laurel Mountain, and Purple Sage. Round Rock is proud to celebrate the achievements of these teams. The * teams will go on to the competition on Dec. 12 at Rouse High School in Leander.
11/14 LBJ Qualifier Results
*Walsh1 – 4th – Research Project
*Cactus Ranch Longhorns 1- 3rd Research Project
Cactus Ranch Longhorns 3 – 3rd Teamwork
*Forest Creek – 1st Research Project
11/14 West Ridge Qualifer Results
*Laurel Mountain Team Dr. Octogonaus – 1st Champions
*Laurel Mountain LegoLions – 2nd Champions
*Laurel Mountain LegoLunatics – Wildcard
11/21 Anderson Qualifier Results
*Bluebonnet – 1st Teamwork, 3rd Research Project
11/21 Westwood Qualifier Results
*Deerpark CPU’s – 3rd Champions
*Deerpark Robanators – 3rd Research Project
*Gattis InstaGators – 2nd Robot Design
*Gattis Robo-Crocs – 2nd Teamwork
*Purple Sage Riders – 1st Research Project
*CarawayRobotechs – 2nd Research Project
*Canyon Vista Mustangs 2 – 3rd Robot Design
Canyon Vista Mustangs 4 – 3rd Teamwork
*Grisham Grizzlies – 1st Robot Design

Learn more about Central Texas FLL.

Deerpark Middle School’s robotics club engineers have video conference with UPS pilot and former F-16 fighter pilot, Jim Crowley, about their airplane engine cover design.  The engine cover was designed to prevent birds from dying when they encounter a plane engine during flight.  Mr. Crowley praised their design for being aerodynamic and environmentally conscious.  He asked them to think about the benefits vs costs of saving the birds compared to the weight and amount of fuel that extra weight would require.

Tags: Engineering, Robotics, video conferencing

Mr. Osman with wireless slate

David Osman, AP Government teacher at Round Rock High School, was chosen the 2009 Teacher of the Year.  Mr. Osman, shown here annotating a website with his wireless slate, extends his classroom by posting all his class notes, powerpoints, and study guides on his impressive website.  His busy senior students appreciate the  ability to access Mr. Osman’s course materials at any time.

Tags: interactive classroom, web2.0

Edwin Flecha at Round Rock High School uses video from School Tube to teach factoring quadratics. You can review your own “factoring” skills by watching this video.

http://www.teacherweb.com/TX/RoundRockHighSchool/MrFlecha/apt5.stm

Math teachers at Ridgeview Middle School are using document cameras to record how they solve problems. Natalie Ortega has gone one step further and created her own channel on Youtube to help keep her videos organized and accessible. Read more and watch the video at http://www.robinstechtips.com/?p=254 .

Tags: videos

Students in Mrs Fatke’s seventh grade science classes created visual presentations identifying weathering, erosion, deposition, and man’s actions on the Grisham MS neighborhood. Their presentations incorporated the MYP technology design cycle and the science TEKS.

Watch their video…….

Hopewell students interviewed community senior citizens about civil rights on Martin Luther King day. Once completed these oral history stories will be archived at the Round Rock Public Library. Check out the story at FOX news.

Tags: oral histories

Congratulations to Cedar Valley, Hopewell, Forest Creek, Bluebonnet, Great Oaks and Caraway, who participated with 56 other teams in the Central Texas First Lego League finals at Rouse High School on Jan. 10. Gattis took 2nd place in Project Presentation and Caraway took 3rd place in Teamwork. Check out the coverage of the event:
News8 Austin
KVUE

Tags: Engineering, Robotics

Congratulations to the 16 teams from RRISD schools who participated in the Central Texas First Lego League Qualifier Tournaments on Nov. 22 and Dec. 6.  These teams and their coaches are: CD Fulkes (Coach Collins), Hopewell (Coaches Simmons, Roy, Looze, Bradford), Ridgeview (Coaches Mercer, Zuehlke), Walsh (Coaches Hendricks, White, Heard), Grisham (Coaches Petkovsek, O’Donnell), Cedar Valley (Coaches Sieber, Shipp, Ortega, Persad), Forest Creek (Coaches Gnapp, Burden) Great Oaks (Coach Grimes), Caraway (Coach Hall), Gattis (Coach Brillhart), and Bluebonnet (Coach de Becze).

Several teams qualified for upcoming finals which will take place on Jan 10 (location to be announced). Great Oaks placed 2nd in Robot Performance and 2nd in Research. Gattis placed 1st in Robot Design. The two Forest Creek teams won 1st and 3rd in Teamwork. Cedar Valley placed 2nd in Overall Points. Three teams earned honorable mention: Bluebonnet, Caraway, and Hopewell. Good luck to these teams as they prepare for the Central Texas Finals.

Students must demonstrate teamwork as they design and program a robot to accomplish missions and present a research project with solutions to “Climate Condition” problems. They work closely with teachers and industry engineer mentors in an exciting hands-on, trial and error, creative and engaging atmosphere while learning about science and technology. Learn more about the theme and competitions at Central Texas First Lego League and (U.S.) First Lego League.

Tags: Engineering, Robotics

The Once and Future King http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwBZoFkEMq4
The Poisonwood Bible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l9wvMS6wjc
Mythology  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLE9Q5C0y4A

Tags: book trailers, Moodle, video