European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                V set  a. It. It. It i. A a Mem Mem amp. A go Myrtle go Quot a students in a special elementary school class urge on one of their robotic creations through a Maze Laid out on a classroom floor. Ii a six a a a a a in ten year old 4 in motion a rot commands into of electrodes t a aeons in the cd Fis Scroi photos by Jim Derheim continued from Page 13 Germany Kloss says. She teaches one group of advanced students and two classes for beginners a total of 24 youngsters during lunch and after school hours. Next year the school will get about $27,000 for a 12-station Laboratory where Kloss will teach six classes. Kloss Hopes to determine if students receiving traditional science instruction along with Legot logo will master science objectives better than those who receive Only Standard instruction. Legot logo originated in the mid-1980s when the huge Lego group of Lillund Denmark a maker of the Little plastic bricks a collaborated with a team of scientists and educators. A key figure in the development of the classroom technique was Seymour Papert a professor at Massachusetts Institute of technology a Media lab and a harsh critic of traditional lectures and drills. He designed a programming language for children trying to capture on a pc the pleasure of tinkering that had made science come alive for him As a child. Pager named his software logo. Kloss raves about the system. She says it brings science to life a and beyond that makes students confident and excited about learning. The Young students at Patch agree they willingly give up their lunch and after school time. They say a a it a fun compared to traditional classes. A a you can play with the legos and build stuff a says Nicolas Kociuk an 11-year-old fifth grader after showing off the tiny european style washing machine he and Chris had helped build. The machine agitates during its Wash Cycle and moves in a circular motion during the drying Cycle. A in class there Are just lectures Quot Kociuk added. Fourth graders Michelle Gomez and Geoff Pangman were among the creators of the brightly coloured merry go round Complete with computer music. In class students talk confidently about gear ratio about Myrtle the Turtle s optic and touch sensors about Bug boxes working with partners writing programs a and about challenges. Myrtle they say is Quot just an object Quot that will do anything Quot Young minds at work Quot program it to do. Iyar a a a # Rader Geoff Pangman grins As he sets i Lego creation by programming a set of computer at left a student holds a pair i will Send Myrtle the robot scurrying. M a student reaches for a rubber Gasket in a kit of parts for 14 Patch american elementary school in Stuttgart West Gerro robots being built by a special class at discovering. Real world science by Amy Geiszler Jones . Bureau is science More than dissected frogs and chemical formulas students in Deb Pennelly a class on Quot science and technology in today s society at the american High school at Raf Woodbridge England say it is. Their consensus is that it can even be fun and practical. The 19 students taking the class this Quarter a freshmen through senior a Are putting together two different computer controlled robots. In the process they re learning about tools frequently used in the medical and Industrial Fields. Quot this is the future. In a really getting into robotics Quot enthused 17-year-old Andrea Longoria leaning against a chemistry table where a few pieces of Wood that would make up a Micro robot were strewn about. The Lone senior in the class said when she recently watched a television special about robotics she Quot knew what they were talking  Junior Christy Hitt is taking the class for the second time. Last semester they Learned about conservation of Energy. A when i got into it i found it s different from physical science or chemistry where you sit and learn about things but you Don t know How it relates to the  the 16-year-old almost missed the Chance to discover real world science. She had been trying to take a chemistry course but signed up for Pennelly a class because it fit better into her semester schedule. Pennell one of 45 science teachers selected for a summer research program with the . Department of Energy said the new teaching concept is growing in science curriculum. British schools offer a similar class. One of five science teachers at Woodbridge Pennell said the alternative science class is taught at few other Dodds Atlantic schools. There is no textbook for the course Dodds provides photocopied modules of the course instead. Pennell supplements modules with information from reference books. She designed the course to be taught Over two years with a theme for each of eight quarters. This is the second year she has taught the course Here. Next Quarter s theme will be laser technology. The robots the students Are building Don t fit the stereotype like an r2-d2 or a c-3po from the Quot Star wars Quot films. The wooden robots will be quite Small but both will be controlled by a computer program. Commands typed into the program will Tell the robots what functions to perform. One group of students was working on piecing together a Crane like Arm robot on an 8-by-10-Inch base. Quot it la be Able to pick up nothing heavier than an Apple Quot said one of its builders Sophomore Kassie Larsen 17. Quot but we done to know if it la even work Quot added Chantel Greider a 16-year-old Junior. Getting it to work will be in the hands of Mike Young. Put in charge of the robots electronics makeup hell assemble the relays transistors and other wizardry that will make the robot come alive. Longoria s group is attempting to put together a Micro robot which will have its mechanisms on a Flat Board that will rest on roller skate Type wheels. By commanding it to move Forward backward or sideways the robot which will have a Pencil attached to it s underside Between two of its four wheels will be Able to draw pictures explained 15-year-old Sophomore Shawn Holloman. While her class is involved in an exciting science project Pennell a who has been a teacher with Dodds for six years a is looking Forward to the Energy department assignment which will help her Quot keep up with the flow of science outside the classroom. Quot the 31-year-old Pennell will be conducting eight weeks of water pollution research at Battelle Pacific Northwest laboratories in Richland Wash. The Field of research will be a new undertaking for Pennell who has eight academic degrees. She had been hoping to expand on her background of food poisoning research during which she and colleagues at Eastern Michigan University proved it was possible although uncommon to pass botulism through inanimate objects. Included in her research duties will be the writing and narration of some teaching tools. Quot i expect it to be fun and practical Quot said Pennell reiterating her students feelings towards the class she teaches. Shell be Able to put her research to immediate use when she returns to the classroom in september because the science and technology class will be studying the environment. Software for older students by . Shannon new York times there is plenty of educational software much of it so enhanced with color and pictures that learning seems like a game. Nothing is wrong with that especially for younger children but sometimes a More straightforward approach can be refreshing especially for older students. The Quot step by step Quot mathematics tutorials from professor Weissmann a software consist of six no frills but sophisticated programs that teach algebra. All the equipment needed is an ism compatible computer with 384 kilobytes of internal memory and a color graphics adapter or Hercules card. It has been a Long time since i had to Deal with signed numbers exponents or order of operations among the topics dealt with on the first disk and i must have been absent the Day that combining like terms was explained. A Nice feature of the tutorial is that when a wrong answer is Given the program shows step by step How to arrive at the Correct one so no textbook is needed. As you get better the randomly generated problems get harder. The course deals with areas too numerous to list Here. Among them Are linear equations multiplying Binomials scientific notations factoring trinomial quadratic equations and radicals. The program keeps track of your Progress. There really is a professor Weissman. He is Martin Weissman who has taught mathematics at Essex county Community College in Newark . For More than 20 years and has worked As a computer consultant. The nerve Center of his company is his Kitchen table in Staten Island . Well Apple started in a garage. The Basic Cost of the disks is $30 apiece in either the 3.5-Inch or 5.25-Inch size. There Are special deals for students and educators. For details write Weissman at 246 Crafton Avenue Staten Island . 10314, or Call 718 698-5219. Blackout is a game and it does t pretend to be educational but the skills required to master it Are not unrelated to mathematics particularly geometry. You must manipulate blocks falling into a pit so that they fill the layers at the Bottom rewarding the player with the Best and swiftest sense of spatial relationships. If that sounds like Tetras or its sequel Well Tris its because it is similar to those two addictive exercises. They were created by a soviet mathematician. Blackout also comes from behind the former Iron curtain it was developed by Aleksander Ustaszewski of Warsaw for California dreams 780 Montague expressway no. 403, san Jose Calif. 95131. After you have mastered the Standard blackout setup almost 1,000 variations Are available. Blackout is available for ism compatible computers Amiga and the macintosh. The suggested retail Price in the United states is $39.95. Monday a in 9,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15