New Course Connects Students to the World of Technology 

What’s happening when you tell a robot to move from Point A to Point B? 

Students in Spring Lake Park High School's new Machine & Technology Essentials class are finding out. While working in Scratch, a beginner's coding software, students are learning how to give a machine instructions to help the robot make its way through a maze. 

The task is simple enough, but the thought process needed to code the action is not. Coding is just one small piece of what students will learn in the new, trimester-long elective for grades 9-12.  

“This course is kind of the intersection between software and hardware,” says Karen Kutz, Innovative and Personalized Learning Specialist. 

While coding has been an important part of Spring Lake Park High School's Technology, Engineering and Design (TED) Pathway, educators wanted students to have opportunities to experience other aspects of the sector - including the physical world of machines and the systems that connect and protect technology. 

“We identified that we needed more structure and sequence inside of the TED Pathway,” says Martin Lohman, course co-instructor. “We landed on machine and technology to be able to synthesize connections between coding, the physical world - like mechatronics - and then also cybersecurity and building projects for kids to do that weave between them.” 

The course allows students the opportunity to build foundational skills and knowledge in each area while also exploring their connections. 

“We wanted a course that would lay the foundation for students to get an introduction to these areas and explore to see if there is a career path within for them,” says Karen. 

Zac Humphrey, course co-instructor, understands students may not have a clear career path or technical skill set when entering the classroom. For him, giving students the opportunity to try, explore and follow their interests is at the heart of the class. 

I’m looking at fostering an interest in the areas of this course. If they come out with a honed skill, that’s good, but what I really want them to develop is curiosity. Zac Humphrey, course co-instructor

A little bit of everything – with a purpose 

The course begins with the study of coding  

"Right now, students are essentially learning the ABCs of coding," says Zac.  

Using Scratch, students are learning concepts such as sequencing and commands while trying to get a digital robot through a maze. The purpose of the activity is to allow students to build foundational coding knowledge while also seeing how direct communication with machines works. 

“I like learning about how robots think,” says 11th grader Radwan. “They are very direct and much different than humans - they just do what you tell them to do.” 

The next unit covers mechatronics - the physical world of machines. Students will learn measurement, drilling, tapping and how to identify different tools. 

The final unit is the study of cybersecurity and networking. The goal is to learn how these technologies communicate and connect. 

Ultimately, the three areas will come together for a final project where students will be challenged to use the skills they’ve learned to complete a number of tasks with a robot and robotic arm. 

“The coding is all of the software side,” Martin explains. “Mechatronics is building. But a lot of those machines run on software. So being able to understand how we code also helps us understand how machines run and how we better support them.” 

Networking, then, literally connects the areas of study. 

“How do we keep it all safe and secure and connected?” Martin asks. 

Meeting students where they’re at 

One of the unique things about this course is that students may enter the course with different levels of experience. 

Some students have been writing code at home for years; others may not have any coding experience at all. The course was designed to support students with varying degrees of experience.  

“We teach it brand new for those who are coming into this course without much knowledge of the course topics,” says Martin. “But we are also aware that some students have knowledge or experience that they want to expand upon. We are going to meet each student where they are at as much as possible.” 

Radwan is learning and growing a lot in this course. 

“I didn’t have any knowledge of coding coming in,” he says. “The most challenging part is just learning about coding in general. But I am starting to get the hang of it.” 

Cheemeng, a 9th grader, on the other hand, has prior coding experience. He took the EPIC game design and STEM classes at Westwood Middle School. He is enjoying expanding his knowledge. 

“I like the hands-on opportunities and working with a team,” says Cheemeng.  

Collaboration is key to this course. 

Before students got started on their coding unit, they participated in a number of team-building activities that helped build communication and collaboration skills that will be needed as they work together on projects. 

One of the first activities involved a manufacturing challenge where students participated in designing an assembly line and building paper-bag ‘bricks’ that met certain criteria. Teams that finished the most bricks while maintaining the integrity of their design won the challenge. The winning team built 37 bricks.  

The activity was intended to show students there is more to the class than building just technical skills. 

“A big part of what we’re asking or wanting kids to get out of any Pathways course are the career and life competencies,” says Karen. “This includes collaboration. It’s also about self-direction, learning about yourself, and what you like and what you’re interested in.” 

Discovering where technology can take you 

Students in this course got a taste of career exploration early on when they completed a career-interest project. 

"Students began by taking a career profiler to identify potential career paths that might be a good fit for them based on their interests and skills," says Zac. "From their top five career matches, they selected one career to research and compared it to a career related to one of the industries highlighted in this course." 

Students researched a number of factors related to both careers. This included job responsibilities, education requirements, the time and money needed to obtain the education, job availability in the metro, and the projected future outlook for the jobs. 

Students then used Canva, a graphic design software, to create a poster comparing the two careers and sharing their thoughts on which career they would choose for each category. 

The activity allowed students to make connections between what they are learning in class and their potential career interests after high school. 

“I am looking to go into the trades after high school,” says Cheemeng. “I am planning to take a lot of classes to explore the different options.” 

Radwan is interested in engineering as a career path after high school. 

“I wanted to take this course because I want to go into engineering after high school,” he says. “My brother is an engineer and that’s a big reason I want to learn more and explore it.” 

The course also gives students a chance to discover what they don't want to pursue. 

“For some kids, maybe this is ruling out that this area doesn’t interest them, and that’s okay,” says Karen. “It’s really about the exploration.” 

Students who find something that interests them, whether software or physical machines or the networking that connects them, will have the opportunity to explore those areas more deeply. There may also be an entirely new interest that they hadn’t even considered before taking this course. 

Within this course, we have 100 different flavors of what a career could look like. - Martin Lohman, course co-instructor

There are currently three Career and College Pathways at Spring Lake Park High School that represent the predicted need for future jobs. There are 37 pathways courses offering a variety of ways for students to explore careers, gain hands-on experience, and often, earn college credit.