The Norman Kiwanis Club recognized one adult and one high school student this week as Students of the Month. Selected students are enrolled at Moore Norman Technology Center and represent full-time career majors in Health and Technical and Engineering.
Moore High School senior Clint Shepherd is a second-year student in MNTC's Pre-Engineering class. He is ranked third in the class, and is the afternoon class leader for the FIRST Robotics competition this semester. He'll be in charge of the programming. Shepherd earned a 30 on the ACT exam and has already applied to the University of Oklahoma's College of Engineering with high hopes of being accepted. He wants to focus on chemical engineering while at OU.
During the fall semester Shepherd and a classmate worked with Moore Public Schools' Earlywine and Winding Creek Elementary to mentor two Lego League teams. They worked with students for eight weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays to prepare them for a robot contest Dec. 12. Winding Creek earned second place in the project portion.
"That experience gave me more respect for the work teachers do and how they keep kids interested in science and math. I had a great time with this project," said Shepherd.
He said that his time spent in this class has allowed him to explore different areas of engineering and grow his work ethic and drive to decide that engineering is the field he wants to work in for a career. This spring his class will compete in the FIRST Robotics competition as Team 1742 March 25-27 at the Oklahoma City Cox Convention Center. However, over the next few weeks students must design, develop, and construct a robot that is able to compete in robot soccer called Breakaway. Shepherd feels good about the project and about jumping into the field of engineering after all of his experience at MNTC.
Parker Lusk is a senior at Westmoore High School and is a second-year student in MNTC's Pre-Engineering class. He is a member of the National Honor and National Technical Honor Societies, is a member of Team 1742, MNTC's First Robotics division, is involved in the WHS Multicultural Club and is a member of STAND, a student group that aides the people of Darfur, Sudan.
Lusk and MNTC Pre-Engineering Instructor Jason Rausch were in Austin, Texas last week to present at the 2nd Annual Project Lead The Way National Symposium on high school engineering programs. They participated in a student showcase of the projects completed over the past two years and Lusk did a digital electronics presentation.
He is ranked first in his class, and actively seeks opportunities to promote and discuss learning opportunities involved through his Pre-Engineering class. Lusk and a few of his classmates located teachers at Earlywine and Winding Creek Elementary Schools in Moore Public Schools, to begin a new Lego League for 4th to 6th graders. He's responsible for advising on the programming part of the project. This year, Lusk is responsible for the programming of the robot Team 1742 will develop through their FIRST Robotics competition starting in January.
"I've known engineering is what I want to do for a career for a long time. I know now what I'm getting into in college, and feel that I'll be step-ahead, just starting out," said Lusk.
Lusk recommends that students who are serious about their education and engineering should get all their credits taken care of, and not to change their school schedules because a class like Pre-Engineering can open their eyes to what's expected, and to opportunities to be leaders.
NORMAN — Members of Moore Norman Technology Center’s robotics team are tuning up their robot for the FIRST Robotics Championship April 15-18 in Atlanta, Ga.
The team will compete against other top ranking teams from regional competitions around the world.
The tech center’s team, which goes by the name Shockwave, earned a place in the championship tournament by winning the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition in February at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The team also received two design awards at the competition.
The team also participated in another regional competition in Dallas this past weekend and won the Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionals Award for the second year in a row.
The tech center’s 26-member team consists of students enrolled in the technology center’s pre-engineering program. Instructors are Jason Rausch and Art Waldenville.
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics is an education program that teaches high school students about careers in science and engineering.
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — Students in Moore Norman Technology Center’s pre-engineering program are preparing for a robotics competition by fine-tuning their latest robot.
Moore Norman Technology Center’s Board of Education will have its monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. today on the South Penn Campus, 13301 S Pennsylvania Ave. The board has an executive session scheduled during the meeting to discuss the purchase or appraisal of property. Board member Max Venard also will take an oath for his new term in office.
Students in the class unveiled the robot this week during a special presentation at the Franklin Road Campus.
The students will compete against other teams from around the state and region at the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition Feb. 26-28 in Oklahoma City.
Students have six weeks to brainstorm, design and engineer a fully-functional robot after receiving two crates of parts.
Students from Norman, Norman North, Moore, Westmoore and Southmoore high schools are part of the team.
During the competition, students will guide their robot through a predesigned course, picking up points for completed tasks. The theme for this year’s competition is "Lunacy.”
The Norman Transcript
Students of Moore Norman Technology Center’s Pre-Engineering program will unveil their newest robot this Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. at MNTC’s Franklin Road Seminar Center. After the unveiling event, it will be disassembled, carefully packed away and mailed to the Oklahoma City Cox Convention Center for the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition. It will be held 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Feb. 26-28 and students from all over the state and region will participate using robots they’ve engineered for the showdown. This year’s competition is called Lunancy. Game and robot details may be found at the FIRST Robotics website: www.usfirst.org.
The FIRST Robotics Competition stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Over 1,100 teams from across the United States will participate in regional competitions, leading up to the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship to be held April 16-18 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.
Students have six weeks to brainstorm, design and engineer a fully-functional robot after receiving two large crates consisting of parts, engines, wires, framing and other components. Students represent MNTC’s five partner schools in education: Moore, Westmoore, Southmoore, Norman and Norman North high schools. MNTC’s Pre-Engineering program takes on a huge endeavor with this FIRST Competition effort, but Instructors Jason Rausch and Art Waldenville believe their students have been up for the challenge since the day they presented the contest to them.
“These are some of the brightest minds in high school – kids who know they want to become engineers later in life – and what an incredible experience this is for them to work on a real-world project like this under extreme pressure,” said Waldenville. Rausch agreed, “This is the closest they’ll get to experience what engineers do; being tied to a fixed budget, weight, size and electrical constraints, and a hard deadline of six weeks from beginning to end. That’s as real as it gets for engineers. They had to work in teams, have parts of the project assigned to them individually, and take on massive amounts of responsibility. We’re so proud of them.”
MNTC’s two-year Pre-Engineering program is for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors and requires five main courses of study. The FIRST Competition now satisfies the second-year students’ Engineering, Design and Development course project requirement.
Rausch stressed that the competition as a whole is the bonus to the project. He said the true growth and learning happened prior to the stage setting, and that each student is expected to conduct themselves with “gracious professionalism.” “What gracious professionalism teaches is how to conduct themselves in industry. If another team burns out a transistor or a controller, it’s the gracious thing to do to give them one if we have an extra during competition. This is real-world and how engineers interact with each other,” he said. Rausch also noted that the competition is truly won in the design and building of the robot and not necessarily at the competition stage.
The team has a project website, www.team1742.com, which lists sponsors, and follows the work they’ve done to date. It’s another area of the competition that they’ll be judged over. When they enter the competition, it’s a round-robin type of event in which three teams will be paired up in an arena to compete. They have to score the most points, together and individually and work together to accomplish the mission. If MNTC’s team wins the regional competition, they’ll move on to the national spotlight. “We’re just so proud of all they’ve accomplished in such a short time. Whatever the outcome, they’re winners for having attempted, and succeeded in this. They are engineers,” said Waldenville.
For more information about MNTC’s Pre-Engineering class visit www.mntechnology.com or call 364-5763, ext. 7260.
By Tony Pennington
The Norman Transcript Staff Writer
At a svelte 120 pounds, Sprocket had the makings of a five-tool robot. Thanks to a high torquing 3 speed motor, the rookie covered 1.7 to 12 feet of ground per second which made it a monster on defense. Applying that quickness and the abilities of a shut-down cornerback with a cannon for an arm -- the exit velocity of a high-density foam ball has been clocked at nearly 27 mph -- and the Howling Spotted Ligers of Moore Norman Technology Center were more than pleased with their offseason construction.
"I knew it was going to be a lot of hard work," said team leader and Norman North High School senior Robert Love, 18, reflecting on the experience. "We were ready for it."
Sprocket's journey began as $3,500 in parts back in January. The Howling Spotted Ligers -- an amalgamation of the four mascots from Moore, Westmoore, Norman and Norman North high schools -- spent six weeks in design and development and assembly. Afternoons and weekends were spent by MNTC pre-engineering students and instructors to bring the robot from concept to working machine. Carpentry, precision machining and welding students also were called in to help with fabrication.
"This was part of our curriculum," said Jason Rausch, pre-engineering instructor and assistant coach. He compared the build to a capstone project used on the university level. "Our students had time during the day for design and fabrication, but we still met after school and weekends. We look at it as a Moore Norman Technology Center robot, not just pre-engineering. It was really an effort from all programs across the school."
So it was with great care Sprocket was crated and shipped to Houston in late February for the FIRST Robotics Lone Star Regional, March 30-April 1. More than 50 other rolling, mechanical combatants awaited MNTC's arrival for its initial campaign.
Unlike most challenges, the FIRST competition has robots working in teams of three. It is up to the students to meet before each round to decide which robots will be used for defense and offense. The goal is to maneuver on the carpeted 54-foot by 26-foot playing surface collecting foam balls to shoot into the scoring areas at each end.
MNTC proved itself among the best early by rising as high as sixth before Sprocket ran over a foam ball and dislodged two chains needed to propel the machine. The team did finish the tournament ranked 19th and placed in the top 10 in the country for defense. Like true sportsmen, team members did not hang their head. They left Houston with more than a feeling of accomplishment.
"It was all worth it regardless of how we placed." Love said. "This gave us a chance to use all of our classroom work."
And that was the purpose of introducing the robot project. Head coach and pre-engineering instructor Art Waldenville said it was a way to give his students practical experience.
"This was a perfect way to pull it all together," he said as students had account for complex calculations, computer programming and design as well as deal with motor issues. "With each step over the six weeks they learned more about their abilities. It was really rewarding to see that. It got me pumped to watch them get excited and commit to something and have their own ideas."
It won't be until next year before students get another crack at building an original robot. Waldenville and Rausch believe the program is worth the time and expense and beneficial to students.
"This is a good chance for the kids to get their hands dirty and build something," Rausch said. "A good engineer won't keep his nose in a book."
As for Sprocket, he won't be motoring off into the sunset. The first-generation MNTC robot will become a pitchman of sorts for the school and pre-engineering.
"We are going to use it as a marketing tool," Rausch said, adding he would like to take the robot to the high schools. "We are going to show it off."