Project Lead The Way!

[dez250]

As the name states this thread is about PLTW the Pre-Engineering course for highschool, located out of Clifton Park, N.Y.
The questions i have are:
-whos heard of it?
-who has it in their school?
-what classes have you taken (if any)?
-also what experiance have you gotten from it?
-What would you say to others thinking about taking any of the classes?

Heres the website for PLTW http://www.pltw.org

~Mike

[Yan Wang]

It's offered in our school.

I thought about taking it and then realized that it wasn't a really good use of time.

I mean, first year, they teach you technical drawing on Autocad Inventor... Well, that program isn't really worthy of 1 year to teach (along with some basic lessons in drawing style and technique) especially when you can just grab the robotics' teams copy and learn it.

2nd year is digital electronics and that's something I competed in and knew enough about.

I wes thinking about taking Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) in 11th grade this fall but then I just got a copy of mastercam and have started learning to use it...

I get PLTW is a good course for people with little engineering background and who want to learn the basics. However, for someone who is pursuing a technical engineering field, the course is probably not too useful if you can do robotics instead ... Or motivate yourself to do it at home.

[ebmonon36]

We have it at our school. This was our first year in the program. I did not take any of the classes because of scheduleing conflicts. This program changed our electronics classes to digital electronics, our CAD classes used both AutoCAD and Inventor ( i think). Thats all that I can contribute.
Eric

[dez250]

Originally posted by monsieurcoffee
It's offered in our school.
I get PLTW is a good course for people with little engineering background and who want to learn the basics. However, for someone who is pursuing a technical engineering field, the course is probably not too useful if you can do robotics instead ... Or motivate yourself to do it at home.

This is what saddens me. IT is great that it has spread to 40 states from just 2 schools, but what i dont think is cool is the degree it is different from one school to anotther, i guess also with schools dont always have teachers that can be well prepared to teach some of the classes. I would say i have a good backround in engineering and things but from the staudents that have gone through the course in our school, the brother school to the originating school, the students still use their notes and notebooks from classes like POE and things in their junior and senior year in college for mechanical engineering, so i guess some schoolls dont teach as in depth as others do.

~Mike

[Andy Baker]

Don't let monsiercoffee let you down about PLTW, Dez... it is a great program.

Kokomo HS adopted the program about 3 years ago and it was the first school in Indiana to do so. No, there are over 50 Indiana schools with PLTW. As you know, it is not a dumbed-down alternative to a robotics team, as implied above. It is a foundation of basics for many types of engineering, and students need that. PLTW provides students with courses similar to the "intro to engineering" courses that many colleges have.

For our team, the students in the Inventor class get through their projects pretty quickly, and then they start working on FIRST stuff (heh... the teacher is on the team, and he has read these Forums for 4-5 years now). So even the motivated students can take the course, get ahead, and work on FIRST-team related stuff in their class time.

Heck, if people can take home a master-cam program and learn it on their own, I suppose that they can also take home a Calculus book and memorize it too. It dosen't necessarily mean that they know how to use what they are learning. They should still take the class.

PLTW is one of the best technical, curriculum-based programs that has come along for high schoolers. I have attended many PLTW recruiting sessions and see that teachers are as excited about this program as the students are.

Kudos to Shenendoah HS and others for making this nation-wide program a success.

Andy B.

[JVN]

Originally posted by Andy Baker
Kudos to Shenendoah HS and others for making this nation-wide program a success.

Shenendehowa...
I'm a "Shen" alum, so I should probably correct you Andy.

I took the PLTW tech curriculum (at the original school) and it was great. It certainly gives you a taste of engineering, and teaches you some practical skills to help you out as you progress through engineering.

I've worked for 3 summers as a CAD draftsman, due in part to my PLTW experience.

[GregTheGreat]

PLTW is a new thing to Northwest Indiana. Gavit High in Hammond Indiana, have adopted the program. This coming up school year will be the first year for the program in our school system. I received a letter today that I was accepted. Myself and another member of our robotics team were the only present high schoolers that were accepted. PLTW which is a four year program is meant to be a pre-engineering course. Our school in partnership with Purdue University Calumet have raised the millions of dollars to cover the expense of this program. Our school (Gavit) is the first school out of the district that have adopted this program, and have covered the expenses.

What our school has done is take resume's off all incoming freshman and reviewed their records to see who would be most applicable for this type of program. The PLTW program in my mind are for people that are looking to be in the engineering field.

What our school has done is partnership with Purdue University Calumet to offer a advanced curriculum, along with state of the art lab settings. In addition we have had one of our teachers at Gavit go through the training to become a PLTW teacher. Our Gavit teacher along with many professors at Purdue will work together in an in-lighting lab to better benefit the selected students.

What was interesting was the outpouring of people who wanted to become part of this program. The program which was offered only to advanced students. I have met with all of the people involved in our local PLTW program, and it is truly a great addition to any school system.

From what I have talked about with many of the mentors and professors at Purdue Calumet, it appears to be a great program for those looking to further their learning in the field of engineering.

Another great addition to our program is that since it begins before regular school hours, you can get the credit without missing out on any other school credits. We have also worked out in the partnership that PLTW in Hammond will also count as a college credit. This way if you attend college at Purdue you will have many of you're intro classes out of the way.

I would recommend PLTW to every school district that sponsors FIRST teams. The program takes FIRST one step further, right into the classroom.

[David Hoff]

I think this upcoming school year will be the first time PLTW has been offered at Perry Meridian. I will be taking the class along with a few of my teammates.

[chellyzee93]

We just started an engineering charter school in the tech department of my high school this last year. The curriculum was a home brew but things went well. We know what works- and what does not. Our teachers will be attending a training session this summer for the Project Lead the Way. The program will be in effect this school year. I got the chance to look through some of the brochures and saw the video at one of our board meetings. Looks interesting, I am intrigued and looking forward to being a part of it.

[Amanda Morrison]

As Greg said, the School City of Hammond is integrating Project Lead the Way in their curriculum this school year. I believe 50 kids from the entire city were admitted based on previous experience, skills, and interest. Purdue University is working with the school city to help these kids acquire basic skills while still in high school.

My brother, Andrew, and Greg - both members of 71 - have been admitted to this program. My brother is very excited about what he will learn throughout this school year and is eager for the next school year to begin. I think it is very exciting for a kid his age - taking off from school every morning to go to Purdue University, learn about things that you think are fun, and applying that knowledge during the next build season of FIRST. Although I do not take to the technical side of FIRST, it makes me happy to see someone his age being offered this program. I hope many students benefit from PLTW.

[SarahB]

Our school is currently in the process of adopting the PLTW curriculum, starting with my class(class of 2005). I really enjoy the classes so far, but since we’re the guinea pigs we’ve encountered some problems with the teachers adjusting to the curriculum and not quite understanding what they needed to cover and what we already knew from other classes. We’re going through the classes in a slightly weird order though. We did IED in 9th grade, CIM and POE in 10th, then DE for 11th and EDD for 12th. Its not all that different though since we take Physics as sophomores.

And to monsieurcoffee, there’s a LOT more to CIM than MasterCAM. That program is pure evil, we only spent a week or two on it before our teacher decided there were better things to do in class.

[cmaccoy]

Originally Posted by SarahB

Our school is currently in the process of adopting the PLTW curriculum, starting with my class(class of 2005). I really enjoy the classes so far, but since we’re the guinea pigs we’ve encountered some problems with the teachers adjusting to the curriculum and not quite understanding what they needed to cover and what we already knew from other classes. We’re going through the classes in a slightly weird order though. We did IED in 9th grade, CIM and POE in 10th, then DE for 11th and EDD for 12th. Its not all that different though since we take Physics as sophomores.

And to monsieurcoffee, there’s a LOT more to CIM than MasterCAM. That program is pure evil, we only spent a week or two on it before our teacher decided there were better things to do in class.

MasterCam is defanatly NOT evil! i'm not trying to be mean but once you've worked with it for a year or so it is just as easy as well...typing up a post on this sight. i'm not trying to be mean but once you really understand it, its as easy as...well..posting on this sight. i happen to like the software but you can have your own opinion. And if you ever have another chance to learn MasterCam i'd take it because it really is a good and fun program.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

our school has had PLTW for 5 years. Im in DE now, and both years have been great. Plus, i get shiny RIT credit

[Sscamatt]

Yes, PLTW is awesome...I just got my report card in the mail from RIT...4 college credits that are transferable in freshman year of hs sounds good to me

[UCGL_Guy]

Question for this thread - We (476) are looking at proposing the integration of FIRST into a new PLTW group being set up in our VO Tech system here in Oklahoma. We are looking for ideas of what has worked and how this is done.
And also how well do the two integrate together.
Any information is appreciated.
email rather than posting if you prefer.
Ken