Back...With New Family!

I (Mr. Hron) am back!

I was gone for three weeks of school due to the birth of my first child! Both Mrs. Hron, and our daughter, Eleanor, are doing great. I wanted to share the reason for my absence over the last few weeks in case you were unaware of this special time in our family.

As I return to school, I will be re-organizing the classroom and my desk, and beginning the students on their final project of the year. This project can be viewed as a final exam of sorts, but instead of a sit-down pencil-and-paper test, the students will be showing off their design skills over the next few weeks as they work on, and complete, their final project.

Please be sure to continue checking this website and the school newsletter to learn details about the final project. Pictures and other updates can be found at my classroom twitter @MrHron! If you have any questions about anything, you can reach me at my email (james.hron@fridley.k12.mn.us).

Wind Tunnels and Airplanes

The students have just finished their commercial projects, and we have gone through viewing day. Viewing day is a day where all the student’s commercials get aired, and the students get to sit back, relax, and enjoy the outcome of their hard work.

Next, students will be learning about how flight in the atmosphere works. They will learn the reason we use wind tunnels, and actually get to see our classroom wind tunnel in practice! The knowledge over the next few weeks that students will gain about flight, wings, and air foils, will help them as we approach our final project: The Water Bottle Rockets.

Be sure to check out our twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Intro to Autodesk Inventor

The students have begun learning about our 3d modeling software, Autodesk Inventor! The students
are working their way from beginning fundamentals, to more and more complex skills. Over the next few weeks the students will be building basic shapes online, to more complex shapes. This learning will take place through online Youtube tutorials.

Once students have the basic skills down, the students will begin creating real life objects. These become more difficult because students are no longer following directions on how to build something – they must figure out how to create these objects themselves! These skills will help the students as they move towards our final project of the year in May!

Be sure to check out our twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Designing Cities of the Future

The students are about to begin their next design. This design is an interesting one, because students will begin by working individually, but when they began actually creating their design, they will be

A student's beginning design.

working in groups. This is the first project the students will be working in groups for, and it will be interesting to see where their collaboration skills are at.

The students will be creating a future city. The goal of this new design is to identify where current cities have problems (traffic, pollution, etc.), and how a well-planned city of the future could fix these issues. I am very interested to see what the students are able to come up with in their designs!

Be sure to check out our twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Beginning Programming

Since winter break, the students have been learning about building mechanisms and complex machines. Now, things get even more challenging.

The students are soon going to begin learning how to program. This starts with theory work (computers need to be told exactly what to do), and then moves to simple programs on the computer, such as turning a light on and off, or starting a motor.

However, once the students have mastered the basics of computer programming, and apply their knowledge of mechanisms and machines, the possibilities in class are endless.

Be sure to stay tuned in with twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Commercials Almost Done

The students are just finishing up their commercials. These commercials are looking very good, and many of them have complex and challenging special effects. One group is attempting to use the white
brick walls in our hallways as a green screen, so their footage appears to be in front of a rocket. Another student has special effects added so it appears there is fire on the screen and stars moving by. Another group has spent a lot of time animating their product, so it appears more appealing in the commercial.

In addition to the technical side of the commercials, the students are also working hard on advertising. Advertising is all about trying to see the product from the target audience’s perspective. The students are trying to answer questions about how to target families, or children, or people who need to drive to work. By the end of this week, the commercials will be complete!

Be sure to stay tuned in with twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

2017 Rube Goldberg Challenge

The 2017 Rube Goldberg challenge is coming to a close. Over the last few weeks, students have been using recycled materials (like toilet paper tubes, old mousetraps, etc.) to put together a chain reaction of simple machines, all for the purpose of rolling a single six-sided die. The amount of research, design, and time the students have put into all aspects of their machine has been incredible this year.

So far, a large number of students have not only been able to get their Rube Goldberg machines to work, but many have been able to get their machines to work on the very first try! This is a challenging thing to do when creating Rube Goldberg Machines, and the research, design, and testing the students have done prove why these results are consistent.

Be sure to stay tuned in with twitter (@MrHron) and our classroom website (mrhron.blogspot.com) for more updates!