November 5, 2007

Project Lead the Way students to visit College of Technology campus in Anderson

The students, most of whom are involved with Project Lead the Way, a national nonprofit program that teaches engineering and technology to middle and high school students, will work with professor Russell Aubrey and other members of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology to build the circuit.

The students will be in the lab starting at 9 a.m. at the College of Technology at Anderson location at the Anderson University Flagship Center, 2705 Enterprise Drive.

"Through Project Lead the Way, these students have learned the basics about the technology behind this project, but we are providing an opportunity for them to learn and work in a professional-quality laboratory setting," said Jeffrey Dyer of the College of Technology in Anderson. "We are exposing them to instruction and technology that not many students their age have the chance to work with."

The 90-minute project will consist of a brief discussion of basic electronics, including transistor theory, capacitance and resistance. The students will then build a circuit by assembling the components on a circuit board and soldering them into place with soldering irons. They also will build two blinking LED lights into the board. Students will be able to take the completed project home with them.

After their project is completed, the Hamilton Southeastern students will attend a talk by Tim Wedge of the National White Collar Crime Center, who will discuss "High-Tech Crimes: The Challenges of Combating Computer-Literate Criminals." Wedge will speak from 10-11:15 a.m. and from 12:30-1:45 p.m. at Purdue's Anderson campus.

Gary Randolph, an associate professor of computer and information technology at Anderson, said the visit by the Hamilton Southeastern students is the latest example of how Purdue's Anderson location is working closely with Project Lead the Way schools in the area.

"Project Lead the Way consists of an innovative curriculum, including classes in engineering design and digital electronics, that introduces students to the scope and rigor of the engineering discipline while still in middle or high school," he said. "The four-year high school program gets them excited about math and science and prepares them to pursue these subjects in college. The key to its success is that they learn by doing, not just listening to a lecture."

Randolph said while there are currently no schools in Anderson that have adopted the Project Lead the Way curriculum, Purdue faculty at Anderson have worked closely with many of the area schools that do offer the program.

He and other faculty members have given talks to students in the participating schools about the difference between engineering and engineering technology, and frequently visit schools to lend the Project Lead the Way teachers a hand or technical advice.

Later in the semester, Pendleton Heights Project Lead the Way teacher Branden Jessie will bring some of his students to the Anderson location for a similar project.

In addition to Hamilton Southeastern and Pendleton Heights, Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Heights, Greenfield Central, New Palestine, Noblesville, Shenandoah and Westfield have adopted Project Lead the Way curriculum. In Delaware County, Muncie Central, Muncie Southside and Delta high schools have started the curriculum this year.

The goal of Project Lead the Way is to increase the number and quality of engineers and engineering technologists in the United States. The program works through collaborations between K-12 education, higher education, state government and industry.

Purdue is the affiliate university for Project Lead the Way in the state. The university also is responsible for training the program's high school teachers for the pre-engineering curriculum. A map of participating schools in the state can be found at http://www.pltw.org/schoollist.asp?toSelect=IN

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Jeffrey Dyer, (765) 648-2909, jldyer@purdue.edu

Gary Randolph, (765) 641-4551, gbrandolph@purdue.edu

Dennis Owen, (765) 641-4564, dennis.o.owen.1@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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