Three Technologies Changing the World

By Hayden Hilgenhold

Nikolai Begg’s Trocar

So first let’s first state what a trocar is.  Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgery.  The doctor makes 3 or more holes in the skin of the surgery site and use long, tube like, devices to do the surgery completely inside the body.  This sounds great right? Less scarring, less of a chance of infection, less pain, and a shorter recovery time.  Only one problem.  The danger of the trocar.  The trocar is a long, pointed, metal device used to punch holes where needed for the surgery and there is always the chance that the patient may be injured from the trocar plunging down and hitting something vital.  

Nikolai Begg noticed this problem, and that this problem has been around for 100 years.  So he solved it.  He made an auto retracting trocar.  When the trocar finally pierces through the skin, making the entry point for the surgery, it retracts back up into itself in a .04 seconds.  And the engineering behind it is rather simple.  There is a spring also that wants to pull the tip back.  Then it has 2 hinged beams that when pressure is applied to the tip it holds in place against the sides of the box containing the spring.  When you puncture the skin the pressure holding the tip in place is released, causing the tip to retract. Knowing laparoscopic surgery causes almost 30,000 complications a year, this is an amazing device.  It’s so simple, and simply changing the world.  

Memory Implants

How often do you forget things?  If you’re anything like me you do it a lot.  However I don’t have any mental complications that cause this.  Imagine having a complication such as Alzheimer’s.  What if there was a way to use technology to give these people their memories back, or to make sure they never lose them in the first place.  

Well a man by the name of Theodore Berger thinks he’s done it.  Having cracked the code to the electrical pulses that create and recall long term memory, he believes he can put a silicon chip in someone’s head that can store these memories and recall them as easily as a perfectly functioning human brain.  Human tests have yet to be ran; the idea seems to out there to be approved and/or to receive consent from any volunteers. However, in theory it should work perfectly.  Will it? Only time will tell.  

Reverse Fuel Cell

On the definite edge of this article and the farthest in the future the reverse fuel cell is a.) possible and b.) revolutionary.  What is a reverse fuel cell though? Well a regular combustion engine takes in oxygen, mixes it with fuel, and creates energy via combustion.  The waste? CO2, something that can lead to climate change.  So what does a reverse fuel cell do?  It takes CO2 out of the air and mixes it with a fuel and emits clean oxygen.  Sounds great right? Well yes and no.  There is the issue where plants need CO2.  Also there aren’t very many environments on earth where CO2 is in mass abundance, yet.  However, NASA has been testing this engine on Mars and it has been working fairly well there.  Here’s my thoughts.  Take your regular combustion engine, let’s say a 4 cylinder.  Now run the exhaust into a second engine instead of out into the environment, this second engine using a reverse fuel cell.  Then run its pure emissions of oxygen out into the environment.  Of course no you may say, what about the trees.  Well there will always be regular cars.  They will now just have a balance.  While I’m sure this idea isn’t wholly original and has been thought about before, I’d like to think of it as my own. So, there you have it, three technologies to change the world.  

Sources

Trocar

http://www.ted.com/talks/nikolai_begg_a_tool_to_fix_one_of_the_most_dangerous_moments_in_surgery#

Memory Chip

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513681/memory-implants/

Reverse Fuel Cell  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/27/these-revolutionary-technologies-promised-to-help-save-us-from-climate-change-so-what-happened/

New Tech- Haptic Holograms

By Nick Etienne

Feeling is believing. A system that uses sound waves to project "haptic holograms" into mid-air - letting you touch 3D virtual objects with your bare hands - is poised to bring virtual reality into the physical world. Adding a sense of touch as well as sight and sound will make it easier to completely immerse yourself in VR. The ability to feel the shapes of virtual objects could let doctors use their hands to examine a lump detected by a CT scan, for example. What's more, museum visitors could handle virtual replicas of priceless exhibits while the real thing remains safely behind glass. 

From mental floss.com

Ben Long and his colleagues at the University of Bristol, UK, improved on a previous version of their UltraHaptics technology, which projected 2D outlines of map contours onto a screen. Now high-frequency sound waves emitted by an array of tiny speakers create the sensation of touching an invisible, floating object. When the sound hits the hand, the force of the waves exerts pressure on the skin. To make the jump from outlines to full shapes, the team added a leap motion sensor to track the precise position of a user's hands. Knowing where the hands are in relation to the virtual project means the system can direct ultrasound at the right time and frequency to produce the sensation of touching different parts of the object - the top, say, or the side. This creates the impression that you are exploring the surface of an object as you move your hands around in empty space. "Without haptic it's like you are in a dream and you cannot feel the environment," says Sebastien Kuntz of I'm In VR, VR developers in Paris, France. "You can only look at it, you don't have any feedback." 

From Wired

So far the researchers have tested several shapes, including spheres and pyramids. They appear to be gently vibrating in space, says Long. The level of detail in the virtual objects is limited, but using more, smaller speakers should improve the resolution of what can be projected, says Long. The shapes do not need to be perfect to conjure an immersive experience though. "Even if there are discrepancies, the brain will bend what it sees and feels to fit the overall picture," says Kuntz. The team says it has already been approached by companies interested in developing the technology for commercial applications. Technical Director Stuart Cupit says, "Touch is a missing element in virtual interfaces today."

Make Presentations More Interactive with NearPod

By Lain Knieriem

     When you put PowerPoints and interactive things up on the projector for the kids to see, things can get a little boring. It’s just that their attention doesn’t last very long. Though with a new presentation and interactive learning tool called NearPod, things will be a little more interesting. This new tool is something that your kids can interact with through their devices (computer or IPad) while they learn, and you can control what they see and do.

     Some of the great things that can be added to your presentation that you create, are Polls, Draw it, Quiz, enter PDF/documents, slideshows, videos, & just your own choice of words. Now when I say polls I mean voting, you can create a poll in your presentation so that when it comes up on the kid’s screen they can answer, and you get results that you can review. Now another interesting thing that NearPod has available is the Draw it tool. Using this you can write something like “draw a computer.” Then on their iPad or computer they can draw it, with these results you can cycle through them and share some that you like with the class on their devices. The next activity on NearPod is the Quiz, and it is exactly as it says, a quiz that you create so that your kids can show their knowledge. They can be big or small, and like the poll you get results that you can share with the class.

With all of this being said, the best way to see NearPod’s full potential is to see for yourself. So if you would like to go www.nearpod.com and create a free account in which you can explore and create. If you have any further questions just contact me at knierieml@pccommodores.org.

The Case for More RAM

By Chris Bybee

The usage and benefits of laptops that have a higher amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) can be very useful to both teachers and students in the sense that this extra memory can allow laptops and older desktops to handle more programs at the same time or run a single program extremely fast. As all teachers at school know, there is a program called Lightspeed installed on all computers and personal devices in the school. This program uses a great deal of your computer's RAM to block features and websites on the school computers. This exhibits why our laptops need more RAM and how this can be more beneficial to teachers and students.

This can help both parties, we will start off with the teacher point of view. As a teacher, you will constantly have several programs running at one time such as Word, Skyward and several internet tabs open at once. Maybe a teacher wants to use a document camera to show the answers to last night's homework or for a new lesson. If multiple tabs are open that you need and cannot close this will cause your image to look pretty rough and appear to be skipping. It may look like a slide show because your system cannot give enough attention to that program because the other programs are running in the background and taking up all of your RAM. In conclusion, adding additional RAM in the school's computers can significantly speed up lessons so that teachers can move on to more important topics for their class.

Moving on to the students' point of view. The average student in school has at least once blamed their computer for not getting their assignments done, even I have. (Yes, just today in fact. Techy Thursday? - KW) However, with additional RAM, students and staff will have fewer problems with their computers. Adding more RAM can stop the freezing or crashing of your system because the system would have more memory to give to your monitor or operating system. You sometimes get error messages saying that your system has crashed because your computer does not know what to do other than restart itself. This can save teachers and students time because when the work gets done by a high-performance PC, less time will be spent assigning lunch detention and 8th period as well as teachers being able to find more assignments for you to do.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Innovation Lab Update

By: Phil Zellers

The Innovation Lab is an evolving space.  I want to take some time to update everyone about what’s going on in that space.  First, it is home to a number of mine and Mr. Hanan’s engineering and advanced manufacturing classes.  In addition to those classes, it houses Mr. Risse’s computer science class.  It is also where my STEAM class meets.  Robotics teams and the after school LEAF group use this space as well.  So, there is a lot going on in this space and it’s an exciting place to be. 

                We have been fortunate to receive a number of new pieces of equipment added to the Innovation Lab through grants Jody and others have worked on.  We received a 3D printer last year that was designed for more experimental uses.  This year we have added a new, more advanced 3D printer.  It is a uPrint SE Plus and we are just beginning to figure out the capabilities of this machine.  Students are able to design objects on the Autodesk Inventor program and then print that product through this 3D printer.  I have learned of some new software, 123D Catch, available through Autodesk that will allow students to take pictures of an object, convert it to the right file through Inventor, and then print it on the 3D printer.  That’s amazing to me…the possibilities are endless with this machine! 

                A vinyl cutter is one of the newest additions to the Innovation Lab due to a Perkins grant Mr. Risse worked on.  This machine allows students to design graphics and create products such as decals.  It could also be used to create the graphics applied to signs and banners.  A group of students will soon be working a business model for this machine. 

                   Mr. Hanan’s advanced manufacturing class has been working on building a CNC router from a kit.  There is a robotics storage room that is full of different types of robots and pieces to build robots.  Soon, there will be some training equipment arriving that will allow students to learn some valuable advanced manufacturing skills such as programming, electrical circuits, hydraulics, and pneumatics to name a few. 

                One of the best things about this lab is that it is becoming student owned.  Students are figuring out, sometimes on their own or in teams, how to work these new pieces of equipment.  There is even a group of students working on their FedEx Day project, through Mrs. Ball’s class, to design a vision for the space and carry out some renovations.  They have some amazing ideas for the Innovation Lab.  There is so much exciting learning going on in this space and I can’t wait to see how it continues to evolve.  Anyone is welcome to come down and check the space out at any time.  I’m sure there will be a number of students eager to show you how some of the new equipment works! 

App Hunting

By Kris Walsh

From time to time, I get asked by teachers about apps that they can put on their iPad for their students (or children) to use. That is often a difficult question to answer. There are over a million apps in the iTunes app store, many are great and many are not-so great. I don’t fully know what a particular teacher is doing in their classroom and am often not sure about what need they are trying to meet with a particular app. I can sometimes give general suggestions, but my suggestions are often missing great apps that may be more suited to specific concepts or needs in their rooms.

I would like to share a few good ways that I learn about good apps:

1. The main way that I find out about new apps is to browse the app store. Most of us know how to do this in general, but there are a couple of tricks that you can use to help you in your search. Recently, Apple has added an area for educational apps that you can use to browse for apps that may be useful. This is now located near the top of the right-hand column on the app store on itunes. You can click on the all categories link and change the category to education.

On the App Store on an iDevice, tap the explore button at the bottom of the screen to change to a desired category.

New apps come out on a daily basis, but the featured apps change every Thursday for both iPad and iPhone. This is a great time to check for new apps in general.

2. The use of sites that feature and give reviews on apps for education. There are more, but my favorite is www.appitic.com This site breaks down available apps down by subject areas and skills. This is a great place to start your search for apps
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
3. I recently learned about a new email subscription list that I have been using to find out about apps. It has been a great resource that I have used to download several new apps in the 2 weeks that I have been a subscriber. The website is called www.smartappsforkids.com . They have a long list of apps with reviews. Enter your email to subscribe to an email that will alert you when apps go on sale or even free. Though the site skews more towards apps for younger students, I have gotten several new apps that are for students in junior high or high school as well.

If anyone has questions, I would be willing to sit down with you and help you look for apps and help you decide on apps that may be a good fit for you and your classroom! There are lots of great apps out there!

Getting out of the way for magic By Jamie Guillaume

Passion-based learning, 20% time, Genius Hour, Google Time, Maker Space, whatever you call it, the goal is the same, give students the opportunity to discover and pursue their interests and talents! There are books that can guide a teacher when starting this initiative in the classroom such as The Passion-Driven Classroom by Angela Maiers and a book I recently discovered, Pure Genius by Don Wettrick, but at some point you have to be brave and just dive in!

After reading, researching, and consulting with other teachers and even the author of Pure Genius, I finally went for it-I started what I am calling Genius Hour!  I began our first lesson by introducing my passions outside of my family and school.  I brought in homemade strawberry jam made with strawberries from my strawberry patch, salsa, made with tomatoes and peppers from my garden as well as biscuits and chips.  After all, you have to have something to go with salsa and jam, right?  While they made their plates, I had Sara Bareilles’ song, “Brave” playing in the background.  While they ate, I read them entries from my blog, Many Titles of Chic.  The students were shocked, mostly I think because I am an actual person, not just Mrs. Guillaume the crazy lady that teaches them math and social studies. 

The second week, I gave the students a graphic organizer and we toured the entire corporation and looked at the signs the teachers made describing their passions.  They were surprised by some teacher interests and questioned many too.  This week we used kidblog to journal our experience so far and created folders to hold items we come across that lead us to our passion.  In the weeks to come we are going to visit the STEAM classroom, take personal inventories, and then-I am going to get out of their way!

I am by no means an expert at beginning Genius Hour in a classroom, but I am learning. Although I understand that after we finish laying the groundwork,  I am going to have to turn them loose and let them make their own discoveries, I am most nervous about this because I will be releasing control but I also know that this is where the magic will happen!

Google Glass

By Hayden Hilgnhold

            Google Glass is probably one of the most important devices that has been created since the smartphone. There are a lot of people who would disagree. They’d say there’s not a lot it can do yet; it needs your smartphone to work, making it little more than a Bluetooth headset plus visual.  They’d say it takes a toll on your phone battery and it has to be charged separately as well, making it a hassle.  They’d say that there is absolutely no point in having your display put up in front of your field of vision; that it is extremely disorienting.  While all of this may be somewhat true they are forgetting one thing; the potential that Google Glass, and technology like it, has.   

            So it is true, as of now the Google Glass doesn't do too much.  It has a few apps, a couple of games, it can take calls, and also record/stream video.  Still nothing you can’t do with even the most basic of smartphones.  And look at the price tag of fifteen hundred dollars, no thank you. But let’s not dwell on where the Google Glass is at fault, but let’s look at how useful it can be.  It does voice commands better than most other devices.  It has been used as a convenient note taker by recording the teacher while they talk, and it does a fairly decent job with capturing audio and video, and it is always looking where you’re looking.  By opening up several windows of research and scrolling through them, it is very convenient for scanning through information for your latest project.  The commands are quite simple, as I learned firsthand at IU this summer when we were actually allowed to mess around with the Google Glass.  It’s very light; much less bulky than my favorite pair of sunglasses.  It is very durable for how lightweight it is and the Google Glass 2.0 while it may appear to be a little bulkier is even more durable meaning a simple accident doesn’t equal $1500 down the toilet.  Also coming with the consumer version, is a better price and hopefully a better battery life and ton of new features.  The estimate for the Glass’s price when it hits the consumer market is $500ish but it should come down quickly afterwards.  This is because the Glass itself is very inexpensive to make.  However all the research hours put into it have to be paid for, making the price astronomical for the time being. 

            So, in conclusion, Glass has massive potential.  Granted as of now it doesn’t do much, has a short battery life, and an ungodly price tag.  But this is like the first release of anything.  It will get better as time goes on and will most likely be worth purchasing before the end of the decade.  More than anything the Google Glass is something we should definitely keep an eye on, because it could become something really special.      

Wii-Purposing the WiiMote- A homemade whiteboard sketchpad

By Sean Bybee 

Since becoming a part of LEAF, I’ve gotten a few requests from others in need of my “talents.” Of course, most of these requests have been random people asking me to build them top of the line gaming computers for free, so I didn’t take them very seriously. Recently, however, I was approached with an actually reasonable request! During one of LEAF’s after school meetings, Mr. Risse just happened to walk through the Ag building. He pulled me aside, and told me about an interesting project that he wanted to try out with his classes.

            We’ve all heard of the Wii, a console (paper-weight) made by Nintendo. For most people, a Wii is good for exercise “games” and Mario kart. For Johnny Lee, however, the Wii, or rather its signature remote, have a much more useful application. Johnny Lee, using a Wii Remote, a pen that emits IR light, and a few lines of code, created a program that allows any projector screen to become an interactive sketchpad. A Wii remote typically operates by picking up short range radio waves from the Wii, but it can also pick up the Infrared light put off by special LEDs such as the one in the pen. By rigging up a mount for the remote and facing it towards the screen, you can use it as an input for your computer and project it onto the screen. The program written by Mr. Lee allows this input to be translated into lines on the screen. Essentially, this is like the sketchpads already used by many teachers, but more convenient, and certainly more cool!

            After a short Beta test with Mr. Risse, I have no doubt that more teachers would become interested in this for their own classrooms. There is already widespread use of the projectors in almost all classrooms, so this could be easily incorporated into the teaching style of most of our instructors. Once it has been proven to work, this could even become a cheap alternative to whiteboards. With a Wii remote costing roughly 10 dollars, and an IR pen costing slightly more, the cost for one of these units should range anywhere from 20 to 30 dollars, substantially cheaper than the sketchpads that we currently use. 

Applications of Technology- The Exosuit

By Nick Etienne

Carrying 100 pounds of stuff on your back is hard for a human, but for a robot? Not so much. Bearing this in mind, researchers at Harvard University are developing a robotic suit that makes carrying heavy loads easier for soldiers, who sometimes have to lug around more than 100 pounds of gear and equipment when on patrol. The robotic exosuit could also be modified to assist people with physical disabilities. The programmable suit acts in parallel with the body's muscles and tendons, mimicking the way these body parts move, according to Conor Walsh, an assistant professor at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. By mimicking muscle movements, the robotic suit serves to make the walking process even more efficient. Made from smart textile materials and sensors, the suit gives the wearer the extra support needed to carry heavy loads for extended periods of time.

          "While the idea of a wearable robot is not new, our design approach certainly is," Walsh said in a statement. Traditional exoskeleton systems are plagued by problems, such as power-hungry battery packs and rigid parts that interfered with natural joint movement, he added. In contrast, the Soft Exosuit is simply worn like a regular pair of pants under a soldier's uniform and gear. The current prototype of the suit is a web of straps that are positioned around the wearer's lower body. The straps feature a network of sensors that serve as the exosuit's "brain" or "nervous system," and are controlled by a low-power microprocessor. The suit's sensors continuously monitor the wearer's movements, communicating information about the amount of tension on certain parts of the leg and what position the wearer is. These details dictate how much force is needed in a particular joint area, as well as when exactly that force is most needed.

 Walsh and his colleagues are developing the exosuit for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, or DARPA, which hopes to adapt the technology for its Warrior Web program. The goal of Warrior Web is to create technologies that will prevent and reduce musculoskeletal injuries in solders. The increased weight a soldier must bear when lugging around heavy equipment makes their joint areas, such as the ankles and knees, more susceptible to injury. In addition to its work with DARPA, the Harvard team is also working with partners in the medical industry to develop a version of the exosuit that could one day be used to help civilians. In particular, the researchers said the exosuit could help stroke patients regain the ability to walk.

Google Drive

By Lain Knieriem

Google Drive is a revolutionary document creator and database that will change your way of thinking about the classroom. Most compare it to its competitor, Microsoft Office, because both programs look and respond the same way, though Google docs has a lot more features.  Google Drive can seem confusing, but if you know how to use Microsoft Office, then you already know how to use Google Drive too!

Here at Perry Central, all of our students have a Google email, which is already linked to their personal Google Drive. The email and drive correspond to each other; one couldn’t work without the other. All of your saving, creating, and sharing is all internet based, and easy to do.

The five default apps that Google Drive has to offer are Documents, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Forms, and Drawing (You can get many more apps for free). The word document, presentation, and spreadsheet are just like Microsoft Office’s versions known as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Docs are more modern and easier to use. The Form is for making tests, or surveys, and the drawing is a design creator, that allows you to create sketches.

On Google docs you can share your work. This is not just emailing a copy to a friend, via google email, students or teachers can work on a document at the same time on their own computer. This can be very helpful and collaborative for group work in classes or meetings. All that you have to do is just use the share tab in Google Drive, type in the friend's email address, and you’re on your way. Along with making and sharing the documents, you have to save your work in Microsoft Office, but in Google Docs, it saves every word that you type to your drive, so when you are finished, just close the window. 

Another part of Google that is sometimes forgotten by the world is Google Calendar. This calendar by Google can make the experience in and out of the classroom at Perry central so much easier, more organized, and more fun. The calendar would make it to where the corporation could create a schedule of the sports games to which people can subscribe, and be alerted to when there is a basketball, or football game. Also teachers can subscribe to a created calendar, which would indicate who has parking lot duty or lunch and recess duty, and so on. Students could subscribe to the teacher's class calendar to see assignments and due dates.

          So with Google Drive already being used in the High School by some and by few in the elementary, we need to put the program back on the map. Also if you would need any help with this just email me at knierieml@pccommodores.org, and watch this video that explains the basics of drive. 

Introduction to Google Drive- 6 minutes long

More in-depth information about Drive- 17 minutes long