Invention & Innovation Lesson Plans Day 1: Objectives: Educate students about past and present inventions and their inventors through a simple game of memory Present several simple inventions and discuss their creation Begin the process of having students think of themselves as inventors – “What Bugs You?” Activities: Invention and innovation memory game Presentation of several simple inventions What bugs you questionnaire Resources: Memory game consisting of 24 color pictures of inventions and their inventors Post-it Notes Ear Muffs Silly putty Popsicle Stick Velcro What bugs you questionnaire Anticipatory Set (~25min) The Hook Have memory game setup on white board or on ground Memory Game Split class into 2 teams When a match is made, share a short vignette of matched inventor/invention Alternately, if it‟s a more common invention, you can ask them if they know what it is, and describe why it was invented, and what it replaced (how they accomplished, or didn‟t accomplish the same thing before the invention) Notes for Memory Game
Ralph Baer—Magnavox Odyssey Baer invented the Magnavox Odyssey which was the first video game system created. It included pong and a light gun which detected light from the tv screen to show a hit in the game. Nintendo actually tried to sell the Magnavox odyssey before they actually make their own system. Albert E. Redstone—Tank Redstone had the idea of an armor-clad, steam-operated engine of war. on August 18, 1862, Redstone sent his plans to U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. With imperfect spelling, he called his invention the “Anihilator.” Inspired by the newly launched ironclad warship Monitor, he described it as a “land monitor.” James T. Russell—Compact Disc Russell was an avid music listener. Like many audiophiles of the time, he was continually frustrated by the wear and tear suffered by his vinyl phonograph records. Russell envisioned a system that would record and replay sounds without physical contact between its parts; and he saw that the best way to achieve such a system was to use light. He had found a way to record onto a photosensitive platter in tiny "bits" of light and dark, each one micron in diameter and this was the first compact disc.
Eli Whitney—Cotton Gin: Eli Whitney was an outstanding builder from a young age. While staying on a friend's plantation in Georgia when he was 23 years old, he became aware of the problem that planters faced with cotton: It took too much time to separate the seeds from the cotton fibers. He considered this problem, thought of a solution, and in nine days created a model that mechanically separated the seeds from the fibers. Henry Ford—Assembly Line: Henry Ford grew up on the Ford Farm in Michigan. As a boy he did chores on the farm and would whisper to the animals, "Someday somebody will invent an easier way to do this." He hated doing chores and would rather be inventing. When he was 10 years old he would buy clock wheels and make clocks work all by himself. He became a machinist at age 16 and worked for Edison Company. At age 18 he developed a prototype for the gasoline engine and began his first car. The assembly line made it possible to make cars more efficiently so that they could be affordable for all. Thomas Edison—Light Bulb Born in 1847, Edison would see tremendous changes take place in his lifetime. By the time he died, entire cities were lit by electricity. Much of the credit for that progress goes to Edison. In his lifetime, Edison patented 1,093 inventions. The most famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb. Besides the light bulb, Edison developed the phonograph and the "kinetoscope," a small box for viewing moving films. Fraunhofer—MP3 technology In 1987, the Fraunhofer (a German company) started to work on perceptual audio coding. Fraunhofer finally devised a very powerful algorithm that is standardized as ISO-MPEG Audio Layer-3 or MP3. Eric Page & Brin—Google.com Page and Brin's (creators of Google) breakthrough was to create an algorithm - dubbed „PageRank‟ that manages to take into account both the number of links into a particular site and the number of links into each of the linking sites. This is how Google (originally called „backrub‟) was born. Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg—Printing Press Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (born. circa 1398 – presumed to have died February 3, 1468 Mainz) was a German metal-worker and inventor who achieved fame for his contributions to the technology of printing during the 1440s, including a type metal alloy and oilbased inks, a mould for casting type accurately, and a new kind of printing press based on presses used in wine-making. Tradition credits him with inventing movable type in Europe -- an improvement on the block printing already in use there. By combining these elements into a production system, he allowed for the rapid printing of written materials, and an information explosion in Renaissance Europe. Martin Cooper—Cell Phone Martin Cooper successfully used the first cell phone in 1973 while crossing the street in NYC. The phone was as big as a brick and cost $3500. Today, there are more cell phones in the world than land lines (regular phones.)
Gordon Gould—Laser Laser stands for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The idea for a laser was first hatched by Albert Einstein in 1917; however, Gordon Gould did not invent the first light laser until 1958. The laser inspired over then different kinds of lasers to follow. Guglielmo Marconi—Radio Guglielmo Marconi sent and received the first radio signal to Italy in 1895. This led to the telegraph, which was invented in 1902. Radio was used worldwide for the first time during World War I.
Normal Inventions? (~10min) Activities Show ear muffs, silly putty, popsicle stick, Post-it notes, and Velcro Discuss each item by first asking for possibilities of how the invention/innovation came about. Tell the real stories (included below) of how each item was invented and continue the discussion on the impact that these items have had on society. Discussion Questions: o How did this item come about? What is this item? What does this item do or how does it work? What is this item used for? How could this item have been invented o How have these items impacted society? What might have happened upon invention of these items? How is this item used today? Who benefits from this invention and how?
Invention Stories Popsicle Frank Epperson–11yrs old Left soda outside on the porch with a stir stick in it. The drink froze to the stick and he liked it. 18 years later he applied for a patent and called it the “Epsicle ice pop”. His children re-named it the Popsicle. Earmuffs Chester Greenwood–15 yrs old His ears got too cold when he was playing outside and he didn‟t like wrapping big bulky, itchy scarves around his head. One day, when he wanted to try out some new ice skates, he had his grandmother sew some fur onto some wire. At first the kids made fun of him but they were sorry when Chester could stay outside long after they had gone in to warm up. Post it notes The adhesive for post it notes had already been invented by Spencer Silver. He was trying to come up with a strong adhesive and got a weak one. Then one Sunday 4 years later, another scientist, Arthur Fry, was singing in the church choir. He used markers to keep his place in his hymn book, but they kept falling out. He coated his markers with
some of some of Silver‟s weak adhesive and that kept them in place without damaging his pages. Silly Putty WWII, James Wright, General Electric laboratories, cheap material for small jobs. When the war was over there was a lot left over and no one knew what to do with it. Store owner Peter Hodgson had the idea to repackage it and sell it to children in plastic eggs. Velcro George de Mestral was walking through a field of weeds one day in 1948. When he got home he found some burrs clinging to his clothes. He examined them under a microscope and found that the cocklebur was made up of thin strands with hooks on the ends that cling to fabric. He thought that would be a good idea for a new fastener. Questions What Bugs You Questionnaire (~10min) Activity Introduce and pass out „what bugs you‟ questionnaire Assign this due the next day Questions How does an inventor come up with an idea? First you have to identify a need or problem to solve. (Give and example of a problem and solution from your own personal experience) I can recall driving down the road as a teenager and almost getting in an accident because I didn‟t see another car in my rear or side mirrors. The car was in a blind spot, that is, it was in an area not covered by any of my mirrors. I remember thinking the rear view mirror should be stretched across the entire top of the front windshield so that I could see everything around and beside me. A few years later, imagine my surprise when I saw the very mirror I had imagined in a small foreign car. Was it ugly! It was ugly enough that it never caught on as a standard mirror. However, another inventor came up with a solution – a small, round convex mirror that could be affixed to your outside mirrors and reveal what was in those blind spots. I‟ll bet you‟ve each got your own story of an invention or innovation you‟ve thought of. Anyone want to share an idea? How can you come up with an invention or innovation? You must find a problem that needs to be solved. Tomorrow‟s assignment will demonstrate how. Let‟s go over it together now. Go over the What really bugs me! - An Invention Idea Survey List some ideas on the board that might help students. If there is time, quickly group students with their neighbors to discuss ideas. Be sure to visit each group to ensure they‟ve got the gist of the assignment. Play down the difficulty. It‟s just a survey to conduct with friends, family and neighbors to learn of a problem that needs solving. Make the assignment due tomorrow. Questions
Invention & Innovation Day 2 - 3: Ever wonder how those famous inventors came up with such amazing solutions to problems? We‟ll show you a process they most likely used. The design process is an amazing 7 step process which facilitates invention and innovation. Objectives: Introduce students to a real life implementation of the „design process‟ by watching a short 5 minute clip on „the making of general grievous‟ on the Star Wars Episode III DVD (bonus material) Model the design process Have students complete the first 4 steps of the design process Activities: Review „what bugs you questionnaire‟ Revenge of the Sith DVD clip (Star Wars Episode III bonus material DVD) PowerPoint Presentation Steps 1-4 design process worksheet Resources: Previous days‟ „what bugs you‟ questionnaire Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars Episode III bonus material DVD) Anticipatory Set (~15min) Questionnaire Review Have students bring out previous days‟ questionnaire and share one thing they came up with that „bugged‟ them and how they planned to overcome it. Making of General Grievous (Star Wars Clip) Have the students get out a pencil and a piece of paper and ask them to watch for (and write down) 3 things that the people on the clip do that are part of creation that solve the problem they had (brainstorming, sketching, communicating, evaluating, etc.). Have students identify the „main problem‟ that the designers had (their problem was that they needed a bad guy). Show the 5 minute clip of the making of General Grievous. After clip ask each student what they wrote down and if they could identify the problem. As the students discuss the things they wrote down, list them on the board so that we can later tie the things that the students wrote down into the steps of the design process. Questions What parts of creation were shown during the clip Design Process PowerPoint (~20min) Activities Lesson Plan for Power Point Slide Show Slide # 1 Introduction Comments/ Questions What is the difference between Invention & Innovation?
2 Invention
Yes, that‟s right, Invention is a new idea that hadn‟t been thought of before. What are some examples of inventions? Remember the ‘Memory game’ we played yesterday -What were some of the matches you guys made?
3 Invention
One of the most important parts of an invention is something called a “Patent” We‟ll go over patents in more detail later on, but for now, just understand a patent is the rights to a certain invention. You can claim that you came up with the idea for the invention. Who invented the telephone? In reality, the telephone was invented by two people at the same time, however since Alexander Graham Bell got the patent for the invention, he is recognized today for having invented it
4 Invention 5 Invention 6 Innovation
The light bulb! In reality, the light bulb was not an invention, but an innovation Thomas Edison improved upon a very old idea thought of by an English Chemist. Edison devised a way for the light-bulb to burn for 40 hours! So what does innovation mean? What are some examples of innovations? How are already existing products improved upon?
7 Innovation 8 Innovation 9 Patent
One of the most popular innovations today is the Cell Phone! How is the cell phone an innovation? Coming up with inventions and innovations requires thinking of something nobody else has come up with. You need to be creative! Anyone remember what a patent is? Why are Patents important? If you don‟t patent your inventions, you won‟t be able to make any money. Some companies have “patent pending” or “applied for patent” because they want to sell their products but not wait for all of the paperwork to be done. Anyone recognize the name Gillette? Why is Gillette so well known for making razors? What would the Mach 3 be considered- an invention or innovation? From all of the inventions presented yesterday, do you remember one that came about by accident? Some of the greatest inventions (but not all, and definitely not most) come about by accident. DuPont figured out how to make plastic just by pouring chemicals down the drain. Recognize the name Goodyear? He figured out a way to make rubber stronger and more durable by accident.
10 Patent
11 Serendipity
12 Serendipity
13 Design (Transition)
We have talked about inventions and innovations and even started coming up with some of our own problems we would like to solve. Although some inventions and innovations occur by accident, most result from many hours of hard work, research, and problem solving. This process in solving problems is called the Design process. The design process isn‟t really something that starts and ends, but it is more like a loop we have to cycle through. We get some ideas (like you did last night), make some sketches, create some models, and then test those solutions. In going through the different steps of the design process we‟re going to refer back to the video of Star Wars III that we watched.
14 Design Loop
15 Understand the Problem
Who was it that stated the problem in the Star Wars video? What was the problem? Before we can solve a problem we need to completely understand what that problem is. After George Lucas introduced the problem, what did we see next? The group met together to discuss the idea. They talked about what is scary. They talked about what worked in other films. Look around the room and saw some evil things. Sketching ideas, make poses in the mirror. General kind of pose, discussion of members of art team explaining their ideas. Found a spray bottle, and thought it made a face. What did they do to refine their ideas? Scan it in the computer, put color on it. Present ideas to Lucas. “How old is he there?” What is a mock-up? < a full scale version of the product, but not made of the final materials, this is used to look at an evaluate the apperance> A model? A prototype? How did the Star Wars art department use good communication? Present ideas and going into them in more detail. An alien in a droid shell, sort of what Anakin becomes. Meet together and go over ideas, communicate to each other why the characters are the way they are.
Questions Design Process Worksheet (~15min) Activity Introduce and pass out steps 1-4 design process worksheet. Divide students into groups of 3-4 (as appropriate). Have them share 1 thing from their „what bugs you‟ questionnaire and decide on one item they will collaboratively go through steps 1 through 4 on the worksheet. Be sure to model for them what you expect to do. Assign this due the next day Questions
Invention and Innovation Day #3: Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Supplemental DVD (Herbie the Hamster) Costumes Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet/Folder – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Wrap up What bugs You Introduce the Design Brief – Finding Herbie Activity – Wrap up What Bugs You Discuss the important concepts of the design process while reviewing the worksheet from day 2. Activity: Introduction of Design Brief and Video (5 minutes) Two of the supporting teachers storm into the room looking like „secret service‟ agents. They clear the room (elaborate) of the previous group of teachers and play the West Wing intro DVD on the projector. The video is kind of funny, which helps set the tone for the class. Get class into groups of three to four and hand out folders. Explain how each team has been assigned by the Secret Service to locate the hamster of the first daughter which has been lost in the White House. They will be given only the materials available to them from the White House janitorial closet (This is all in the design brief) Questions Show Honda Cog Video (3 minutes): Before showing the video to the students, explain how this is an overly elaborate example of what can be done. We just showed it to help them come up with ideas. Take class to their kits/Sketch/Layouts (Remainder of Class) Bring students into the lab where their kits are. Explain that these are the materials that they‟ll get to use. Go over the rubric with the students so they will understand how the activity will be graded. Review the design process with the students as they meet in groups to begin their project. Hand out the “Design Process” worksheet to students. Have the students complete the worksheet as they design and build their hamster trap. It is wise for them to plan ahead on what they would like to do, so to draw out plans or to lay out pieces on their plywood base to help themselves visualize their contraption. Let them loose, and as they go, check for understanding by quizzing them on what they could do. Homework Assignment: Each student needs to bring in three (3) sketches of their contraption with labels to help them know how to build their ideas. Due at the beginning of day #4.
Invention and Innovation Day #4: Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Checking Sketches Brainstorming Begin building contraptions Complete daily log Design Process worksheet Activity – Check Sketches At the beginning of class have students finish their sketches and then have them initialed by the teacher. Once students have their sketches checked off they can get together in teams and show each other their sketches. Following this they need to come to as consensus as to which ideas are most feasible and then begin building their contraption. Talk to the students for 4-5 minutes on consensus making. A few minutes before the cleanup bell have the students get out a piece of paper and complete their daily log. Also, have the students update their Design Process worksheet. Model for them how this is to be done.
Invention and Innovation Day #5: Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Continue building contraptions Problem solving Consensus making Complete daily log 1. Review concepts from the previous day. 3 min 2. Students will begin working on projects in their groups. 42 min a. Review ideas with each group individually. b. Make sure they have their sketches and are following them. c. Guide them as they solve problems. 3. Students will clean up. Record problems and tasks completed in their daily log document. Update the Design Process worksheet.– 5 min Invention and Innovation Day #6: Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Continue building contraptions Problem solving Consensus making Complete daily log 1. Remind students the devices will be tested using the hamster tomorrow. 2. Students will work in groups. – 45 min a. Help groups solve problems they are still experiencing. b. For the hamster‟s safety, have students use one of their hands as the hamster. 3. Students will clean up. Record problems and tasks completed in their daily log document. Update the Design Process worksheet. – 5 min
Invention and Innovation Day #7: Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Continue building contraptions Problem solving Consensus making Complete daily log Activity: Test Devices and Presentation Day) Objectives: Students will work cooperatively in groups Students will work collectively to solve problems Students will creatively support problem solving strategies by using design sketches Resources: Building Kits (See Design Brief) Informational Packet – including design brief, rap sheet, rubric Procedure: Make last minute preparations Presentations Turn in portfolios Disassemble projects and clean up Review unit content – inventions, innovations, design process Instructions Explain to the class that they will have 5 minutes only to prepare their traps. Before going back into the shop, write on the board the following for the students to think about when presenting their traps: -Describe how the trap will wor. -Describe the problems you had while building/testing -Describe how you solved those problems Last Minute Prep Time Go into the lab and have each group work on their projects for 5 minutes for final prep. Presentations Gather the class together and rotate from table to table and have each group present their designs and discuss the three questions that were listed on the board. If needed cue the students to address each of the three items of discussion. Try to have each member of the group contribute something.
After all the presentations are completed rotate from table to table and have each group test their devices with an actual hamster. If the hamster does not cooperate ????? At each station, have the students talk about what they could have done in order for the trap to work better. Portfolios / Disassemble Projects Once all of the groups have tested their traps with the hamster have them put together and turn in their portfolios. Make sure they have all of the required papers: drawings, a log for each day, and answers to the three questions Design Process worksheet Have the students disassemble their projects. Make sure to save the items that were still usable. Throw away the trash. If there is still time left have the students comment on what they liked/disliked about the whole activity. Review Content: Gather the class back into the classroom to review the content of the unit. Review invention and innovation, the design process, and patents with the class. To do this: Have the students give examples of each. What else? Group and Self Evaluation Give the students a half sheet of paper. Have them list the member of their group including themselves on the paper and then evaluate the group members from 1-10 as well as rating themselves.