Through the use of LEGO DACTA Control Lab, students from Diamond Middle School and Clarke Middle School become aware of the manner in which computers are used in the modern workplace. Students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades experience this curriculum by building models of computer aided manufacturing and program the models using the Macintosh computer.

    The experience of students is first built by allowing them to EXPLORE using the new materials, equipment and concepts with which they need to be familiar. This is accomplished by use of the Introductory Explorations and the Fan Project which demonstrate the power and flexibility of the Control Lab system.

    Once familiar with the materials, students now INVESTIGATE. While engaged in an investigation activity, students learn specific concepts and develop skills. As an example, students will follow instructions to build a greenhouse model, then they program a control system to monitor the inside temperature. The Motorized Car and Dynamometer will now introduce students to transportation technology systems. By the end of this project students will be able to control the movement of the car, use pulley and gear ratios to reduce the speed of the power source, use software tools and commands to develop a control panel for the dynamometer, and use feedback from sensors to monitor the car speed and headlight alignment.

    After practice with several projects, students can now INVENT their own solutions to a problem situation. For example, students can design a bridge to allow traffic to cross a river. They will then build a working solution of their design and program it to function. There are no step-by-step instructions provided nor are any programming examples provided for this problem. Students must create solutions to problems in much the same way practicing engineers must design solutions to problems while working in industry.

Click here for a list of the major lego dacta™ projects.