– By Karen Tho (Gr. 12)
Mr. Todd Voykin, our secondary electronic and architecture teacher, has been busy teaching his Architecture and Design class and his Electronics and Robotics class while relocating his laboratory to the new North Wing. Here is an interview about what his students are doing in both classes.
What are you currently teaching in your robotics’ class?
Well I have three different levels in my robotics class. My Level A students are working on designing circuits with Eagle Cadsoft and making the circuit boards for their night light project. My Level B students are designing a robot. They are also learning Eagle Cadsoft and building all the sensors for their robots. Some of them have already finished and moved onto AutoCad to design the different parts and chassis for the robots. When it is done, they will cut it out with the laser cutter. The Level C students are designing a game quiz controller so that teachers can play Jeopardy in their classroom.
Will your robotics students be participating in a robot contest?
We will be doing in-school competitions throughout the year and we will be entering the Robofest competition in Macau on March 24. This is exciting because the winning teams will be able to enter into the world championships in the United States.
What are you teaching in your architecture class?
Similar to my robotics class, I also have 3 levels in my architecture class. My Level A students are learning about AutoCad. They are not doing much design work as they are only beginners. They are learning the commands and the basic tools in AutoCad by building small objects such as doors, windows, furniture and appliances. Once they have mastered the skills, they will move onto house drawing and will be designing a single story house. My Level B students are working together as a team to design an apartment. There is a lot of collaboration amongst the Level B students in this project. They have to go through the design process and eventually come up with a design for the building that they can all agree upon. Once that is done, each student will be responsible for designing the interior of a floor of the apartment. They will also cut the pieces using the laser cutting, design the different pieces using the 3D printer and make a scale model of their drawing. Level A students will be drawing the designs on the computer and print it onto paper while Level B will produce a 3 dimensional object of their design. The Level C students started off with drawing 3 dimensional shapes to get some practice with the 3D printers. One student is doing interior design and the other student is doing landscape design. They are both working with the PE department to design better PE facilities for the school. They will meet with the PE teacher, find out the requirements and try to design a space that will meet the needs of students and teachers.
What are the students doing with the bulletin board for your class?
Students from each architecture class are either working solo or in pairs to research a famous architect or a famous building. They will be creating a display board in the hallway for other students to view and learn a little bit more about the architects and the buildings they have designed and constructed. The board will be interactive with quizzes so that it will be engaging for other students when they walk by.
Will you be displaying the students’ work at the end of the school year?
Yes! Some of the robots built by the students from last school year are already in the library. I have been trying to get a table for the past few years but I was unable to as I am always busy with work. This year, I am hoping that I can display my student’s work at the Arts Night in June.
What are your goals?
My goals for this year is to get this new room organized and function well and efficiently. It is sort of there but I still have to get some proper storage bins. I have a student that is doing work experience with me. He is helping me a lot by organizing and labeling everything. He will be making sure that there is a spot for everything so that the students can find what they need quicker and easier. This will increase production and learning in the classroom.
What kind of difficulties have you encountered so far?
It is always very busy in my classes. Most of the students that are in my classes get quite involved in the project, especially my robotics class. They get excited and want to get working on they projects, but they sometimes run into problems and it generates questions they need me to help solve. Often I will have six or seven students that need my help simultaneously but unfortunately I don’t have enough time to work with every single one of them. Quite often, I have to say “go back to your desk and figure it out yourself” and fifty percent of the time, they end up figuring out the answers on their own which is a better way to learn rather than having me telling them what to do.
Any interesting/funny stories?
Last year I took a group of students from the robotics club to Hong Kong for a robotics competition. The students put in a lot of effort in class and I expected them to do well. As it turned out they did exceptionally well, winning both first and second place in the competition. As proud of them as I was, I had to get our group to take it down a notch as we were annihilating the competition. I’m all for celebration, but forty-two celebratory “dabs” was a bit excessive. In the end they accepted their awards with grace and dignity representing TIS with honor.
