Mr. Kaiser's Class Updates:
Hello parents and guardians!
We made it through the quarter of school. I have been very fortunate to have such a great group of young people as students this year. They have been working hard on their assignments, collaborating with their teammates, and volunteering in the community. Please encourage them to keep it up. If you feel your child is struggling or needs extra help, let me know right away.
Keep reading to find out more about each of the classes I am teaching. I look forward to hearing from you.
We made it through the quarter of school. I have been very fortunate to have such a great group of young people as students this year. They have been working hard on their assignments, collaborating with their teammates, and volunteering in the community. Please encourage them to keep it up. If you feel your child is struggling or needs extra help, let me know right away.
Keep reading to find out more about each of the classes I am teaching. I look forward to hearing from you.
All Classes:
Genius Hour: On most Fridays students work on their "Genius Hour" projects. These projects are inspired by Google's 20% time and are meant to encourage stress-free growth, creativity, and personal interests. For example, you can see the "menu" options the robotics students get to choose from here. Students work on a project of their choosing for at least one hour every Friday. As long as they put in the time, they get full points.
If students need to work on past-due assignments instead, they can make up the genius hour later in the week for homework. Please ask them to share their Genius Hour work with you. Your praise and encouragement really helps motivate them. Maker Club: Many of the students in my classes have joined one of the teams in my Maker Club. Joining a student team is an excellent way to meet students, learn teamwork & leadership skills, and build a professional portfolio. Please encourage your teen to stay connected and join a school club or team. Here are the current teams I sponsor and what they have been up to: American Computer Science League (ACSL): Students practice their problem solving skills by competing against other schools from around the world. Robotics Team: Students learn mechanical, electrical, and programming skills while designing, building, programming a robot that competes in local competitions CyberPanthers Team: Students recently started this nationwide online cyber security competition. STEAM Outreach Team: Students volunteer to help community members with technology. Some students have recently helped mentor senior citizens at the Kyle Highland Teen Center. The seniors were very grateful for the event and all the help they received. |
DVC College Credit: Students in all of my classes have applied to Diablo Valley College and enrolled in the college class that is articulated with the BHS class they are taking. If students successfully complete the final project (in the Spring) with an A or B, they will receive college credit for the class. This credit has no cost and can be transferred to other community colleges, most UC and state schools, and some private schools.
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Intro to Engineering and Architecture:
The students are currently using SketchUP as their computer aided design (CAD) software. Modeling in 3D on the computer is not easy. When I interned at my uncle's firm 25 years ago he was charging $1000/hour for his CAD expertise. The students have really amazed me with their creativity and perseverance. Please encourage your teen to show you the work they have done on their projects. See below for some examples of the playgrounds they designed.
The students are also working on a housing project as part of a nationwide architecture contest organized by the Architectural Foundation of San Francisco. In their teams the students have been designing multi-family housing units, parking, landscaping, etc. Over the last few weeks I have had several industry guest speakers talk to the students about city planning, construction, landscape design, real estate investing, and architectural design. In early December they will be presenting their work to a panel of judges from industry, the school district, and the community.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Jelleigh, Danielle, and Logan
The students are currently using SketchUP as their computer aided design (CAD) software. Modeling in 3D on the computer is not easy. When I interned at my uncle's firm 25 years ago he was charging $1000/hour for his CAD expertise. The students have really amazed me with their creativity and perseverance. Please encourage your teen to show you the work they have done on their projects. See below for some examples of the playgrounds they designed.
The students are also working on a housing project as part of a nationwide architecture contest organized by the Architectural Foundation of San Francisco. In their teams the students have been designing multi-family housing units, parking, landscaping, etc. Over the last few weeks I have had several industry guest speakers talk to the students about city planning, construction, landscape design, real estate investing, and architectural design. In early December they will be presenting their work to a panel of judges from industry, the school district, and the community.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Jelleigh, Danielle, and Logan
cONNERIntro to Programming and Robotics:
Students have completed their team video games and are now finishing up final testing & debugging. Next week they will present their games, vote on their favorites, and upload them to their website portfolios. I know many of you think teens play too many video games. Let's encourage them to create the games instead. Even if they don't end up in the gaming industry (which was valued at $173 billion in 2020 and expected to grow to $314 billion by 2026), the programming, problem solving, and team work skills they learned will serve them well in any industry they go into. Please ask to play their games and show you how they made them.
In addition to their game design, students have been learning more about electronics. They learned how to wire up breadboards and will soon be learning how to make circuits run by a small microcontroller board called the Microbit. Electronics expertise is in high demand. There are many Solano county manufacturing companies that will pay $25-$30/hour to high school grads with some electronics knowhow. Two years at a community college can increase starting pay to $40-$50/hour. Not bad for an entry level job. If I didn't love teaching so much I might be applying myself. If you or your teen wants more info on career opportunities after high school, please contact me or the BHS college & career center.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Noah & Jordan, Conner & Keith
Students have completed their team video games and are now finishing up final testing & debugging. Next week they will present their games, vote on their favorites, and upload them to their website portfolios. I know many of you think teens play too many video games. Let's encourage them to create the games instead. Even if they don't end up in the gaming industry (which was valued at $173 billion in 2020 and expected to grow to $314 billion by 2026), the programming, problem solving, and team work skills they learned will serve them well in any industry they go into. Please ask to play their games and show you how they made them.
In addition to their game design, students have been learning more about electronics. They learned how to wire up breadboards and will soon be learning how to make circuits run by a small microcontroller board called the Microbit. Electronics expertise is in high demand. There are many Solano county manufacturing companies that will pay $25-$30/hour to high school grads with some electronics knowhow. Two years at a community college can increase starting pay to $40-$50/hour. Not bad for an entry level job. If I didn't love teaching so much I might be applying myself. If you or your teen wants more info on career opportunities after high school, please contact me or the BHS college & career center.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Noah & Jordan, Conner & Keith
Advanced Engineering Design (Honors):
Students have finished designing their "Thomas" trains and they look amazing. They are now printing out the parts on the 3D printers and assembling their trains. They will bring them home for you to see (and play with)! Make sure to congratulate them on their efforts and consider opening an Etsy or Ebay store to see all the toy trains they create. You will be rich! (Ok, maybe not. But the trains are still really cool).
Next, students will be working on their individual projects that they chose. These projects will be more challenging. Please ask them to share what they have chosen and their progress along the way over the course of the rest of the semester.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Hope, Katelyn, and Patrick. Featured on web page banner at the top: Owen's Halloween Train
Students have finished designing their "Thomas" trains and they look amazing. They are now printing out the parts on the 3D printers and assembling their trains. They will bring them home for you to see (and play with)! Make sure to congratulate them on their efforts and consider opening an Etsy or Ebay store to see all the toy trains they create. You will be rich! (Ok, maybe not. But the trains are still really cool).
Next, students will be working on their individual projects that they chose. These projects will be more challenging. Please ask them to share what they have chosen and their progress along the way over the course of the rest of the semester.
Click on the projects below to see them larger. Credits: Hope, Katelyn, and Patrick. Featured on web page banner at the top: Owen's Halloween Train
Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles:
This week students entered the drawing apps that they are creating in the US Congressional App Challenge. Their drawing apps are so creative! Please ask them to share with you. Hopefully someone in the class will win the challenge and reward BHS with a three-peat! See some examples of their apps below. Students will be placing them on their websites soon.
In addition to learning how to program and problem solve, students are learning computer science related concepts. Last month students took apart a desktop computer and learned what the parts were. This month they will learn about data compression and how video is sent digitally.
Screenshots from drawing apps made by: Aaron, Charles & Caleb, James & Nishaan, and Zoe & Juhi
This week students entered the drawing apps that they are creating in the US Congressional App Challenge. Their drawing apps are so creative! Please ask them to share with you. Hopefully someone in the class will win the challenge and reward BHS with a three-peat! See some examples of their apps below. Students will be placing them on their websites soon.
In addition to learning how to program and problem solve, students are learning computer science related concepts. Last month students took apart a desktop computer and learned what the parts were. This month they will learn about data compression and how video is sent digitally.
Screenshots from drawing apps made by: Aaron, Charles & Caleb, James & Nishaan, and Zoe & Juhi