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The Big Build
By E. Mendelsohn
 At 9:56 the morning of March 13, Chapin Class 7 students received an e-mail from a teacher in Brussels, Belgium. The message wished the builders, "Veel geluk en het allerbeste!" This message, along with others from Japan, California, Washington D.C., and from parents, teachers and students within the Chapin Community, came in response to the Class 7 computer build project. Students spent two days building 11 computers from scratch with the help of Chapin teachers Shana Negin, Cordenia Paige and Neil Martinez.
As part of this project, the girls documented their progress and posted live updates on the Chapin Web site. The pages included photographs and step-by-step updates of their progress. Many Web page visitors expressed their enthusiasm with the girls' work and their insights into the inner workings of computers. One family member wrote, "I never thought about the analogy between the motherboard and a city, but it’s an astute comment. ... Congratulations on undertaking a project that puts you in the front of today's technology. I would note that engineering, technology and science are completely open to women, so if you are so inclined, I encourage you to think about them as a career path."
Ms. Negin, who managed the computer-building project, praised the effort as an opportunity for Class 7 to "learn by doing." The project gave students a well-rounded understanding of computer functions by teaching them about what happens "under the hood." From knowing the vocabulary and fitting the pieces into place, a student increases her comfort with the computer as a tool. Once she has comfort using a tool, she can truly make it work for her.
This information will help prepare students to act as leaders in a world that grows more dependent on computer technology. As one Chapin grandmother notes, "For someone who first experienced Computers back in the 'card sort' days and main frames that took up a whole room (1950's), it is amazing to see the progress that has been made in the computer world. [It is] fun to see my granddaughter working on such a wonderful project. What will this world be like in another 50 years?”
Click here to learn more about the build project. |
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