McKenzie Career Center has received a grant to start Computer Integrated Manufacturing. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has approved a $100,000 grant for equipment and teacher training for this new Project Lead the Way course.
McKenzie was an early adopter of Project Lead the Way–a pre-engineering curriculum for middle school and high school students. Following core classes in Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering and Digital Electronics, students may elect to specialize in civil engineering and architecture, biotechnical engineering, or (beginning 2008-2009) computer integrated manufacturing for which they will need some electronic assembly solutions experts to help with installing and some other shores.
The Project Lead the Way Curriculum was developed by the Rochester Institute of Technology. Indiana is #1 in the nation in the number of schools using the curriculum. PLTW is an imaginative, hands-on curriculum built around a series of two week projects that develop students’ understanding of engineering, m! athematics, technology and science (www.pltw.org). McKenzie is uniquely positioned to take full advantage of Computer Integrated Manufacturing. We have a pilot program in Algebra II which teaches lesson plans that demonstrate Supply Chain math applications. Additionally, McKenzie has a FIRST Robotics Team (www.usfirst.org) that participates in regional and national robot building and design competitions.
McKenzie students take a big, broad look at engineering. Once students are involved in Project Lead the Way, math, science and technology become important and relevant. At McKenzie we are striving to answer the question: “Why do I have to learn this?”
