I have spent several days in the past two weeks working with Mr. David Jones in the Computing Technologies department at LCC. During this time I was able to sit in a few lectures with some of his current students, and work with them in the lab putting our new knowledge to the test. I had two main focuses for my lab work during our time together – 1. Understanding and programing the BoeBot, and 2. Basics of Soldering.

The BoeBot and I became fast friends, and I discovered that although programming was new to me, it wasn’t impossible. The instructions were easy to follow, the steps were laid out in simple and concise terminology, and the satisfaction when “Bo” followed through with my commands was amazing! You would have thought I had just won a gold medal for synchronizing his flashing lights and have him run through an obstacle course. Needless to say – I am hoping to have the opportunity to bring in some robotics and programming into our new STEM program at Greene County Middle School.

The second task was to become proficient at some basic tasks in soldering. A little background on my skill level with a soldering iron and other tools…..I am at square one! I do have a tool box at home, but it is only brought out for simple tasks such as tightening a screw or measuring odds and ends around the house. I am sad to admit that I still call my dad for most of my household issues when things fall apart and need to be repaired or fixed. When my father learned that I would be attempting this at LCC….his suggestion was to pre-purchase some band-aids and burn creme. With that being said – I had a blast with this! I began with a sample activity of soldering two twisted wires together. My beginning technique was sloppy, and my mentors terms were “you don’t want your wires to look pregnant”.  For those first few attempts – it didn’t matter to me. I was so proud that I could solder two wires together I didn’t care if they were pregnant with triplets as long as they were covered in solder! My technique did improve, and my wires began to slim down, no longer needing their maternity wear. After SEVERAL practices at this stage, I moved on to soldering LED’s and resistors into an electrical board, and then removing them by un-soldering in a new process. Long story short – I loved this as well. Mr. Jones is attempting to get soldering irons for my class and we have already picked out beginner soldering kits for my students to start practicing their new trade.

Photos to come soon – I’m loving my Kenan Fellows experience!