Editor, The Daily Clarion

PRINCETON-Their task was to begin thinking about designing a Roman bath.

Granted, Princeton Community Middle School sixth graders might need some help envisioning a stadium-sized building with Olympic-size pools, shops and saunas.

Mike Motta cued up a program from The History Channel which explored the work of ancient architects, giving the class some background to color their canvas.

While half the class began thinking about how they could reproduce a wonder of the ancient world, 10 classmates were in a computer lab a few feet away, working in teams at five computers to complete their original designs for other projects.

With just two days of school left, there weren't any day-dreamers in this class Wednesday. One student had designed a canopied skate ramp for his back yard.

Taylor Maurer designed a wider, electric-powered skateboard.

Miranda Nixon designed a portable multi-media player.

David Rains worked on a model car.

And many other works were in progress in the pilot version of PCMS' entry into Project Lead The Way.

The multi-disciplined technology course challenges students to use math skills, English, physics, and their imagination.

When North Gibson School Corp. makes full entry into the PLTW program next year, there will be more computers and more software to design projects and eventually build scale models.

Motta said students will learn engineering and other critical thinking skills, envisioning projects on trial sketches, using math to arrive at dimensions and computer programs like Autodesk Inventor and Robo-Pro for robotics units.

The days of middle school home economics and shop class may be history, but boys and girls will be learning to design and build working factory models, teaching toys and other creative projects.

Motta said students who score high in the curriculum will be able to compete in &#8220Future City" regional and possibly national competitions using SIM City 3000 programs to create projects on screen, then use tools to create a scale model.

Students will also take part in the &#8220Toy Challenge" competition, designing and creating learning toys.

At PCMS, every student will have a taste of technology for 40 minutes, merging skills learned in other courses with pre-engineering possibilities, said Motta.

While students worked in the computer lab, Motta stepped back to the group watching the video and challenged them to consider whether ancient or modern-day cultures achieved the most impressive inventions.

Then he asked them to make the case for their conclusion in writing.

Motta admits that the things the children learned this year are just the tip of the iceberg available in the new curriculum. &#8220We haven't begun assembly or animation yet."

It's a fast-paced class that progresses through the high school level, where students can earn dual college credit if they want to.

Because it's so fast-paced, Motta said missing a day can be like missing a week.

He's worked out an interactive lesson program that students can use online at their own pace during student enrichment period or at home, where their parents can see the work.

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