Category Archives: Technology

First Experiences With 3D Printing in an Elementary School

Posted on January 20, 2017 by JohnHeffernan

  Ultimaker 2+ 3D Printer before it was ever used BACKROUND I recently purchased an Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer with some of my prize money from winning a Presidential Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Math and Science.  This is now … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Development, Teaching, Technology | 2 Comments

Dissertation Conclusion

Posted on January 14, 2017 by JohnHeffernan

Conclusion Development and gender were not significant factors in determining the EDP or the success of designs in this study with the exception of executive functions such as causal reasoning, which, in particular, showed some evidence of an age related … Continue reading →

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Site Back Online

Posted on September 1, 2016 by JohnHeffernan

Kidsengineer.com was down for a few days due to a hack.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  I am still doing some cleanup.  It’s really hard to keep up with this stuff yourself.  I ended up using a service to restore my … Continue reading →

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New Kits

Posted on August 25, 2016 by JohnHeffernan

New kits for school LEGO EV3 and LEGO WeDo 2.  It’s going to be a fun year!  

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Review of My Book

Posted on June 14, 2016 by JohnHeffernan

Nice review of my book I just noticed on Amazon.  Thanks, Ann Wyman.  Glad you liked it. I recently read the book “Elementary Robotics” by John Heffernan and I recommend it to any teacher interested in starting a LEGO Robotics … Continue reading →

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How To Make An Activity Timeline in EXCEL (Revised)

Posted on February 1, 2016 by JohnHeffernan

How do you produce a timeline of recurring activity types easily using EXCEL?  I had some trouble getting EXCEL to do this so I am sharing my technique here.  I use this in my research to characterize the engineering design … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Development, Research, Robotics, Technology | 1 Comment

LEGO WeDo – Using a Motor and Two Sensors

Posted on December 2, 2015 by JohnHeffernan

Can students use a motor and two separate sensors with WeDo?  If you hook up the motion and tilt sensors to the USB hub and put a sensor  on top of the motor, it does not really work.  You get continuous … Continue reading →

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Creativity and Elementary Engineering

Posted on September 6, 2015 by JohnHeffernan

In the theoretical framework of a new book called Engaging Young Engineers:  Teaching Problem Solving Skills Through STEM (Stone-Macdonald, Wendell, Douglass, Love, & Hyson, 2015), the authors posit that there are 5 kinds of thinking developed by teaching problem solving via STEM for early … Continue reading →

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Guest Blogger Marissa Zych on CS Non-Profits

Posted on August 13, 2015 by JohnHeffernan

Nonprofits have the opportunity to see a problem and analyze it, come up with a creative solution, and expand upon what educators are teaching. Utilizing the base that the education system constructs, nonprofits allow for continued education and provide advancements … Continue reading →

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Introduction to JavaScript Lesson

Posted on May 27, 2015 by JohnHeffernan

 What is JavaScript and why is it useful? Static versus dynamic HTML Static – always the same Dynamic – can change depending on user actions and input, create games JS runs in the browser – is interpreted Full programming language … Continue reading →

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