BYOAC class *2017 update*

[popsicle]

Ok, so as a teacher at a gifted magnet middle school, I have been teaching 'mini-courses' for 14 years.  Around 20 different mini courses are offered each nine weeks.  Teachers create a curriculum and write a description (these can often be entertaining, as they are basically commercials), and students sign up for them in their study halls by ranking their top 5 choices.  Then, depending on the availability/class size of each, students are placed into classes that most interest them. 

Minis I have taught include Board Game Design Shop, Axis and Allies (very popular), Beginning Guitar, World Music, Full Orchestra, Photoshop, and a few others over the years.  Mini courses are supposed to appeal to passion areas (of both the students and the teacher) and differentiate for gifted learners, meaning basically they must contain depth/complexity, use language of the discipline, usually have a long term project, be hands-on, have interaction with experts in the field, establish real world connections, etc.  Some very successful and recurring mini courses fellow teachers have done are Harry Potter, Fencing, Stained Glass, SCUBA, Chess Masters, Tech and Art in Geometry, Math Counts, Eco Club, Odyssey of the Mind, Baseball, the Beatles, Jazz Ensemble, Learn to Become a Spy, Origami, Music Composition, and countless others.

I really can't think of a reason why I haven't yet attempted to do a Build Your Own Arcade mini-course, but it might be because there could be an upwards of 20 students 6th-8th grade that are assigned to the class. I could probably plead to limit it to 12 or something, but the other teachers then take the brunt).  That, and power tools!

What would be your ideal situation for a nine-week class on BYOAC?  What would you want kids to take away from this experience after 9 weeks?  How could you implement 10-20 kids simultaneously to a long term project that has many steps that must be done in sequence?

Basically, guys, WRITE MY CURRICULUM! 

Potential roadblocks:

1. Tools and space.  I have a jigsaw and a router with slot cutter.  That's pretty much it.  There is no 'shop' at school.  Usually my minis are in the orchestra room.  There is a door leading directly outside for sanding, painting, cutting, etc.  I can guarantee you I will be the only one using these tools, and will probably have to put that in writing with required parent signature.
2. Budget.  Some minis have a fee attached to joining, so that is an option, but those students usually walk away with a project or membership or something.  A cabinet would live at the school.  I might also petition the coordinator to throw me some $.   I have old pcs and monitors to donate, but will need encoder, sticks/buttons, glass, paint, wood, t-molding, artwork printing, etc.
3. Management.  Assuming there are between 10-20 kids, they will all NEED something to be working on ALL the time.
4. Legality.  Robot Bowl it is!

p.s. I would invite PBJ as an expert in the field to give a lecture, but he's not allowed within 100 yards of a school. 

[paigeoliver]

Do a Nes based cabinet instead of a PC based one. It will keep the budget lower and provide multiple game function with 100 percent legality.

[Unstupid]

What kinda school is this?  Who puts on a "Learn to Become a Spy" class?  I hope this is an adult education school because I so want in!   

[HaRuMaN]

What kinda school is this?  Who puts on a "Learn to Become a Spy" class?  I hope this is an adult education school because I so want in!   

He said 6 - 8th grade.

[Nephasth]

Maybe build a showcase style cab yourself, with just a platform where the CP would be, and bring that in. Have the kids build their own portable CPs (like fightsticks) that can plug into the cab. That would give each of them the ability to make something that is truly their own, and give them a little more pride in their work. You could probably go with <$50 a head for the class. Get them each a ZD encoder from Vigo (then they can take home and plug it into their Playstations, and also makes wiring a lot easier for the kids), some inexpensive buttons and sticks, a little wood, and a piece of plexi (so they can put whatever art they want on it).

But that would, of course, be a lot shorter than 9 weeks. 10-20 sets of hands all trying to work on the same cab at once seems like it could be a little problematic, though.

[Le Chuck]

Maybe build a showcase style cab yourself, with just a platform where the CP would be, and bring that in. Have the kids build their own portable CPs (like fightsticks) that can plug into the cab. That would give each of them the ability to make something that is truly their own, and give them a little more pride in their work. You could probably go with <$50 a head for the class. Get them each a ZD encoder from Vigo (then they can take home and plug it into their Playstations, and also makes wiring a lot easier for the kids), some inexpensive buttons and sticks, a little wood, and a piece of plexi (so they can put whatever art they want on it).

But that would, of course, be a lot shorter than 9 weeks. 10-20 sets of hands all trying to work on the same cab at once seems like it could be a little problematic, though.

This is the way to go.  If kids are going to front a fee they better have something to show for the class or parents will wonder why they just donated to the schools new "X".  If you lock everybody into a standard hori style fight stick design you can get all the wiring harnesses done in advance.  The kids can work on the art (which at that size can be printed on a regular in-house printer), learn how to solder and crimp at stations you have set-up, and some very basic programming.  Have them all write a batch file to execute a game on start-up or something like that.  I wouldn't bother with FEs and the like, just familiarize them with a lot of the terminology.  I'd also cart in a jamma machine and go over the inner workings with them explaining how everything works.  For a field trip you go to an arcade.  Have them all team up and design their own game (on paper or those trifold boards you teachers seem to love) and brief the class on why theirs is a good game to include selling points and standard arcade op concerns.  Start with the history of video games in the penny arcade and take them up through the slow death of the arcade.  Have tests over the best parts of the history, don't forget about pinball and the cautionary tale of gambling in its past.  Have a token design contest, make sure everyone gets really bent out of shape, I'll come in and make ridiculous statements as a truly non-interested party, everyone will pout, nothing will ever get made... wait, too soon? 

[Le Chuck]

Oh, and it's BYOAC, easy to fix by editing the first post subject.  If you're going to be teaching the class I assume you're going to introduce them to this site and you don't want them wondering why you can't type. 

[edekoning]

1- router and jigsaw should be enough
2- what Nephasth said. In addition I think you should go with single player CPs to keep the cost down. That way you can hook up two CPs to a single Cab/PC/Laptop/console/whatever and do a little competition at the end Just make sure you have a realistic budget. If you are afraid it will end up being to high, try getting some local (wood)shop to sponsor you the wood/plexi/paint. I think the only real costs that you will have are the encoder+jstick+buttons(x4?).
3- cardboard mockups! art/theme! CP layouts! wiring! lots to do while you are doing the woodworking
4- just buy a classic games collection for a few bucks.

[alfonzotan]

That's good stuff from Nephasth.  Build an "open platform" cab with the basic internal hardware, and let them build/design their own custom stuff to work with it.  Give them the opportunity to lay out and design their own control panels, bezel artwork, lighting, even side art and such.  Anything that can be connected to or taped up on the actual cabinet frame is fair game.  The more tech-oriented can get into customizing FE's, building funky controls (dig up the DIY Star Wars yoke or spinner plans), messing with MAME settings, etc., etc.

[ark_ader]

Why not teach them how to write a game.  No cutting tools required and they can use the knowledge to make some great indie games.

Arcade machines are nice, but to be honest at that age I would like to learn something tangible and be of job worth when I got out of school.

If you do continue with this subject, I hope you get the parents to sign off on it.

Arcade Machines, Mame, and copyright infringement do not work in a curriculum, as it does in a hobby.

You do not want to make a rod for your own back.

[Vigo]

Just my two cents from someone who has seen the mucky muck of how the liability piece goes when the admin gets wind of power tools. My old man was a shop teacher, and my brother teaches some industrial arts, and believe me you will be running into troubles without proper facilities.

In most cases with shop classes, there are a number of things that fall into place to have students use power tools. I'm not sure what you would be hitting and avoiding with this being a special class, but there are a number of schools that won't touch workshop due to the overwhelming liability. Even if you only use a jigsaw and router, you are still dealing with power tools that can cause serious bodily injury.

You would in all likelihood need to be CPR and first aid certified. You would need a trauma grade first aid kit and have it inspected before you can begin.You would also have to have consent forms as well for participating in the class. From an administrative standpoint, you would probably also need to have to have been educated in classroom shop safety. This is usually not a hard requirement by law, but schools bug out when they think of the liability. You would also need to provide proper safety equipment to go with the tools for students even not doing the actual cuts. Just being in the vicinity requires you have everything from safety glasses to earplugs and gloves. I know of cases where theater teachers got in trouble for having kids help set build, and simply operating power tools near them.

Anyway, long point short, I would either have the kids "do it on their own time", maybe group up or something, or just cut a template out for them and have them do the simple parts like screwing it all together.

[Unstupid]

Pot meet Kettle!   

[Vigo]

Sorry if I came off like that, didn't mean to crap on the idea at all....just pointing out that simply having a power tool running in a class with kids opens a big can of legal ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that Popsicle may or may not have thought could come to pass, it was meant as a heads up that the admin could easily have a heart attack over it all. Lots of schools have a shop and a tech/shop teacher so it is not a problem to work things through. A class without a shop makes things sticky because of all the safety equipment and safety trained teacher on that is normally available is gone.

IMO, it would just simpler to do the big cuts for the kids when they are not there, or send them off to do it with their dads like some cub scout pinewood derby project, rather than trying to do precision cuts while the students are hovering nearby.

I personally really like simple arcade cab projects. Just a suggestion, but I think the Vigolix design I did would be a good candidate for this kinda of class. Absolute minimum on cutting, cheap and easy to build cabinets. If you by chance have old computer lab machines that you are cycling out from last year, you might be in luck for all the innards as well. My bro's school had a ton of machines getting tossed after they moved to ipads.

[CheffoJeffo]

I personally (e.g. IRL) know 3 teachers who have created arcade construction/restoration programs (and one of them was phenomenal ... I would now gladly pay them to restore a cab for me, if the program hadn't been cut).

If you choose to go ahead, then put out the call to the community for donations (except to me ... I donated all of my spare stuff to those other programs). There are vendors who might be willing to make donations based on sales (general or linked to particular site) from a particular time period.

FWIW, having worked with kids for a long time, I would echo Vigo's concern about requirements and liability. But then, that is based on having actually worked with kids rather than just being some random keyboard commando who hasn't ever been involved and doesn't understand that doing involves much more than just typing.

I like Neph's idea.

If it were me, I would have pre-cut blank CP tops and have the kids do their own layouts. Then the kids could apply the layout to their CP top and you can drill the holes, which is easy enough to do. You might want to design things so that they could design their own artwork easily enough on available equipment (or paint/draw by hand).

Edit: Oh yeah,  for wanting to engage and challenge kids.

[yotsuya]

Vigo wasn't thread crapping. He was giving advice based on experience.

[Well Fed Games]

Having each student build/customize an arcade stick they could take home and use seems like a pretty cool class, and they would learn the basics of what an arcade controller entails. You could always do a half day on setting up mame on their own time, or provide plans for a bartop that would attach their their controller if they had the supplies to go that far. Hell, have a Street Fighter IV tourney as the wrap up to the class...

[Vigo]

The original post specifically mentioned that he was aware the use of power tools might be a problem.

Ol'diarrhea fingers might want to back away from the keyboard and read first.

Yeah, i did read that, I was pointing out why his proposed solution of "Cutting it all myself" during class hours does not necessarily keep clear the liability hurdles. I was trying to give him the d/l on what schools freak out about having when doing shop class. Yeah, I know it kinda came off as crapping on the idea, but to be honest, I actually like Popsicle's plan and if I was still in HS, I would have gone to his board game class as well. 

And for the record, my old man never needed to apply his First Aid training or open his First aid kit when kids got hurt in his class. Small wounds he tossed them a band-aid from his drawer. Big Wounds he tossed them a towel and kicked them on down to the nurse. It's just the stuff schools demand to have around for the kids whose daddies are lawyers. It's all complete BS.

[jennifer]

     This class should be held at your school, Its not a bad choice for A kid that's being forced to choose....A kid outside of those
walls however, If they have the desire, and skills to teach themselves, Already has infinite resources at her/his disposal.

[Le Chuck]

     This class should be held at your school, Its not a bad choice for A kid that's being forced to choose....A kid outside of those
walls however, If they have the desire, and skills to teach themselves, Already has infinite resources at her/his disposal.

Which line do I stand in for the infinite 5 axis laser cutter and infinite aluminum stock?

[jennifer]

 Well, I would try Ebay, and a industrial salvage outlet first....The aluminum can be obtained from salvage too, but Jen prefers buying
that new...It"s so much shinier.

[Vigo]

Well, if you can leave the kids with something in hand, I think that would be a phenomenal class. I'll try to answer your original question about what a good curriculum would be.

I think if I were to do a curriculum, I could focus on how it hits on a wide spectrum of talents utilized by professionals in a lot of fields. I personally would try to break out each piece into a section of a build and tie it into the professional field. It would be a business "sample platter", and their machine is their product that they are trying to design and create. You could bring in any professional for any field you touch to give ideas  on how to make their "product" better. I would give them a very clear goal. Let them pick only one cabinet friendly game and their goal is to make a product designed to play and market the game in a professional manner.

1) Designing controls: Ties back to engineering. Interfacing with machinery in an efficient way. Go over ergonomics, simplicity, user friendliness and show them how to think like an engineer when designing their own layout. How things like position of controls or monitor distance affects how well the machine can be played.

2) Games: Ties back to Marketing. Teach kids how creating a product to promote their game of choice, aka their product. Pull out a pool of cabinet friendly games, and have each student find a game they like and design their cabinet around it. Show them how the cabinet has to be designed to match their product. On down times, you can pull busy work from this arena. Have them make a flier for their game.

3) Artwork: Tie to Graphic design. I would have each student create their own design to either paint or print on the cabinet. It could be a simple logo, or it could be elaborate artwork. Go over the basics of design and how their artwork must compliment their game. Things like color palettes and art styles.

4) Budget and time management: Tie back to business finance/accounting. This should probably be the first piece you cover with them. They set up a plan to do everything in a deadline. I would consider having the kids do their own budgeting. This idea might fall on it's face without you approving everything, but it sounds like you might have some money options to work with. I would rake in everything you can get for them for free or dont give them options on certain criteria, but give them a few options on setting their own budget. For example, they can cut their artwork budget and stencil on a simple logo rather than printing in color, but in exchange, they have some spending money and buy a game rather than going with a generic free game.


Ideas to cut costs and keep project moving fast:

Have only 1 simple cabinet design allowed.
Make mini or bartop cabinets.
Allow only 1 player controls and use only joysticks and buttons.
Have students hand paint with rollers.
Use 1/2" wood. Go with veneer stripping instead of t molding.
Skip frontends unless time permits. Have only the 1 game boot on startup.
Skip marquee lighting. Have a solid board for marquee.
Dont have back door on cabinet
Dont use coin doors
speakers should be pc speakers and not mounted in the wood.
Dont hinge control panel, just have it screw in and out with wood screws.
Don't use plexi
use black matte artboard for marquee.
Have the kids do a bake sale or something for more money. 

[Unstupid]

rather than hunting down donor computers and fixing them up stable enough to run mame (class in itself) you can just go and buy 60-in-1 boards for $50 and be well on the way!  Ya it won't play Street Fighter 4, but it'll get them on their way! 

[popsicle]

Oh, and it's BYOAC, easy to fix by editing the first post subject.  If you're going to be teaching the class I assume you're going to introduce them to this site and you don't want them wondering why you can't type.

HA! whoops 

[popsicle]

Minor update: I talked to the coordinator today and she loves the idea.  She laughed when I said "I don't have nerd glasses large enough to push up when I say this, so brace yourself".  Anyway, I can limit it to 12 students and she'll allocate between $100-200 for the class! 

As much as I'd like for them to be able to take something home, I really don't want to charge a large fee plus I don't have the time or space to just 'throw together' a pedestal cab, let alone one that can easily incorporate a dozen custom cps    You need a veteran BYOAC'er for that kind of sorcery.

A single small form cabaret style 4-way vertical cabinet that the whole class can design and build together is more of what I was thinking.  If I'm to give them real world experience, they'd better get used to making their voices heard in a team effort, while making concessions and taking critiques in that same arena.  Says the guy who built his own machines in the garage.  By himself.

I'm no shop teacher, and I would make all cuts and routing at home on my own time.  They can drill, sand, paint, stain, assemble, pound in t-molding on campus.  I appreciate the eyebrow raising on this topic. 

9 weeks goes by pretty fast, esp. since we only meet MWF.  With the initial exploration into history, form vs. function, artwork design, cp layout, etc. there will be plenty to do for everyone before any construction even takes place.  Lots of kids are pretty tech savvy there, so I'm sure I could get a team together to setup an emulator and front end. 

LOVE the idea about having them create their own flyers.

I haven't taken any of the posts in this thread as crapping.  Keep the ideas coming (and also raise alarms) so this thing works out.

[PL1]

Walmart has these table trays for $8.44.



Pull 8 screws and you have a finished 1P CP top with rounded corners/edges and no need for t-molding.

If you can buy/get access to a table saw, you easily make matching sides.

Take another tray table and cut as shown in this diagram.

Start with the red lines to make it flat on the top and bottom.

Cut in half, then cut the halves in half again.

You may want to shorten the horizontal lengths slightly to allow a little "slop" during assembly since these measurements allow very little overhang.



The sides assemble like this.



When you put them together, it looks like this.

 



Add a hardboard bottom cover mounted using L-brackets, clip-on nutplates, machine screws and rubber feet.




Scott

[MinerAl]

Have them each go to Whatever-Mart and pick up one of these:
or any joystick type TV-Game. 

Rip it apart, use real arcade controls and interface them to the board (can be done without soldering).  Then instead of having to bring it to school to play with it, they can plug it in to any TV to play games.

[ChadTower]

Do a Nes based cabinet instead of a PC based one. It will keep the budget lower and provide multiple game function with 100 percent legality.

"What the hell, Teach?  Why does my cabinet keep blinking?!  It won't play anything at all!"


Might want to go with SNES or some other system that actually works.   

[Gray_Area]

They took shop out of schools aeons ago for a few reasons. The biggest, I think, being material expense.

You could do a fundamentals class, where you use the Wiki, the forum, and some arcade-related online sources to depict and explain things. An advanced (or optional lab) class would be application of principles.

[popsicle]

Ok, I'm revisiting this idea with plans to offer this class in the fall.  There have been some really great suggestions, and I really appreciate  your input.  Let me attempt to summarize the thread:

This will be a 9-week class that meets MWF for 1.5 hours that is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade kids at a gifted magnet school.  I can limit the class size to 15 kids, and as of today have been promised a working budget of $150.  I will do all cutting and routing off campus to avoid safety issues (and liability).  I own a router with slot cutting bit, flush trim bit, jigsaw, button hole drill bit, and other common tools.  Most likely the class will meet in an empty portable building, or failing that, the orchestra room.  I can request weekly access to laptops w/internet access for all.

There seemed to be a lot of favor in support of having each kid make something of their own that they could take home, including some nice cost effective ways to get generic control panel boxes built.  I really like this idea, but a) I don't want to charge a fee, b) this would involve me personally doing all the cutting for 15 projects, and more so c) I would like the class to come together and create something that not only lives at the school but serves as a monument to those who built it, inspiring future classes to "one up" them.  Therefore, my plan is to have the whole class collaborate on a single project, splitting them into small teams that handle each of the facets of creating the cab (design and dimensions, artwork, hardware, software, etc.).

I like the suggestion of taking them to an actual arcade on a field trip.  This would be really great... there's this place not too far away that has some classic cabs up and running http://www.joystixamusements.com/GAMERENTAL.asp  Maybe the owner would give us a morning tour and talk about the business. 

So, here is a very basic first draft of a syllabus.  I'm a little worried that there won't be enough time to get it all done properly after spending so much time researching and planning (we all know how that is.. how many HOURS did you spend on this forum before actually ordering parts for your first cab?).  Remember that these kids were born between 1999 and 2002.  That's depressing, huh?

Week 1 - 2 : History - penny arcades, slot machines, pinball and it's shady reputation, association with gambling, parental outcry, space wars, pong, space invaders, pacman, donkey kong, rise of the video arcade, cabinet types, games that reflected the culture of the 80's, Nolan Bushnell,  what it cost to produce/purchase a cab and what returns they provided, the basic parts of a cab, marquee/bezel/flyer artwork, raster vs. vector, analog vs digital, monochrome vs. color, the rising popularity of home consoles and ports, the video game crash, the fading of the arcade, the resurgence of fighter coin-op games, the infiltration of redemption games.  Peruse arcade history sites for specific themes, art, and style of cabinets in the 'golden age' for inspiration.  Familiarize the class with marquees, bezels, side art, colors, styles, control panel layouts, cabinet shapes of that era. 

Week 3 - 4 : Nerds, Inc. - Questionnaire to each kid to determine their specific interests and abilities in order to assign them to a team.   Have local software project manager talk to the class on how his company functions in its various departments when dealing with analysis, design and development, deadlines, budgets, customer satisfaction.   Round table discussions each morning to communicate to the class what each team has done and will be doing, as well as agree on cab theme, games it will play, and what it will cost.  Gather donated components and take inventory of what components are available and what must be purchased.

Week 5 - 6 : The Hobby - Emulation and the MAME project, frankenpanels, crt vs. lcd, vertical vs. horizontal, 4-way vs. 8-way, encoders, ways to power a cab, front ends, sticks and buttons, mdf, t-molding, hall of fame cabs, themes, function vs. form, ergonomics, cooling, hardware mounting, wiring, lighting, admin buttons.  Solidify plans for cab, cp, art. Create cardboard mockups.  Strip pc, monitor (probably will leave shielding alone!), mount hardware and install fresh o/s.  Experiment with front end and emulators. 

Week 7 - 8 : Makin' it - Cut the thing. Paint/stain/poly it. Assemble it.  Get artwork printed.  Install the monitor.  Wire the encoder to cp.  Finish front end customization.  Add power and lighting to cab.  Turn it on.  It won't work.  Start over. 

Week 9 : The End - Enjoy the thing.  High score contest.  Celebratory sparkling grape juice in fancy plastic glasses. 


I'm sure I'm missing a lot, or overlooked something important, so please do chime in.

[popsicle]

Why not teach them how to write a game.  No cutting tools required and they can use the knowledge to make some great indie games.

Because the last thing I programmed was in COBOL on a TRS-80.

[Nephasth]

There seemed to be a lot of favor in support of having each kid make something of their own that they could take home, including some nice cost effective ways to get generic control panel boxes built.  I really like this idea, but a) I don't want to charge a fee, b) this would involve me personally doing all the cutting for 15 projects, and more so c) I would like the class to come together and create something that not only lives at the school but serves as a monument to those who built it, inspiring future classes to "one up" them.  Therefore, my plan is to have the whole class collaborate on a single project, splitting them into small teams that handle each of the facets of creating the cab (design and dimensions, artwork, hardware, software, etc.).

I understand where you're coming from, but I still think what I thought back in September:

Maybe build a showcase style cab yourself, with just a platform where the CP would be, and bring that in. Have the kids build their own portable CPs (like fightsticks) that can plug into the cab. That would give each of them the ability to make something that is truly their own, and give them a little more pride in their work. You could probably go with <$50 a head for the class. Get them each a ZD encoder from Vigo (then they can take home and plug it into their Playstations, and also makes wiring a lot easier for the kids), some inexpensive buttons and sticks, a little wood, and a piece of plexi (so they can put whatever art they want on it).

But that would, of course, be a lot shorter than 9 weeks. 10-20 sets of hands all trying to work on the same cab at once seems like it could be a little problematic, though.

The cutting won't be bad with a router and flush trim bit. Once you've got the panels cut for the first one, you could whip out the rest in a hurry.

Totally forgot about this thread and my "advice" shortly after giving it, but I ended up building something pretty much exactly like I described back then...





Total cost was less than $25... but that was using almost all spare parts and scrap.

No more encoders from Vigo though, you'd have to get those from ebay now.

[popsicle]

The class has ended as of this morning, and I think it went pretty well!  85 kids signed up as their 1st choice, but only 16 were able to take it.  After nine weeks, we have a playable cab (still needs glass, printed marquee, a back, some minor wiring cleanup, and a bit of mala list tweaking).  Today in celebration we drank the sparkling grape juice and had a Frogger tournament. 

I followed most of the plan in my last post, including splitting the class into groups of budget/design, software, hardware, construction.  I asked Saint to move a few specific threads to PnR in an effort to get my district to unblock the forums, and he did (thanks again!) but the district still wouldn't allow it.  I ended up targeting a few select tutorial and hall of fame threads and pdf-ing them to show on the projector, as well as a large archive of arcade flyers to show them not only cab styles but fonts and artwork of the golden era.  The class almost unanimously voted to build a 4-way classic wood stained vertical upright.

I was reimbursed $100 from GGG (encoder, buttons, true leaf 4 way, t-molding, etc.) and opened up a $200 purchase order at Home Depot (birch ply, paint, brushes, spray poly, screws, sandpaper, stain, etc.).  I brought my tools and a whole bunch of scrap wood and parts to an empty portable building, now home base for this class.  I can make cuts just outside the building while they watch from the window 

We raided an electronics recycling program at the local high school for some pcs (all of which had hdd problems or other crippling errors) and I found a $10 21" crt on Craigslist.   Other little things like computer speakers, wires, ps/2 cords, casters I donated or bought when needed. 

The visit to the local arcade fizzled out - the owner didn't respond to my last email and I gave up.  We were in a time crunch anyway, and the place is really a bar with video games next to the stadium downtown.  Hard to sell to parents, I would think.

Some of the best teachable moments came from adjusting schedules, fixing mistakes, troubleshooting errors, making concessions, finding alternate or available materials, and perseverance in general.   It wasn't easy to always get all 16 of them on task when there are so many specific things to be done in a specific order, but I did my best to make them watch me measure cuts, teach them about how the tools work (from the router to even simple things like clamps and screwdrivers), ask them probing questions about design choices, and how to see the big picture every step of the way.   

I'll post more pictures when I get a chance and get the marquee and glass in, although I might have to fund this part myself.  The stain color is 'fruitwood' and has about 3 coats of spray poly.  The cp is an old melamine drawer from my kids bedroom dresser sprayed black with lexan over the top.  Threre's a smartstrip and casters on the base (the base is also from the old broken bedroom furniture).   Yes, I already fixed the wiring mess under the cp 

The next crop of kids starts up Monday.  Wish me luck!

[Nephasth]

I asked Saint to move a few specific threads to PnR in an effort to get my district to unblock the forums...

So, you are the one who stole our cheesecake!

 

Glad everything went well, and it's awesome to see kids taking an interest in this!

[keilmillerjr]

Wow. In 6th-8th grade, I was more concerned with riding my bmx bike, riding my 2-stroke dirt bike, running over slugs, and checking out girls with developing boobs. 

[Le Chuck]

 

That's awesome! 

[popsicle]

A few more pics with the cab basically finished.

The current 9-weeks project is a horizontal trackball upright.

[pbj]

Job well done.  What happens to the cabinet now?

[popsicle]

Strangely, I'm not sure.  I suppose since it was built mostly with the gifted magnet budget it stays on campus.  In a couple of years, there could be 4 or five machines in that portable.  Maybe it could be some sort of 'reward day' activity to visit the school arcade or something.

[stigzler]

Maybe it could be some sort of 'reward day' activity to visit the school arcade or something.

For the pupils or the staff??

 

[popsicle]

LOL my assistant principal wandered in the other morning and played a couple of games of Punch Out.  I've never seen him happier 

Teacher's lounge!  Why didn't I think of that before?