​Project Based Learning Electives provided by the Berrien Springs Virtual Academy​​​​​​​
​
FLC Tech Classes                                          Fall 2020
Students and teachers must be able to readily switch to online lessons at any point in the semester in order to register for classes. All students must complete a project for these classes.

 
On-Site Instructor:  Paul Oblak
Contact: taraj@andrews.edu or  poblak@gmail.com      #269-697-0069
Location: 2601 N 5th St., Niles, MI 49120
Classes begin the week of September 9
​
Additional registration at location is required.

Build and Program Your Own Computer  
Grades 6+
Wednesdays, 1:30-2:30 PM. ***Note the time change!***
OR
Wednesdays 10-11 AM    ***NEW SECTION ADDED 8/21***
Description:  Learning about electronic components, programming principles, and terminology through interactive
projects and immersive work on the computer they build as well as videos and lessons of general
concepts/examples. Some projects can be completed semi-autonomously by following instructional
video lessons and asking for help when needed. Students are encouraged to follow their interests and
experiment with their own programming ideas.
Course Overview - this is a full-year class but students must re-register for it each semester.
Syllabus

Build and Program Your Own Computer II 
Grades 7+
Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 PM
Description: In this class, students will continue to build on their Python programming foundation and incorporate
electrical circuits into their programming projects. They will program Minecraft games that use real-world
sensors from Piper’s Sensor Explorer Pack – which includes an ultrasonic sensor, a color sensor, and a
temperature sensor. In addition, students will build and program their own controller using Piper’s Beta
Command Center. We will continue with the Turing Tumble to learn more about Binary Numbers and
Boolean Logic, as well as covering a range of new programming topics such as classes, inheritance,
dictionaries, arrays, reading/writing to files, and more! 
Course Overview - this is a full-year class but students must re-register for it each semester.
Syllabus

Intro to Electronics
Grades 5-10th
Wednesdays, 11:00-12:00 PM
Description: Learning about electronic components, principles, and terminology through interactive projects and
immersive work on challenges as well as videos and lessons of general concepts/examples. Some
projects can be completed autonomously by following instructions included in the kits, and on the video
lessons (and, of course, asking for help when needed). Students are encouraged to follow their interests
and hypothesize about the results of various circuit designs and modifications.
Syllabus

Electronics II
Grades 6-11th
Wednesdays, 11:10-12:00 PM
Description: This course will focus on applying electronic circuits to real-world scenarios and expanding
students’ skills in the engineering of electronic circuits.
We’ll jump right into the SparkFun Inventor’s Kit, which is an Arduino-powered kit that is
compact yet versatile. We’ll use this kit to discover all-new sensors and more advanced
concepts in circuitry, like dividing voltage and even using code to give our circuits limitless
functionality!

In addition to the SparkFun kit, we’ll be revisiting KiwiCo’s Electronics series with the
Light-Up Speaker and Light-Chasing Robot. These kits will help students explore the core
concepts of bringing sounds to life and discover some exciting new properties of light.
Syllabus
​
Drone Building        
Grades: 5+
Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30 PM
Description: Developing a scientific approach to problems, while learning terminology, problem-solving,
and engineering principles through fun hands-on projects; gaining an in-depth
understanding of the way UAVs have evolved over time, including how they’re built,
operated, and used today.
Syllabus


*Please note: it is important to make as informed a decision as possible when choosing your student's Community Resource classes. Most locations will allow a student to drop a class after one meeting, at no charge if it wasn't a good fit for the student, but not all. Some classes plan ahead based on the number that have signed up and have purchased materials, hired teachers, etc. and there might be a fee for class time or materials given to the student if the student drops after one or two meetings. The school cannot pay for classes that students do not complete, so choose wisely; if you do not take the class off of your student's schedule by the deadline, you may be asked to pay for the class time incurred prior to dropping the class.
Teacher of Record: Tom Hurst