Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Engineering Education for Today’s Classroom
The Infinity ProjectSM
Bringing Engineering
Education to High Schools
Across the Country
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
What is The Infinity ProjectSM?
Award Winning High School and Early
College Engineering Education
Program
 A year long course approved by the TEA
 Based in The Institute for Engineering Education
 Appropriate for:
 High School Students: Sophomores – Seniors
– Completed Algebra II & one lab based science
 Early college students
 Hands-on application of math & science to topics of
interest to students
 Internet, cell phones, electronic music
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
The Infinity Engineering Curriculum
 High School: Typically offered as a stand-alone
course lasting for one year.
 Categories – Math, Science, Career and
Technology
 Some schools offer the course as a two year
sequence or incorporate the materials and
classroom technology into existing courses.
 Universities: Offer the curriculum to their freshman
students – typically EE/CE/CS
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Key Elements to Infinity Project Success
Two Key Elements for the Program’s Success
1. Award winning, high quality program
2. Easy for schools to implement
Added benefits:
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low cost
works with existing teacher base
significant classroom support
high impact
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Focus of the Curriculum
Built off of the simple truth about engineering:
basic math + basic technology = cool stuff
 Fun to learn; fun to teach!
 Rooted in math and science
 Hands-on, loaded with design projects
 Emphasizes creativity
 Students learn to “think like engineers” and apply math to
good, real problems
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Award Winning Curriculum
Provide Instructor with “Complete Solution” for
Implementing Curriculum
 Textbook - published August 2003
 Robotics chapters added December 2003
 Student Lab Manual
 Instructor’s Guide
 Frequently Asked Questions
 Homework Solutions
 Sample Test Questions
 Daily Lesson Plan
 Objectives, Materials
 Instructional Strategy, Homework Assignments
 Presentation Slides
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Classroom Technology:
The Infinity Technology Kit
 The Complete Classroom Technology Solution
 Turns a standard PC into an engineering design platform.
 Integrated extensively throughout the curriculum.
 Supports hundreds of exciting engineering design projects.
 Low-cost kit manufactured by National Instruments and Texas
Instruments includes:
 Cutting Edge TI DSP technology
 Visual Application Builder
(VAB) Software for Infinity
 All the peripherals you need
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Key Course Objectives
 The student develops an understanding of the
engineering design process.
 The student uses a variety of technological devices to
design, build, and test engineering concepts.
 The student applies mathematical and science
knowledge to engineering technology.
 The student explores the connections between humans
and technology to enhance the human utility of
engineering designs.
 Inspire students to pursue higher level math & science
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Course Outline
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Chapter 1 - The World of Modern Engineering
Chapter 2 - Creating Digital Music
Chapter 3 - Making Digital Images
Chapter 4 - Math You Can See
Chapter 5 - Digitizing the World
Chapter 6 - Coding Information for Storage and Secrecy
Chapter 7 - Communicating With Ones and Zeros
Chapter 8 - Networks From the Telegraph to the Internet
Chapter 9 - The Big Picture of Engineering
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Making Math Relevant
Polynomials
E-commerce
Sines and Cosines
Wireless communications
Matrices
Special Effects
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Student Impact
Qualitative survey prepared for TEA
reported that
80% of students completing program report a
“very strong interest” in pursuing engineering.
95% learned new math concepts
Nearly 100% would “recommend course to friend.”
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Infinity Students
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Program Breadth
 Currently in 160 schools - Public, Private, Magnet
 55 new school applicants for 2006-2007
 Gaining international interest - Ireland, Australia, Mexico,
Netherlands
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District Columbia
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
The Institute for Engineering Education
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Professional Development Institutes
 Week long summer training
 Taught by Master Infinity Instructors
 35 hours of Professional Dev. Credit
 Hosted on University campus
 Hands-on and valuable
 Enriching, relevant and fun
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Typical Total Program Costs
 Professional Development for Teachers
$750
 $750/teacher plus travel expenses
 Classroom Technology Acquisition
$4,000
 $400/kit – typically 10 kits per classroom
 Course Materials (Prentice Hall)
$1,300
 $50/Textbook “Engineering: Our Digital Future”
 $15/Student Lab Manual for 20 students
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Approx. cost per Classroom
$6,050
Note: Assumes existing personal computers (Windows 2003) – one per Infinity kit
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Current Partners
Universities, corporations, government
agencies and many others
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Expansion: University Partnerships
 Working with University Partners to promote
Infinity
Infinity part of outreach to local schools
Host Professional Development Institutes
Invite principals, math, science teachers to info
sessions
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Central Florida
Santa Clara University
University of Houston
Southern Methodist University
DeVry University
The Institute for Engineering Education
And others
University of Texas – San Antonio
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Creating Awareness
 Reaching 60,000 Educators at Key 2006
Conferences
 T^3 International
 National Science Teachers Association National
Convention
 National Council Teachers of Mathematics Annual
Meeting
 Infinity Project E-mail Newsletter
 Delivered to 1000+ Infinity friends & prospects
twice/semester
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Criteria for Infinity Schools
 Committed school administrators.
 Motivated and qualified instructor(s): math, science,
or technology certified instructors with moderate
comfort level using computer programs.
 Energetic students with the appropriate
prerequisites: sophomore, juniors or seniors who
have completed Algebra II and one lab science
course.
 Sufficient lab equipment and space.
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
Becoming an Infinity School
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Complete & submit application prior to June 30, 2006
Interview conducted with school principal & instructor
Schools acquire classroom technology & textbooks
Teachers attend summer training
Teachers begin teaching course 2006-2007
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org
Engineering Education
for today’s classroom.
How do I learn more about the
Infinity Project?
www.infinity-project.org
Visit the website to download this PowerPoint, a DVD
describing the program, teacher comments, sample
materials, and all the application forms.
The Institute for Engineering Education
infinity-project.org