History of information

A fascinating website for any type of group or student (engineering or otherwise) is History of Information, which focuses on the historical development of information in a wide variety of fields.

http://www.historyofinformation.com

The visitor to the website can choose either an era (from 2,500,000 BCE to 2013) or one of 89 themes (ranging alphabetically from Accounting/Business Machines to Writing/Paleography/Calligraphy). The thematic areas include business, technology, engineering, arts & culture, humanities, popular culture, etc.

I had my students scan the themes and choose one to focus on. They chose Computer/Internet culture. The time span of this theme is from 1305 to November 2013. I told them to look for "firsts" in this area that interest them. For the following lesson they had to prepare a short summary of the information they found, to present to the rest of the class. The texts for each entry range from extremely short (a couple of sentences) to much longer (a few paragraphs); but are easy enough for an intermediate group to read.

The information that the class found very interesting was from the entry, First use of "bug" in the context of computing (September 9, 1945). They were surprised that this term was so "old" in this usage, and had not realized that its origin was so literal. The entry reads:

"Grace Hopper, testing Aiken's Harvard Mark II Relay Calculator, found that a large dead moth, trapped between points at Relay #70, Panel F, caused the relay to fail. She removed the bug and entered the dead insect into a log book with the note, 'First actual case of bug being found.' This was the first use of the term 'bug' within the context of computing, and also perhaps the origin of the concept of 'debugging' within the context of computing."

Other topics the students found interesting:

• The @ in Email (March 1971)

• The invention of the word "internet" (circa 1973)

It's hard to imagine any student or group that wouldn't find something interesting on this site! So it lends itself to many classroom activities using any or all ofl the language skills.

Noise management

On the EngineerLive website there is a news item about Brüel & Kjaer's noise management service - Noise Sentinel - which, at the time of the post, was a finalist for the Environmental Initiative of the Year Award at the 2013 International Tunnelling Awards.

http://www.engineerlive.com/content/noise-management

The Noise Sentinel is described as being able to simultaneously monitor noise, ground vibration, dust and air quality, and complies with environmental guidelines.

Even though the Noise Sentinel didn't win the 2013 prize, my students were intereted in the innovation, since many of them are studying engineering aspects of tunnel systems and other areas of construction.

We found further information on the wesite of Brüel & Kjaer:

http://www.bksv.com/Products/EnvironmentManagementSolutions/UrbanEnvironmentManagement/ConstructionSentinel.aspx

The information given is very business-oriented, and like an advertisement. The focus is on describing the Noise Sentinel (what it does) rather than on how it works.

What we found interesting is the vocabulary used to sound very enthusiastic about the product. This provides a focus on language used for persuasion (useful for business proposals) and use of adjectives to advertise a product or service.

Also useful for students to notice is the language used to explain why a feature is considered an advantage. Some examples (indicated in boldface):

• Noise Sentinel takes care of the hassle associated with monitoring compliance, as we provide the instruments, installation, ...
• And because you are not buying the equipment, the costs of establishing your monitoring capability are much lower than if you were to purchase and operate your own instrumentation.
• Alerts on exceedances so you can take immediate action to reduce their impact.
• Noise Sentinel alerts you immediately when noise or vibration exceeds defined levels, allowing you to take immediate action...

Of course, the focus here can also be on linking and transition vocabulary, but in this text each feature is described as an advantage to the consumer. This relates well to other texts about products and services on business websites.

How the Earthquake Machine works

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma (USA) have designed a machine to mimic what happens inside the earth's crust during an earthquake. By understanding this process better, scientists can more accurately predict earthquakes and the extent of their expected damage.

The "How it Works" section of the website Popular Science has clear graphics of the machine, and a short process description.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-03/earthquake-machine?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=4&con=how-it-works-the-earthquake-machine

The first part of the process description describes the parts of the machine; the structure of the text provides a good model for students to emulate in their own process description texts or presentations.

For example, "The heart of the apparatus is a flywheel, a device that stores energy mechanically by spinning at high speeds. It's driven by a 100hp motor that can reach 3,300 rpm within 1/10 of a second. The flywheel connects to a central shaft." (The use of boldface is the text's, not mine.)

The second part details how scientists use the device to model the action of an earthquake:

"To model earthquakes of varying magnitude, researchers start by spinning the flywheel at a given speed; a faster flywheel means a bigger quake. The researchers then disengage it from the motor, letting the flywheel spin on its own stored power."

The article contains verbs that are useful for students to learn because they can be used for other types of technical descriptions, e.g., dissipate, discern, mimic, simulate, disengage.

Other useful vocabulary items include collocations such as: release energy, provide data, energy is radiated, evolve over time, transfer energy, dissipate energy.

This short article and the accompanying graphics not only give students a clear and focused explanation of how this device works, but also provide a good model for technical descriptions that they might have to write.

A robot that works with humans on the assembly line

In an article called "Could this robot save your job?" a collaborative manufacturing robot named Baxter is described. This robot was developed by Rodney Brooks, who also invented Roomba (the robotic vacuum cleaner). Baxter is intended for factory work, but working with humans on the assembly line - not replacing them.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/03/09/173841848/could-this-robot-save-your-job

Instead of being programmed, this robot learns by watching humans and by being guided by them. Mr. Brooks gives an example of the older factory worker who can do more challenging mental tasks while Baxter does the repetitive physical tasks.

In addition to the short news item, there is a video (time 2:33) describing the robot and showing it at work. The video claims that Baxter is so easy to use, that non-technical factory workers will be able to train and use "him." Although the background music might make it a bit more difficult for students to hear the narrator, he speaks clearly and slowly.

Students can focus not only on aspects of technical description (how the robot was built) and process description (how it "learns" and works), but also discuss implications of the robot's use in manufacturing.

The article includes links to further articles about Baxter, as well as a link to a description of the inventor, Rodney Brooks.

Printing a bionic ear

An article from the online edition of MIT Technology Review says that, "Princeton researchers, using a 3-D printer, have built a bionic ear with integrated electronics." This ear would not only enable the deaf to hear, but would actually be capable of detecting frequencies far beyond the range of a normal human ear.

I'm not sure what is more amazing here - the idea of a bionic ear or the fact that it was created with a 3-D printer. Students can discuss the implications of such innovative technology (and related cell tissue engineering) and also focus on the description of how this was done.

The article is fairly short, but includes enough material for a technical process description. In addition to the article, there is a video (2:41) narrated by Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor at Princeton university, describing how the ear was made. So there is also a process description to listen to.

http://www.technologyreview.com/demo/517991/cyborg-parts/

The material also refers to further body parts that the developers hope to be able to "build" with this printer.

Students might be interested in looking at the comments that follow this article, and add their own opinions to those expressed.