Our pupils at the Technical College “Augustin Maior” in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) have been studying with Nanoyou resources, news and experiments; they have investigated with medical applications, electronics devices and computers to eventually put up presentations with all information learned in order to show to the other classes and show and discuss science lessons with examples and applied ideas. All of these have been gathered while we opened our blog page Nanotechaugustinmaior (http://nanotechaugustinmaior.wordpress.com/)

In the beginning, my students learned about NanoTech using the Nanoyou Didactic Resources: Virtual Dialog – Nano Role Play “Revolution for the Light Bulb”. The aim of the activity was for them to share their ideas on the need for light from different perspectives: as a scientist, as a consumer, etc. to, afterwards, write their answers and ideas about The Dilemma in their individual student work sheet. They discussed their opinions with classmates, engaged in discussions on NanoTech Applications (needs and solutions) and shared opinions.

We also worked with another resource called “Time Machine – Need for Communication (History of Discoveries – Electronic Devices)”. With this didactic resource they studied the history of the phone and they could see how solutions to human needs have evolved over time while they improved their theoretical and experimental knowledge in science and electronics.

Students at Communication Technical College “Augustin Maior” Romania, Cluj-Napoca using Nanotechnology Resources

My students can post online what they have studied about Nano-materials, Electronics and Bio-nano generators. They have developed a great interest in learning about nano-electronic devices that could detect the concentrations of bio-molecules in real time to use as medical diagnostics as well as about nano-sensors, just to name a few. They have also learned about new researches in Electronics, which need to be rigorously tested and modified to be “space hardened” or resistant to the outer space environment (vacuum, micro-gravity, thermal extremes, and radiation exposure) as well as about micro-stats and tiny satellites.

Finally, my group of students prepared a documentation and presented it to other students in the school. They showed their studies about Nano wires for better conductions and discussed what that would mean for nano-satellites and for future discoveries. In fact, the existence of a set of standard components to meet the specific basic functions of nano-satellites would significantly reduce both costs and time to design and assemble a space mission. We all learned that, by customizing each nano-satellites application, the specifics can be completed in a minimum time by setting specific tasks in areas such as Environment, agriculture, security, communications, science.

In the project web, practical lessons will be posted using nanoyou student worksheets designed to use while experimenting.

Article written by: Lucia Dorina Gutu

Tags: Nanotech, Nanotechnologies, Nanoyou, Romania, STEM