More on Rube Goldberg

Friday afternoon, we had another opportunity to Skype. This time, we had a Skype session with David Fox, the maker of an app called Rube Works. We often used this app in preparation of building our Rube Goldberg inventions. David Fox talked about what goes into building an app. We were amazed at the amount of post-work that goes into an app such as revising the app as bugs become apparent. 

We also took some time to reflect on what we have been accomplishing the last couple of days with each group's Rube Goldberg invention. I have to admit that not much had gone on the last few days but Friday seemed to be the day where every group hit their stride. Each group was to focus on getting two of their steps built, when in fact, each group probably built 3 or 4 of their steps. I have included a couple of pictures and will post a few clips of students running their invention. 

One of the things students are really focusing on is NOT get frustrated when their machines don't work out the way they want them to. While some frustration can often push your thinking, too much frustration can cause a filter in which information has difficulty reaching the brain. And at this point, not much is going to make sense. This project has really demonstrated the importance of trial and error, observing what works and making adjustments when things don't quite work.





Here is another one of our favorite Rube Goldberg videos.

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