First Few Days in the Barber Shop 💈

Important Links are all on Schoology, like the Daily Slide and our class-shared Google Doc, called "Cool Beans." During the first few days, we go over procedures, readying our laptops and our minds for a safe, fun building environment: 

• First Day Google Form (1 pt)
• Intro to the Barber Shop Slideshow
• Laptop Check '26-'27 (15 pts)
• How to Adobe Illustrator for a lasercutter (This is MY basic video how-to for a scribble. Mech XT students will use these skills to make much more advanced lasercuts after you make a BETTER how-to, for sharing with Mr. B on Google Drive and this website, ScreenPal.
• How to CAD a nametag on TinkerCad ... older version, but it leads you to making a small nametag. I suggest making SURE that your letters intersect and are BIG, BLOCK, AND CHONKIER.
• How to CAD for a Wood Shop Project

Click below to access a copy on Google Drive for printing: 

• Henley Shop/Technology/Education Class Competencies/Syllabi/Pacing Guides 2026-2027 (in English)
• Henley Media Permission/Safe Shop Rules/TinkerCad Permission Form 2026-2027 (in English) (En Español). <= I WILL NEED 3 SIGNED SHEETS AND ONE COMMUNICATION FROM YOUR GROWNUPS AT HOME.

What you need for a laptop check

Laptop Check 2026-2027

 Students must bookmark these 11 sites in a "Barber Folder" on their toolbar. (Here's how):

1. Barber Shop Website 
2. Barber of Cville Blog 
3. Henley Homepage 
4. Google Drive 
5. Schoology
6. PowerSchool 
7. TinkerCad (Please don't log in yet ... we will log in as a class)
8. maker:bit / Microsoft Make Code (Please don't log in yet ... we will log in as a class)
9. Scratch 
10. Cool Beans (students must find this in Schoology and break it out of Schoology before bookmarking!)
11. Daily Slideshow (students must find the link in Schoology that says "BOOKMARK THIS LINK" and break it out of Schoology before bookmarking!)
12. We will be adding other bookmarks as the year goes on ...

II. Your charger has 2 pieces, and, therefore, needs 2 labels, one on each part. You need a flag on your removable cord affixed with clear packing tape (your first and last name!), and you need to tape over your label with clear packing tape:

New Way (this year)- notice the shininess of the packing tape!

Old Way (past years when your charger didn't have a label)

III. You also need to pin shortcuts on your taskbar to the 2 apps we download:

• Arduino IDE- We download this from Software Center (quick download)
• Adobe Illustrator- We download Adobe Creative Cloud from Software Center, THEN we install Adobe Illustrator from CC. These will both take a LONG TIME! Close as many apps and tabs as you can!

Arduino

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Illustrator

IV. Come show Mr. Barber when you're pretty sure you're going to get a good grade (not when you've done only a little of the Laptop Check ... I don't want to enter in a 4/15 F!!)

CAD Challenge- RINGS

CAD CHALLENGE- TO DESIGN A RING THAT FITS ONE OF YOUR FINGERS!! 

First, make a simple one with embedded letter holes ... then we are trying to make a bigger one that still fits.

Spring 2026 Barber Design Project Sign Up

Link to sign up

The "Barber Shop" at Henley Middle School Safety/Tutorial Videos

• How to use a drill (Dewalt Hand Drill AND Drill Press) 

• How to make an Adobe Scribble

• How to lasercut on Cardboard 

• How to use a belt sander 

• How to lasercut on wood 

• How to use the Chop Saw (miter saw, pull saw) 

• How to use a Dewalt Impact Driver 

• How to use the Band Saw

• How to 3d Print and CAD a Nametag

Holiday Ornaments

 

Lasercutting a 3D Snowflake

You don't have to do a snowflake! You could do a silhouette as an RGB Red outline and then engrave words or "logos" inside in RGB Blue. 

 

 

 

BLANK HALL PASS ASSIGNMENT

Weather Station

I finally got a Weather Station. Those who know me or have followed me on Social Media know that I obsess about weather, especially snow prediction. Well, I quit all social media associated with Zuck or Musk and now I'm on BlueSky, Reddit, and NextDoor only. BUT, you can now follow me because of my birthday present this year!

My folks got me an Ambient Weather Station WS-2902:

I waited until after school got out to try to install it and mount it and that ended up being a GOOD call. The software set up was pretty quick and easy ... it reminded me of installing my smart thermostat at my previous house. You use its wifi to start off and connect it to your phone. Assembling it was even pretty easy. Mounting it was a little more difficult. You have to have it completely level (there's a bubble on top for you to use to judge), it has to face North, and you have to both have it a little distance from the house, but close enough for Wifi to reach it. Getting it at least 6' off the ground complicates things a little.

My future Father In Law and I got it done in about an hour. Fortunately, he had a perfect metal pole for the job and he had some pole strapping that we used to attach it to a wooden fence pole.

Now, I'm sharing with AmbientWeather.net ... check it out: Link and my station is KVAAFTON89 on WeatherUnderground. 

Arduino Preview Lessons

I have my lessons on microcontrollers on my website on a special page. 

Microcontroller Tutorials (Arduino and micro:bit)

Microcontroller Tutorials

micro:bit

micro:bit is a good basic way to start using microcontrollers. It even has block programming, so elementary students can "code," too! Because my students are in the 7th and 8th grade Mechatronics classes, we use actual code instead of just blocks:

Lucas	1 Heart (display)	https://youtu.be/G2U4RgM3RKU
Eli	2 Smiley Button (input)	https://youtu.be/P-oR-a7jmaQ
Hudson	3 Dice (If/Then/Else Loops)	https://youtu.be/cNkABtoAFys
Austin	4 Step Counter (Conditional Loops)	https://youtu.be/kHrf1c6st8g
Leigh	"hot potato"	https://youtu.be/9aEHW1uhPWY
August	7 seconds game	https://youtu.be/CMzfFrVYmmI
Charlotte	coin flipper	https://youtu.be/A2QU1dh20AU
Greg	compass	https://youtu.be/3dgzMmC2GNA
Alex	Crashy Bird	https://youtu.be/dxx6bnbqQLc
Mason	Fireflies	https://youtu.be/rGUIr7iLg-0
Alden	level	https://youtu.be/Btf57-qJWUU
Kingston	love meter	https://youtu.be/aBXZ2B8-ow4
Gerrit	micro-chat (channel) - partner	https://youtu.be/kwgPFr5LP9g
Sean	micro-chat (channel)- partner	https://youtu.be/MUUfvhPlAX8
Aaron	Multiple Dice	https://youtu.be/7lGWflE79zg
Julian	snap the dot	https://youtu.be/3tN2JF6mo_A
Ryan	tug of LED	https://youtu.be/FIk8xNncE1U

Arduino on TinkerCad

When we use Arduino in the Barber Shop, we try it out on TinkerCad first. This gives a rough draft "try" without having to worry about avrdude/Serial Port errors, AND it gives the coder a good diagram to look at when they are coding IRL:

Rick	Arduino Button on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/Dx4jnm88shg
Robert	Arduino Fade on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/NzGHEVFtR6o
Eli	Arduino For Loop Iteration on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/vjjr3HWaQLc
Treanor	Arduino RGB LED on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/TFtF7ppA6bw
Landon	Arduino Servo Knob on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/o4Ujij3pdqQ
Alex	Arduino Servo Sweep on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/-P-BQGk6WjI
Tom	Arduino Tone Melody on TinkerCad	https://youtu.be/u3LD3fdMup0

Arduino IRL

In my opinion, this is TRUE programming and controlling with a microcontroller, using an Arduino In Real Life:

Corbin	Arduino Blink In Real Life	https://youtu.be/u4NmsMVaYn4
Alessio	Arduino Blink In Real Life	https://youtu.be/RgPMFSKuy-E
Ge0rge	Arduino Button In Real Life	https://youtu.be/-p-HxpWy5Vk
Sirius	Arduino Button In Real Life	https://youtu.be/dKgx1ZFbWE8
Braxton	Arduino Fade In Real Life	https://youtu.be/9aEHW1uhPWY
Isaiah	Arduino For Loop Iteration In Real Life	https://youtu.be/_azq_C2ZFf8
Sam	Arduino RGB LED In Real Life	https://youtu.be/erlnfEwPcCA
Ben	Arduino RGB LED In Real Life	https://youtu.be/Y1ZgwSjP6NU
Andrew	Arduino Tone Melody In Real Life	https://youtu.be/PZOtDDSs8oE

Mechatronics

Noah shows us true Mechatronics in his tutorial. He uses Code to convert Electrical Energy to Mechanical Energy:

Noah

Arduino Servo Knob In Real Life

https://youtu.be/Fk6brQz79YI

Mechatronics is Programming a Computer to convert Electricity to Mechanical Energy

What are examples?

In the past, 

• My class has built and flown airplanes, similar to UVA’s RazorDrone

• We have built a Lego MindStorm obstacle course (from ANCIENT Lego MindStorms I found left in one of my rooms)

• At UVA, Mechatronics built the HooPrint AND a complete working electric guitar

• What other examples can you see in a classroom or think of that are Mechatronics?

Lasercutting Design Project Spring 2025

Here is the official signup: Student Signup (use the signup tab, NOT the chili spoon tab).

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Laser-cutting a Cell Phone Stand (on Birch or acrylic)

1. Cell Phone Stand Video 1- Base File Setup
• Call it "Username Cell Stand Back"
• 12x12” workspace size
• Change to RGB
2. Cell Phone Stand Video 2- Setting Up your Back Piece
• Open "Username Cell Stand Back" 
• Increase the size of the bottom hole to put in the cords
• 7” tall, 4” wide
3. Cell Phone Stand Video 3- Bottom Piece
• Call it "Username Cell Stand Base" 
4. You will need to add an Engraved Decoration, could be copied and pasted from your earlier work ...

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Challenge Coin (on Birch)

2 students will have to work together to engrave on the front and the back of a circular piece of birch and then lasercut and engrave approximately 150 of them!

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Earrings (on Basswood)

 

1. We trace the teacher's choice image/logo using their link or a Google image search and words like logo, cartoon, clipart, comic, outline, or silhouette to make the hornet as easy to trace as possible. Remember that you WON'T be coloring it! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
2. The outline of the shape and the small hole vary, but we can iterate after you've lasercut on cardboard. (Stroke: RGB Red, Fill: None)
3. After you've made the first one, we will be reflecting some or all of the design so that it's a mirror image of the first one. Then we will move them as close together as possible.

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Hall Pass (on Birch)

Hall Passes need:

1. We trace a (non-Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket) Hornet using Google image search and words like logo, cartoon, clipart, comic, outline, silhouette to make the hornet as easy to trace as possible. Remember that you WON'T be coloring it! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
2. You will also be tracing the teacher's choice image/logo the same way! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
3. The Teacher's Name, Room Number, and Henley Hall Pass  (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None) using the text tool to make them as readable as possible, using Calibri, Courier, Verdana, Arial, or other Sans Serif Fonts. All the words should be sized the same without stretching them!
4. The Rounded Rectangle should be 3.5" x 3.5" and the hole should be big enough circle to clip a lanyard holder through the top but not TOO close to the top so it won't break off (we don't supply lanyards ... I don't have any to give away) (Stroke: RGB Red, Fill: None)

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Hornet Faceplate (on Acrylic) for use in an aquarium with LED lights

This is specific to Mr. Nunley's needs. 

1. We trace a (non-Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket) Hornet using Google image search and words like logo, cartoon, clipart, comic, outline, silhouette to make the hornet as easy to trace as possible. Remember that you WON'T be coloring it! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
2. It SHOULD have a Rectangle that he can specify the size. (Stroke: RGB Red, Fill: None) We can probably adjust the size after you have cut your first prototype on cardboard.

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Keychains (on Birch)

1. We trace the teacher's choice image/logo using their link or a Google image search and words like logo, cartoon, clipart, comic, outline, or silhouette to make the hornet as easy to trace as possible. Remember that you WON'T be coloring it! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
2. The outline of the shape and the small hole vary, but we can iterate after you've lasercut on cardboard. (Stroke: RGB Red, Fill: None)
3. We can probably adjust the size after you have cut your first prototype on cardboard.

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Lasercutting 3D Snowflakes or Ornaments (on Basswood)

1. We trace the teacher's choice image/logo using their link or a Google image search and words like logo, cartoon, clipart, comic, outline, or silhouette to make the hornet as easy to trace as possible. Remember that you WON'T be coloring it! (Stroke: RGB Blue, Fill: None)
2. The outline of the shape and the small hole vary, but we can iterate after you've lasercut on cardboard. (Stroke: RGB Red, Fill: None)

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