EEEEK- A Mouse!
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Lesson Focus
Lesson focuses on computer and mechanical engineering and explores how computer mice
operate and how engineering provided an interface between man and machine.
Lesson Synopsis
The EEEEK - A Mouse! activity explores the concept of how engineering solved the
problem of human/computer interface. Students disassemble a mouse and explore the
movement on the X/Y axis that determines mouse positioning. Students explore design
enhancements to the mouse over time, and as a team of "engineers" add further
enhancements to current mouse design.
Age Levels
8-18.
Objectives
Learn about computer/human interface and mouse engineering.
Learn about ongoing changes to mouse design in response to software changes and
human needs.
Learn about teamwork and the engineering problem solving/design process.
Anticipated Learner Outcomes
As a result of this activity, students should develop an understanding of:
computer - human interface
impact of engineering and technology on society
engineering problem solving
teamwork
Lesson Activities
Students learn about how the engineering behind the original development and ongoing
design enhancement of the computer mouse have impacted everyday life. Topics
examined include problem solving, teamwork, and the engineering design process.
Students work in teams to disassemble a mouse, evaluate the design and operation of its
component parts, recommend changes to improve functionality through redesign and/or
material selection, build a model showing the enhanced mechanics or design, and present
to class.
EEEEK - A Mouse! Page 1 of 8
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Resources/Materials
Teacher Resource Documents (attached)
Student Resource Sheets (attached)
Student Worksheet (attached)
Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks
See attached curriculum alignment sheet.
Internet Connections
TryEngineering (www.tryengineering.org)
Mice: How do they work? (www.4qdtec.com/meece.html)
SRI International's Mouse History (www.sri.com/about/timeline/mouse.html)
The First Computer Mouse
(http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/Archive/patent/Mouse.html)
The Mouse Site (http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/1968Demo.html)
ITEA Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology
(www.iteaconnect.org/TAA)
National Science Education Standards (www.nsta.org/standards)
Recommended Reading
How Computers Work by Ron White and Timothy Edward Downs
(ISBN: 0789736136)
How Computers Work: Processor and Main Memory by Roger Young
(ISBN: 1403325820)
Optional Writing Activities
Write an essay or a paragraph describing how engineering has changed another
product over time. Choose from the following products: television, toaster, light
bulb, automobile transmission.
EEEEK - A Mouse! Page 2 of 8
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EEEEK- A Mouse
For Teachers:
Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks
Note: All lesson plans in this series are aligned to the National Science Education
Standards which were produced by the National Research Council and endorsed by the
National Science Teachers Association, and if applicable, also to the International
Technology Education Association's Standards for Technological Literacy or the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
National Science Education Standards Grades K-4 (ages 4-9)
CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
Abilities of technological design
Understandings about science and technology
CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science
As a result of the activities, all students should develop an understanding of
Properties of objects and materials
CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
Risks and benefits
Science and technology in society
CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
History of science
National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10-14)
CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science
As a result of their activities, all students should develop an understanding of
Motions and forces
Transfer of energy
CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
Abilities of technological design
Understandings about science and technology
CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
Risks and benefits
Science and technology in society
CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
Nature of science
History of science
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EEEEK- A Mouse
For Teachers:
Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks
(continued)
National Science Education Standards Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)
CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science
As a result of their activities, all students should develop understanding of
Motions and forces
Interactions of energy and matter
CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology
As a result of activities, all students should develop
Abilities of technological design
Understandings about science and technology
CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science
As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of
Nature of scientific knowledge
Historical perspectives
Standards for Technological Literacy - All Ages
The Nature of Technology
Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics
and scope of technology.
Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of the relationships
among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields
of study.
Technology and Society
Standard 4: Students will develop an understanding of the cultural, social,
economic, and political effects of technology.
Standard 6: Students will develop an understanding of the role of society in
the development and use of technology.
Standard 7: Students will develop an understanding of the influence of
technology on history.
Design
Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of
design.
Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of
troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and
experimentation in problem solving.
Abilities for a Technological World
Standard 13: Students will develop abilities to assess the impact of products
and systems.
The Designed World
Standard 17: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select
and use information and communication technologies.
EEEEK - A Mouse! Page 4 of 8
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EEEEK- A Mouse
For Teachers:
Teacher Resources
Lesson Goal
Explore how the computer mouse was developed and has evolved in design over time to
bridge the human/computer interface. Students learn about engineering design, how
mechanical engineering incorporates locations using X-Y coordinates, and how the mouse
was developed taking the abilities and motion of the human hand into consideration.
Student teams disassemble a mouse, evaluate the design and materials used, and
develop or improve a specific mouse feature using words, drawings, and the construction
of a simple model.
Lesson Objectives
Students learn about computer/human interface and mouse engineering.
Students learn about ongoing changes to mouse design in response to software
changes and human needs.
Students learn about teamwork and the engineering problem solving/design
process.
Materials
• Student Resource Sheets
• Student Worksheets
• One set of materials for each group of students:
o One roller ball mouse (many less than $8)
o Eyeglass Repair Kit or mini screwdriver (must be very
small gauge)
o Model construction materials: water based glue,
scissors, tape, ruler, paper, toothpicks, straws, spools
Material Option
Use an old roller ball mouse from your classroom or school computers in this lesson and
replace with the new one!
Procedure
1. Show students the various Student Reference Sheets. These may be read in class
or provided as reading material for the prior night's homework. They may also be
directed to bring in an old unusable mouse from home.
2. Divide students into groups of 3-4 students; provide one set of materials per group.
3. Ask students to complete the student worksheet. As part of the process, the
students work in teams as "engineers" to design a new enhancement to the mouse.
They plan, draw, and construct a model showing the new enhancement.
4. Each student group presents their vision and model for their new or improved
feature of a computer mouse to the class.
Time Needed
One to two 45 minute sessions.
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EEEEK- A Mouse
Student Resource:
The First Mouse
Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart and his team at SRI
International created many of the concepts
and tools that set the global computer
revolution in motion. The first computer
mouse was one of many breakthrough
innovations originating at SRI. Doug Engelbart
conceived of the mouse in the early 1960s
while exploring the interactions between
humans and computers. Bill English, then the
chief engineer at SRI, built the first prototype
in 1964. The first computer mouse was based
on a carved block of wood with a single red button. Designs with multiple buttons followed
soon. A single wheel or a pair of wheels was used to translate the motion of the mouse
into cursor movement on the screen. Doug Engelbart was the inventor on the basic patent
for what was then called the "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System." For Doug, the
mouse was one part of a much larger technological system whose purpose was to
facilitate organizational learning and global online collaboration.
When Doug Engelbart was a graduate student in electrical
engineering, he began to imagine ways in which all sorts of
information could be displayed on the screens of cathode ray
tubes, and he dreamed of "flying" through a variety of
information spaces. In early 1959, he pursued his visionary ideas
further into the formulation of a theoretical framework for the co-
evolution of human skills, knowledge, and organizations. At the
heart of his vision was the computer as an extension of human
communication capabilities and a resource for the augmentation
of human intellect.
By 1968, Doug Engelbart had formed and was directing SRI's
Augmentation Research Center. With this group of young
computer scientists and electrical engineers, he staged a 90-
minute public multimedia demonstration at the Fall Joint
Computer Conference in San Francisco. It was the world debut of
personal computing when a computer mouse controlled a networked computer system to
demonstrate hypertext linking, real-time text editing, multiple windows with flexible view
control, cathode display tubes, and shared-screen teleconferencing. Video clips of the
demonstration are available at http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/1968Demo.html.
In 2000, Doug Engelbart was awarded the National Medal of Technology -- the United
State's highest technology honor -- recognizing innovators who have made lasting
contributions to enhancing America's competitiveness and standard of living and whose
solid science has resulted in commercially successful products and services.
(Courtesy of SRI International, Menlo Park, CA)
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EEEEK- A Mouse
Student Resource:
Mouse Operation and Innovation
The purpose of the computer mouse is to translate human motion (use of the hand) into
messages or signals that the computer can translate into directions for moving the screen
curser or to open an application.
X - Y Navigation of the Track Ball Mouse
Inside a standard track ball mouse is a round rubber
ball that when moved adjusts the position of either
one or two bars which send movement signals that
are converted to computer messages telling
computer software where to move a curser on a
computer screen. The "bars" usually have a wheel or
"optical encoding disks" that usually include 36 holes
or slots that allow light to pass. Small, infrared LEDs
(light emitting diodes) point to the disk and the
pattern or pulses of light that pass through the holes
in the disk are converted to "X" and "Y" positions
provide computer software with a sense of the distance and direction which the ball has
moved. In this way the two dimensional motion of the mouse can be translated into the
motion of a pointer within computer software. When you disassemble a track ball mouse
in the student activity, you'll be able to see the two bars, and the optical encoding disks,
and how the ball movement impacts these other mechanisms when rolled on a surface.
Click Click Click
The mouse buttons make a "click" noise when pressed for two reasons….one, the pressing
pushes on a "micro switch" that incorporates a very stiff piece of metal that snaps….two,
the sound has been proven to improve the human/computer interface, giving the user an
audible feedback that their finger has caused an action.
Engineered Improvements
Over time, many new engineered improvements have taken the mouse to the next level,
or been developed to address specific human needs. For example there are mice with
oversized balls on top (instead of underneath) for easier use by very small children or
people with physical challenges. There are "roller ball" mice which have additional wheels
and switches to activate advance functions in software. There are fingerprint reader mice,
which will only operate if the fingerprint of the user is accepted by the mouse as indicating
an approved user. There are "wireless" mice, which allow for greater freedom of
movement, and also remote movement. There are "tactile" mice which vibrate when the
user reaches a boundary or physical limit in gameware or software. Probably the most
widely integrated recent change is the "optical" mouse which completely eliminated the
tracking ball and instead projects a LED (light emitting diode) onto the tracking surface
which bounces back and is picked up by a CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide
semiconductor) sensor. It basically takes thousands of "pictures" each second and as the
resulting patterns change it translates the changes into motion and speed patterns.
Makes of "optical" mice claim that they will last longer because the bottom is sealed so
dust and oils cannot enter the mouse, and there are fewer moving parts to break.
EEEEK - A Mouse! Page 7 of 8
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EEEEK- A Mouse
Student Worksheet:
Dissect a Mouse - Component Parts
Step One: As a team, disassemble either a new (inexpensive) or old unusable "track ball"
mouse, using the materials provided to you. Be sure that the mouse is not connected to a
computer and that no power is flowing through it. You will need to use a very small
screwdriver, such as the type commonly found in eyeglass repair kits. Be careful as you
pull the plastic cover off the mouse.
Step Two: Observe the mechanical parts that move when you move the roller ball. Also
observe the two or three "switches" and see how they can click when the mouse case has
been removed.
Questions:
1. How many component parts did you find? List and describe them.
2. What different types of materials (plastics, metals) were used in the construction of
your mouse?
3. Based on what you examined, what is the weakest design aspect of the "track ball"
mouse? Why? (This might be an attribute that would make it difficult with a physical
disability to use, or a perceived limitation of the design, such as the cord is too short)
4. You are the inventors! How would you improve the design to eliminate or strengthen
the part or operating feature you found in #3 above? Attach a drawing or sketch of your
proposed component part, and answer the questions below:
What new materials What materials or How will this new How do you think
will you need (if any) parts will you design address the your new design will
eliminate (if any) shortcoming you impact the cost of
identified? this mouse? Why?
5. Develop a model of the new working part of the mouse using simple classroom
materials (glue, scissors, tape, ruler, paper, toothpicks, straws, spools)
6. As a team, present your model and ideas to the class.
EEEEK - A Mouse! Page 8 of 8
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