One of my favorite discoveries in the past couple of years has been global projects hosted by Jen Wagner on Projects by Jen. From the O.R.E.O. Challenge to the Holiday Card Exchange, the teachers and students at Marshall ISD have had a ball trying out different ideas in our math and social studies classrooms. So, we were honored when Jen contacted us after seeing a video of the Marble Run projects completed by 1st grade classes and asked if she could use the idea for an upcoming challenge. Ummm...yes!!!
The project window opens today and runs through February 17, 2017. Students in grades K - 6 are invited to design a roller coaster of sorts for a marble and measure and record the time for their design.
Classrooms are encouraged to share pictures or videos of the creations and, of course, connect via Skype, Google Hangouts, or email. So, if you are looking for a Makerspace idea or a fun way to integrate STEM into your math or science curriculum, check out the Marble Run Challenge....it is awesome!
I was recently asked about the recipe for slime I made while studying non-Newtonian fluids and chemical engineering (more on that later). I thought it might be easier to show you how we made it rather than attempt to explain it. Enjoy!
Summer is here!!! Today is the last official day for teachers and though I will still report to work for another 30 days, I am already thinking about next year. Some of the ideas I have found on Pinterest lately could be used for a bit of summer fun or for our new Makerspace:)
First up...slime! I have never tried slime, but I found these two great variations...
both recipes called for liquid starch, liquid glue, and a few embellishments. The biggest differences? In the ocean slime, white glue was mixed with starch, food coloring and glitter.
For the Star-Spangled Slime, clear glue was used as the base. I can imagine changing up the colors for different times of the year...orange for October...green for December. I am at least game to try. My house has been filled with all kinds of "experiments" these past few months as I have tried out many ideas for the Makerspace. I'll let you know how it goes!
How fun is this? We are getting a new building this summer and I am really not sure how better to make a huge impact on the walls than creating a giant mural from post-it notes. I love these pixelated murals and think that they would fun to try. I love that they are not permanent so, they can easily be change to keep the space fresh.
Finally, an idea for assessment. In this particular example, students are to stack the cups according to size of the items listed on each cup. This same idea could be use to demonstrate the order of operations, the order of planets, or any other sequencing activity like ordering trig functions (sin pi/6, cos pi/4, etc). I am sure if I made it a race, the kids would love it even more. What about you? What are you pinning or saving as you look forward to next year?
Until I read up on this, I had no idea that "Hack Your Notebook" was actually a nationwide event focused on paper circuitry. This STEM learning event was held last summer and brought makers from around the country together. The purpose? Get participants working with electronic components in an accessible, craft-based way.
Comfortable with crafts and hoping for do-a-bility, I got really excited about this make. I had never tried anything like it and I admit, I found myself a bit afraid to try (though I am not sure why!?!) After watching several videos, including this gem on Tapetricity, I grabbed a high school junior who happened to be walking down the hallway and asked him to try it with me before I introduced it to my middle school friends. We ended up quite successful. Not only were we able to make my project light up, we showed a middle school student what we did and he made his project light up too.
Materials:
3V Watch Battery (available in packs of 2 at Dollar Tree and located with the AA and AAA batteries)
Conductive Tape (I could not find copper tape, so I used foil tape from the plumbing section of Home Depot.)
LED light (Look for products at the dollar store that utilize these bulbs. I snagged a garden light that had 3 bulbs that I could use.)
Craft Supplies
Here is how we did it:
1] The foil tape is almost 2 inches wide (way too big for what we needed). We cut a 6" strip into thirds, so that we had three 6" long strips to use.
2] After drawing, cutting, and gluing our artwork, we gently pushed the legs of our LED lights into the portion of the paper we wished to illuminate.
3] We laid one of the 6" strips across the back of the paper being careful to ensure just one of the legs of each of our LED lights could open to lay across the tape.
4] Next, we laid a second strip of tape (close enough to the first one, but not touching), so that the LED lights' other leg could lay across this piece of tape. The second strip of tape needs to gently curve to meet the first strip. (The first time I tried it, I made a sharp right angle to join the two pieces of tape...my lights did not work.)
5] We then tested our lights with the battery.We needed to determine which LED leg should touch the positive side of the battery and which leg should touch the negative. Since, it matters, we made sure that both lights were pointed in the right direction before we taped everything into place.
6] We used clear tape to secure the legs of the LEDs and the battery to the foil tape. My middle school friend was actually making his project for someone else and he did not want the battery to run out of juice before he delivered his project, so he left a little wiggle room between the battery and the tape and then wrote "push here" on the front of his creation. By pushing as indicated, the recipient of his card will make the contact between the battery and the tape thus making the contact to illuminate the lights.
It turns out that it is pretty easy to hack a notebook... or in this case, a birthday card!
I have just completed my last assignment for the Tinker, Make, & Learn MOOC with Robin Bartoletti and all that I can say is that it was incredible!!! For a few weeks, I became immersed into this new world where everyone was talking about designing hands-on environments for students to create and investigate math, science, and engineering topics.
For my final project I developed a Makerspace plan in which I chose to write for middle school - the group that I have been working with to complete my pilot projects. In writing my plan, I included sample experiences that I could use as a springboard to get students into the space and provide direction and focus. The selected activities would allow for interactions with technology and
exploration of concepts in a way that is not currently being offered in the
classroom or laboratory. I had so much fun pinning projects and even trying a few at home. So, if you are like me and just getting started, here are 20 do-able ideas to integrate into your classroom or makerspace:
This week, I hosted my first "pop-up" Makerspace. I didn't go crazy, invite the whole middle school, or even bring out everything that I had snagged the day before at the Radio Shack sale. I simply invited 3 friends from 7th grade to join me in the un-boxing of the Makey Makey. I wanted to get their input not only on the product, but also on the whole idea of having a space to create, explore, and make. Before I proceeded with "MY" plan to build the space, I needed to hear ThEiR VOiCe.
So, I started with just introducing the idea. I told them what I was thinking and asked them if they had ever heard of a Makerspace. Nope - nada - no idea what I was talking about...so, I showed them the New Milford High Makerspace video. They were hooked!
Perfect time to open the Makey Makey. I carefully pulled the components from their plastic packaging (and I noticed that the students handled them just as gently for the 90 minutes that we were together). I showed them the video about what you can make with the Makey Makey and that was it. The making began! No other teacher-centered instructions were needed other than pointing them to the Makey Makey website. Each student used a computer to research the possibilities.
First up, a play-doh joystick to play a little Pac-Man.
It was fun watching Eric build it, but it was even more delightful to see his initial reaction.
Sarah made a working guitar using cardboard and some coins.
The hardest part? Cutting the cardboard.
Of course, we had to try our hand at the bongos.
Derrick is in the percussion section of the band, so he was a pro!
Finally, the students worked together to compose a song that even I could play.
I connected to the Makey Makey online piano and just followed the students' directions: left, left, space, space, click, click, space, down, down, right, right, up, up, left
(This will be the perfect introduction activity to share with our Head of Schools when we introduce the idea of a Makerspace. It was extremely easy and a whole lot of fun!)
I would have to say that my impromptu pop-up was a success. The students were ecstatic. I heard comments like, "This is so cool!" and "This is better than recess in elementary school!", soon followed by the question, "Why can't school be like this?" Great question, little friend. It can be!
For those of you who are long term friends and readers, you know that this space is truly just my online learning log, a place to document what I've tried, what I've learned, and what is inspiring me. It has been a while since my last post, not because I wasn't doing any of the above, but because my perspective changed a bit. I am now out of the classroom completely. It has been a big adjustment and knowing how to have a voice in the blog-o-sphere has been lost on me because I am such a practitioner at heart. I read other blogs where school leaders are sharing about thoughts and opinions on Common Core, state assessments, and philosophies about teacher prep programs and I can honestly say that I am less likely to share what I am thinking about a topic than I am about what I am doing. I would much rather tell you how we are implementing the Common Core State Standards, how we implemented a new after-school program to prepare for state assessments, or how we are turning professional development on its head and seeing fantastic results. (It must be the teacher in me., but rather than say anything, I have said nothing for many months.
I wasn't sure anyone would really be ThAt interested, but I have missed blogging. So, I am jumping back in doing the only thing I know how to do...telling you about my latest venture.
So, what am I doing? I am in the very beginnings of creating a Makerspace at my school. Makerspaces have been around for a few years. I first saw a video featuring a Makerspace designed by the one and only, Laura Fleming, media specialist at New Milford High, last year.
3-D printing, make and take apart, programming, circuitry, soldering, sewing, crafting, designing, creating...making. Who wouldn't want this in their school?
Why now? As soon as I saw it, I shared the video and additional links with hopes that it would capture the interest of others. It did, but while my co-workers thought it was awesome, they were like me, stumped about how to make it happen. I mean, which of us could show a student how to turn a banana into a space bar or an orange into the "enter" key? No one...not a single one. Much less make play-doh into a joystick:
I knew the kids would love it though, so I attended ISTE 2014 conference with hopes to learn more. I was so inspired and again thought, "We should start a Makerspace". Still no progress beyond the thought. Fast forward 8 months later to February 2015. I attended Ignite '15 and heard a presentation by Eric Sheninger, the principal who had the vision and made the decision to hire Laura Fleming who designed the Makerspace at New Milford.
After hearing how neither he nor the librarian had any idea about how any of this stuff worked when beginning their project, but committed to figuring it out along the way, I was inspired to stop thinking and start doing! It is time to take a risk....to give it a try...to make the leap. I believe that I do not have to have all of the answers, I just have to be willing to put myself out there and learn.
Why? It is for the students. It is time to allow them to become creators, not just consumers. It is time to empower them with knowledge about how stuff works and foster skills that will allow them to re-imagine their world.
So where am I in this process? I am definitely taking baby steps.
I ordered my first "kit" within hours of hearing Eric Sheninger's presentation. I chose the Makey Makey - the kit that turns the banana into the space bar, the stairs into a piano, and playdoh into a joystick - because it just looked fun!
I arrived home from the conference at 1 AM on Monday morning and spent Snow Day #1 writing 2 grants for more stuff for the Makerspace (3-D printer, Little Bits, Smart Home kit, and more).
On Snow Day #2, the Makey Makey arrived. I opened it, looked at it, and put it back in the box :)
Snow Day #3, I finished a video application for another project and still avoided the Makey Makey.
Day #4, back at work. I collaborated with the IT department (who got really excited about putting practical technology into students hands - and then admitted that they didn't know how to make a banana space bar either).
Day #5, found out that Radio Shack near our school is closing. Hopped in the car and headed out to shop! I ended up purchasing way too much and have absolutely no idea what any of it does, but I am certain that when I figure it out that it will be really cool.
Day #6, found Tinker, Make & Learn, a MOOC related to creating a Makerspace and promptly enrolled.
Day #7, I have completed my first assignment in the MOOC and decided to blog about my journey so that if anyone else out there is like me...having no idea how any of this works, but knowing that it would be engaging for students...you can learn about available resources as I document my progress toward Making a Makerspace.
One of my favorite discoveries in the past couple of years has been global projects hosted by Jen Wagner on Projects by Jen. From the O.R.E.O. Challenge to the Holiday Card Exchange, the teachers and students at Marshall ISD have had a ball trying out different ideas in our math and social studies classrooms. So, we were honored when Jen contacted us after seeing a video of the Marble Run projects completed by 1st grade classes and asked if she could use the idea for an upcoming challenge. Ummm...yes!!!
