Tag:

creativity

Coding for Creativity? The Latest Report Says “Yes”

by Lori Gracey May 31, 2019

written by Lori Gracey

To be honest, when I think about coding activities for grades K-8, I don’t normally think about using the skill of creativity to complete them. And yet, that’s what the latest report from Project Tomorrow/Speak Up says. Here are some of the key findings from this report released in May 2019.

Finding #1: Creativity Is an Important Skill

Three-quarters of parents of school-aged children (74%) identified creativity as an important skill for their child to develop in school to be successful in the future. And I think that all educators would agree with this as well. In looking at a future filled with artificial intelligence and robots, creativity is one of the main things that will help humans to distinguish themselves from “the machines.”

“Students from all types of communities and family backgrounds want to learn coding as the means to developing their creativity skills and improving their preparation for future success.”

Finding #2: Coding Helps Develop Creativity

Parents and school district leaders see coding as a good way for students to develop creativity skills. Students agree as well; 58% of students in grades 6-8 say the most important reason to incorporate coding within the school day is to help them develop creativity skills.

Finding #3: All Students Want to Learn to Code

Student interest in learning coding transcends gender, grade level, community type, and home poverty, and that interest is growing. Middle school student interest in learning coding increased by 23% in just three years. So let’s not kid ourselves that coding is only for gifted students or mathematically talented students or boys or girls or wealthy students. Coding is for everyone and should be taught to all students K-8.

Finding #4: Teachers Need Help Teaching Coding

Teachers need easy-to-use tools and classroom support resources to effectively integrate coding as a new form of creative expression across their curriculum. While there are many resources for teaching coding, teaching it from a creativity mindset is not as prevalent. The best way to promote creativity while students are learning coding is to allow them choice, both in what tools they use and in what products they create. Of course, this is managed choice with the teacher helping to ensure that good decisions are being made.

Steve Isaacs, a teacher at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, NJ endorses student choice to not only help his students develop their creativity muscles in an organic way, but also as a way to teach them about how to learn. Mr. Isaacs uses coding around game development as a medium for his students to develop these skills. Most importantly however, he provides ample opportunities within these coding experiences for his students to self-direct their learning.

“When they start creating, I want my students to have choices as to what tools they use and to take learning into their own hands. Even when I guide them through something, they need to take ownership to make the game their own. This is really about teaching kids about how to learn, not just about how to make something based upon my instructions.”

Critical Questions to Ask

How are your students strengthening their creativity skills? How are they being exposed to coding and allowed to choose their own projects to be created? How are you ensuring that all students have the opportunity to learn to code?

May 31, 2019 1 comment

Technology Applications

Create on the Go with Adobe Mobile Apps

by Guest Blogger October 13, 2017

written by Guest Blogger

Creating digital media can be challenging. Some of us may not have learned graphic design, analyzed film, or studied art. However, with Adobe mobile apps, you can design and create amazing images, graphics, or videos to use for lessons, presentations, announcements, flyers, social media, and/or classroom websites.

Click on the image to download a PDF.

Adobe Spark Post

Adobe Spark is my must-have app for creating quick graphics on the go in less than five minutes. In a nutshell, Adobe Spark Post is a fun, fast, and easy way to create stunning graphics for anything you’ll need for the classroom (announcement, signs, flyers, posters, etc.). You’ll get advanced features typically found in pro-level applications in the palm of your hand. Make images/graphics like these that you can use for your classroom.

In addition to you using Spark Post, your students can also benefit from using this app to create content for their projects, essays, presentations, videos, etc.

Adobe Spark Video

Adobe Spark Video offers very robust features built into the mobile app. I like using it to create videos on the fly! In about five to ten minutes (depending on length of video), I can have a finished video ready to share. Turn your stories into narrated videos in just a few minutes like the following:

Putting a video like this together can seem daunting, but Spark Video makes creating one easy with the use of the built-in Story Guides. What’s more, your students can use these guides as story starters.

Story Guides

Promote an Idea – Students can use this guide to create persuasive stories.
Tell What Happened – Students can use this guide to share what happened on a field trip or to celebrate classroom success stories.
A Hero’s Journey – Students can use this guide to to share how characters in stories overcame challenges.
Show and Tell – Students can share their collections, talk about their passions, etc.
Personal Growth – Students can share a story about how something impacted them to change their perspective.
Teach a Lesson – Students can create videos to help others learn how to code, build a bike ramp, draw, play a game, etc.
An Invitation – Students can use this to invite parents to back to school night, promote classroom trips, art shows, etc.

Adobe Clip

One of my creative passions is filming with my mobile device. Being mobile allows me to record video at any time. And when I’m on the go and want to edit a movie, my go-to app is Adobe Clip. You get big-screen results from a jam-packed app! You can record video, mix video clips with static images, edit clips, add title screens, and add sound. Check out this example and this one.

Not sure how to edit a movie? Adobe Clip has a very intuitive interface that is easy to follow. Add images and video clips and Adobe Clip puts them together. You then have the option to either manually customize your video, choose “Freeform,” or have the app do it for you using “Automatic.” Either option will give you plenty of creative control over your final product.

Have your students use Adobe Clip for other creative projects such as Public Service Announcements (PSAs), short stories, documentaries, or announcements.

Adobe Photoshop Mix

Bring photo editing abilities to your mobile device using Adobe Photoshop Mix. Take a photo using your mobile device within the app, cut out elements from different images, blend layers, and/or add text. Although similar to Adobe Spark Post, Photoshop Mix gives you more control over editing the photos. One of the features I find very useful is the Cut-Out tool. With it, you can remove backgrounds from images, blend them with solid backgrounds, and add text to create graphics for any use in your classroom.

These are just a few of over 15 mobile apps Adobe has to offer. I focused on the ones that are applicable to creating digital media for the classroom. Whether you’re creating posters, flyers, book reviews, movies, or commercials, I suggest trying out one of these Adobe mobile apps.

This is a guest blog entry written by Claudio Zavala, Jr. He currently works as an Instructional Technology Coordinator with Duncanville ISD in Duncanville, Texas. He is an Adobe Education Leader and an ambassador for Flipgrid, Hoonuit, and Participate. Claudio is passionate about fostering creative thought and applying tools to enrich learning and experiences in the classroom. In his spare time, he enjoys blogging (iamclaudius.com), mountain biking, photography, and creating music with his band mates. Reach him on Twitter @ClaudioZavalaJr

October 13, 2017 0 comments

Using OneDrive to Back Up Your iOS Camera

by Miguel Guhlin January 31, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

“I’ve taken so many pictures and videos, but I can’t get them off my iOS device!” Many fall into this trap. Caught up in the excitement of capturing and creating content, they fill the limited storage of their iPhone or iPad. Data is lost as teachers reset the device to clear content. Let’s take a look at an option you may not have considered, Microsoft OneDrive.

To the Rescue

Teachers attending a TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) event asked,”How do we use Office 365 accounts to backup photos and videos?” Another question that follows is “How do we share photos taken at school events with a wider audience?” The answer is Microsoft OneDrive, available for personal (5 gigs of storage) and work (1 terabyte up to 15 terabytes for school accounts).

The hub of Microsoft’s mobile apps, OneDrive makes interacting with various Microsoft apps possible. The iOS version offers an elegant interface (sans complex options) that you can use in the following ways:

Access and open OneNote Notebooks
Automatically upload camera photos, which feature camera information like camera used, shutter speed, aperture.
Create photo albums to facilitate sharing
Scan and digitize paper documents, whiteboards, and business cards

OneDrive now features Scan, a way to digitize paper documents and save them direct to OneDrive!

Miscellaneous features such as monitoring your storage space, the ability to modify settings, accessing offline files, and setting up multiple Microsoft Office 365 accounts are also included.

Once activated, OneDrive will upload pictures and videos from your device to your account. On your mobile, as well as online, you also can organize items into albums for sharing, allowing viewing and/or editing. The Album image thumbnail rotates to give you a preview of the contents.

Save Photo or Record Video to the Cloud

OneDrive makes it easy to take a photo or create a video that can be saved directly to cloud storage. This eliminates the hassle of creating a video, then figuring out how to back it up. Instead, your photo or video is saved directly to your OneDrive account. See how you can do this with this guide.

onedrive

As you can see in the screenshot above, the video recorded straight to OneDrive (bypassing the iOS Camera Roll) and appears with a time/date stamp. Sharing options for this Microsoft product (view/edit with a link or not) for Business/Education reflect your school district administrator’s preferences. OneDrive personal accounts provide individuals with more flexibility.

Interact with Photos Online

If you back up your camera roll to a personal OneDrive account, the photos will be available to you at OneDrive.live.com. You will see the “Camera Roll” folder appear inside your Pictures folder. To see Albums of Photos, and to access a specific Photos menu, be sure to click on the left sidebar, as shown below.

Share Albums and Photos

You can access photo albums and, as shown below, modify the sharing options:

onedrive

One neat feature that OneDrive-based photos have is the auto-tagging option. OneDrive automatically tags photos, as seen below, with one-word tags:

onedrive

Conclusion

Offering a multi-function feature set, OneDrive provides you with backup and creation options. You can backup photos or videos you have saved to the Camera Roll and use OneDrive to capture photos/videos direct to the cloud. Finally, you can use the iOS Send To menu to save to OneDrive. Give it a try and avoid the hassle of other, less effective methods.

January 31, 2017 0 comments

iOS Tips and Tricks

Quote Makers, Engage!

by Miguel Guhlin January 23, 2017

written by Miguel Guhlin

Leaders, looking for an easy app to use to spice up important quotes that you include in your staff missives, parent newsletters, or student projects? How about a simple way to highlight key ideas in assigned student text? Typorama may fit the bill for iOS device users!

Quote Makers, Create!

I love collecting quotes, often snapping a photo of my favorite quotes at Buc-ee’s while I’m traveling or jotting them down in my handy notepad. The best part of being out on the road is encountering truisms, as well as listening to K-12 and adult learners share their stories.

Just last month, I spent some time in Edinburg facilitating Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) professional learning. We kicked off the session reflecting on a powerful quote from Microsoft. Using Typorama, I recreated the quote below.

quote

Don’t you think this is more engaging than words on a slide? Typorama is a VERY COOL iOS quote app! Once you start using it, you won’t be able to stop.

Scan this image with Aurasma to listen to the audio introduction from Dr. Katie Alaniz, author of “Digital Tools for Today’s Classrooms,” the book from which this quote was taken.

Quote Makers, Adhere to Copyright!

Typorama combines a wide range of copyright-friendly backgrounds and text styles and allows watermarks to be inserted as well to advertise your campus, district, organization, or event. What’s more, you can use pictures from your camera roll and then add powerful quotes from students, staff, or even your own creations.

Note: Don’t have an iOS device? You can make your own image quotes with Google Draw or Powerpoint, but you might also give one of these a try: Recite.com, Quozio.com, BeHappyMe, and/or VizzBuzz

Not satisfied with the pictures that come with Typorama? Save pictures from any of the popular free image sites, several shown at the bottom of this blog entry, to your iOS device and then add your quote. The New York Public Library just released their digital collection for use, so be sure to include that in your list of image sources.

Learning Connections

As written in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), “Students must develop the ability to comprehend and process material from a wide range of texts.” Using a quote generator like Typorama, you can help students identify topic sentences or key ideas represented in text.

Tap into the excitement students experience when creating quote a work of art. This work can be displayed via social media or made into a “mini-poster” for bulletin board placement. And you can also help students “summarize the main idea and supporting details in text in ways that maintain meaning.” Whether for professional development (e.g. book study, article jigsaw) with adults or ask ing students to work in small teams with a buddy to analyze text, this type of activity is powerful for engaged learning.

Quote Makers, Share!

Learners can, as encouraged in Digital Media in Today’s Classrooms, “Collaborate to create an online clearinghouse of student-created media.” This clearinghouse can serve as a resource for students to use as they support one another in preparing for exams. The clearinghouse can be any one of the following:

OneDrive-based Image Clearinghouse

Hallway bulletin board
Google Photos – Easy to create a shared album, enable multiple staff/students to add content.
OneDrive Photos – Easy to add images to a folder, as well as share edit rights or view only link.
OneNote Online Notebook
School or classroom Instagram account

Steps to Make and Take

quote Here are the steps you can take to create your Typorama quote project. Remember, these techniques can be used whether you have the app or not. If you and your students are on a computer, try one of the aforementioned, browser-based, free quote generators.

Read a selection of text, online or from paper.
Choose your favorite quote or come up with your own based on what you have read (better activity).
Start up Typorama, select a background from their image search results or use a picture you have taken with your camera. Remember, you can always find a picture online. The image should reflect a key word in the quote text.
Modify the text and image features and then share it online.

Enhance with Augmented Reality

Using the iOS app Aurasma, you can convert these student-created image quotable quotes into “hyperlinked” images. That is, you turn each image into a “trigger” that when students point their iOS device to it, it has students reading the quote aloud, sharing a short anecdote.

Reminder: TCEA members, don’t forget about the upcoming January 25, 2017 Augment Your Reality Lunch-and-Learn webinar where we will share more ideas for using AR in the classroom.

Use the Aurasma app on your Android/iOS device and scan the quote picture above to listen to audio via Voxer!

More Than Quotes

This is a perfect app for both adult and K-12 learners to use. You can use it for creating memorable vocabulary words, summarizing fictional texts, and posing problems in social studies or history class. Please comment below and share how you would use Typorama in your classroom.

List of Copyright-Friendly Image Resources

January 23, 2017 0 comments

Microsoft

12 Days of Christmas with Microsoft

by Miguel Guhlin December 9, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

twelve

December 9, 2016 0 comments

Random objects creating a face along with the iTunes Store information

iOS Tips and Tricks STEM/STEAM

Makin’ It With an iPad

by Peggy Reimers November 24, 2016

written by Peggy Reimers

“Makers Gonna Make” is my new motto, and so every chance I get, I write, talk, and dream about making. So I am very excited when I get to combine making and iPads. Here are some apps and ideas to get iPads makin’ in your makerspace.

Let’s get started with an oldie but a goodie – Faces iMake – Right Brain Creativity This app encourages kids to be super creative by designing faces using collage materials. The app design is very kid-friendly and fun. The built-in bonus is an introduction of symbolic elements of art for kids. The last update includes a SAFE community for Faces iMake users to share their creations. The app is $2.99.

The go-to app for the TCEA Makers Visual Arts Makerplace is Green Screen by Do Ink. Green Screen allows students to create a video using an image or video for the background. The idea for a green screen is simple: shoot a video with a single colored backdrop and then replace the background with any other video clip or image you want. Jeannine Freeman, Fort Sam Houston ISD and one of my favorite makers, created a five-step document on how to use this app. Access it here. The app is just $2.99.

Swift Playgrounds by Apple is a new, free app to learn and experiment with code. Interactive puzzles are provided to learn the basics of coding, explore coding challenges, and create unique programs. This app is geared for 12 and up. No coding knowledge is required. Note: You will need iOS 10.0 or later to run this app.

Draw and Tell HD is a crazy good free app just right for the 3 to 9 year-old crowd. This app encourages imagination, story telling, and open-ended play with tools to draw, stickers to decorate, and a microphone to record voice. For those of you who know my love for Doodle Buddy, this app is on the same level.

The number one reason to get acquainted with the free Tickle app is the ability to use the drag and drop programming on SO many devices. In the TCEA makers, we use the Tickle app to program Dash & Dot, Rolling Spider drones, Sphero, and Ollie. You can also program the LEGO WeDo 2.0, Arduino Bean, and the Philips Hue lights, all for free.

Kids always do amazing things, so I would definitely give this app go. Who knows what will happen? The free Post-it® Plus app allows you to take a picture of your Post-it notes and turn them into electronic Post-its. You can capture up to 50 square Post-it notes at a time. Off the top of my head, I could see using this for organizing a project, storyboarding, collaborative poetry, or a mosaic.

TeleStory is a TV studio in an app. The free app comes with 30 animated scenes and 50 digital costumes with face tracking. Students can easily use this app to record a music video, travel to a foreign land, or teleport to outer space.

For the ultimate in maker apps, check out Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game. At $2.99, it is one of the least expensive ways to create some of these amazing machines. And it’s tons of fun, too!

No longer do you have to try and find an owner’s manual to make, fix, or repair something; instead, turn to YouTube. This app will allow a teacher to create a playlist for student DIY videos. I have been a crocheter for many years and I decided to branch out from straight lines and crochet a heart. The video ”How to Crochet a Heart Using Magic Ring” sounded promising. But after three attempts, I just didn’t get it. YouTube to the rescue, I searched YouTube again and found “Crochet a Simple Heart – no magic circle.” That’s the added bonus of YouTube: if one video tutorial doesn’t work, there are ten more you can try to experience success.

Interested in getting your hands on the making experience? The next TCEA Makers workshop is Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Register here and spend a day learning to make and create an engaging makerspace.

Featured image: iPad App artwork

November 24, 2016 0 comments

ESL/ELL Microsoft STEM/STEAM

Amplifying Creativity: Minecraft Fairytales

by Miguel Guhlin November 22, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

“How are you amplifying student creativity?” The question popped into my head earlier this week. Let’s explore a few ways you can combine Microsoft’s Minecraft: Education Edition (M:EE) (@playcraftlearn) with school learning opportunities. At a recent ISTE webinar, Boost Critical Thinking with Minecraft, Neal Manegold (Twitter: @nealmanegold) shared the following Maria Montessori quote:

Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.

Could amplifying student creativity be as simple as offering students experiences they can navigate? And, after a time, students move from navigating to creating? Teachers can scaffold this process with technology. The process is not unlike blending story elements from one genre into another.

The benefits of this process include meta-cognitive thinking and learning, story planning, and remixing story elements. Let’s explore these in more detail.

Benefit #1: Meta-cognitive Thinking and Learning

“Story is a person in a place,” says Douglas Kiang, “with a problem.” He suggests that students read stories, analyzing descriptive texts, and then re-create their mind’s picture of what they understood in Minecraft: Education Edition. Kiang’s students start with a text, such as from Harry Potter, then build a structure that externalizes their understanding of the text. In this way, students don’t go to Minecraft to learn, but rather to show their learning. In his November 2016 webinar presentation, Douglas Kiang shares these maps of popular stories we see in real life:

amplifying As you might imagine, these maps, or schemas, help students process information and construct understanding from previous knowledge (Source: Fairy Tales and ESL Text).

Fairytale Magic

“Your story is your life,” says Dr. Jim Loehr. “Telling ourselves stories provides structure and direction as we navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and helps us interpret our goals and skills.” A schema makes isolated experiences mean something.

The maps that Douglas Kiang uses are not dissimilar from having English Language Learners (ELLs) analyzing fairytale structures, then deliberately mixing them up (see one example). One of my favorite activities when introducing Office Mix involves learners re-telling The 3 Little Pigs or The Little Red Hen. In fairytale lessons for Minecraft, you can have students remix fairytales into one and then dramatize it.

Can you identify the fairytales shown below (Image Sources: http://ly.tcea.org/mcft)?

amplifying

The focus is less on getting a fairytale story “right” and on blending in elements from various fairytales. Students can do what the writers do in the television series Once Upon a Time.

Benefit #2: Story Planning

“Build something that already exists,” counsels Kiang, “or give them an open-ended creativity challenge.” He points to the Eiffel Tower or on-campus structures, inviting students to re-create a building to scale. Before students enter Minecraft to demonstrate their idealization of a pre-existing structure, they must plan it out. As tje teacher, you can facilitate fairytale story planning. Ask students to consider these questions:

Who are the good characters in your story?
Who are the evil characters in your story?
What problem(s) does the main character have?
What kind of help will the main character get?
What magic is involved?
How will the story end?

After planning it out, students can write scripts and then construct virtual interactive movie sets. If every fairytale has a schema, students soon learn that non-fiction stories do as well. Kiang’s charts “uncover” content, new ideas, and lines of argument in real life stories.

Benefit #3: Remixing Story Elements

“We need open dialogue,” tweets Stephen Reid (@immersivemind), “with our children about the #RefugeeCrisis.” Students are able to have meta-cognitive conversations about real life issues in Minecraft. In Douglas’ example, he discusses the use of TNT (dynamite) in Minecraft. Students debate, each eventually citing arguments not dissimilar to the gun debate. Students, described here, are empowered to re-frame real life topics and achieve distance and clarity. They then formulate a novel solution.

Conclusion

Amplifying student creativity can be as simple as blending Minecraft: Education Edition, metacognitive thinking, planning, and remixing real life. Art imitates life. Then once solutions are crafted, life may imitate Minecraft, er, art.

Featured Image Credit

Stephen Reid, Minecraft Refugee Crisis.

November 22, 2016 0 comments

Educational Trends

Why Join the Maker Movement?

by Peggy Reimers September 8, 2016

written by Peggy Reimers

When the TCEA PD staff were asked last spring, “Who wants to take on training on makerspaces?” my hand shot up instantly. No hesitation, no thought process on my part. You see, I’ve always been a maker. BUT, in my 40+ years of making, I have never been called a Maker. I am a crocheter, baker, robotics teacher, costume designer, crafter, latch rug hooker, gardener, woodworker, and the list goes on. The world has always called my making very specific titles, but now they fall under the BIG making umbrella.

For the past six months, I have been busy ordering equipment, gleaning information from Twitter, and developing the TCEA way of making. We have held two full days of TCEA Makers workshops at the Austin headquarters, had a Maker Playground pre-conference workshop at both summer Tots conferences, and I have stuffed my Toyota Prius and hit the road with maker equipment and materials for onsite training in school districts.

The TCEA Makers is a full day of creating, formulating the maker-edu connection, and enjoying the maker atmosphere. This is the place to try out new technologies, find out what you will and won’t take back to your campus, and jumpstart your path to shaping your edu makerspace. The day always wraps up with a two-question survey.

What was the best part of your experience?
How can we improve TCEA Makers for future attendees?

Honing the best experience possible, these comments are taken very seriously. I have learned that everyone has a strong opinion when it comes to making. So what better way to talk about makerspaces then by using the comments provided by our makers? Here are just a few:

“Trial and error” Isn’t this what learning is all about? Making provides our students the opportunity to try, fail, and succeed. Call this perseverance, grit, or stick-to-itiveness, but if you want something in life, you have to have the courage to make it and the resolve to get it done.

“Making things with my hands and bonding with my coworkers!” Work is a happy place if you develop a personal connection with your colleagues.

“I loved the hands-on activities and the collaboration with others.” Every national and state standards list has collaboration as an essential skill. So yes, students will join forces to work out a problem and come together to solve an issue.

“Getting to try out new things.” Unwrapping a gift, buying a ticket and traveling, setting out on a new adventure always sparks new brain waves and creates energy for all. Making something new is the same kind of charge.

“Some of MakerSpaces lacked direction. If I had trouble figuring out how to get started, I imagine students would have trouble.” In Tony Wagner’s book “The Global Achievement Gap,” he writes about the seven survival skills that our children need. The first skill is critical thinking and problem solving. This means our students need the ability to figure things out, because their boss is not going to tell them exactly what to do. We as educators should not provide all the answers. I ask my makers, if the directions are not there, what can you do? We should not always hand out the answers; we need to teach our students the ability to track down the answer. So where can you find the answers, try:

A YouTube video
A fellow maker
Skype an expert

Technology provides us the ability to find the answers like no other time in history.

“This was the best PD I’ve ever been to!”

“Loved this day. Best first day back ever.”

I definitely cherish the two statements above from the surveys. But why would people say this? Take it from the TCEA Makers, the day of learning provided…

“Laughter”
“Got the creative juices flowing”
“Discover new possibilities for my class”
“Opportunity to learn and share successes”
“Relish the making process with my colleagues”
“I failed, but I got back on the horse and gave it another go”
“Freedom to roam with a flexible schedule and lots of choice”

Interested in getting your hands on the making experience? The next TCEA Makers is Friday, September 23, 2016. Register here.

Featured Image: Photo by author

September 8, 2016 0 comments

Educational Trends Libraries

The Great Maker Challenge

by Guest Blogger July 1, 2016

written by Guest Blogger

The Great Maker Challenge at White Oak Middle School was an opportunity for students to use their imagination and critical thinking skills to create a Rube Goldberg-inspired machine. To introduce the students to chain reaction machines, we viewed Audri’s Rube Goldberg Monster Trap Machine and the Square Peg in a Round Hole clip from Apollo 13. The students learned from Audri that chain reactions do not always work the first time, but persistence pays off in the end. I wanted students to know that solving problems and inventing applies in the real world.

On the Apollo 13 mission, engineers at NASA had to fix a serious carbon dioxide build-up due to a faulty filter. The only replacement filters available were the wrong shape; thus, the square peg in a round hole problem. According to Apollo 13, “Failure is not an option.” NASA worked with the supplies available to the astronauts and found a solution to the problem. Great Maker Challenge Supplies

I asked the same of our teams at WOMS. The students’ task was to build a chain reaction machine to pop a balloon. All teams received the same set of supplies (listed on her website). During the planning process, the teams created drawings and blueprints to guide them.

Interested in having a maker space in your classroom or campus? Attend the TCEA Makers workshop in Austin September 23. This hands-on day of learning will let you experience the making process and learn how to set up a successful maker space or event for your students. You’ll walk away with resources and ideas for hosting 12 different maker stations with both tech and non-tech activities.

Popping a balloon was a simple task, right? The fun began as
students made their ideas come to life. They constructed every aspect of the machines and were able to troubleshoot problems that arose. Once the machines were assembled, engineers Terrence Kelley and Jeramy Hayes from Norris Cylinder Company took time to visit with every team and offer advice.

Great Maker Challenge Example The teams spent their lunch time imagining, creating, solving problems, tinkering, and exploring their capabilities. Every team worked up until the deadline to make their machine a success. We even had a home entry from our friends the Curry family.

Lessons learned from the Great Maker Challenge:

Working together is about compromise.
Failing is okay; giving up is not.
Perseverance pays off.

Michelle is the librarian and a tech geek at White Oak Middle School. She is the TCEA 2016 Library Media Specialist of the Year and the co-founder of #TXLChat. This Twitter chat occurs each Tuesday evening at 8:00 CST. Her personal Twitter handle is @_MichelleCooper. Check out her blog for more details on the Great Maker Challenge here.

July 1, 2016 0 comments

Educational Trends

Starting a Maker Space

by Lori Gracey February 5, 2016

written by Lori Gracey

This is a great time of year to think about new things to do to keep the learning going. Maybe one of those new things you’ve been thinking about doing is having a maker space in your classroom or library. If so, here are a few things to consider as you get started.

First, remember that the most important thing about a maker space is to provide a place for students (and teachers!) to be creative, to explore questions and ideas they have, to build something, and to fail and try again, all in a safe environment. Second, know that a maker space can be no-tech, low-tech, or high-tech, and it can be done on a tight budget.

If you’re a little intimidated by technology like 3D printers and coding, then a no-tech space may be a good starting point. Gather a lot of empty cardboard boxes of various sizes. Add some masking and duct tape, scissors, a ruler, some markers, and students. Challenge them to create a new container, a different kind of furniture, or a piece of art. They can work in pairs or individually. If having lots of old cardboard around bothers you, you can even just provide some different colors and patterns of duct tape and see what they can create with those. Or ask parents to donate LEGOs they no longer need and let students create amazing structures. You can even collect lots of “trash” like paper towel tubes, boxes, marbles, and such and challenge students to design Rube Goldberg machines.

For a low-tech space, you’ll need to spend a little money, but not much. Consider buying a Makey Makey kit (around $50). You’ll need just one computer and the kit, which contains seven alligator clips and six connector wires. With that, students can explore how electricity works and can create a piano made out of bananas, game controllers, and inventions of their own.

You could also set up one or two computers with free coding resources and allow students to learn to program on their own. Use the great resources for all grades from Code.org, which include lessons using characters from Frozen, Minecraft, and Star Wars. Or install free Scratch software on a computer and let students create their own games. The great thing about both of these resources is that you don’t have to know how to use them; the lessons are designed for students to use on their own.

Whatever kind of maker space you create, be sure to provide some strategic signage there that lets students know the rules. Let them know your expectations on cleaning up the area when they’re done and where/if they can store their creations. Encourage their thinking by featuring a new challenge or design idea every few weeks. Provide QR codes with URLs to maker ideas on Pinterest and the web.

Check out White Oak ISD librarian Michelle Cooper’s great Livebinder on the maker space she has in her library. It’s packed with ideas, photos, and her blog where she explains how her space works. Or follow her on Twitter to learn about other projects.

Keep in mind that there are really no wrong or right answers or ways to do things in a maker space. It’s about the experience and the learning that happens while students are creating. Know that the students may fail sometimes while making; as the adult, don’t rush in to fix things. Learning how to fail and try again is an extremely valuable life lesson. If you really want to drive the learning home, encourage students to keep a creativity journal where they record their ideas, their attempts, their failures, and their successes. This should be an ungraded journal, a place for their biggest dreams and how to accomplish them. After all, that’s what a maker space is all about!

February 5, 2016 0 comments

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