Boling, E., Castek, J., Zawilinski, L., Barton, K., & Nierlich, T. (2008). Collaborative literacy: Blogs and Internet projects. The Reading Teacher,61(6), 504-506.

An article on the idea of learning online as a community through blogs and internet projects. This article talks about what blogs afford for students to achieve in their learning as well as other formats in which a project is hosted online and forming a community of learners.

Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2012). Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning. The Internet and higher education, 15(1), 3-8.

A paper talking about how social media contributes to personal learning environments and self-regulated learning, as well as linking the formula for personal learning for students before, during and after their learning. The studies conducted are for classes in college level.

Edwards-Groves, C. (2012). Interactive Creative Technologies: Changing learning practices and pedagogies in the writing classroom.

A paper that explores interactivity between the student and interactive learning software to prepare them for the modern technology filled society they will graduate into. It explores the change in how information can be delivered and how writing practices change thanks to the injection of technology in learning.

Freedom of Speech Ltd. (2014, April 2). Helping Bethany’s dyslexia at school using Dragon speech recognition software [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj85zQT184o

Teachers and a dyslexic student talks about the benefits of having Dragon speech recognition software. Talks about the time saved for students and teachers and the social and emotional benefits of not always being the slowest and that it is very motivating to be able to perform.

Horry County Schools. (2012, October 23). Technology in the Classroom: Engaging with Edmodo feat. Andrea Steadman of Pee Dee Elementary. [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjbKzWCMktE

A video of a teacher introducing and setting up Edmodo for facilitating learning in the classroom. Explores the potential for classrooms to connect globally with others as well as the features within Edmodo available as an assessment tool. There also is a step by step guide of how to set up and distribute content to students in Edmodo.

How to Use Social Media as a Learning Tool. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://www.edudemic.com/how-to-use-social-media-as-a-learning-tool-in-the-classroom/

A webpage briefly talking about how and what social media to use inside a classroom. Talks about the danger as well as potential for learning when students engage in the world wide web of information with strangers on the internet and how teachers need to be aware of such dangers.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom.

A book on creative learning by means of inventing and tinkering with materials and technology. A great book for teachers to learning about Makerspace and how technology can be incorporated into their classrooms. Content includes why Makerspaces are beneficial for learning as well as the steps to setup and maintain the equipment to allow for students to tinker and engineer with.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. 32-42.

Making, tinkering and Engineering – This section talks about the idea of how students can learn from designing, fiddling and creating work / products when working with technology.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. 43-56

Thinking about Thinking – A chapter that goes through how technology and Makerspace can foster greater learning along side already established curriculum. Also talks of the changes needed to facilitate learning that will prepare students for their future in society that no one can accurately predict as of now.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. 147-156

Stuff – This chapter talks about what to stock up for a classroom to learn with Makerspace. There are some purchasing / acquiring tips for materials which would otherwise break a teacher’s wallet fairly quickly. The part about software maintenance was insightful especially because they are constantly updated and could add-up cost in the long run.

Path Finder Learning. (2013, December 30). 3D Printing in K-12 Education: Part 1 [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9raogfvBdA

A video for teachers to look at the potential for 3D printers if they have access to one. 3D printing is relatively new even in schools and teachers might have heard about all the good things they can do but have no idea how. The video gives an idea of how 3D printer can be easily used to contribute to classroom learning without much training and how its products benefits across the board in many subjects.

Rhodders. (2007, April 23). Demonstration of speech recognition: For Westminster eForum [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXHawlHLmtI

A demonstration by a dyslexic student on how Dragon speech recognition software works since he cannot attend a forum meeting in real life. He talks about how he benefits and the software’s disadvantages including training, cost, and ability to proofread like never before.

tvoparents. (2013, May 21) Using Social Media in the Classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

A teacher from Saskatchewan on using blogs and twitter for students in her grade one and two class. She talks about the benefits of connecting to the world wide learning community and how her students are using social media inside the classroom.

Wiebe, Curtis, @DivisionW. Accessed from https://twitter.com/divisionw

A teacher librarian in Strawberry Hill Elementary who has set up his library with many technologies for Makerspace and personalized learning. He has information to grants, the technical know-hows and his philosophy of learning with technology.

5 pros and cons of social media in the classroom for educational use. (2014). Retrieved March 13, 2016, from https://www.schooliseasy.com/2014/02/social-media-in-the-classroom/

A quick reference list of why social media is good and bad for classrooms. The cheat sheet when talking to others about the benefits and harm of social media at face value before going in depth about learning and pedagogical practices associated with social media.

To afford for students to realize their ideas, a teacher needs a pile of junk in the classroom. The basic stock of electronic parts, tools, computers, building materials, art supplies and recyclable material is the base line needed for students get hands on and prototyping their ideas. If a 3D printer or other fabrication tools are available, make sure to have a good supply of the raw supply like filament and consumable parts that are used. Acquiring all of that may get costly very quickly and teachers aren’t exactly the most well paid profession out there.

Getting most of what we need usually comes from the community like student, parents and local merchants.  Asking parents to bring in old electronics, magazines, scrap plywood, cardboard really helps in providing a base for getting projects started. Making a donation list also helps parents and sponsors direct their resources to getting things you actually need and have space to store.

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At some point, it’s a matter of space and not money.

When buying software or electronic kits that has version updates, make sure to understand their pricing model so that kits do not lose their relevance and updates become unaffordable. Bigger companies may ask for more but if their support is good, it’s generally a good idea to invest with them rather than spending a teacher’s free time debugging.  Finally, if there is a budget available, consider buying in bulk for consumable parts like batteries, motors, switches, LEDs and buzzers. Buying from retailers in China online may be cheap but beware of long shipping times.

Soldering is a skill that should be taught to all students who may have an interest in tinkering with electronics, but the danger it imposes due to the high temperature is a risk a teacher must deal with. Safety protocols like avoiding dangling wires, never leaving a hot iron unattended and not touching the tip of the iron to avoid harm upon themselves and others. Soldering iron connects electronic parts better than electrical tape or twisting components, it melts a filler metal known as solder at ~315C; any mishaps can be serious. There are many online tutorials for learning to use the soldering iron safely on the net, referenced below in Martinez & Stager’s (2013) book below..

 

Reference

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. 147-174

Edmodo is a great technology to use for both students and teachers alike. I have used Edmodo and explored its features to be used to connect with other school communities around the world doing the Global read Aloud. Edmodo is a great technological resource for the classroom to connect to other teachers and their classes digitally around the world. As a teacher I have the potential to set up mystery Skype sessions with other teachers and also collaborate on lesson ideas especially if our classes are reading the same book like Fish in a Tree. Although I have not tested this function myself, Horry County Schools’ video also shows that Edmodo allows teachers to create assignments that can be answered online, be it multi-choice or short answer questions (2012). This opens up an alternate assessment tool that I can use besides FreshGrade. Although the idea of assigning homework is up for debate, this at least gives me another format of assigning homework for students to complete out of class time, which as far as I know is not a feature on Freshgrade.

In the video by Horry County Schools (2012), teachers and students both expressed the rise in interest to take part in discussions and assignments. I’m curious of the reason but the combination of peers and time (when participating at home for example) seem to bring out the spark for students to participate more so than within the traditional classroom setting. This has the effect on students to further express themselves and be more motivated to participate in discussions.

I look forward to using Edmodo for at least part of my lessons or subject that will connect my class to the world as part of my inquiry investigation. I believe that there is much value in connecting to the wider community both for myself as a teacher and my students.

 

Reference

Horry County Schools. (2012, October 23). Technology in the Classroom: Engaging with Edmodo feat. Andrea Steadman of Pee Dee Elementary. [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjbKzWCMktE

In my undergrad studies I had the pleasure of prototyping and 3D printing iterations of my projects precisely down to the millimeter of specifications. However, due to there being only one 3D printer at my school and the fact it takes a while for each print job, this week I’ll be looking at other purposes of the 3D printer in classrooms. Path Finder Learning (2013) has posted some ideas for printing manipulatives, such as switching gears or factors and Abraham Lincoln’s head scan in various scales. This greatly interests me because I’ll teach a unit on forces and simple machines. Having students understand, design and print their own gears for factors is something I will be investigating as part of my class’s STEM learning. On the other hand, the video also mentioned an online library of STL files that are free to download. These files can be modified with various 3D design softwares and can be printed by most 3D printers. Although I do not wish students to simply print the works of others, I am knowledgeable in some simple machine parts like the gears and their teeth and rack and pinions. With these I aim to arm my students with knowledge on how to put parts together for their need rather than printing something pre-designed and premade. Not mentioned in the video but available online is the vast amount of resources and communities of users that are willing to help and discuss projects of perfectly random strangers. Students can seek out answers on their own at home without having only one teacher as their only source of knowledge will accelerate their learning beyond that of a traditional classroom.

In the class I am observing, the students are currently working on their science fair projects. If only they had the knowledge and took advantage of the 3D printer to prototype their experiments. It is considerably cheaper to print their own parts but the main take away is the customization. Gears of any size can be printed and tested with the rest of their experiment quickly for example without multiple visits to a hardware store. Skills and knowledge to prototyping that’s cheap and quick will be an asset for students as they grow into a world where 3D printing is becoming more common and not just in the school classroom.

 

 

Path Finder Learning. (2013, December 30). 3D Printing in K-12 Education: Part 1 [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9raogfvBdA

In the class I am observing, the students are currently working on their science fair projects. If only they had the knowledge and took advantage of the 3D printer to prototype their experiments. It is considerably cheaper to print their own parts but the main take away is the customization. Gears of any size can be printed and tested with the rest of their experiment quickly for example without multiple visits to a hardware store. Skills and knowledge to prototyping that’s cheap and quick will be an asset for students as they grow into a world where 3D printing is becoming more common and not just in the school classroom.

 

 

Path Finder Learning. (2013, December 30). 3D Printing in K-12 Education: Part 1 [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9raogfvBdA

 

In the book Invent to Learn by Martinez and Stager (2013), chapter four addresses one of my burning questions when creating projects for students: What make it good? Too many times have I remembered my own schooling where I was told to research or create an experiment based on something pre-determined for me. How can I assign students to create their own question and solution to a problem that is relevant without holding their hands all the way? Thankfully, the chapter provides 8 elements of a good project, with a short summary for each element by yours truly.

8 elements of a good project:

1. Purpose and relevance – is it meaningful personally? Prompt students enough to invest time, effort and creativity into the project
2. Time – Give sufficient time to PLAN, execute, debug, change, expand and edit their project. SIAT prototyping style ideate/research, build, Test, Reflect, improve, Build again, test, launch!
3. Complexity – Combines multi discipline knowledge from each member. If connects to big ideas then even better!
4. Intensity – have a project that gets them invested as much as memorizing all Pokémon attributes, spending >100 hours on a JRPG
5. Connection – Via the web, they are connected to experts, multiple subject areas, powerful ideas and the world. Collaboration with each other like asking a question, observing a peer, or working together for a long time.
6. Access – Access to information for example, everyone needs a device? Access to resources: We have enough Lego blocks to go around? Don’t want one team to use up all resources and another team can’t move on
7. Shareability – Needs to make a project that’s share-able, be it through a showcase, blog or Youtube. It makes the project much more authentic.
8. Novelty – No need to do the same thing over and over again

(Martinez & Stager, 2013, p. 58)

 

The gist of it is that the problem must be relevant, students should feel that they are finding a solution to something that may impact theirs and other people’s lives. Once they feel they are solving something meaningful, they must be given time to be taught the skills and knowledge needed to work toward the solution. Further more TIME needs to be given for them to explore and experiment before having them present the solutions.

I have observed the time given to students in grade 5 to tinker and figure out their own solution in makerspace. The teacher gave a number of students a Raspberry Pi computer and allowed them to figure out how to connect, turn it on and do stuff with it. It took the students 2 whole weeks to get into the Graphical user interface after much Googling and plenty of trial and errors. The intensity, complexity was very high he whole time especially when they got into the OS and was rewarded with free reign of the pre-loaded apps and games already installed. It excites me to be able to comfortably let go and allow students to just explore the world around them and making meaning of it themselves.

 

More technology needs to be in classrooms for students to find solutions to their own projects, I do wonder however, where the line is drawn between busywork with technology and meaningful technology is. If the students were not successful in unlocking the potential of the Raspberry Pi, or just goofed off during research on the internet, what then? Do I go back to being the primary source of knowledge and information again as a teacher?

 

Refernce

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom.

I had the pleasure of attending a workshop by Curtis Wiebe on Makerspace and his experience with it. It was fascinating on how he was able to start from virtually nothing before being able to expand his library into the school’s creative commons. The big takeaway for me is the acquisition of technology that’s available without breaking my own wallet. The options to apply for grants from the district and corporations, community partners and parents can quickly equip a classroom with enough technology to transforming traditional learning. I’ve seen meet from the local butcher shop donated to a teacher for the purpose of teaching the skeletal system an example of accessing the community. I’ve also heard from Curtis Wiebe that his school got Microsoft Surfaces for the entire staff. It is with great hopes that I can perhaps reach out to places like Lee’s electronics for wires, LEDs, batteries and maybe even SFU’s SIAT fabrication equipment like laser cutters and foam cutters.

The vast amount of technology Curtis has acquired got me thinking about what my students could use to enhance their learning. Although not necessary needed, Masterpiece and Word on the Osmo makes learning novel, fun and competitive for students beyond what was possible traditionally. The visual cues would be a great asset for ELLs and for students who can’t draw well at all (like me!). There are just many possibilities to transform learning like never before.

As a teacher candidate who is very interested in technology but am not rich, it is somewhat futile to be thinking about learning with meaningful technology when I don’t even have access to the equipment themselves. Considering not all schools are equally equipped with iPad and computers. Today’s workshop helped me think about what can be done with limited supply of technology and how I need to adapt my lessons based on this factor.

 

Reference

Curtis Wiebe