Tag Archives: makerspace

by | October 6, 2017 · 3:59 pm

SEL and Tech Integration at WKTEP

Claire Rushton, Director TEO, and Yvonne Dawydiak, Tech Integration Mentor, had the opportunity to meet and work with the teacher candidates in the UBC West Kootenays Teacher Education Program in Nelson this week!  We found the growth mindset orientation of, and critical discussion with, the TCs to be a powerful learning experience. Thank you to the TCs for engaging so openly, to Geoff and Suzanne for hosting us and to Leyton for facilitating and helping plan this opportunity. Below are some resources as followup to the session. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with either of us if you have any further questions, ideas or wish to consult in any way!

LINKS to SEL slides and resources:

LINKS to Digital Tech Integration slides and resources: (As we discussed, this is MORE than what each individual will want/need to explore… take it slow… consider one way to integrate digital technologies effectively in your context – know you students and know your access to resources. Do a scan while on observation practicum visits of resources available, school permissions and rules, student needs and interests… and then consider integrating digital tech in your planning.)

Making Stations:

Keva Contraptions (Bricks or Planks) – explore concepts including force and motion as you create a course or even a Rube Goldberg machine! The Keva website has some design challenge ideas and lesson plans to get you thinking about integrating across subject areas at different grade levels. Check out ‘Audri’s Monster Trap’ video to see the engagement that might occur when a child designs and tests their own machine! (Learning that failure is a necessary part of learning)

Unplugged Coding – help students build their computational thinking skills without the need for digital devices! There are many examples of unplugged coding activities you might engage in with your students. We tried  My Robotic Friends but there are many other unplugged lessons to choose from including binary bracelets‘ or. Visit Code.org for many plugged and unplugged coding ideas and resources. Check out ‘hour of code’ for some one hour lesson plans from K – 12. Taking this further: I left behind a ‘BBC Micro:bit’ for those who want to try their hand at programming.

Squishy Circuits – explore conductivity, circuitry and electricity as you problem solve and persevere to make a buzzer buzz, an LED light shine or a motor spin.  Please visit the University of St. Thomas Squishy Circuit website for recipes and lessons ideas. We left a kit behind for you – please experiment and share your ideas.

Weaving – an age old maker tradition with links to indigenous knowledge including math, science, design, coding. The cardboard templates we used for weaving (along with associated info and lesson plan) can be found here – courtesy of the Aboriginal Math Network. I’ve also found some excellent ideas on this teacher blog for creativity in the Math class.

AR and VR – visit the resource section on this blog (filter by clicking AR & VR) to further explore ideas related to integrating the use of augmented and virtual reality in the classroom.

  • I left behind a set of Google Cardboard Goggles for you to use. You could even make your own! .  Visit my own recording of my friend Lynn Pollard, a naturalist in White Rock BC as he shares his way of engaging our senses as we enter a forested area (with links to the carbon cycle, DNA transfer)… a lovely guided meditation you might use as a model (or a pre-trip or post-trip experience with students). 360 video can be viewed in a browser or by selecting the cardboard icon in the Youtube app and using VR goggles for a somewhat more immersive experience. Your students can even view and create 360 images using google streetview!
  • I also left behind the ‘Anatomy 4D‘ and ‘Quiver‘ free downloadables for you to play with. Chem students were interested in Elements 4D (sorry I didn’t bring the cubes along with me… but you can make your own!). You’ll need to download the content and associated free apps. I was impressed by the various ideas that emerged as people played with what at first glance appear to be very simple colouring sheets! One TC suggested this was a great way to expose students to the idea of 3D creation in art class and another noted the value in students being able to explore materials and processes of art and then bring their creations to ‘life’. Extension potential: you and your students can use free AR applications such as Aurasma , Augment, Zappar or Layar to create your own augmented posters and projects. I’ve seen schools use AR enabled posters to share video content, multimedia story creations and other student projects with parents at open houses.
  • I spoke with some science and math interested TCs about the power of simulations in the classroom and it was great to see Dan and his PHysics students engage with PHET simulations and real world experiments during their tutorial! See PHET!

Button Maker – procedural knowledge is important to literacy! Creatively design your unique visual story and learn to follow the steps to create a button… ok, this one isn’t so much about the valuable learning opportunity as the sheer fun of creating a unique button! Add a little ‘flare’ to your wardrobe! Unfortunately, the button maker was a piece of equipment we borrowed and weren’t able to leave behind! Materials for button making (and custom ordered buttons) can be found at six cents press in Vancouver (or by mail order)

As mentioned, please do not hesitate to be in touch! We look forward to hearing from you. YD and CR

 

 

 

 

 

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by | September 5, 2017 · 5:23 pm

Pop Up Making! (in LLED 350 and 360)

This month, in the Scarfe Digital Sandbox (Scarfe 155) every teacher candidate in the Bed program (elementary, middle and secondary) will have the opportunity to participate in a ‘Makerspace’ as part of your orientation to Library and Information Literacy with your LLED 350 and LLED 360 course.

In Scarfe 155 (through the ed lib), we’ll begin with a brief overview and discussion about the ‘maker movement’ and ‘maker ed’ and how this fits with the revised BC Curriculum including the Core Competencies and the BC Applied Design Skills and Technologies Curriculum (ADST).

Following this brief overview, it’s all hands on, minds-on exploration. You will have the opportunity to play and learn at several different stations. You are also invited to return to play during some noon hour ‘pop up making’ opportunities during the month of September or you can drop by the TC Tech Coach table in the Scarfe foyer Tuesdays and Thursdays 12 – 2 beginning Sept. 12th.

During your orientation, you will also participate in an Augmented Reality exploration of the library. There are a number of applications that teachers can use to create their own AR experiences – Aurasma, Zappar, Augment to name a few. In your library orientation, you will use an app created by a UBC student as part of a project developed by Wendy Traas, our own Ed Librarian!

Making Stations include the following:

Ozobots – mini-robots. Code these using coloured markers, block/visual coding or javascript! So many access points and a great deal of extention potential. There are even online lessons and resources to help develop conceptual understanding in upper level sciences and maths.

Keva Contraptions (Bricks or Planks) – explore concepts including force and motion as you create a course or even a Rube Goldberg machine! The Keva website has some design challenge ideas and lesson plans to get you thinking. Check out ‘Audri’s Monster Trap’ video to see the engagement that might occur when a child designs and tests their own machine!

Unplugged Coding – Help students build their computational thinking skills without the need for digital devices! There are many examples of unplugged coding activities you might engage in with your students. We might try ‘binary bracelets‘ or My Robotic Friends. Visit Code.org for many plugged and unplugged coding ideas and resources. Check out ‘hour of code’ for some one hour lesson plans from K – 12.

Osmo – Some interesting possibilities (particularly at the elementary level) with this hardware and the associated apps… We’ll also have some interesting augmented reality applications at this station.

Button Maker – procedural knowledge is important to literacy! Creatively design your unique visual story and learn to follow the steps to create a button… ok, this one isn’t so much about the valuable learning opportunity as the sheer fun of creating a unique button! Add a little ‘flare’ to your wardrobe!

On the Maker Kit Shelf during the session – feel free to explore!:

Makey Makey – create your own game controller using any conductive material. I’ve even seen interactive posters created using Makey Makey kits! The Makey website has some lesson plans you can adapt for your own use.

Squishy Circuits – explore conductivity, circuitry and electricity as you problem solve and persevere to make a buzzer buzz, an LED light shine or a motor spin.  Visit the University of St. Thomas Squishy Circuit website for recipes and lessons ideas.

Magnet Play – what can you learn when you simply play with various types of magnets? K-7 Science curriculum includes properties of matter at most every grade level… allowing children the opportunity to free play and explore the properties of magnets helps to naturally scaffold their learning. Students will learn about polarity, attraction, repulsion and more and may even invent a new toy or device as they play!

Sphero – a programmable robotic sphere that is not only fun to play with but also an excellent access point for students of any age to explore coding. Consider creating a ‘design challenge’ using a Sphero as a motor (The Sphero website has an example of a chariot challenge... how can you take this to the next level? Perhaps open up the challenge to include any type of vehicle (yes, the sphere is also waterproof!). Students can work together to use the iterative design process to create their own land or water vehicles using various found materials and then use  the Sphero to test their prototypes.  Once satisfied with the vehicle, they can then program a path using drag and drop programming (use of such programming language is included in Grades 6 – 9 of the BC ADST curriculum and can be incorporated even in the early primary years)

and more….

If you didn’t get a chance to play with one of the above and would like to try it out, check out the kits available on the shelf in Scarfe 155 – (available for loan beginning September 25th with more to come – Use them in Scarfe 155 anytime or sign them out at the circulation desk)

 

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by | August 3, 2017 · 4:09 pm

Unplugged Coding : integrating coding activities in your classroom


cc Kathy Cassidy

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Unplugged Coding is a collection of learning activities that introduce coding and programming through engaging games that only use cards, crayons, markers, etc. For younger students, teachers can skip the detailed concepts of computer coding and give them a better understanding of basic computer science knowledge and inspire them for future exploration. For all learners, unplugged activities can help build computational thinking without the need for digital devices. For more in this blog about coding (both plugged and unplugged) and links to BC curriculum, please visit the ‘Coding in your Classrooms’ post.

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Through Unplugged Coding activities, students will be able to develop computational thinking through concepts such as binary numbers and algorithms without using computers or other devices.

Unplugged coding meets Plugged coding: Scratch is a visual programming language. For a brief introduction to Scratch, have a look at Drag and Drop Programming: Scratch. In There are also some unplugged scratch coding cards you can use in the classroom for an analog approach. You can find a teacher’s guide for using Scratch cards in your classroom on 8 ways to use Scratch Coding Cards in Your Classroom.

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Interested in integrating Unplugged Coding into your classroom? Interested in moving from unplugged to plugged (via visual programming)? Here are two websites that might be useful in developing your lesson plans:

https://code.org/curriculum/unplugged

https://www.csunplugged.org/en/topics/

http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/stories 

You might also try these printable ‘scratch’/visual block coding cards. They can be used to introduce visual programming and build algorithmic and computational thinking skills during morning messages, transition or sponge activities or when introducing a lesson. English from ‘ScratchEd‘ or French from Code BC

Or this kinesthetic activity, The Thirsty Robot, where students act as robots and programmers, give and receive commands, encode and decode programs (can be adapted to multiple levels).

For grades 6-9 learners, this series of resources (student and teacher resources) from the Victoria School District helps to build computational thinking and computer programming through unplugged activities.

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by | July 20, 2017 · 4:39 pm

Code.org: unplugged and plugged activities

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Code.org aims to increase access to computer science in schools. It contains a large collection of activities, lesson plans, and tutorials that encourage school-age learners to explore the basics of computer programming. Topics include computational thinking, algorithms, abstractions, and even digital citizenship.

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With the onset of the Digital Revolution, computer skills, even at a basic level, are fundamental, especially when considering digital inclusion, literacy, and access. Contrary to what many believe, coding activities are not always performed in front of a screen. There are a host of unplugged activities that teach real-life problem solving skills and digital representation. Some of these can even be used in makerspaces to create digital-like but tangible gadgets.

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Check out these examples of different types of activities:

  • Hour of Code: In this Classic Maze lesson, learners give instructions to Angry Birds characters, just like line-by-line programming. The instructions are dragged and dropped on the screen, and a Test run performs the instructions in animation format. The lessons are sequential and learners explore game programming.
  • Unplugged lessons: In this Binary Bracelets example, students make a bracelet representing the first letter of their name, learning about basic data storage and digital literacy.
  • App Lab: For more advanced students, these activities teach app making and coding with JavaScript.

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by | July 7, 2017 · 10:49 am

Sphero: a coding, ADST & STEM learning robot

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Sphero – a programmable robotic sphere that is not only fun to play with but also an excellent access point for students of any age to explore coding. Sphero can be paired with a smartphone, ipad or tablet and coded using ‘visual programming blocks’. While the apps that help power Sphero are free, the Sphero itself is not inexpensive. I’ve also been experimenting with ozobots that offer some of the same functionality at a lower price and can be coded with visual blocks, java script and python allowing for differentiated coding opportunities!

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“Sphero engages students in a hands-on learning experience that can challenge them at different levels. The remote robot provides an interactive platform to develop competencies in planning, problem solving, testing, and making. Students have the opportunity to collaborate to programme Sphero to follow certain paths. By using Sphero students can become familiar with using block coding, angles, measurement, time, distance, and speed.

With a variety of control methods, Sphero can be used for a variety of ages and classes. Sphero can enhance student learning in physics, math, computer and technology, and robotics classes. It is a great introduction to coding where students can see the results of their work right away as they take on different challenges.” ~ Bryce Kicia, Secondary TC BEd 2017 (who used Sphero on practicum)

Consider creating a ‘design challenge’ using Sphero as the motor (The Sphero website has an example of a chariot challenge.. Consider: How can you/your students take this to the next level? Perhaps open up the challenge to include any type of vehicle (yes, the sphere is also waterproof!). Students can work together to use the iterative design process to design and create their own land or water vehicles using various found materials and then use  the Sphero as the motor to test their prototypes.  Once satisfied with the vehicle, they can then program a path using drag and drop programming (use of such programming language is included in Grades 6 – 9 of the BC ADST curriculum and can be incorporated even in the early primary years). A group of grade 4 students in Langley recently created their own games using sphero.

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Once you’ve purchased a Sphero, download one of the free apps (itunes or google play). I recommend ‘draw and drive’ as a good starting place – to get used to how sphero moves. From there, I like ‘lightning lab’ to begin coding!

Be sure to visit the Sphero Edu website for access to a wealth of resources you can use to plan, prepare and teach.

Video Tutorial (Vimeo has several tutorials for Sphero):

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by | June 24, 2017 · 3:50 pm

Augment: designing and customizing your own augmented reality

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Using Augment in Education – It’s all free!

Augment is a tool to design and integrate Augmented Reality (AR) into your classroom. There are three components included: the Augment app, the Augment Manager and the Augment Desktop. The Augment app allow you to visualize 3D Models via the camera on your mobile devices. The Augment Manager is used to upload and manage various models. Lastly, Augment Desktop makes it simple to design and animate models before publishing them (click here for a tutorial to get started with your design!)

 

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Augment is one of the top AR apps on the market and is an effective tool that can be used to enhance your lessons and activities. Its visuals can help present your designs and captivate your students with 3D interactive experiences. In addition, it allows you to update course content without wasting paper.
In fact, Augment can specifically help you:
  • Engage students by drawing their attention with interactive presentations, posters and text book enhancement
  • Clarify complex concepts that would be hard to understand with a 2D handout. For example, educators use Augment to help students see the difference in the movement of gas molecules and liquid molecules in containers through animated 3D models
  • Empower your lessons by updating content and models for classes without printing

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There are a few steps to get started with using Augment in your classroom:
  1. Create an account on manager.augment.com.
  2. Click on upgrade Now and choose Education Plan.
  3. Download the Augment App free on IOS or Android and log into your account.
  4. Upload 2D images of your model, or you can choose to find 3D models to use from the following sources:

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Want to know what other educators did with Augment? check this video out !

https://youtu.be/89nvotfDCgk

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by | May 6, 2017 · 4:07 pm

Green Screen for Storytelling

 

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Creative Commons licensed image courtesy of Kathy Cassidy (flickr)

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Create your own narrative using green screen technologies. Using a Green Screen (sheet of fabric or paper or even a chalkboard) and a video editing application, you can filter out the background of any image or video so that you can overlay your central image on any background – real or imagined!

Green Screen by Do Ink is a paid app available for use on iPads and iPhones. It is relatively inexpensive and has a simple and friendly interface that allows one to create green screen videos and photos effortlessly and in a matter of minutes. Features include:

  • Live recording and media upload
  • Combine up to 3 media sources
  • Scrollable timeline
  • Basic video editing
  • Color picker tool
  • Crop and mask tools
  • Saving and exporting

While the Do Ink app makes it fairly straightforward to utilize the green screen effect, there are other ways to achieve it:

  • Camtasia is a more powerful video editing and screen capture software that is available to UBC students, faculty and staff as a free download through UBC IT. One of the many functions of Camtasia is that you can filter out a chroma key color and make a green screen video or image. In effect, erasing the existing background and adding your own.
  • Many other video editing softwares will allow you to filter chroma key colour.
  • There are several free and paid iOS and Android apps on the market but, so far, I haven’t found one I like more than the Do Ink version.

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Green screen technologies can be incorporated into the classroom in all kinds of ways, the possibilities are endless and include student weather forecasts, time travel and fictional character interviews! Teachers can create media to engage students in a topic, showcase examples and record video lectures or tutorials. An astronomy teacher might be virtually transported into space as they give a ‘tour’ of the stars to their students. Green screen technologies allow you to transport to any place in the world or any time period! Especially now when students and teachers are spending so much time online, green screen technologies offer exciting varieties to one’s video background and are very effective for storytelling. Students can do video blogging, shoot their own movie with special effects or do a video presentation that appears to be taking place in any number of unique settings. For more inspiration on how to use green screen click here.

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Green Screen Instructions

 1. Download Green Screen by Do Ink from the App Store and open it on your device.
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2. Click on “+” sign in the top right corner to create a new project.
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3. Select a source for your project:
      – You could use the camera on your device to capture a picture or video or;
      – Upload existing media
Tip: If the object or person is in front of a plain background, the program can automatically filter it out (green and blue work best).
4. Select the rainbow wheel and turn on “Chroma Enabled”.
5. Select the colour of your background from the wheel and regulate the sensitivity to filter out the background.
Tip: If your background is not all of the same colour, try editing manually for best results:
      – Click on the mask symbol and then the eraser symbol and erase parts that are not automatically filtered.
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6. When you are done filtering out the background, under the current image or video select a source for the new background.
7. You can then drag and adjust the position and size of your sources by first selecting them from the timeline.
8. When you are ready you can choose if you want your media to display as a video or an image then select save.
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9. You can choose how you would like to export your media.
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Now start creating and have fun! For more detailed use of the app, check out the Do Ink website.

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Green Screen Videos Bring Content to Life

Green Screen by DoInk App Enables Creation ot Green Screen Effects on iPad & iPhone

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