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Denali Virtual Maker Club Proposal

Look Here

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EDET Denali Montessori Maker Club vodcast

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This is the link to the Denali Montessori school Virtual Maker Club webpage.

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WK11-How have you , and will you continue to “Learn the 21st Century” and allow your students this experience in your classroom?

So this conversation really begins with looking inward towards our own professional development as educators. Often whether is in schools or the workplace I see too little time carved out for PD. This is not always the case but often an employee is faced with meeting or missing goals if they scheduled in specific time for learning new things. With that said I found agreement with some of the these challenges teachers are confronted with brought out in the reading, for example the notion of educators being dinosaurs of technology and the use of computers dumbed down to showing you tube videos and capturing test score. As stated in the text “The computer’s power as an intellectual laboratory or vehicle for self-expression has been neutralized in the service of doing school a tiny bit better. (Martinez, 2019)  I think part of this perception comes from overtaxed learning agendas based on complicated standards and rubrics. If its too hard, short cuts will be taken...these short cuts could be in the form of not taking time to become proficient with new tech or application. The truth is not everyone is inspired by learning new technology things, if this is you as an educator then work must be done to reignite that passion or at least find a way to bridge it to things you are passionate about. Having work at an Apple store it was expected to self manage PD time to increase knowledge on relevant products and services...I saw this as permission to explore new apps and hardware. On the flip side now that I am not directly being paid to learn the latest tips and tricks on a new iOS release I can find it annoying to have to relearn a certain phone function that worked fine before the latest update. This is the growing concern that I see with the ever increasing birth of updates, it used to be that you could by or learn something and that knowledge or item would have a useful shelf life, not the case today, chances are you can by an item new in the store and it will need an update right out of the box...grrrrr! How this related to the 21t century question is that fundamentally we are reshaping expectations around the learning environment. To sum up I am introducing AI based “social learning” for our organization that will be available to managers and supervisors first. This is a feature of a recently purchased LMS and will allow for sharing work related news, best practice, media quickly. There is capability for curating content and moderation by assign subject matter experts, and even recognition for contributions to the learning environment. The idea is to build a culture of learning where authoring relevant micro learning can shared across an organization dispersing the workload and sharing and allowing the hottest and most useful learning ideas to be delivered to the supervisor learners. This is at its inception and as I roll it out it will be interesting to see if it takes off and employees find value in it.

References:

MARTINEZ, SYLVIA LIBOW. STAGER, GARY S. (2019). INVENT TO LEARN: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. S.l.: CONSTRUCTING MODERN KNOWL.

Adobe Captivate Prime. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from https://www.adobe.com/products/captivateprime/features.html

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Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” -SOCRATES

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W10 - Why does Denali Montessori need a makerspace?

I think the primary reason lies in some of the core values of the Montessori school: 

Development of Life-long Learning

Our multi-age learning environment stimulates the child’s natural curiosity; fosters personal discoveries; and creates socially responsible citizens of the world.

Independent, Self-motivated Learners

Students have the opportunity to take ownership of their individually chosen paths of learning within a structured, prepared environment that encourages independent, self-motivated learners.

and the 8 key principles:

Movement and Cognition

Choice

Interest

Extrinsic Rewards are Avoided

Learning with and from Peers

Learning in Context

Teacher Ways and Child Ways

Order in Environment and Mind

The classrooms are already set up in a makers space fashion as children are encourage to explore different projects in a non linear fashion and be responsible stewards for the materials. I Like Grace Hoppers quote used in the Martinez text: “A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for. Sail out to sea and do new things.” Additionally the core values align with the maker mindset and ethos however a dedicated space could be powerful to allow even greater independence and responsibility and could see greater results. Lastly I really like the comment in the reading “We are spending too much money on segregated art, shop, studio, and computer facilities. A makerspace would unite these resources and produce more opportunities for more students.”   (Martinez, 2019) I am a huge fan of doing more with less and finding a space may be combining siloed spaces into one.

References:

Overview / About Denali. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from https://www.asdk12.org/domain/3582

MARTINEZ, SYLVIA LIBOW. STAGER, GARY S. (2019). INVENT TO LEARN: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. S.l.: CONSTRUCTING MODERN KNOWL.

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Get your make on! See the calendar here...

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W9 - What would you need to coordinate a “Maker Day” for your school?

For this week’s question I really had no idea where I would begin to do something like this. After reviewing the reading materials I realized I needed to expand my thoughts around what a maker space/day is supposed to be. Up to this point I visualized a maker day as an avenue to showcase prototyping with technology as is the focus of this particular course. It has been inspirational to see the variety of ways a maker event can come together. I really liked Galina’s approach in building a “Dream Team” that would gather pre-event to sort out the logistics, details and sharing different perspectives that can address any planning gaps. This reminds me of my days as a manager at an Apple store where the leadership team would do a conceptual walk through of the next big technology release. We would start outside the store and think about every aspect of the experience from various viewpoints customer, specialist, inventory ect. I think the same level of preparation should go into any event to make it a successful one. In reading through the UBC Maker Day Tool Kit I began to realize the concept is larger than just one day, in-fact it is just a postcard to the larger Maker movement idea and for some participants it could be an introduction to the ethos of the maker world, no pressure right? The tool kit is also quick to point out that a “Maker Day” is not to be confused with other similar terms like “maker faire” or “maker space” as each of those has a different purpose. With this context, I realized the coordination of such an event would be similar to other professional events I have sponsored before, with lots of planning, aligning the support, logistics etc. I found one of the biggest things to lock in, is support from your leadership, if they are bought in to the idea then everything from resources, people and funding can become much easier to obtain. Not to blather on but one last feature I would include is a curation mindset, in that I would want to organize the event based on the maker talent...what tech is going to be featured? How to organize the displayed designs in an appealing logistical format? Are there any special needs... power, fast connections, etc. Technical difficulties can suck the energy out of great ideas so having back up plans and meeting with the presenters prior to the event can help mitigate that to focus on the problem solving. Ultimately, I will use all of the aforementioned ideas to create a coding maker day at Denali Montessori, as I will be donating my Aurdino kit to the class and if will be fun to do a day of making and invite other classes to join in the fun.

References:

https://www.itabc.ca/sites/default/files/docs/discover/Final%20MakerDayToolKit.pdf

University Innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from http://universityinnovation.org/wiki/Maker_Day

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WK - 8 Can you teach more than you know?

For anyone who has ever used the expression “fake it until you make” assuredly believes in inherent ability to educate beyond one’s own knowledge set. A favorite expression of mine when supporting technology learners was “I don’t know but let’s find out together”. This accomplished two things first an admission that as a so called “expert” I do not always have all the answers, and second it engaged the other individual in actively seeking the answer with me. This is not to say that I did not work hard to be a subject matter expert but more to the proliferation of knowledge it became more important to understand how to flow, seek and find resources within all of it.This is important more than ever now as the speed with which things change the knowledge needed to learn is constantly needing updates. A disclaimer for my views expressed here, is that this response is relegated to learning and technology as there are other fields and subjects that are more static. This changes the conversation about being a relevant  educator as before learning was taught outward from the empirical foundation of an educators higher education background. Today the chances of the whats a student learns in secondary or higher learning will be outdated by the time it could be put to practical use in a work environment. As for an educator their role in learning has moved the direction of facilitation and support through ethical approaches to technology. This model puts the onus of learning back into a students hand to drive the acquisition and eventual demonstration of transfer. This is not to say that the teacher is disconnected from the learning  Martinez and Stager (2013) wrote, “This ‘letting go’ is not being a lazy teacher by making students do your job for you. Far from it. A teacher is highly engaged in the art of empowering young people, not getting work done.” Before my course work in this program I was not familiar with the “Flipped classroom” or UBD (Understanding by design) approaches to learning, however many of the same features of these methodologies I had discovered in my own journeys in training and facilitation. There is a commonality in the need for learning more complicated things faster that lends itself well to a learner actively  driving their own understandings. This allows the educator to emerge as facilitator and empower and reinforce the learning experience, this can be enhanced with the accessibility to answers that technology can provide. This is a great quote from the Maker space playbook I previously referenced: "The most important thing to know is how to help your kids find answers and connect with expertise." (Hlubinka et al., 2013)

References:

Martinez, S., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Torrance, CA: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.

Hlubinka, M., Dougherty, D., Thomas, P., Chang, S., Hoefer, S., Alexander, I., & McGuire, D. (2013). Makerspace Playbook School Edition. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf

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W7 - What are the rules for your makerspace?

I really like this quote from the reading: “When you don’t know what is impossible, you are inclined to think that anything is possible.”(Martinez & Stager) Beyond the reading for this week I looked to the local Anchorage maker space to see how they set it up and manage it. First of all I like that in order to have elevated privileges like 24/7 access, and using certain pieces of equipment requires a membership. The membership establishes an agreement on how the space will be used, this would be a useful approach in the classroom as well. I am reminded of

Papert’s Eight Big Ideas as a general rule set for a maker space

1. Learn by doing.

2. Technology as building material – if you can use technology to make things you can make more interesting things.

3. Have fun – we learn and work best if we enjoy what we are doing.

4. Learning to learn – nobody can teach you everything you need to know. You have to take charge of your own learning.

5. Taking time- you have to learn to manage time for yourself.

6. You can’t get it right without getting it wrong – things do not always work the first time.

7. Do unto ourselves what we do unto our students – let students see us struggle to learn.

8. Entering a digital world – learning about computers is important, but using them to learn about everything else is important.

The caution is not to set too many rules as to restrict the creative and open environment, there should be a conscious effort to celebrate and welcome the creation process. This can be tricky to accomplish and can vary depending on age of students and how much guided support or equipment responsibility is needed.  When doing anything with a student, I would argue safety is always a top priority and should be introduced right away, now the safety conversation can be very different for a coding maker space vs. machine shop but never the less, how to operate and maintain equipment safely should be covered. This includes how to wear the proper PPE when necessary and what to do is something goes wrong. I am a huge fan of having a playbook and depending on your space, equipment and goals the guideline could vary. I love simplicity so I usually keep it to three things this is what I have landed on for a hypothetical maker space rules mantra:

Do no harm to yourself, others and your resources.

Learn by doing...from your mistakes and successes.

Keep making awesome with your attitude and the things you make.

References:

Papert's Big Ideas. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2019, from http://www.makerspaceforeducation.com/paperts-big-ideas.html

MARTINEZ, SYLVIA LIBOW. STAGER, GARY S. (2019). INVENT TO LEARN: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. S.l.: CONSTRUCTING MODERN KNOWL.

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W6 - What stuff will you stock your making space with, what’s the cost, and how will you fund it?

The idea of creating a maker space is an exciting one, I have always enjoyed refining and modifying projects and have found that having an organized space to do this is both inspirational and necessary. But is that all you need to start making? To begin thinking about how to go about creating a maker space I wanted to first think about why, and what would its purpose would be. The concept of great things starting in someones garage is not a myth, many leading and innovative companies began in this fashion e.g. Disney, Amazon, Apple, & Harley Davidson to name a few. I see the same similarities in creating a maker space in that it doesn't have to be fancy or have lots of high tech, but it does have to be accessible, have the right tools or the potential to make them, and probably the most important aspect...no judgement or in other words a creative space where its okay to fail. Professionally, I support employees with training and development, so creating a true maker space is a bit outside of my goals professionally, however I am involved with classroom support at my son’s elementary school Denali elementary and for this exercise I will reflect on applying the question to that class room. Looking at a schools classroom or a school facilities and dedicating a room space for making can be challenging as most available space is already occupied. This brings me back to the question of what could a maker space provide and for what purpose as this helps right size the space and equipment needs. Having set up a day of coding at an Apple store for the Denali class, I saw an opportunity to do more with coding in the classroom. There are a number of factors why this makes sense and may apply to others looking to build out a space in their own schools. First of all cost, currently schools in Alaska are facing budget cut backs and are being faced with fiscal challenges so doing a maker space on the cheap is essential. Coding is relatively inexpensive as the infrastructure of computers and tablets already exist for most schools. Having experienced this at the Apple store and depending on the age, what really brings to life the power of coding is seeing tangible results of your coding work and this can increase cost e.g. Lego robotics or a Sphereo. Recently I was able to donate a couple of Merge Cubes ($8 dollars each) to the classroom and I believe with shrinking budgets donations can be a great solution for sourcing equipment in a classroom.  Just like the school soccer club, parents can provide resources for supporting a club effort. In a field of dreams fashion, you could create a maker club and promote that as part of an after school program think Community Schools, or YMCA. Additionally there are online maker camps to get kids involved as well. I have been inspired by all of the cool coding & computer science learning that can be done with Arduino and Raspberry Pi kits. I plan to donate the one I purchased to the school classroom as well. These kits are a bit more expensive and are better suited for ages that can handle small pieces and electrically charged pieces, however these items could all inhabit a coding themed maker space that essentially would be mobile and set up virtually anywhere. I am a fan of a dedicated space however great ideas can happen anywhere. So to sum up the take aways, a maker space should adapt to fit your budget (some district schools already have invested in dedicated maker spaces and equipment). It can vary in complexity and size from simple coding on an iPad to 3D printing, welding fabrication shop and beyond. The items I have suggested for a coding themed space could cost as little as a couple hundred dollars. Ideally getting buy in support from parents and local business can generate funding or donations that can provide needed resources e.g. a dedicated space, equipment, or even their time to help support. Additionally STEM grants can be an option for funding as well and should be explored. Ultimately, determining what “need” if any at all the space will fill, can shape how much stuff you need, what it will cost, and what type of funding will make it happen.

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W5 - What is the relationship between teaching and learning?

After selecting reading through the selected materials for this weeks EQ, I landed on the thought it would be interesting to look at power of communication in the classroom and its dynamic on both the teacher and the students. But first let’s tackle context between teaching and learning. In a nutshell “teaching” can be viewed as the imparting of knowledge and “learning” is the acquisition of said knowledge. These are turbulent times for teachers in that robots are hungry for our jobs, so it is critical that differentiation and importance is understood for a tech savvy educator. This being said, I believe the magic of being a teacher is in the delivery of the learning and that should be the hardest thing to replicate when doing it well. One of my pet peeves is excessive complication for the sake of appearing academically pedantic, schoolish, or perhaps pedagogic! We have all experienced that former professor/teacher or otherwise that obfuscates unnecessarily in a priggish fashion (haha choice of words deliberate) clouding the learning and dampening our interest all together. This is not to say that everything must be dumbed down, in its defense the journal article in the materials fell solidly under this description. I will attempt to summarize my take aways as the dynamics between student and teacher are critical for not only the “imparting of knowledge to happen” but the inspiration to use it thereafter. The article paints a picture of a dance between the regulator (teacher) and the regulated (student) and the effect as a function of language as defined by conflicts, discourses, and tensions. (Park, 2004) The take away I share here is that there can be a critical bottle neck in the flow of information from educator to learner and relative to this course we as educators must be cognizant of our own strengths and weaknesses when imparting our knowledge, otherwise we are wasting cycles, and nobody wants that! Coding, mechanical engineering, quantum electronics are very specialized and esoteric topic areas, if we have any hopes of being part of what's next globally we must be masters of the “impart” in fun and inspiring ways. 

References:

Jacoby, Joseph E. “Removing an Obstacle to Learning Deviance: The Perceived Difference between ‘Us’ and ‘Them.’” Teaching Sociology, vol. 13, no. 1, 1985, p. 107., doi:10.2307/1318416.

Long, Mike. “Experimental Perspectives on Classroom Interaction.” The Handbook of Classroom Discourse and Interaction, 2015, pp. 60–73., doi:10.1002/9781118531242.ch4.