#YYCLC Day 134: We are 3D Printing!

 

 

It's safe to say that today bought a lot of energy into our learning commons! Our students are so excited about the possibility of printing something on the 3D printer. Today we started working with Morphi, an easy to use, 3D designing App.

#YYCBE Day 118: Drawing with Lego

Our students are loving Lego at recess! This weeks challenge is to 'draw' a picture with lego.

#YYCLC Day56: littleBits are taking over!

These littleBits are taking over our learning commons. Interest is building fast about these amazingly designed electronic circuit modules. 

#YYCLC Day30: Duct Tape Art

Students at Keeler School being makers with duct tape.

#YYCLC Day 19 - Rainbow Looms

Learning to make different rainbow loom patterns during our Maker Movement Club at Keeler School

Maker Stations are Open!

Today, our first 2 maker stations are open. Now the fun part begins of inviting kids in to interact with it. In my school, this will be the challenge but I believe it will slowly spread. The teachers seem really excited about the maker space.

The idea at this point is that I will open the Maker Stations up to all students. The younger students may need some guidance at first but our grades 3-5 students should be able to work through the stations. I'm thinking I might train some leaders in each class to help the other students. Then they can pass on the leadership to others' in their class too.

I will also make it known that students can come in and experiment at lunchtime.

As for what students will take photos of, we will link it to the curriculum somehow. We will slowly build a collection of artefacts and/or subjects for students to focus on.

 

I'm really excited to see where this will take us. I'm not expecting it to take off over night but will continue to work on getting students to come and explore!

Maker Stations are Coming!

In an effort to create some interest around some of the technology we already have in our building, I am introducing some maker stations to our learning commons. At this stage, our first maker stations are going to be set up around digital photography.

Students will come into the Learning Commons in small groups or independently to work through stations. Printed instructions will help students work through the station and learn something new.

Watch this space!

Maker Stations coming very soon!

Stations being set up

Keeler School Maker Stations: Part 2

Kids in the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades have all carried out science experiments and designed things during their lunch hour... For no reason other than because they want to! It has been outstanding, bizarre and wonderful to watch kids use our maker stations. It turns out that any project can, and should, be turned into a maker station for our learning commons.

Station 1: Parachutes. Read here about our parachute maker station. Since that post, there have been about 20 parachutes made by kids in different grades, and supported by grade 6 students who fielded their questions.

Kids (grade 2 and 5) building parachutes at lunch

Station 2: Pulleys. Kids are doing a series of progressive challenges for pulleys, during LC times. The engagement was outstanding... So we opened it up for lunch time exploration. As kids were exploring at lunch, the grade 4s tried things we hadn't yet asked them to: They made cross-library zip lines as well as double, and even triple, pulley systems.

If you look closely, you'll see a pulley
system from one part of the LC to
another.

Station 3: Raspberry Pi. Although we're not studying programming in a classroom, we got our hands on a Raspberry Pi computer (loaded with Scratch) and a TV donated to our school. The domino effect was hilarious... At the first recess there were 2 kids around the computer. At lunch there were 4. The next day there were 8. The day after that, there were more. Questions I recorded:

• How do you make him walk?
• How could we make a background? Can it move while he's walking?
• What if he jumped on that guy, what would happen? How could we make something happen? 
• Who can teach us? Where can...Youtube!! (And the students ran off to another computer)

In the past couple weeks we have really explored how we can use the space, and I think we've found it: These maker stations seem to be next step in the evolution of our LC!

Kids collaborating as they learn to program

Maker Stations in the Learning Commons

Build it and they will come... Or provide stuff and they will build it! Our Learning Commons evolved to include "Maker Spaces"... I didn't realize this was happening... We have a "Philosophers' Board", multiple "Lego Walls", gears, puppets, costumes and Raspberry Pis (among other tinkering things that are available at all times for student use). But the amazing discussion at this year's EdcampYYC helped me to find the solution for guided learning and maker spaces in our Learning Commons context.

The grade 6 students are building parachutes, and their contest is here. But why stop there? Today I introduced the "Parachute Maker Station" and opened it up to the school: Anyone who is interested can come in at lunch or recess, can use the supplied materials (or other materials, if they'd like), and can create their own parachute.

Best of all, they all know it is a grade 6 project, so if they need help they know who to ask! I've warned the 6s that questions could be coming their way, and was greeted with enthusiasm as they now see themselves as experts (YAY!). Which was handy today when we had 5 grade 4 students eagerly making their own parachutes (during lunch), and seeking help. I overheard a grade 4 ask a grade 6, "Why is there a hole in the middle of your parachute? Did you make a mistake?" (Great question!!).

This has really got me thinking... Could this work with cars?  Catapults? Clothing design? Looms? Pulleys? Could any design-based task work as a maker station?... I think we're starting to turn a corner in our LC, and I can feel the enthusiasm growing from our students!

Here are the directions for the station: