Feel free to download a full-sized version of this poster for use in your school.
Maker Education: A Quick Introduction
Journey from a Makerspace to a Maker District
Building the Future: Tinkering and Playful Learning
The Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research
Invent to LearnThe Maker Movement in K-12 Education: A Guide to Emerging Research
Dance group, Autism with Attitude, will brighten your day. Enjoy the video below.
Image Source: Newsner
“During this time of social distancing it is important to remember that creativity has not been canceled. We all can benefit from engaging into creative activities that stretch us and force us to look at our world and situation from another angle” (source). What does creativity look like in the current world of quarantines and social distancing? Kylie Peppler suggests that there are four types of creativity – “the technical, the critical, the creative, the ethical” and that the best creativity happens when we work within all four areas. (source). Peppler suggests that the wide open nature of the internet is a bit too much for students and that instead we should focus on interest-driven learning. DIY.org offers camp-like structures with small groups of people with similar interests who work together. Connected Camps is another program that also focuses on interest-driven learning. In our current situation of quarantines and social distancing being creative can be a daunting task so start small – 20 minutes a day. Lots of people are turning to music – learning an instrument or dance, baking, reading, completing puzzles, learning to paint, etc. Creativity does not have to be a huge project but it can make a huge difference in our overall mood and attitude even if it is just 20 minutes a day. What will you create today?
References:
Image source, Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash
All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
@hollandkaylah
The Global EdTech Academy is offering “free, universal access to an entire suite of live and recorded EdTech resources, Master Class sessions, and Office Hours” (source). The EdTech sessions include tons of webinars from education’s most popular voices such as Matt Miller, Ken Shelton, Holly Clark, Micheal Cohen (the Tech Rabbi), and more. The sessions are both live and recorded so that you can either join the collective group or watch on your own time. The master classes are taught by experts in products of Microsoft, and the office hours are there for you if you need immediate assistance or support. While the sessions are geared toward Microsoft products they actually focus more on ideas and strategies that will both inspire you and equip you to apply your learning no matter the platform you use. The best part of this endeavor is that all of this is absolutely free. Click here to access the Global EdTech Academy and have fun learning.
References:
Image source, Global EdTech Academy
All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
@hollandkaylah
In our current virtual learning environment, educators are feeling the need to ensure students are learning by filling their day with back to back activities. Taking breaks prevents the brain from becoming overloaded and gives time for information to process (source). This idea is not new to the education world but it might be helpful in the virtual education world. The suggestions below will help create an environment that honors brain breaks in our virtual learning environment (source).
References:
Image source, Edutopia
All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
@hollandkaylah
In our virtual, yet isolated, current environment, it is important to continue maintaining healthy relationships with students. “When kids spend their daytime hours in safe, supportive schools where adults work every day to build strong relationships with every student, they are simply better, more engaged learners” (source). Yet, how do educators continue to build strong relationships when students are on the other side of a screen? The suggestions below offer strategies to maintain strong relationships with students despite the virtual connection (source).
References:
Image source, Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
@hollandkaylah
The focus of education has shifted dramatically in the last few months due to the closure of face to face instruction. This unprecedented time has been deemed trauma-informed teaching. In order to prevail through the situation, many educators have turned to virtual education and video chats. The issue with video chatting is that there are limited ways to engage students through a screen. Below are several recommendations for amping up video chats in order to help educators finish the school year strong (source).
References:
Image source, Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
All other sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
@hollandkaylah
This week we’re investigating maker education, tinkering, and coding in our educational technology courses. Translating all the hands-on experiences from our face-to-face class meetings into the online learning environment has been a fun challenge. Thankfully, we actually began preparing this module for the online environment in Summer 2019, so it has been a work in progress. A special thanks to colleague and EdTech Team member, Melissa Marshall, for helping develop the module.
I thought I’d share some of the resources that I put together. Perhaps these will give families ideas to spice up their days of quarantine. Please share your ideas and recommended resources in the comments, so that our preservice and in-service teachers can learn from you, too.
Browse through this slideshow to view examples that might spark inspiration for your next maker or tinkering project.
Feel free to bookmark, save, or print the following document.
Image Source: Unknown
“PBL isn’t about writing a state report. It’s about using what you know about the state you study and then creating your own state. It isn’t about building a replica of the Washington Monument. It’s about researching someone to honor, designing your own monument, and persuasively pitching a committee to build it.” –Edutopia
Are your students engaged? Engaged learners find personal meaning and value in their work, and they often go above the bare minimum. They may also spend their free time on the assignment.
As a teacher, are you becoming more of a guide on the side? You should notice that students start asking each other questions instead of always coming to you. They also should become more independent in finding their own answers either through research or experimentation.
Are your students learning in new ways? One sign that your students are thinking more critically is if you are hearing questions like, “But why is it like that? But couldn’t this work, too? Has anyone tried it like this before?” Even negative push back from students is actually a sign that they are being stretched and challenged, which is a good thing!
Are your students making choices about their products or processes as they learn? In other words, are your students finding different ways to demonstrate their learning, rather than all producing the same product?Are your students learning while doing instead of learning and then doing? Many traditional class projects don’t begin until after the students have finished their learning. They master a concept and then produce something. In PBL, the learning happens through the process of producing something.
Check out this video from friEdTechnology:
What the Heck is Project-Based Learning?
Buck Institute for Education: PBLWorks
Guest Blogger
Raina Burditt
