Schools of the Future

The ISTE experience has become one of the highlights of my personal professional development.  I enjoy meeting people from around the world, and visiting with them about effective classroom instructional practices.   I had the blessing of helping in the Digital Storytelling Network Playground, and presenting a poster session about Makerspaces.  In a time span of just thirty minutes, I could visit with educators from multiple countries and ten or more states.  My co-presenter had the blessing of meeting a teacher from New Zealand who Periscoped her class about the Bloxels kit we had on display during our poster session.

My top takeaways from ISTE 2016:

1.  It's time to change the culture of schools.  We have been working in a model that prepares students for the 1950s.  Jobs of the future require creativity, imagination, and experience.  Our education system needs to catch up, then prepare to lead the way.

2.  As educators, we need to take a bigger part in preparing students to work in STEM related fields, by providing students opportunities to create, iterate, problem solve, code, and think critically.  I visited with a COO of a tech company, and he indicated they had engineers that were high school dropouts and engineers that had their PhD from Yale.  It didn't matter how employees knew what they knew, as long as they knew it.  When their company interviewed potential applicants, they asked prospective employees to SHOW them what they knew, not tell them.  Applicants brought in projects they had been working on to demonstrate their expertise.

3.  Encourage your students to imagine future possibilities. Don't limit them to things that seem realistic.  Science Fiction movies and books?  Those technologies are being developed in the labs of today.

4.  Classrooms must become labs for social change.  We need to defy politics as usual, and teach students to develop the quality of their relationships.  Empathy is the core for solving problems.

5.  Inequality is engineered.  Think it's better for the present? Better for whom?  Carefully consider whose version of the good life is being promoted.  Who are we leaving out?  Look at it from as many perspectives as possible, and continue to reconsider your thinking as you encounter new information.

6.  "The battle over real power tomorrow begins with who gets to dream today."  ALL students need to be a part of innovation.  ALL voices need a role in creating our collective future.

7.  If we can hack tech, we can hack the underlying codes of social society.  Guide students in working together to change the operating structure of society.  Talk about the current social code, then get busy rewriting it.  Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn't make it right.

8.  Have students tell you their questions, not just their answers.  Questions are more important than answers.  Q > A.

9.  Educators are cultural workers.  Do your instructional practices change the story or keep it the same for your students? Are you empowering them or stifling them?  Correct the micro-inequalities or instances of unconscious bias in your school. Treat everyone with respect.

10.  Tech can become the #plottwist that reaches a struggling student.  Each child deserves a better story.  Search for apps, extensions, websites, and tech tools that can help rewrite a child's story.

11.  Make it real - real tools, real problems, real science.  Use project based learning, STEM/STEAM challenges, flipped lessons, and flexible classrooms.  Connect with the community, mentors, and world.

12.  It's not a question of are you good or bad at it, but are you willing to learn?  It's how you respond to failure that defines who you are as a person, not the successes you have.

Work hard.
Create bravely.
Keep wonder alive.
Stay humble.

LEGO Makerspace Idea

While in Chicago, we stopped by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and discovered the Chicago Model and the LEGO Design Studio, where families can build a representation of a current architectural piece, or create an original design.  While my husband and daughter sat down to build, I started taking pictures, thinking this would be a great addition to my Makerspace.  While the exhibit featured white architectural LEGO pieces exclusively, I think it would be feasible to use whatever color of LEGO pieces you have available.    

The exhibit featured pictures of famous architectural buildings in Chicago that visitors could replicate.  In a Makerspace, you could display pictures of famous buildings from around the world for students to reproduce.

Santa Fe Building

Other visitors had created original designs to be left on display, including buildings, boats, dragons, and furniture.  As students build pieces in your Makerspace, you could display them as inspiration for other students.

Building with lots of windows

Boat and Buildings

Pianos

Star Wars Pieces 

In one section of the Design Studio, visitors could add to the "growing city" by drawing a building on a long piece of paper that covered a section of the wall.  This would be another great thing to add to a Makerspace ~ either a paper version, a LEGO version, or a cardboard/recycled materials version.  Students could work collaboratively to build a replica of the city you reside in, a city you are studying, a city from an historical time, or an "ideal city" your students imagine.  The additional prompt of "What does every good city need?" can get your students thinking beyond buildings to parks, roads, transportation, and infrastructure.

I love to gather ideas from places I visit.  Chicago has provided a lot of inspiration for me this past week.  Where have you been inspired for your Makerspace?

ISTE

One of our Makerspace sessions this month is a poster session at ISTE in Denver.  I attended ISTE for the first time last summer with an eLearning team from my school district.  Of all the professional development opportunities I have experienced in my twenty year career, ISTE has had the biggest impact.  Twenty thousand people convened in Philadelphia in June of 2015 to learn more about technology in education, and I was fortunate to be one of them.  

The ISTE format is the ultimate "Design Your Own PD" experience.  You can mix and match from a variety of formats to best meet your learning needs: lectures, panels, research papers, snapshots, forums, interactive lectures, poster sessions, learning academies, playgrounds, and workshops.  And, you choose the content that is most applicable to you.  

I had the best time at the playgrounds (STEM, Maker, Digital Storytelling, Creativity, Mobile Learning, Games and Virtual Environments, Ed Tech Coaches, and InnovativeEducation), where you could listen to short "how to" presentations, then try the tech out yourself.  I gleaned lots of information from visiting with presenters at the posters sessions, where you can sweep through the room and gather perspectives from across the country on a featured topic.  

One of my most memorable sessions was a littleBits interactive workshop, where I worked with a team of seven to complete a challenge.  We grouped ourselves together randomly, and my small group represented educators from three countries and four states.  It was exciting to be part of a team gathered for just thirty minutes, that represented seven different grade levels/subject areas, and had such global diversity.  We talked about what education looked like in our part of the world, and how we could integrate littleBits into our specific learning environments.

I am excited/scared/nervous/anxious about presenting next week.  I love that we will be part of the Makerspace Poster Session environment.  I will learn so much from the other presenters in the session who share my passion for maker environments.  I will learn so much from those walking through to visit with us about how the Makerspace concept works in our setting.  And, that will just comprise two hours of a four day conference.  So much learning!

Makerspace

Two years ago I converted my classroom to a Makerspace environment.  In preparing for a couple of professional development sessions we are presenting this summer, I have been reflecting on what has helped the Makerspace concept be successful in my classroom.  Here are some tips!


Makerspace Tips

M - Make learning meaningful.  Makerspaces are full of opportunities.  Students can "make" to show their learning on a topic, demonstrating how they are meeting the learning standards for your district.  They can "make" as part of genius hour/passion projects/independent study/innovation hour. They can make in response to a teacher prompt.  Or, they can make as part of a PBL project.

A - Ask for donations of supplies.  Give parents, staff, and the community a list of materials you would like to add to your space.  I have received LEGOs, wood and foam scraps,  sewing supplies, art materials, and more.  People are very generous, and are often looking for a place to donate things they no longer use.

K - Keep it organized.  I use tubs to sort cardboard, plastic, and Styrofoam.   I put pictures in LEGO kits to help keep the pieces in the right place.  I sort materials by the type of supply. Ikea has fun and inexpensive containers, and the dollar spot at Target is a great place to visit. (Okay, Target in general is a great place to visit.)

E - Expand the possibilities of your space.  Find open-ended supplies that will enable students to do a variety of different things.  Some examples include Makey Makey, Green Screen, Raspberry Pis, Circuit Stickers, Squishy Circuits, and Roominate.

R - Robotics.  There are some really cool robots available to add to your space, in a range of prices.  I have added Ozobot, Wonder Workshop's Dash and Dot, Cubelets, Snap Rover, and LEGO WeDo.

S -  Start with what you already have.  I started with the art supplies that had accumulated over 18 years of teaching.  My first summer, I saved cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  I collected cardboard boxes, plastic lids, Styrofoam from packages, and plastic containers from food items.  If you have an iPad, you can download a stop motion animation app and be on your way.  Kids can take apart old technology to see how it works, then repurpose the materials to make something new.

P - Passion Projects.  If you run a genius hour/innovation hour/20% time, students can use the materials in your Makerspace to create "answers" to "problems" they have identified.

A - Add materials over time.  Start adding materials in your classroom budget.  Write proposals and grants through websites like Donors Choose, Think It Up, Kids in Need, and local foundations.

C -  Challenges.  There are so many challenges out there.  Use your Makerspace to participate in the International Cardboard Challenge, LEGO creative uses challenge, Wonder Workshop Robotics Competition, Hour of Code, Rube Goldberg Challenge, or Google Science Fair.  Watch social media channels to spot additional challenges ~ they pop up all the time!

E - Even more ideas.  Play with polymers.  Use 3D Doodler Pens. Try claymation.  Solve a problem in the world.  Complete a STEM challenge.  Learn to program.  Just tinker!

But, most importantly, keep it organized!

A few things I have made for my Makerspace:

Download an "I'm a Maker" poster.

Try Makerspace Idea Cards if kids need an idea to get started.

Link to the Makerspace Poster at the top of this post.


What tips do you have for Makerspaces?

Genius Hour Launch

Genius Hour / Innovation Hour / Independent Study / Independent Inquiry / Passion Projects

Many names - similar purpose - a time when students are allowed to independently (or collaboratively) investigate topics of their choice.  In my classroom, it is the highlight of every grade level of students I work with - first through eighth.  They love the chance to delve deeper into their passion areas. 

The best video I have found for launching this part of our day is The Time You Have (in JellyBeans).  It helps students realize the importance of focusing on something they are passionate about.

After viewing the video, and thinking carefully about the limited amount of time we have to focus on things we are truly passionate about, we brainstorm a list of things we want to learn more about.

During the next session, we try to narrow down our focus of study (knowing that this is always flexible).  Most of my students have two or three different projects they are working on, and will move fluidly between them.  At first I worried about this, but after reading Steven Johnson's Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation,  I realized that an innovator needs to let an idea simmer in the back of the mind for a while (maybe even for a decade), waiting for it to connect with the missing pieces of the puzzle before it can be acted upon.

An example of a student project:

Writing, casting, acting, directing, and editing a movie. On the side, developing a plan for a natural grocery store, creating advertising, and analyzing potential revenue and expenditures.

Check-in Process:

As part of our check-in process, each student briefly shares what he or she worked on that day, struggled with, or had questions about.  It is through this process that we discover how we can be the "missing pieces" for others.  In the student example above, one classmate stepped in to sew the costumes for the actors in the movie, one stepped in to create the special effects, and one stepped in to help design the props.  While each student was working on their "individual projects", they discovered that they could use their area of passion to help each other be successful.

Providing Inspiration Along the Way:

As the year progresses, I share inspirational stories and video clips about innovators from around the world.  I watch for features about students and adults who have worked to solve problems through innovation - in a variety of fields.  Kids need to know that regardless of their passion area, they can make a contribution to the world.  TED has a playlist of 8 Talks to Inspire Projects With Kids that is a great resource to encourage students to tinker, make, and innovate.

Final Products:

In our room, we share our "final" products when they are individually done.  We don't have a set deadline for the class.  Each student works at his or her own pace, and I help guide, nudge, and encourage them along the way.  Some students work on one idea in-depth for the entire school year.  Some work for a semester, a quarter, a month, or just a week, then move on to another area.  Each student is allowed great control over the length of time they spend on a topic, and can abandon it or set it aside for a while as needed.  I honor student voice in this way, because I am noticing, documenting, and visiting with them about their interest areas, attempts, success, and growth as a learner.  Through this process, we have had had a wealth of products created and shared.  These include: models of businesses, creation of original stuffed animals, toys designed for pets, plays written, polymers investigated, original games coded, languages studied, vocal ranges increased, blogs created, public service announcements produced, movies made, chess studied, programming languages learned, websites developed, commercials made, and music composed. 

Innovation / Genius Hour Symbaloo Webmix:

(A living document that will be edited and updated)

The top purple area links to ideas for launching a genius hour

The pink portion comprises innovator resources

Teal represents foreign language links

Green links to kid-friendly search engines

Gray focuses on compassion connections

The other shade of purple is for video conferencing

Blue is presentation tools

The Next Step:

We have started to add a global compassion connection to our independent study time.  It consists of connecting each student and their passion area to a person in a different country, who has a similar passion area.  This project is in its infancy, but I will be blogging about it in the future!

How do you help students pursue their passions?

Motivation Monday

Jay Silver, Inventor, Founder/CEO of JoyLabz, is an inspiration to the Maker Movement.   He founded Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone in 2012.  Over the past two years, my students, grades 2-8, have enjoyed "making" things with our Makey Makey.  We launch with the ever-popular banana piano, and branch out from there.

Makey Makey (affiliate link)

I recently read the article on Edutopia: Trees of Knowledge. Silver metaphorically addresses how learners can "sprout new branches and grow their trees to the tune of their own heart's song."  He also references the "roots" to his learning tree.  What "roots" have helped you grow your tree?

To encourage students to create their own viewpoint, and essentially their own world, we can encourage conversation with answers like, "I wonder"  and "Tell me more".  Answer questions with questions to help students grow as learners.  Encourage students to be "active curators of their own viewpoint on the world, not a recipient of my viewpoint."


Click through for some Monday Motivation:

1.  Jay Silver's Ted Talk: Hack a banana, make a keyboard!

2.  Article on Edutopia: Trees of Knowledge

3.  Opinion Piece: The Future of Education Demands More Questions, Not Answers

4.  Jay Silver's Website

5.  Follow Silver @wakeupsilver and @makeymakey on Twitter