MaKey-MaKey - STEAM Experience with Our Young Learners

Recently, Andy Robbins and I co-taught a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) lesson to our young learners using a tool called MaKey-Makey. In the coming month this lesson will be shared in all three buildings. Don't be surprised to see fruits, veggies and pie plates wired up! And by all means, if you have questions please ask Andy, Sue Remillard or me!

Water Bongo Drums

 

We connected the MaKey MaKey kit using wires and alligator clips to the computer and the pans of water. For the Fruit & Veggie Piano we connected to the fruits and veggies. In order to make a sound, students completed the circuit by holding one alligator clip and tapping the prop with the other hand.

I asked Andy to share a bit about the lesson. His synopsis below encapsulates what we did.

Our activity featuring water bongos and the fruit & veggie piano was so much fun! It was amazing to see the students experimenting with different ways of playing the instruments (such as playing the instruments with elbows rather than hands). Even though students were taking turns in pairs, the whole class was engaged in communication and collaboration, working as one. Students would encourage their friends as they had their turn at the instruments: "Try [this]" or "What would happen if you [did that]?" I love seeing this kind of curiosity and creativity in our students! The Makey Makey Board is just one way that students can exercise their innovative minds. The possibilities are endless!

There is a MaKey-MaKey kit in each building thanks to the Scarborough Education Foundation. Please inquire with me if you are interested in using it in your classroom. Here is an article, Gaining STEAM: Teaching Science Through Art from US News & World Report describing STEAM further. A resource in teaching STEAM concepts to primary students is the book, Tinkerlab - A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors by Rachelle Doorley. We will soon have a copy of this book in the professional library in each school. Here is the link to her blog. She is also on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter if you are interested in some of the awesome things she does.

Virtual Field Trips Using Google Tools

Want to take a field trip from the comfort and ease of your own classroom? Check out Virtual Field Trips Using Google Earth. I recently attended a webinar highlighting many ways Google tools and Google Earth can be used. Participating in Google Earth is a transformational use of technology, without it, we would not be able to do it!

Google Art Project

Take your students to visit art museums around the world and go inside the museum to tour different areas. Options include details of each art piece. Search by artist, museum, collection and more. View this brief video below to learn more. One of the places which can be visited is The White House.

Direct Link to Video describing how to use Google Art Project.

Google Lit Trips for Grades K-5  (click link to see previously created lit trips)

Visit the places from a book on a tour that's already been created or together we could create our own! An example is the book Make Way for Ducklings where you can view the path the ducks took around Boston on Google Earth stopping to learn more and view the swan boats, the Boston Public Garden and more!

Skitch in the Classroom

Skitch, a free app

I have visited most second-grade classrooms for students to make predictions of where they think the iBoat will land. Skitch has a built in world map feature where you can zoom or pan then annotate. Students worked collaboratively to annotate a map using: text boxes, arrows and the pen tool. Below is a sample.

Another useful feature of Skitch is that you can annotate photographs from anything on your camera roll. Here are a couple of ideas: 

This one is a screenshot of a website. It is great practice with creating nonfiction text conventions.

For doing a think aloud about a text, display it on the large screen with the LCD projector along with some annotations to mark your thinking. Also, exclamation points and check marks are other stamps that can be used. Good to know that there are only so many characters you can include next to the stamps. 

As a way to digitize anything where you can mark it up and refer back to the saved image.

If you are interested in trying out Skitch, download the app to your iPad and play with the features.

Tools:

 crop           stamps             add text               arrow                  pixelate           line & shape tools

                                                        pen & highlight tool. 

Also check out the share feature. Here you can include a caption. 

Here's a link to a great guide put out by Skitch. Here's a link to a blog post by Nicole Gleason, Tech Integrator in SAD 6 on ideas for using Skitch with young students. Please let me know if you find any good uses for Skitch or if I can help you!

SAMR Model- A Technology Integration Model, Part 1

SAMR Model, A Technology Integration Model, Part 1- Starting to Construct Knowledge of the Transformational Power of Technology

* While reading this post and watching the video, please bear the following question in mind. What is one way I could apply my understanding of the SAMR Model of Transformational Learning?

"A good quarterback throws the ball to where the receiver is going to be, not where he was."

~Kevin Honeycutt

We want to do our best to prepare students for their future by making our best predictions of the content and pedagogy that that will reach them now and prepare them for later. There is no doubt that technology will be embedded in both careers and college for our students.

Because of this it is wise for us to integrate technology in a methodical and strategic way. There are so many ways technology can be integrated; yet time is a limited resource, both with preparations for our lessons as well as in the classroom with our students. The SAMR Model of Transformational Learning is a lens with which to look at this. When understood it can allow teachers to make educated decisions as to which type of technology to use. This model was created by Ruben Puentedura.

Here is a link to this graphic in case you would like to open and print it.

(Video length: 4:07) Here's the direct link. To view this video full screen, click the icon on the right.

Notably, Puentedura introduced this model in collaboration with MLTI yet it is internationally known. For more information on the SAMR model, visit Ruben Peuntedura's website.

A frequent comparison of the SAMR Transformational Model of Learning is with Bloom's Taxonomy where the bottom portion of the triangle is lowest-level of thinking and the upper is the highest-level of thinking. In the SAMR Model, Substitution is the lowest-level of technology use whereas Redefinition is the highest-level of use. With that said, substitution is not a bad place to be. We want to ensure, however, that we aim for the upper levels of the SAMR Model, being Modification and Redefinition.

In the future I will write Part 2 of this blog post series- SAMR Model, A Technology Integration Model, Part 2- Digging Deeper.

Think back and reflect for a moment on the question posed at the beginning: What is one way I could apply my understanding of the SAMR Model of Transformational Learning? With that, I thank you for taking your precious time learning about this model. If you are comfortable, please leave your reflection on the question in a comment below. 

The Maker Movement...takeaways from ACTEM

Recently I went to the ACTEM (Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine) conference and wanted to bring back some "goodie" ideas as well as to share what I noticed to be the trend in tech ed.

Creation and using technology to do so was a huge theme throughout the entire conference. The very next day I received my copy of Tech & Learning (see picture of cover above) highlighting the "Maker Movement". This quote from Sylvia Martinez sums The Maker Movement up well.

  It's a global technological and creative revolution. Some very   smart people are predicting that the tools and technology of     the Maker Movement will revolutionize the way we produce,         market and sell goods across the world, just print it out!       Better yet, design it yourself and then print it out. Something   this epic should be on ever educator's radar.


The rest of the article is worth a quick read and is located here: Meet the Makers article. Some practices from the Maker Movement that relate to our classrooms are: learning by doing, problem solving or giving it a go, and encouraging a do it yourself attitude (Martinez, 2013).

In addition to the above practices, the Maker Movement can be thought of as an integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The key word here is integration! 

Along the same lines,computer programming or coding is a huge field where good workers are needed. "The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2020, the U.S. will create 1.4 million jobs in computer science related fields. If current trends continue, U.S. citizens with the necessary skills and experience will fill only 30% of these jobs." Check out this one minute video by code.org for more: Anybody Can Learn to Code.

Coding for our little ones would be a great math extension. Here is a list of apps to learn coding (read- problem solving and computation practice!) on the iPad. This list is also located on the "Apps for iPad" page on my blog. Additionally, I am ordering a kit called Makey Makey developed at the Kindergarten Lab at MIT. The short video below is well worth checking out! If you have feedback on any of this, add a comment or let me know!

Puffin Browser iPad App

Recently purchased for you, as well as the iPad Minis available for check out, is the Puffin Browser iPad App. This will allow you to override Flash which is not supported on the iPad. Popular applications you will now be able to access through Puffin are: Tumblebooks, BrainPop Jr., PebbleGo, Think Central & Children's Progress. I recommend adding each of these as bookmarks on this app which will allow you and your students to quickly get to these sites.

Additionally, when you login to: Tumblebooks, BrainPop Jr., & PebbleGo, save your passwords. Then your students (and you) will easily be able to get started on each of these sites without trouble.

Here is a screenshot of what you will see when you open the app. Please let me know if you have questions about this, or better yet, comment below!

PebbleGo - News Flash!

For some of us we now have a new subscription! All three K-2 Schools have a subscription to PebbleGo - The Emergent Reader Research Solution - Animals. Pleasant Hill has used this before so they may have some good ideas about integrating this resource.

This will be great for animal research, for non-fiction reading and for practicing with non-fiction text conventions. Plus, we can access it simultaneously (think - we won't all have to share the same chipmunk book if we each have first graders studying that animal!).

PebbleGo reads to you appropriate for all three grade levels, may be a bit basic for 2nd grade ocean research at the end of the year but see for yourself if you're a second grade teacher. Here are some annotated screenshots I made to show you some highlights. Please comment below if you have questions or ideas. We are better as a team!

Splash Screen

Individual Animal

Animal Printout