Lego Mindstorm

Lego Mindstorm would be an amazing incorporation to math and science lessons. You could make a connection to a math lesson based on geometry and shapes and illustrate the different shapes in Lego Mindstorm. We could then show students how you can place the shapes together to make a larger, more complex shape. Also, a lot of these Lego pieces are a fraction of a larger piece, so we could use them as manipulates to demonstrate fractions (a piece of a whole). More likely than not, students would be more motivated and engaged in the learning process because it is more of a hands-on experience. This also helps students store this information into their long-term memory and they are more prone to have better recall of the information on any assessment because they made a connection with the learning. Lego Mindstorm could also be a way to assess a students ability to follow multi-step directions, problem, solve, and assess different shapes. Based on Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, you could also use this program to assess a students knowledge on the subject matter instead of the typical paper-based testing. Overall, this makes the learning more fun and interactive and students will be more willing to tackle these "harder subjects".

Ch. 8 Thoughts

In chapter eight, we talked about the need for having “stuff” and making sure it is readily available for our students. The text first talked about the process of soldering and how it is a very handy and beneficial skill to know as a learner. However, I do find this type of learning to not be the most practical in a younger school setting (like the picture demonstrates). I worry that a younger student could get distracted or forget about the steps and precautions needed to use a solder and consequently burn them with the tip. In the litigious world we live in, I believe it is smarter to avoid any materials that can easily cause harm to a student and maybe focus this type of learning on older students, preferably in middle school or high school. The next item that would be great to have in a makerspace would be computers! That one seems like a no brainer, however, we do not have adequate access to these computers, proper software, and effective Internet connectivity. In my opinion, this would be the most important piece to solve in order to have a solid foundation in my makerspace. The text also talked about having proper software and to avoid free sites and I could not agree more, however, we would need to allocate money from a certain fund or even have a fundraiser to help purchase the particular software because they can get very expensive. This could be a very beneficial idea because it will get the students excited about this learning and get them motivated to learn. Some more cost effective ways to create this makerspace is to find art supplies around the house, such as hot glue guns, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, and much more! We could also use old cell phones and other electronics and have students take them apart to see how much work and product goes into these electronic devices we probably take for granted. Finally, as a teacher, it is important to be aware of all of our possible resources available. We may not have particular funding for something like a makerspace, but we do have ways of getting grants and finding donors to support these educational advances. If we all work together, we can find a way to create these spaces in all of our schools and we can start by creating a makerspace in every school library so all students can have access to the space. From there, we work our way up and start accumulating new and excited gadgets to add to this space and hopefully all spaces could come equipped with all the proper tools and even a 3-D printer! If enough schools start working toward this movement, we can gain awareness of how effective this teaching style is and hopefully get more financial support from our government to fund this program.  

Ch. 10-12 Thoughts

In chapter 10, they talked about the importance of leadership and the role that teachers and student play. Far too many times we believe our students are very capable of success, however, we do not present them with the opportunities to demonstrate this success. Martinez and Stager explained that we must let go of this control we feel we need to have over our students and these new technology projects. It is our responsibility to give these students the opportunity to take part in these projects, however little or big that may be. It is our role as the teacher to create learners that are able to teach and learn from their peers. Another thing I took from this reading was creating our own Maker Days at our own school. I talked to the teacher I work for and she was very enthusiastic to talk to the principal and let her know about this Maker Movement. I can only see great things coming from this movement and our students can become more independent, collaborative workers.

Ted Talks

The three Ted Talks were all very captivating and they addressed current issues we are having in the classroom. The first talked delved into technology and motivation in the classroom and what we can do to combat the issue. They piloted an idea that involved motivating students through use of smart phones and data plans. They were able to obtain these phones through attendance at school and their subsequent schoolwork and this privilege could be taken away at any time if they did not meet these requirements. I could definitely see how this could be effective in creating extrinsic motivation for students; however, I find it difficult to fully agree with the program because we need to be teaching these students about their own intrinsic motivation to learn. This is a great place to start, especially seeing that we are in a culture that is dominated by technology, and we can find other ideas that may better benefit these students in their long-term, educational success. The second speaker was one that spoke about the differences in gender and how our school systems suppress the needs and experiences of boys. Chellman made a good point that our schools have dramatically more female teachers than males and this poses the issue of having less role models for our male students. However, her connection between video games and the boys was one that I could not really follow along with. As a child, I loved playing video games and I truly do not believe that video games affect one gender more than the other. I also remember playing education games on my computer and I wish our students today could have more access to those types of games (typing proficiency, math facts, phonics, etc.). I have noticed that the students in the classroom I work in have little to no typing experience because all they use are iPhones and iPads. To me, this is a far more pressing matter than finding educational video games that can entertain our students. Finally, Thomas’ squishy circuits were brilliant. I loved the simplicity of the idea, yet how engaging and fun this project could be. I am a firm believer that we need to incorporate more hands-on learning in our class and this activity would be a really great way to get students more involved and excited about the sciences. All in all, these TedTalks really brought my attention to the pressing matter of blending technology and education in the classroom and how we can get everyone involved.

Invent to Learn Chapter 7

            In this chapter, Martinez and Stager talked about game changers in technology and creativity in the classroom. The first game changer is Fabrication and I found this part very interesting because I have never seen or even heard about 3D printers. These 3D printers are subtractive machines and they take various materials and create 3D pieces by layering them to make the new item. There are many parts to these printers and different filaments that make these printers very unique. These printers seem fairly easy to use and students can get very involved, if not completely in control, of this process. The students first design their ideas on the computer and make sure it all measures out correctly, next the students prepare to print their design by making it an .STL file and once that is complete this, they can print their object. The text stated that the most difficult part of this whole process is choosing the correct printer. The prices range from $1,000-$100,000’s and the best way to decide what printer is best for you is to figure out what are the most important qualities that you are looking and what projects you aim to use the printer for. This is a great product for our students because it gets them learning about graphic design and how to use these devices in our ever-growing technology-based society. The next game changer is Physical Computing and this part has people physically put these devices together. The students’ work with the hardware and software and it appeals to all kinds of students. These can also be much cheaper and there is a lot of help that people can receive if they choose to take the physical computing route. I really like the idea of physical computing because I personally believe that people learn best from hands on experiences. This type of learning lets students take charge of their education and they will become better problem solvers and active thinkers during the process. Finally, physical computing brings more attention to the use and importance of electronics and students will be able to understand how electricity truly works. Some examples of physical computing are Makey Makey, Drawdio, and Minty Boost. The last game changer is Programming and it gives people the opportunity to understand how a computer functions. This can be incorporated into our curriculum by having students program games to teach units, which has them learning the material while they are programming! This is a great idea because you are teaching your students without actually lecturing to them. I would like to incorporate this programming into a classroom, but it would take a lot of preparation since I am not the best with using technology. However, I believe that this can be very beneficial to our students and it allows them to learn using different methods and most importantly, they get to learn through experiencing and will have more success with storing this information into their long-term memory. Overall, I really like these different techniques for teaching our students and this can be a very productive and successful way to educate our students.

Makey Makey in Math

Using Makey Makey in math could greatly change the way we teach our students the foundations of math. This subject has always had a negative stigma associated with it and Makey Makey can help kids gain access to this content in a more engaging way. I would be very interested to watch different lessons on how to use Makey Makey in our classrooms, especially in a special education setting. However, even the use of this system in a general education setting would be very beneficial for me to learn about. Unfortunately, I do have my reservations about using Makey Makey because I am not the most tech savvy individual. I feel as though I would need a lot of training in this program in order to educate my students in an effective manner. I also wonder how we can incorporate certain math lessons, like fractions, into Makey Makey. The trial we did in class was very engaging and really gave me a feel of the potential this program has in the classroom. It challenged me to figure out how to create the device with collaboration among peers and I can see how this would benefit students. Being able to communicate and problem solve is a very important life skill that students need to understand and practice in everyday life. Overall, I am fully supportive of using Makey Makey in our schools and allowing students to learn using a more hands-on approach; if they build it they will learn it.  I also spoke to a teacher in the Brea school district and she had mentioned that she had never heard of it, so I am hoping that this system gains more access to schools very soon!