FabSLAM

FabSLAM is another great grant opportunity that was offered by the Idaho STEM Action Center. The STEM Action Center has done a fantastic job of providing educators with grants that provide training and materials. Recipients of the FabSLAM grant received two days of training, a 3D printer, and the ability to participate in a FabSLAM Showcase.

FabSLAM is a 3D design challenge. This year's theme is transportation. Students work over the course of eight weeks to identify a problem and rapid prototype a solution. Student teams create a web page that explains the design process, presentation, and a prototype that uses at least some 3D printing.

The school librarian and I teamed up to offer this opportunity to our students in 5th through 8th grades. We allowed students to create and submit teams they created. They could also let us know they were interested in participating and we would place them on a team. One of the biggest challenge we faced was when could we have meetings so any interested students could participate. If we have meetings before or after school, it limits who can participate due to parents being able to provide rides. Therefore, we established weekly lunch meetings that are optional and created a FabSLAM team on Microsoft Teams for students to be able to collaborate outside of school. I will share updates as time permits. Hopefully, our seven teams will enjoy and learn from the process.

FabSLAM Timeline

FabSLAM Guide

FabSLAM Rubric

Junior Botball

My colleague and I are in our second year of offering Junior Botball after school for students. Last year, we received a grant through the Idaho STEM Action Center that provided training and robots. We started working with students back in September. We have several 3rd grade students, one 5th grade, and two 6th grade. We have only four girls out of the 16 students participating.

This year, we had students stay for two hours after school on one day rather than doing two days a week for an hour after school.  It makes for long days for the teachers and students, but the students are able to complete more programming with less setup and cleanup time. 

We will wrap up the learning process on December 4 with a culminating challenge. Emmett Middle School will be joining us with their students who are participating in Junior Botball. We will have pizza and water for attendees and celebrate all the students' hard work.

In late January or early February, we will start up again with students that are ready to commit to making plans for GCER in the summer of 2018. We will work to further develop students' programming skills and begin fund raising to help with the cost of the trip.

I would recommend Junior Botball for any student. It is amazing what students can do while coding in C++. They really begin to understand the importance of spelling, formatting, critical thinking, and problem solving. It is so much fun to be a part of and watch the growth.