USPTO National Summer Teacher Institute

A colleague and I made a trip to Denver, CO in July to take part in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 2017 National Summer Teacher Institute (https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/outreach-and-education/national-summer-teacher-institute). We applied in spring to attend and the Idaho STEM Action Center helped us get there by offering grants for travel related expenses.

Our first evening there we met the cohort and USPTO staff. The staff member at our table told us that it was more like a boot camp than an institute. We all laughed while she looked on. We learned the next day, it wasn't a joke.

Day 1- 2017 NSTI

Our schedule, including working on the group project, consisted of 12 hour days, if not longer. However, the experience was well worth the hours invested. We learned throughout the day about patents, trademarks, copyrights, inventing, tinkering, and more. 

Tinkering Station

Steve Davee was an amazing speaker and discussed tinkering and makerspace.

He also has two books that are available in free downloads.

NBC Learn educational resources

In the evenings, groups worked on the Teacher Innovator Challenge. Deciding on an invention was the hardest part of the challenge. However, the process of going through the invention process helped developed strong connections between the learning throughout the day. In addition, it provided insight to how students may feel working on similar projects.

Enjoying the beautiful DU campus on the way back from lunch

Dr. Richard Charles from Cherry Creek School District in Denver shared about the innovation taking place in their district and discussed the use of makerspace.

Day 2-2017 NSTI

On the second day of the institute we dove into patents and patent searches. We heard from Nokero's CEO Steve Katsaros from Rome. It is amazing how helping people is a strong motivation for inventions. Eric Payne from NREL also spoke in the evening and shared his passion for inventing and how it relates to the projects at NREL.

Day 3-NSTI

Trademarks were the emphasis for the third day. The USPTO has numerous resources available on their website for inventors and educators https://www.uspto.gov/.

So many resources were shared throughout the week

Warner Brothers

Day 4-NSTI

Day four brought more amazing information on copyrights, inspirational talks from Doug Scott, educator, and Jacqueline Ros, founder and CEO of Revolar. In the evening, we presented all our hard work on the group projects to a panel of professionals involved in inventing, patents, etc.

Art

Creativity was emphasized throughout the institute with opportunities to practice activities we could share with our students.

Music

Games

On the fifth day, we toured NREL, which is an amazing facility, and made our way to the airport after lunch. Many of us had difficulty making it out due to a summer storm over the Denver Airport. However, I used some of that time in the airport to reflect on the institute while it was fresh and develop my opportunities for implementation into my elementary engineering classroom. Travel issues aside, it was an amazing week full of professional growth.

Implementation Plans

Exciting New Year!

The new year brings the continuation and the beginning of several exciting opportunities.  Many of them I have posted about previously, but there a couple of new items.  You may wonder why or how I end up involved in all of these different projects.  The reason is summed up best by a couple of short stories.  I was very excited after our team was accepted into the NASA Microgravity University for Educators.  I was talking with a colleague and stating my surprise at being selected.  She said "You always get it."  My response was quick and accurate, "No, I don't.  But I always apply."  There are so many fantastic opportunities out there for you and your students.  If you start looking for them, you might discover the same thing I did.  It becomes difficult to not apply.

Our team has received more information about our work with NASA's Microgravity University for Educators.  The next three months will fly by as the students prepare the SLED for deployment at the Johnson Space Center in Houston with the assistance of mentors from NASA.

Junior Botball after school groups will be starting up next week.  This will be our first big run through using them.  When we went to the training on the Botballs, we used mini iPads for the programming. The screen size was fine, but it was difficult to type in the code.  We have purchased some bluetooth keyboards that should make it easier for the students.  I will share more with you once we get up and running next week, weather permitting of course.

Next week also brings the start of Idaho TECH Challenge.  This is a STEM competition sponsored by the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium (ISGC). Students in 4th through 6th grades work together as teams to design and construct Mars Rover models out of Lego® and non-Lego components. The teams test their models at an Idaho TECH Engineering Design Competition (EDC), held in Pocatello or Moscow, Idaho.  This is our third year participating.

Our school's makerspace team will be sharing the activities we use during the STEM Matters event at the state capitol on January 24.  We have some student volunteers that will be sharing information and demonstrating for those in attendance.

During winter break, our school received notification that we had been awarded the Wonder Media grant.  This grant covers the cost of equipment, software, and training necessary to engage students with creative writing.  The fourth grade team will be using it with their students, and I will be technical support.

I have also been making travel plans for attending the 2017 NCCE Conference in Portland.  The conference will be held in March.  During registration, I had difficulty choosing my sessions because there are so many amazing options available.  I will be teaching a 3D printing workshop on Wednesday morning of the conference. It will walk participants through the free City X Project curriculum and teach about printing and troubleshooting.  If all goes as planned, participants will be able to take home a clay model and their finished 3D print.

Finally, in May, my two oldest children will be graduating with their undergraduate degrees.  I'm so excited for them to continue their journey and so happy I get to share that moment with them.

Barnes and Noble Maker Faire

The second annual Barnes and Noble Maker Faire in Boise was definitely bigger and better than last year.  I attended last year to do some research on what tools might be useful in my classroom.  While there were some new ideas to be had, there were not many new tools or technology to learn about.  This year, Barnes and Noble had increased the number of programs demonstrating and sharing their maker ideas.  Our school was one of them.  We simply shared some of the activities that students at our school participate in each Wednesday morning during our makerspace.  Our makerspace philosophy is to provide the opportunities and materials and let the students take it from there.

Cups for creating structures, straw builders, and the wind tunnel

Cubit racer robot

Hot Wheels, Ozobots, dominoes, and Keva planks