Changes for 2017-2018 School Year

Changes for this school year include adjusting the student menu I used in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, continuing research or robotics in the classroom, applying for new opportunities, and implementing new ideas such as BreakoutEDU lessons.

The student menus I used last year were comprehensive and designed to cover a year's worth of instruction. Students were required to complete the main dishes and choose from the different side dishes. The main dishes were projects that we had typically completed whole class in previous years. My goal was to allow students to choose the order in which to complete projects as well as choosing areas of interest. However, for 3rd grade students, I ran into challenges of not enough direct instruction time for the different technologies. Also, not all students completed all the main dishes, which were projects I wanted all students to complete. It was also difficult for me to assist all students since there were so many projects going at one time. Students could ask classmates for assistance since they were all working on different projects.  This year, I will have the opportunity to offer more direct instruction and we will complete all projects whole class. The menus will offer students an opportunity to work on additional projects when they complete the main project the class is working on. This will allow all students to work mastery still and complete projects at their own pace. Additional days can be offered as time permits to fie students additional class time to work on menu projects.

Last year, we had a large team of teachers and students who participated in NASA MgUE. I would like to look for more opportunities to involve the students in real-world projects. One opportunity is the Astrosat competition http://astrosat.ardusat.com/. Students submit one minute videos about what they would hope to learn from a science experiment in space for a chance to be selected to participate in the awesome project. I also look for new grant opportunities that bring new and engaging experiences my students. We received a FabSLAM grant through the Idaho STEM Action Center that provides training to two staff members on the 3D printing competition and helps them facilitate at team of students to participate in the local and possibly national competition. Please comment if  you have other opportunities that would be appropriate for K-5 students.

Finally, I tried my first BreakoutEDU https://www.breakoutedu.com/ lesson this year with students in 1-5 grades. I had a different lesson for the students in 1-3 and a more challenging lesson for students in 4-5. All the classes loved the challenge and look forward to completing another BreakoutEDU lesson. My biggest challenge was when I had a lock that I reset and managed to foul it up. I improvised and all wen well until I could cut the lock off. At times it was challenging switching between the two different lessons since I only had one class setup for the lesson. However, with time I was able to minimize the amount of time it took and became very adept at switching the codes for the various locks, except the one that had to be cut off.

There are of course other changes that I implement as needed and opportunities arise. I will try to keep up my blog this school year so that I can share successes and challenges. I would love to hear what others are doing as well.

2017 Power Up! Summit

My colleague, Cindy Hally, was recognized as one of the Lights On After School Champion for her work as librarian and holding makerspace for students before school. She was invited to attend the Power Up! Summit and bring a guest. We attended together and were able to have many powerful takeaways to use with our students throughout the school day and for after school groups.

Loved how they honored Cindy

She really is a champion for students

Some of our favorite sessions included how to help students in groups to develop belonging and become comfortable with other students outside of their known friends. The getting-to-know-you activity helps establish common connections between the group members by the leader sharing information about themselves until someone finds a connection with themselves. Then they link arms and the newly joined person explains the connection and begins sharing about themselves. By the end of the activity, all individuals have joined in with something in common. Another activity was using a deck of cards and having students take a card without looking at it. Then, without talking, students had to form groups that made an odd number. Once all groups had matched up, it was time to discuss the different sizes of groups and how it was not easy to always find a group. 

Another great session was the early coding activities. The Nampa team had several unplugged activities that develop student understanding of programming from the basic to more advanced skills. In addition, the coding of cup stacking was engaging and helped students understand the use of flowcharts in programming without actually labeling it as such. Cup Stacking Code! This example is much more complex than the one we were using. The simplified version could be used as early as pre-K. https://csedweek.org/files/CSEDrobotics.pdf

It's amazing what you can learn when you are open to new ideas!

Resources from 2016 NSTA Regional Conference in Portland, OR

I had many takeaways from the 2016 NSTA Regional Conference in Portland, OR.  Below are a few highlights from the sessions I attended.  

Scalable Game Design: Reinventing computer science in public schools

https://sgd.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/Scalable_Game_Design_wiki 

Information for a summer institute is available on the site.  Educators can apply to be part of the institute in June 2017.

Globe

globe.gov

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment.  Announced by the U.S. Government on Earth Day in 1994, GLOBE launched its worldwide implementation in 1995.

NOAA in your backyard

http://www.noaa.gov/education/noaa-in-your-backyard

NOAA has hundreds of facilities and professional communicators across the nation. The site includes links to resources in various regions of the country that would be of interest to educators.

Free Google Earth Pro for PC and Mac

https://www.google.com/earth/download/gep/agree.html

Google Earth Pro is now free.

Features of Earth Pro:

Use advanced GIS data importing features to your advantage

Measure area, radius and circumference on the ground

Print high-resolution screenshots

Make compelling offline movies to share

Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program

http://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend eleven months working in Federal agencies or in U.S. Congressional offices, applying their extensive knowledge and classroom experiences to national education program and/or education policy efforts. At the end of the Fellowship, educators are prepared to return home, equipped with access to a national network of education leaders and programs, a better understanding of the challenges and possibilities in STEM education, and a renewed passion for teaching, ready to make significant contributions to their schools and school districts.