The #michED chat is a grassroots effort dedicated to giving teachers, students, and parents across Michigan a bigger voice in the conversation about education in our state. We welcome all voices through a variety of projects, media, and social networking. We’re trying to address educational issues through apolitical conversation, spreading ideas and stories of success from Michigan classrooms across the state, and helping teachers and students regain the courage to connect and demonstrate that schools in Michigan are creating amazing opportunities for learning. We want the face and voice of education in Michigan to be a mural of shared experiences and positive examples of connected learning.
MI Republicans are driving good teachers away & would-be student teachers are choosing different fields of work. Here's an idea: Let's invest in our schools & pass bills that value our teachers, like our "TeA+chers for Michigan" legislation. #MichEdhttps://t.co/5114c4GfkV
A1: Maker is the glorious recognition that woodworkers, plumbers, coders, seamstresses, glass blowers, engineers, etc. all belong under the same beautiful umbrella. #miched
A1) I think of a maker as someone who sees what they do as creating what didn't exist before. It goes beyond making physical things. It's a way of approaching one's work. #miched
A1 - "Maker" is a creative person who develops things where those things previously were not.
It relates to my students because they are made in the image of a Maker. And it is through making that students embrace the higher purposes of education. #MichED
Q1: An opportunity for creativeness, innovation, communication and collectiveness to glide. The chance to try, explore, fail, try, explore and succeed! #miched
A1: Being a maker means thinking outside of the box and expanding creative boundaries.
A1(a): As it relates to my students, it means helping them synthesize knowledge from across their learned subjects, and fostering creative application skills.
#miched#cmakers
#BREAKING We just won our case against Betsy DeVos for illegally delaying protections for students cheated by predatory for-profit schools. #BorrowerDefenseRule
A1: Making is creating something that has a purpose that hasn’t been created before. We need to encourage Ss to think of ways to solve problems by creating new solutions. #miched
A1 A maker is anyone who creates. It includes the baker and the mechanical engineer.
A1a Ss create everyday. We foster their creativity and inquiry with the opportunity to create with more mediums.
*sub-questions is cheating*
#cmakers#MichEd
A1: A maker is someone who is allowing student to healthily express their creativity in a safe space
A1(a): Recently graduating from KCTC and being a student who benefited from teachers who were makers, it has inspired my love to recreate that same environment for future students
Candace Jefferson, Media Specialist, Berkshire Middle school, BPS. I attended the MakerSummit and my first Maker Workshop of the school year will be the motionbots. My last project before summer break was jumbo chest pieces for my Makerspace.
A1) I encourage my students to see themselves as makers of original things--including non-material such as stories. I want them to be excited about seeing it through to completion. #miched
A1: Makers are those that think creatively to design and make things that are new and better. For students, it's about making with a purpose, problem solving, collaborating, and learning from mistakes. #miched
A2: I don't like prescribing tools when making. I lean on KEVA planks, 3D printers, MakeDo Scrus, and Bloxels as entry points to engage with the Ss. The Ss really guide the work with the purpose of making. #miched#cmakers
A2: What tool? Anything that can be repurposed! paper, straws, playdoh, legos, rubberbands, tape Don't need money to make, just open minds and creative juices #Miched#cmakers
A1: Makers are those that think creatively to design and make things that are new and better. For students, it's about making with a purpose, problem solving, collaborating, and learning from mistakes. #miched
A2: For many I find it is patients. And I mean on the adult side. 😁Sometimes letting things just happen is quite difficult when we typically are rushing to accomplish a given goal. #miched
A2) I sometimes like to stretch myself by trying new processes and basically proving no tool is essential. I'm always inspired by a blank piece of paper though. #miched
A2: Essential? Perhaps a willingness to think outside the box. Beyond that, paper and pencil are immensely helpful. Video games, cars, movies, and other awesome creations start as a sketch on the back of a napkin. #Miched
#miched A2 the best tool is the one that each Ss will use (as makers , we tend to love MANY tools, but a young student might only like/feel comfortable with 1, then we slowly help them w/ others)
A2 - Essential tools? Well, you have to have something that provides the medium for the creativity to become manifest.
Analog or digital. Either is fine.
And some worked examples are essential as well. #MichED
A2: I don't like prescribing tools when making. I lean on KEVA planks, 3D printers, MakeDo Scrus, and Bloxels as entry points to engage with the Ss. The Ss really guide the work with the purpose of making. #miched#cmakers
A2: I think every great idea starts with a good plan. Something to record that plan is key to success. While the original idea may not work (or end up serving the purpose they set out - thanks Velcro) right away, getting ideas out is necessary. #miched
A2 Once you create the conditions for the maker mindset, it's about using what you have. With that being said, you can never have enough duct tape. #miched
#miched making in English could be jazzing up their writing physically.... maybe finding a background to put their poem/story on top off, images that help relay the emotion of their writing (think poster or picture book)
A2: I think that sometimes discovering new uses for traditional tools can really change the game. I am also excited when they grab a Makey Makey or old iPhone and find a unique use for it. #miched
Velcro was invented using biomimicry of which planning is essential! Rapid prototyping, failing forward, etc. are all a piece of the game. #miched#cmakers
A3: My class is called iCreate. It’s a STEAM class rooted in making and thinking creatively. That said, I think our North Shore After Dark stop motion animations is one of my faves. Ss tell the story of school supplies after the last person leaves the building. #Miched
A3: Super excited about our upcoming annual cardboard challenge. Each building has 3-4 build evenings then we all come together to celebrate and explore the creations. It is such an amazing Maker event for our whole community. #Miched
A3 - My learners are teachers. And making is just as important for adult learners. It's just as fulfilling.
And never getting to do so is just as deflating. #MichED
A3: Gutter Car Derby, MakeDo Histoy, storyboard video games via Bloxels, 2d schematics w/Keva Blocks Brain Builders, the classic marshmellow tower build etc. etc. etc.
#miched#cmakers
A3: So much this past year! Coding sphero to paint in abstract expressionist style, using keva planks to learn cantilever architecture, and 3D printing! Including putting together a kit printer made of 3d printed parts!
#miched#cmakers
Also enjoy using City X Project curriculum to have Ss design and 3D print inventions for the citizens of City X. Great way to build empathy and creativity. #Miched
A3 - My learners are teachers. And making is just as important for adult learners. It's just as fulfilling.
And never getting to do so is just as deflating. #MichED
A4: Making is often rooted in empathy. Doctors, engineers, architects, welders ... so many makers find their inspiration and drive to make from their empathy for others. #Miched
Q4) We did a project in HS Creative Writing where students wrote stories for elementary special education students. I had the elementary students complete a survey asking about their interests and obstacles in life. I look forward to trying it again this year. #miched
Q3: LOVED designing 3d printed bubble wands with my first grade students on #Tinkercad. The kids were so excited for our bubble wand reveal day! I also love having my students create inventions in teams and make commercials on Flipgrid. #miched
A4: Ss feel awkward about making when they're new to it. They see another's work that's "better" & they don't want to share their project. We don't judge. We must share. We get better again and again. Repetition, positive constructive peer feedback, persistence. #miched#cmakers
Ss can develop empathy when they’re challenged to make for someone else. Teach them that the design process is rooted in Empathy (look, listen, learn). Teach them about young people who MAKE a difference. So many young makers as examples! #Miched
A4 - I think making produces a series of common spaces in which all students can relate. We've all built something that's fallen down. We've all ripped something accidentally. We've all been accidentally successful and had no one appreciate it but us. #MichED
A4: Working together to learn that everyone’s skills, knowledge and thoughts are of value. Taking time to work alongside each other as frustration arise. Building upon collaboration and the skills to communicate. All of these pieces are important for a successful build. #Miched
A4: On a very practical level, I pair the Extraordinaires Game with City X Project to drive home the point that the design process starts with empathy. Beyond curricular resources, it’s a mindset. It starts with valuing the contributions of Ss and seeing them as makers. #miched
A3: #miched using maker cardboard tool cutter along with GIS(geographical informations systems) my Geometry class recreated a scale model of downtown Miami @ClassroomMakers#cmakers
A5: Honestly all Maker activities of engagement can fit into each and every curricular area. The key is how you design or implement the build with your students. #Miched
A5: Honestly, I'm still working on this one. But it starts with an idea and a need. Can I design my own character to hold? What do I need to know to create said character? #miched#cmakers
A5: Integrating maker across the curriculum is a tricky proposition. However, I see the integration of the design cycle methodology to be an easier task as all subjects pose a challenge to students that can be solved using this model. #miched
A5: While the idea of the maker mentality fitting in with all curricular areas is appealing, I wonder if it doesn't beg the need for truly integrated teaching, not separate subjects. #michED
A5: While the idea of the maker mentality fitting in with all curricular areas is appealing, I wonder if it doesn't beg the need for truly integrated teaching, not separate subjects. #michED
A5 Making is cross-curricular. Once had 6th grade students make an invention to save or protect an endangered animal. Lots of research and lots of making! #miched
A4: #miched embracing students strengths in the arts to doodle and sketch on Algebra notes and assignments while working on tasks, this has proved to be great bridge building amongst my struggling students @ClassroomMakers#cmakers
Unfortunately, when you start messing with core curriculum, you sometimes invite other pressures into the conversation as well.
So, you need to be extremely strategic and mind your public relations well. #MichED#517EdTech
A5: Honestly all Maker activities of engagement can fit into each and every curricular area. The key is how you design or implement the build with your students. #Miched
A6: Ss who see themselves as makers and innovators warmly embrace mistakes like old friends. “Well, there’s one way it won’t work. Moving along ...” #michED
A5: With ESSA I'm trying to look past "cross-curricular" and see the education of the "whole child". Differentiation is no longer made. We all educate 21st century learners.
#miched#cmakers
A6: Watching my daughter change her mindset to now seeing things that are broken as things that can be fixed has been amazing. If she breaks something she quickly replies that she can design a fix for it! #miched
Q 6: After this year I notice K-3 students are coming to me with problems that they want to solve with their ideas. These students aren't waiting for an assignment, they are seeking out solutions to real world problems. They are meeting at recess & making plans. #miched
Q 6: After this year I notice K-3 students are coming to me with problems that they want to solve with their ideas. These students aren't waiting for an assignment, they are seeking out solutions to real world problems. They are meeting at recess & making plans. #miched
I like this approach. "Making" proper can be a tricky fit sometimes.
But STEAM thinking is easier to approach. Try... check... take feedback... revise. Try again... (That's the crucial part. If making has taught us anything, it's that RETAKES should be ubiquitous.) #MichED
A5: Integrating maker across the curriculum is a tricky proposition. However, I see the integration of the design cycle methodology to be an easier task as all subjects pose a challenge to students that can be solved using this model. #miched
A7: Not to say this is a gray area but it truly depends on the purpose, end product and learning that takes place that would determine if it meets both pedagogically. But I believe in many cases they do go hand and hand. #Miched
A7: STEAM and STEM offer the same opportunities for students only when opportunities to follow the design process are provided. There’s subtle but important distinctions between the inquiry model and design process. #michED
A7: It depends on the intention of the making and of the STEM. STEM can be making. Making can be STEM. The design process is a solid STEM concept. Making also encompasses the freedom of inquiry. STEM can mission creep into making if not thoughtfully considered. #miched#cmakers
