#Edtechchat focuses on Education Technology. Co-founder Tom Murray says #edtechchat "connects us professionally with inspiring educators from all over the world, all of who encourage us to be better every day for the children and families we serve.”
Excited to present “School culture that embraces the future of learning” in Shanghai, China this week. Def the riskiest presentation I’ve ever planned, but fortune favors the bold... #edtechchat#edtech#education#school#LetsGo
Alex - #CTO from #NJ - #makerdad who loves to experiment and play - hoping to christen the new home makerspace this weekend with a lot of new tools! #edtechchat
Yes, but I hate to be banned by a fellow educator. It means we can't find a middle ground - and I got blocked after trying to reach out both privately and publicly #edtechchat - and I was nice!
Love how in podcast episode 9, @ImposterTeacher & @RonGrosinger place value in craftsmanship and frame it right alongside what we typically think of when we think about engineering and other types of design. STEM is so much broader than how most perceive it. #shopbros#edtechchat
A1 - Originally, I found it used for people hacking tech + physical hardware together. Nowadays, it seems to mean anyone *making* anything (bake a pie? build a robot? make a statue?) #edtechchat
A1: A "Maker" is a creative problem solver. Whether that's a real problem or just the problem of I need something cool to look at, a "maker" is a thinker, a designer, a tool-chooser, and a collaborator. #edtechchat
A1 All of the things digital & physical. Drawing, writing, cutting, designing, coding, attaching. Hand tools, power tools, digital fabrication tools, etc. #edtechchat
jA1 With kids, we make with whatever we have available (usually recycled trash and whatever else we dig out of junk drawers) At home, saws, nailguns, zipties, duct tape, paint #edtechchat#ElonEd
In order to preserve the MAKER in #makerspace, it is important to craft a vision statement that embraces that, and the create a plan that supports that vision. Check out #makingGREATmakerspaces, for help and guidance on crafting a vision. #makered#edtechchat#worldsofmaking
I dunno Tim, I think Maine's favorite #makerspace tool is @3rsruths. Folks from other states, check it out! Hope you have someplace like Ruth's Reusable Resources in your area. #edtechchat
A1.5 My personal approach is to fine and a vision and make it reality. Going through the whole creative design as well as the building or implementation process. #EdTechChat
#edtechchat organized chaos in which children are allowed to be just that children and use their imaginations/creativity to design and create things that only exist in their minds at times.
A1.5 #makered emphasizes creativity and creation. It provides pathways to help students share understanding. It promotes creativity, communication, collaboration, problem solving, perseverance, and managing set backs. #edtechchat
A2a: file management, measurement, color theory, basic circuitry, technological iconography (i.e. do you know what the print/save/undo/refresh symbols look like), photography, G-Suite Basics, cutting, gluing, sewing, gluegunning, etc. #edtechchat
A1.5 I would explain it as learning about math, science, problem solving, understanding the world and inventions by taking apart or building from a want to know more about the world around us - using any and all materials available #edtechchat
A1.5: How do you teach someone to to make breakfast? I mean all the steps. That's what maker education is, not just one element or piece like toast, or eggs or bacon. #edtechchat
A1.5 - Maker education is built around the idea that instead of starting with a skill to learn and fitting it to a project, you start with a project and learn skills based on a just-in-time method. #edtechchat
A1a: I don’t want to commit heresey, but I think collaboration in a true sense is overrated. I think being able to utilize people is way more important. Collaboration makes kids feel like they’re “locked into a team.” Just a thought. #edtechchat
A1.5 Maker ed=allowing kids the time and space to create, to become problem solvers, innovators, all in a place where failure is rewarded with greater knowledge #ElonEd#edtechchat
A1.5 - Maker Education is about providing an environment that supports creativity & making things, whether it's a project connected with something students learned or just for fun. #edtechchat
Makerspaces seem to be overrun by 'challenges' these days. Learn in #makingGREATmakerspaces about the anatomy of a GREAT #makerspace challenge and how to craft challenges that preserves the integrity of what it means to be a maker! #worldsofmaking#edtechchat
Like everything, collaboration is best in moderation and has its time and place. :) At the end of the day, many projects would never get done if there's never a leader. "A camel is a horse made by committee" #edtechchat
#edtechchat A1.5 the word is a steam maker lab, so schools should be so : cross curricular, integrated creation studios... and if we let them Students will make the world better
A1.5 - To me, #makered is also about supporting the DIY spirit in our students, encouraging them to question things, to try, to make things, to be proud of what they create. #edtechchat
Q2: I feel like they are great for needing a quick solution & everything you need is there but takes away the exploration opportunity of having Ss figure what they need to be a #maker#edtechchat
So much of education/#edtech could fall in the "passing trend." I think the real difference is "is there only one activity you can figure out how to do?" If so (make robot go through maze), then yes, passing trend. If not... sky's the limit #edtechchat
A2: Pre-packaged maker kits are great for learning how certain parts work, but there has to be open play once the kit is finished otherwise it really isn't #maker#edtechchat
A2 There is value in pre packaged kits as a spring board into greater creative endeavors (and to boost confidence and teamwork) but as a stand alone there is little that can be learned with a paint by numbers kit. #edtechchat
The parts are usually made in many kits I have used. Sometimes I take them out and have the kids figure it out. Other times I use the provided parts for ease. Other things the Ss do is program the model and it gets 3D printed. #edtechchat
Making is not a competition or a "challenge" ... it is simply making something that has a purpose ... something meaningful to the individual if not than it is just a recipe to follow #edtechchat
I have educators tell me all of the time that they want to integrate design thinking into their makerspace, but they are unable to articulate why or even what it is. It is important we make informed choices that are meaningful to our school communities. #edtechchat
A2: Kits can limit the creativity of the Ss. If a teacher lets the Ss go beyond the basics then it has potential. Love @peterhreynolds ' book #GoingPlaces#edtechchat
A2 One thing we know from research on physics labs, is that being overly prescriptive robs the students of many opportunities to learn. It can be useful early as a scaffold, but should be trimmed back quickly. #EdTechChat
But I start with identifying what an egg is and how it can be cooked - then you can experiment. I don't just show you one way. And I show you all the different cooking methods. Now we have a framework for experimentation. Not just a set of instructions #edtechchat
A2 Pre-packaged kits take away the opportunity to invent and problem solve. All the parts are there with specific instructions. They might be good when a focus is learning to use a new tool. #ElonEd#edtechchat
I mean, I get it. But I had this kid with a vision last year. It was HIS vision. We learned who to contact for advice or testing at certain points of his project. The “collaboration” was just tapping resources in and out of the classroom. Ended up with an investor. #edtechchat
A2 - Back to choosing project to learn skill instead of being driven by imagination/creativity. Also - boring when everyone does the same thing. Also packages usually mean skipping some steps as they're done for you. #edtechchat
A2: Pre-packaged kits could be the starting point to learn a new skill, but they should never be the end. Teachers & students should take the skills they learned & apply them to original, creative projects. #edtechchat
Id also incorporate into teaching the industrial revolution/inventions in a social studies unit - how can you take what we have & improve upon it or what can you make to make our lives better #edtechchat
#edtechchat I think you will still come up with some cool things but maybe stifled by making things they see on the packaging instead of their imagiations
#edtechchat if you make the manual/model disappear they still have to problem solve. The point of being a maker is to be able to create which prepackaged kits dont always allow for
That's called a leader with a vision. His collaboration was with everyone who helped him along the way. What you found was a passionate leader as a result of the proejct #edtechchat
A3 The desire for ‘curriculum’ for MakerEd kits makes me wonder if folks are getting comfy w/ a set of canned lessons that they will just repeat each year. #EdTechChat
When I was in HS ... my electrical class was all about making real circuits ... conveyer belts ... our kids rarely experience anything like that ... all about prepackaged kits #edtechchat
Here's another beautiful picture book to support the process of making. A little girl makes a new thing out of a broken branch from her favorite tree. #edtechchat
A2: My concern with pre-packaged kits is that some teachers will buy them just to check the box that they have a makerspace. This isn't everyone who buys a kit, but it still disturbs me. #edtechchat
I'm continually amazed how much worksheets have taken over many classes/schools. I don't think my niece/nephew did anything that *wasn't* a worksheet or prepackaged lesson for at least K-2. :( #edtechchat
A2: #edtechchat I have never used a pre-fab kit, but I do like the idea of making "kits" when you don't have the room to support a full-on makerspace in your school. Teachers can check the kits out of the library to use in their classrooms for makery projects.
I don’t know if I’d call what he was a leader, but it was like watching a sidewalk artist MAKE something happen. Tough to explain on Twitter. It was inspiring. #edtechchat
A2 - Giving workshops to grade 6/9 girls on CS, it was very clear that their excitement never came from following the prescribed lesson, but from the moment they were allowed to tinker/create/make it their own. #edtechchat
Q2.5- My students favorite materials by far were cardboard & recycled objects such as paper towel rolls & bottle caps. After that, K'nex & LEGOs. All of these allow for so many possibilities for creations. #edtechchat
or even recreating an invention to understand how it works ... why dopes the telegraph work ... how many kids can understand this simple piece of technology? #edtechchat ... archimedes screw?
A2.5 My students favorite materials by far were cardboard & recycled objects such as paper towel rolls & bottle caps. After that, K'nex & LEGOs. All of these allow for so many possibilities for creations. #edtechchat#edtechchat
Q2.5 Have you ever watched a kid disassemble and reassemble a pen in the middle of a lecture? Students will build with whatever materials they have in hand, because they don't know not to. #ElonEd#edtechchat
A2.5 Old tech that is sitting around the house (anyone need an old pc monitor?) that they can take apart or give new life to through products like @Raspberry_Pi#edtechchat
A2: It depends on the kits themselves, but for the most part...good starting place for some teachers but not a "total solution" for your classroom Makerspace #edtechchat
I struggled with this in art school. If the professor shows their own work, does that create bias? It entertains me that Ts many times want examples but want kids to figure it out themselves. #EdTechChat
I am frustrated by the influx of Apps/Software that want to replace actual circuit making ... look I can make a circuit on the iPad ... ummm you know that is not real ... #edtechchat
For physics fun, we built a Van der Graaf generator (indoor lightning) and a mass driver (aka rail gun). I don't think they will let us build those today :( #EdTechChat
It’s been fun chatting with you, but unfortunately I need to check out early to start the day! If you have a spare moment, please follow and share @learninate - the (brand new) social network for learning. #edtechchat#learnlap
I bring in my own power tools ... 16 years in and I have brought power tools into my class every year. I cannot count the number kids whose 1st experience with tools was in my Social Studies class. #edtechchat
A2.5 I like useing paper folding to create. @foldify is a great app for that. Paper folding demonstrates what happens when a force is applied to a material #edtechchat
I feel that a broad spectrum of exemplars is a way to promote the choice/multiple pathways that Ss have. It also provides a bit of scaffolding for the Ss that need it. #edtechchat
In reply to
@nathan_stevens, @TheTechRabbi, @jedipadmaster
I remember years ago when we built a monstrous Trebuchet ... after watching the steel bar bend into a "U" one of the kids said ... "I think this could kill someone" ... Me ... Maybe ... Him ... cool ... can we throw more melons #edtechchat
My 7 attributes for a GREAT #makerspace serve as a framework to ensure Ts r harnessing the true power of what makerspaces should mean for our makers! We create exponentially powerful learning environments when these attributes are integrated. #makingGREATmakerspaces#edtechchat
A bag of Makedos found their way into the classroom this year and it was an instant success. The props for the end-of-year play were something to behold. #edtechchat
A4: I think we are too caught up in justifying a space with lots of tools and gadgets and not enough on the experimentation that needs to take place. There is a need to quantify the process as well as the result. Sometimes the result is the justification #edtechchat
I feel that a broad spectrum of exemplars is a way to promote the choice/multiple pathways that Ss have. It also provides a bit of scaffolding for the Ss that need it. #edtechchat
In reply to
@nathan_stevens, @TheTechRabbi, @jedipadmaster
A4 I don't know WTF you are talking about if you are using acronyms ... and if you start spouting them off I will stop listening to you. I have been making before it was making ... in the back shed making my 1st cart using bike tires at 10 ... #edtechchat
A4 - Acronyms can be overused & lose their meaning. On the other hand, it students already have a strong affiliation with an acronym or create it themselves, it can have power. #edtechchat
A4 #makered is learning plan and simple. It is the whole brain. If you say it is stem or steam or stream it creates bias in the learning process #edtechchat
A4 Acronyms and buzzwords often are used as a power play by 'superiors', like the fashion industry, and compromise good teachers ability to grow organically and remain native to their style, so, yes, acronyms, or more so the egos that abuse them, are bad for students. #edtechchat
When I taught 7th grade we built one with a 250 pound counter weight ... the throw arm was 15 feet ... took 20 kids to move it ... it was freakin awesome! #edtechchat
A4 - If you are digging deep w/ teaching & learning then NO for example #STEM#STEAM#STREAM are technically the same ... districts/schools/etc are just wanting to emphasize a particular element. Art has been incorporated in my #STEM projects for over 15 years:) #EdTechChat
A4: The acronyms really drive me crazy because STEM was a specific program to put money into getting more women in those fields, and because there was money everyone felt left out so we started adding letters so everyone could get a piece of the pie #sad#edtechchat
But, if your school already has a STEM framework (like mine did) the acronym can help you to get more funding and you can push your makerspace beyond STEM. It can create bias if you let it, but it doesn't have to.
A3: Prototyping requires the ability to fail in class without consequences for grading. If the prototype doesn't fail at some point you aren't prototyping, you are just following instructions. Very few classrooms support that level of experimentation. #edtechchat
A3 this question drives home that we need to allow students time to create multiple iterations of a design. Allow them to refine their ideas through a process #EdTechChat
A3 - We used design challenges & the engineering design process a lot in my #makerspace - students brainstormed ideas, built prototypes & pitched them to the group/guests #edtechchat - Design challenges & prototypes go hand-in-hand.
A3 Time and an environment that promotes constructive & purposeful feedback. The iterative cycle proves powerful when Ss seek out information from others, receive authentic feedback on model, and have the time to put that feedback to use. #edtechchat
You need to give them instructions to operate a device or piece of software. Then you step aside while they answer the problems that are the learning. #edtechchat
A3 CAD software is great for prototypes. Check out OnShape for a free, industry level CAD software. @Onshape is the only reason I have much for a CAD lab, even as a CAD teacher lol #edtechchat
Q3 While making, kids should be journaling, drawing, recording thoughts which help develop ideas, but can also assist in recreating. Also, taking apart and reassembling their own work can help with prototyping #ElonEd#edtechchat
A process that begins with human-centered conversations and meaning making and iterations cycle back through peers/community. Love the cycle! #edtechchat#makered#dtk12chat
A3 - Make the grading portion of the project focus not on what's being made. Eg - grade a journal documenting the process. This allows for failure in the making to not be seen as failure in the grading portion. #edtechchat
For me, it depends on the attitude and reasoning. They are all powerful manifestations of human creativity and intelligence. So there is a natural synergy. For example, I deal with typography, color and layout choices daily. If this artistic design, or engineering? #EdTechChat
The issue I have with the "Maker" movement is that after listening to people talk I question if they have ever really made anything themselves. Like really make something that did not come prepackaged with directions. #edtechchat
I stopped using failure as a descriptor of the process. I use choice. Choices are made which lead to new opportunities that lead to new choices #EdTechChat
Ah Pinterest Fails are always good for a laugh and a reminder that following instructions doesn't always lead to success. :) I think I need an EpicFail board in my office. #edtechchat
What provokes a strong negative reaction from me are the folks who say you need the arts to "bring in" creativity. Sorry, they have missed the boat completely. #EdTechChat
A3 Idea -> Sketch ->mock-up -> prototype -> prototype -> prototype-> working thing
Thinking about how to coach students further down the path. Too often we stop at the mock-up stage as the end result of a project. #EdTechChat
Many people haven't, but we need to get back to that. One of my favorite movies is October Sky, mostly for what the "rocket boys" have to do to follow their dream. #edtechchat
A5: The idea of maker spaces is new to me, although I think many of us are allowing maker time. Using my PLN has been incredibly helpful! #ElonEd#edtechchat
You have already been doing Maker. You are transferring decisions you would make as a teacher to the students. Letting them drive and own their learning #edtechchat
The acronyms drive me nuts more because they show how much an afterthought all of this is (whether it's the science or the arts). If you're thinking about projects as not single skill specific, you don't need an acronym to remind you that other areas are important. #edtechchat
In reply to
@AlexVKluge, @DennisDill, @nathan_stevens
That is what I want to capture as I move into the Fabrication Lab this year ... have a vision and work to make it happen ... even if it takes you all year. #edtechchat
Oh, I loved the A.I. Gang books - kids (male *and* female) working to outsmart their parents and make an AI "I think therefore I am" alive talking head. And it's not a series of successes. #edtechchathttps://t.co/ruDX8eiF04
