Q.1- Welcome to the #AoBEdChat. Please use the hashtag #AOBEdChat to participate tonight. Introduce yourself, your school and position. By the way, what is your favorite candy? Let’s get started!
A1- I hope everyone enjoyed their surprise snow day! This is Zulma Whiteford, STEM Coordinator and Tech teacher at St. Louis School in Clarksville. Favorite candy M & Ms! #AOBEdChat
Q2- crafting is using specific materials to make a certain item Making is producing something with a variety of materials to create something new #AOBEdChat
Q3 #AoBEdChat Making involves creativity, innovation and problem solving which are all 21st century skills our students need. Teachers who plan out their whole unit, backwards mapping, can come up with a variety of ways to incorporate making into their curriculum.
A3 I that is one of the challenges presented to our tchrs. They are many areas making can be implemented however, a "canned curriculum" is not authentic.
This is where the creativity of the tchr is vital. What is the problem trying to be solved?
#AoBEdChat
A3 - I try to provide opportunities for hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to experiment, design, create and invent usually in the form of a problem or question for them to solve. #AOBEdchat
A3- Really depends a lot on skills Ss have. Choosing appropriate projects is key. However, I can't really be spending time in the MakerSpace for a week at a time, teaching skills when I have curriculum to cover. I have ideas, but not time. #AoBEdChat
Our Middle School participates in a weekly STEM block where students design, code, build, and complete challenges. Our #makerspace is available for students to access materials and collaborate on projects whenever needed. @StAugustineElem#AoBEdChat
A3- we have a teaching assistant assigned to the maker space. She gets supplies ready for teachers who sign up to use the maker space with their classes. #AobEdchat
Teachers know the answers, implementing the maker space just allows students to find those answers in a creative hands on way. By doing so they apply what they are learning. #aobedchat
A3- Time is always a challenge! I believe that every space is a Makerspace and it is sometimes easier to do something right in the classroom rather than moving to a designated space. #AOBEdchat
Perseverance! Students learn to persevere through practice and opportunities created by teachers. It is great to see students struggling through designs but still persevering to see it through! #AOBEdChat
A3 Collaborative space for Ss to meet and talk. Recycling bins, Open work areas. I'd love to add some sewing machines and power tools. Glue guns are nice but if we want to Ss to iterate, tools come in handy! Just like @teachlikeyou! #AoBEdChat
A4- Yes! Perseverance is key and a critical part of the engineering design process. The best inventions are a result of failed first attempts. #AOBEdchat
Q5 If you have multiple stations make sure you have jobs for each station. Then put your roller skates on and keep moving, stay available to assist but not lead. 😁#aobedchat
A6 - Space can also be a challenge. Storage depends on the type of project. I try to use shelves but I have been known to have projects in progress all around my desk :) #AOBEdchat
A6 Check out @teachlikeyou space and ingenious use of storage. @LFlemingEDU has some really great ideas as well. Cheap wire shelving from amazon helps as well. Each class has their own shelving units #AoBEdChat
A6 #AobEdChat This is a tough one. Projects are in all shapes and sizes. Shelves are good but can't always handle odd shapes. Would love to hear success stories for this one.
A6 - I agree! We were designing snowplows out of index cards for our Ozobots and they were tough to store without compromising them. Used shoeboxes then placed them in shelves so the designs were not compromised. #AOBedchat
A4- Boxes! We keep every box that comes into the school now. We have seen them uses as reading box for one, dragons, motorized vehicles etc. #AobEdChat
A7 - Very important to expose the students to AR/VR technology! An easy way to start is using something like the Quiver Vision App for them to have the first experience. #AOBedchat
A7- MergeCubes are a rage. Particularly after going on sale at Walmart for $1. So was @cospaces_edu Just need more time to figure out what exactly to do with them that supports my curriculum #AoBEdChat
We have STEM Friday blocks. I observed grades 3-5 last week work on various portions of a STEM project. Students were in 3-5 teams, with a 5th grade lead student. Teachers had rooms organized by activity and students rotated within groups. Clever. Students loved it!#AobEdChat
Yes! Love it. I had fifth graders do Firetruck with 1st grade. Then had the Ss make ladders that reached top of desk and supported an action figure. Quiver was a great launch pad. #AoBEdChat
Google visited a couple of years @nancyreed123 ago when the tech was first being developed. They held some classes with our 5-8 graders and the Ss loved it. Cost was an issue at the time but I am not the PD was there for tchrs to implement effectively. #AoBEdChat
We had them stop by one time. They weren't the greatest. Showed a 360 view. Questions and prompt not very good.... It came across as Tech for Tech sake. Also a memory hog on phones. #AoBEdChat
I think it is important for teachers to be given the creative license to explore imagination and tap into creativity across the disciplines. From winter wonderlands to kindergartners coding, taking the time is essential for developing leaders for tomorrow.#AobEdChat
A7 - It is important to make the connection of why VR and or AR is useful in the real world. For example - The military uses VR for training purposes and scenarios. #AOBedchat
A9 - 7th Grade Science class took up the challenge of looking for solutions to this pollution problem in the oceans.The students worked in groups to research the answers to questions and design a solution out of cardboard? #AOBedchat
Thank you for joining our collaborative chat tonight. Continue to grow your PLN by following some participants from tonight’s chat! Be sure to join the next #AoBEdChat on February 11th at 7pm - All are welcome! Join us to discuss STEM.
