Using @MakeyMakey To Explore Circuits and Conductivity #MakerEd #SciChat

Students have had a fun past few days building their own controllers for games they coded on MakeCode Arcade. Makey Makey has been a wonderful tool in my Innovation and Design class as well as our Science classes. They can very helpful when it comes to teaching the concepts behind open and closed circuits and conductivity. Here is a link to some great lessons that Makey Makey have created to help introduce students and teachers to Makey Makey and how they work.

Here is how I approached the project with my students in case you want to replicate this in your class. 

Step 1: Recall what circuits are and what conductivity means if they have already studies it or introduce the concepts and ask students to guess what they mean.

Step 2: Introduce or reintroduce the concepts of circuits and conductivity to students. Here is a great lesson from Makey Makey I used with students. 

Step 3: Let students play with Makey Makey and let them figure out what is and is not conductive. Students are given brass brads, Play Dough, paperclips, alligator clips, and an arcade button. They access all the apps that Make Makey has to try and get the Makey Makey to work. 

Step 4: Students use pencil and paper to design the controller for the game they created in the previous lesson. If your students have not created a game, you can let them choose from the games found on MakeCode Arcade. 

Step 5: Students build their controller and test it on their games. 

Step 6: Students post their work to their digital portfolio. 

Here is an Instagram post that showcases some of the controllers that students made. 

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A post shared by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher)

One of the things I added to the project were my homemade alligator clip buttons. I took alligator clips, cut them in half, and soldered the wire to a button. Now the students can just clip the alligator end to the Makey Makey to make a button work. The Instagram post below will show you how I did it. 

 

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A post shared by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher)

What is great about this project is how the students have to work through the creation of circuits to make their controllers work. They explored different ways to make it possible to touch the ground and their other conductive items to complete the circuit. Other students figured out that buttons completed the circuit for them when they attached them to the Makey Makey and the ground. The goal of every project in my class is to get students to think about their design and the different ways it is possible to complete the task. Using a Makey Makey to create a controller is a wonderful way to reenforce important Science concepts while giving students a way to creatively demonstrate their understanding of circuits and conductivity. I encourage you to give it a try in your class.  

Exploring Hydroponics with @ForkFarms #SciChat #EdChat

The thought of growing my own food in the dead of Winter never seemed like much of a reality for me since I live in Michigan. Having a whole system that would allow students to do it and learn about sustainability, agriculture, and more seemed impossible. Fork Farms has made this all a possibility with the Fresh Farm system.  

Through a partnership with Demco and Fork Farms, our students are going to be able to explore hydroponics in many different ways in our K12 setting. We were able to set up the system last week and I shared some images on Instagram. 

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A post shared by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher)

The one thing I want to point out from the start is how easy it was to build. I enlisted the head of the high school robotics team and middle school robotic's mentor to help me build the Flex Farm and his vast engineering skills were not needed. There were only two screws that required a screwdriver. Everything else slid and snapped into place. The entire build took around 45 minutes. It took us a little bit longer because we were pausing on various steps to make sure it was as easy as it showed in the directions. It was!

The system comes with a full curriculum that walks teachers and students through the process of hydroponics from start to finish. The system comes with all of the chemicals, seeds, and other supplies needed to get the first batch of veggies going. They have a subscription service to help replenish your supplies or you can get your own. 

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to classroom application. One great example our MS Science teacher thought of had to do with the Space unit in 8th grade. She thought it would be cool for students to explore the need for hydroponics in deep space exploration. Asking students to think about what would need to be grown, how does growing your own food have a positive impact on a space mission, and more. We also have a Botany class in the high school that will take advantage of the system as well. There are many possibilities for using Flex Farms in the classroom. 

I am excited to see what we can do and I'm also very excited for all the fresh veggies we are going to grow for the school! If you have more questions, check out the video below and/or reach out to @ForkFarms on Twitter. 

Welcome to Science Class #SciChat

If you were ever looking for a different way to introduce Science ideas to students, look no further than +Tom McFadden and his YouTube channel. Here is an introductory video that you have to watch to appreciate the awesomeness that is Tom.

I met and had a chance to hang out with Tom while I was in San Francisco visiting YouTube a couple of months back and I was blown away by what Tom was doing. He was taking something he enjoyed and turning it into something amazing for his students. What I like most about these videos is that the students are involved in them and get to share in the process of creating and learning with others. These are the things students will remember years from now and might be the example that provides a spark to their curiosity in Science. 

Check out this video his students created discussing the people involved in the discovery of the Double Helix. 

There is something captivating about watching students share what they know with other students. This video works and it worth sharing with your students. Maybe it will encourage your students to attempt their own videos to explain Science topics to the class. 

We need more +Tom McFadden type teachers going out on a limb to do something different to engage students. If you have a minute, watch the videos, share them with Science teachers and leave Tom a comment. He is another example of an amazing teacher going beyond the bubble test to engage his students.

PS:

Here is Tom doing an impromptu Rap at YouTube

Chemistry Class and a @LivescribeK12 Sky Pen #EdChat #SciChat

Here is a post from Jessica Haggerty (@gpschemistry) who is a Chemistry teacher at Grosse Pointe South High School. I gave her a Sky Pen and was curious how it would work in her classroom. Here are her thoughts. 

I use the Livscribe Sky Pen almost daily in my chemistry classroom.  Especially during units heavy in problem solving, it is extraordinarily helpful for students who were absent for lessons or students who need extra reinforcement when working at home to have access to the lesson at home.  Before using the Sky Pen, handing a copy of the notes where I had solved a long problem to a student left them only confused searching for how I got from one step to another and where I took specific numbers from.  The learning that can take place where they can listen to an explanation and solve the problem without me being present is incredible. 

Personally, one of the greatest things about the Livescribe Sky Pen for me is that when I am unable to be in class for a day, I do not have to “miss” a day in my curriculum.  I can go through the lesson at home the night before and have the lesson ready for my substitute teacher the next day.  It allows me to stay up with my curriculum even if I have to miss days.  On the same note, it allows me to give the students more supplemental material and reviews that they can view on their own time. 

The students have become accustomed to having their lessons online and regularly use them.  Many have even come to me, seniors especially, about purchasing their own pen to take to college as a resource.  I highly recommend using the Livescribe Sky Pen to all educators, especially in the math and sciences.

Here are some examples that Jessica has created using her Sky Pen:

12HC12.7MolarityandStoich

brought to you by Livescribe

12HC10.10 IOnic bonding

brought to you by Livescribe

12HC10.1EConfig

brought to you by Livescribe

Jessica Haggerty is in her 4th year of teaching and teaches honors and regular Chemistry. She has a Chemistry degree and a masters in teaching and curriculum with a technology endorsement. You can follow her on Twitter at @gpschemistry

YouTube Spacelab #SciChat

YouTube Spacelab

YouTube has put together a contest for students 14-18 to create an experiment that could be performed in space. The two winning experiments will be performed on the International Space Station live streamed on YouTube.

I love this idea. Giving students a chance to create an experiment and have it performed in space and live around the world is a very cool idea. I'm glad to see YouTube begin to embrace the education side of their audience.

Their Education and Teacher Channels are also nice additions to the YouTube family and I strongly encourage educators to take a look at these channels and see if there is anything there they could use in their classes.

Here is a video from YouTube with more information.

I really think this would be a fun project to your classroom and suggest you give it a try or pass it to the Science teacher in your building/district to see if they want to do something great with their students.

- @TheNerdyTeacher

Ross Boss Projects: Pinball Wizard #AdobeEduAwards

This might be one of the coolest teacher made Science sites I have ever seen. I am not a Science teacher, so it takes something special to really pull me in for Science content and this is simply amazing.

Ross Cooper submitted this website he created using Adobe products to the Adobe Education Exchange. By using Flash Professional, Illustrator, Photoshop; Ross was able to create an interactive site for a STEM unit in which fourth grade students learn about electricity & magnetism and force & motion. As the students learn, they build pinball machines! Did you read that? The kids will be creating these digital pinball machines and learning about important Science content. If I had a chance to do this in school I might be a Science teacher. Well, that or a Pinball Machine Repairman. :-)

I had a chance to play around on this awesome interactive site and I loved every second of it. I see that this would be super engaging for boys and girls in 4th grade as they cover these topics in their Science class. Ross has done an amazing job using these Adobe tools to create a one of kind interactive website for students to use in class or at home. I truly had no idea that this type of project was possible using Adobe tools. I really need to dive into CS5 and see what I can do.

Ross has a chance to win some great prizes because he decided to share is awesome lesson with teachers on the Adobe Education Exchange. He is currently in first place in the Cross Curricular Category and would love it if you would vote for him if you like what he has created. You could also be in the running for great prizes. Join the Adobe Education Exchange and submit a lesson. Pass it around to your friends so they can join up and vote for your lesson. Check out my last post for more details.

- @TheNerdyTeacher

Adobe is a sponsor of The Nerdy Teacher