Thoughts on Makerspaces #MakingMatters

Since last year, I've been diving into the world of Making. It has been exciting and it has also been a large amount of extra work, but it matters. I just wanted to share a few stories as to why it matters so much.

Quick Background:

My librarian and I have worked together to create an open Makerspace for students to use in the library. It is available to students to use before school, during lunch, during study halls, and after school whenever the library is open. The idea is to give students access to tools on their own to see what they will create. It is meant to be student driven with some nudging from teachers to encourage students to explore different things. We have a 3D printer, Makey Makey kits, Chromebooks, and are stocking the space with more goodies based on student requests. To use the space, the students have to attend and orientation that covers the different tools available and the use of the space.

Story 1:

Solving Meaningful Problems

Here is a picture of a student using the dry erase wall to start her design process. She has an issue with her knee. Her kneecap does not stay in place. It moves around and can be very painful and tough. She is an athlete and has not found anything to help her with this issue. When she came to the Makerspace, she jumped into solving this issue for her. She was working on designs and is close to a prototype of this new brace. She says that there are many people that deal with this condition and she wants to help those people with her creation. She has spent her time working on this project and has said that the space has allowed her to think about this issue and explore possible solutions. She would not have been able to do this without a space that encouraged her to explore a solution to her problem.

Story 2:

Doing Good

This is a great picture of two students who have been spending their lunch time sitting in the Makerspace trying to do something good. They are trying to design a prosthetic hoof for horses. Off all of the things that I expected to see in the space, this never crossed my mind. That is what makes the space so amazing! Students are going to create and do things that we could never imagine and that is what learning is all about. They have spent time researching and diving into the world of assisted technology to see what they would need to do to create this device for horses. I can't wait to see their 3D designs and printed models. Their passion for this project exceeds anything else they are currently working on in school.

Story 3

Fitting in

I run the orientations for the Makerspace. I meet with the students in groups and go over the different things they need to know about using the space. On two different days, I worked 1:1 with two young ladies that were interested in the space. Both of them were very excited  about doing different things and even had ideas for projects. There were two comments that stood out to me when I was talking to them separately.

Girl 1: This is heaven for me. I finally have someplace to go and think about all of the things I want to do. Then, I can do them!

Girl 2: I finally feel like I fit in. I felt weird about liking this type of stuff (making stuff, technology, etch.), but not anymore.

It was tough holding back the tears and the want to give them a huge hug. Everything I had hoped for the Makerspace to do, was happening and these two young ladies put words to it. I wanted to create a space for students to come, tinker, create, and most of all, just be themselves. These students made me feel like I was winning education on those days.

Making Matters:

Making Matters because it gives students, all students, a space to explore the world that our rigid curriculum does not cover. It gives them a community of like-minded people to explore the world. It provides them access to tools they will not use in any other class. It shows them they are not alone in wanting to get their hands dirty and just make something.

We give our students a sandbox and toys to be creative and play when they are younger, but we take that all away as they age. For my high school students, the Makerspace is the new sandbox and I want them to come in, play, create, and most of all, get their hands dirty.

Please share your stories of why Making Matters in the comments section below.

Hugs and High Fives,

Nick

Tip of the Hat to the Great Educators at Grandville High School

I've been meaning to blog about this video for a few weeks, but life always seems to get in the way. Please watch the video below created by the students of Grandville High School in Michigan. Also, here is an article the Detroit Free Press had on the school and the video.

I can't stop watching this video. It brings a huge smile to my face to see kids doing something they love and will never forget. The school got behind a crazy idea and supported the students in their endeavor. How many times have we, as teachers or administrators, told students that they cannot do something because it is a bit out there. I consider myself a pretty open minded teacher, but there are still times I tell kids to scale it back. After a week of state mandated tests, Grandville High School thought it would be nice to let their students dance and have some fun. I showed the video to my students and their first reaction was, "Why don't we do something like that?" Other students instinctively replied, "The Principals would never let us do that!" I told them if they never ask, they will never know. It got me think though. Why do the students feel like that? Is that an environment created by the staff of a building or by the students themselves?

I want to give a huge high five to Grandville Administrators that supported their student body to make this crazy video happen. You have helped create a memory that these students will never forget. We forget that school is not just a place for book learning. School should be a social experience for everyone involved. Not just certain groups of students that will always participate in the few programs offered, but for all of the students. Making every student feel a part of the school is not an easy task, but shouldn't that be the goal for all schools? Thank you Grandville for reminding me what a school can look like when the leaders listen to the students and support their ideas.
 


- @TheNerdyTeacher

99 Polls

99Polls is a quick and easy way to get information. In under five minutes I was able to create and post a poll to my blog about Twitter and Teachers. You sign up for free and get started. Your homepage collects all of the data from your poll. This is great if you have polls set up on your blog, school homepage and any other locations. I love to get feedback from my students about lessons that I have taught, but I always feel they hold back because they do not want to offend me. It is really important to assess your own lessons, but feedback from the students is something teachers should not shy away from. The harshest criticism can help create the best lessons.

Try using this simple site to gauge the learning of a particular lesson one day. You might be interested is the response you get from your students. This is just another great and easy way to make the classroom a better place.

- @TheNerdyTeacher

Creating Art Without The Mess!

I learned about this site from @Ktenkely on her website iLearntechnology. It's an interacitve site that allows you to create Jackson Pollock style paintings without any of the mess. This is great fun on the Smartboard. By clicking the mouse you change to a random color and splashes of paint appear as you move the mouse across the screen. JacksonPollock.org is a wonderful site that art teachers can use that will save you a big cleanup in the future.

I let my students play with the site on the IWB and they loved it. They loved the randomness of the colors and how there was no "wrong" way to create the painting. I recommend using this in any class where you might have some time to allow your students to explore their creative side without needing a smock. :-)

- @TheNerdyTeacher

No More Tests Update II

I was having a discussion with some teachers about my 10 Weeks Without Tests earlier this week and was bothered by one of the comments. One teachers said, "It sounds like you have the kids doing you job." The comment was made near the end of lunch and I didn't have the time to fully refute that statement. I was compelled to make a few comments about the educational value of using the same dittos in the classroom since 1983, but I decided to take some time to develop some sound reasons for  trying this in class. For my fellow teacher and those who are wary of student created assessments, here are some answers to your questions.

"Isn't this just an excuse to make your job easier?"

As an English teacher, I know the definition of "easier" and it does not apply to to student created assessments (SCA). First, the placement of SCA in a class is a difficult process. I had to look at my different lessons and see where SCA would most benefit the students and fit the time allotted for each lesson. The organization of the SCA needs to be very detailed. You might have a student create a video, another might paint something and another might sculpt an interpretation. All of these assessments need to be organized in such a way that will allow you to grade them and allow students access to them for peer comments.

Teaching students how to create meaningful rubrics is also important and time consuming. As teachers we know how tough it can be to create a good rubric. Teaching students how to self-evaluate is an important concept for students to learn, but they will not pick it up in a 15 minute review in class. It will be a course long process were students will learn abut the important parts of an assessment and how they can reach the goals they set for themselves. By using SCA in class, I've actually added another item (rubrics) to teach to my kids.

Using SCA for a class will actually require more work upfront for the teacher, not less.

"How can you help a student who created their own assessment?"

I'm not an artistic person. I came to grips with this fact at an early phase. If you need a stick figure, I can help. If you need a straight stick figure, I am of no use. Helping students with assessments is not about assessment itself, it's about the information the student is trying to share through the assessment. I can talk to a student as they work on a computer graphics representation of the theme of a novel without telling him what colors to use or shapes to create. It's about listening and providing leading questions to allow the students to answer the questions they came up with in the first place. The discussion alone is more valuable than a MC test. If the student can verbalize their work to help me "see" their work, that is huge. A student needs to understand a concept very well to be able to explain it to another person. That alone shows knowledge. Again, I might not be able to help a student carve a representation of theme out of oak, but I can help the student understand the nature of the theme and listen as the student shows me their interpretation. It's shared learning.

"Don't all students need to learn to write essays?"

Yes, students need to learn how to write. As an English teacher, I still teaching writing and assign essays. Writing is a skill that students need to master to be prepared for later in life. SCA do not replace all assessments in the classroom. The replace those assessments that were created to make the teacher's life easier when it came time to see if a student memorized information or could pick one answer out of a field of four options. It's important to find the right place to put all lessons and assessments to make sure students get the most out of them. If I need to assess my students essay writing skills, I will have them write an essay. However, if I want to assess my students understanding of essay structure or format, what's wrong with letting a student create a song or poem explaining how to use proper MLA Citation in a research project?

"How is this going to help them prepare for the ACT/MME?"

(The MME is the Michigan Merit Exam. All students have to take it their Junior year in high school. It is currently paired with the ACT. So, all students in Michigan get one free shot at the ACT their Junior year.)

How does it directly prepare the students for that specific test? It doesn't prepare them directly.  Students have plenty of experience taking MC tests. The have been filling in ovals with No. 2 Pencils for years. I think that is why Kindergarten teacher stress coloring in the lines. It's preparing them for a life of test taking. However, if a student is sitting in the desk reading a passage and they have to decide what the theme or allusion is, they might be able to think back to the project they created regarding theme or the song another student preformed for class where he identified all of the allusions. Those connections will have a longer impact on a student than writing an essay about a specific theme.

For essays or MC tests, students have very little interaction with the work other students complete. I usually have a peer editing stage to essay writing, but that only exposes the students to one or two other papers. SCA has the chance for many students to view and experience the learning process of another students. Now, instead of covering the content in one way, they have seen it in multiple ways that can have a lasting impact on the them. In that way, it can prepare a student for a standardized test.

"How is a painting of a theme or song about motif going to help a student in college?"

I actually heard this statement. Information is not only retained through the memorization of facts. I ask you to watch this video and tell me this had no influence in your educational life. I still use it today and I'm a 30 year old High School English teacher.

I'm sure there will be more questions from other teachers as this experiment moves forward. Feel free to send me questions or post them below for everyone to debate. I don't claim to have all of the answers, but this has been something that has made people talk. As an educator, what more could I ask for?

"I Can't Find Any Information!"

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that from my students. Another one I love to hear is, "What do you mean I can't use Wikipedia as a source?" As an English Teacher, I have spent many long hours teaching students how to conduct proper searches on the internet.

Sometimes I just want my students to look at a few specific websites for a specific project. I have started using a great site I want to share with you great teachers. The site is called Diigo and it is a bookmarking site. By creating a free profile, you can add specific pages to your account and direct students or other teachers to look at them. That is not the only thing you can do with this great tool though.

Highlighting - You can highlight specific information before you bookmark the site. This can save people time when there is to much information to read through and all you want is a few lines.

Sticky Notes - You can places notes on the highlighted areas to remind you of their relevance. There have been too many times where I have bookmarked a site and I could not remember why I saved it a day or so later.

Groups - You can create specific groups and send pages you find to that group only. You can make the group a public group (anyone can join) or a private group (you select who can join). After some time, I will make the teacher's group a private group to keep nosy teenagers at bay.

Email - You can directly email any site yo find to yourself or other teachers. You can create an address book and send the site directly to students or to other teachers in your department.

Teacher Account - You can request to sign up for a Teacher Account from Diigo. This will allow you to sign up students to join your specific groups that you have created. I have a Teacher Account, but am not using it with my students yet. I'm just creating groups and keeping them open to the public. I put links to them on my website so they can view the groups without an account. It could come in handy if I want to email them sites to look at over the weekend.

Linking Accounts - Diigo allows you to link your blog and Twitter accounts to your Diigo account. This way, if you bookmark something, it can be posted to you blog and your Twitter. You can set up a your account to post all the bookmarks you have made to your blog. It can be set for a daily, twice daily or weekly. This is a great way to save you time. You can also link your iPhone to Diigo as well. Download the Diigo App and you will have access to anything that you have bookmarked. It migth be available for other phones, but you would have to check for that.

The best way to start bookmarking after you create your account is to download the toolbar. It will sit at the top of your browser and you just click the bookmark button when you want to share a website. There are many other great parts of Diigo that you can use. It's best to log on and play around a bit. Have fun!

-@TheNerdyTeacher

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

Beware Of The Soda Bottle and Other Cheating Techniques Used By Students

I wanted to share this video with all of the teachers out there. This is something I actually heard about a few years ago and made sure to never allow students to have any drinks on their desk during test time. Here are some other things to look out for as students take tests.

The iPod/MP3 Player - It seems like a nice thing to allow students to listen to music while they take a test, but it's not. I love to listen to music when I work , but they might not be listening to music at all. It is too easy for students to record their own voice and store it on their MP3. They could recite formulas or definitions. They might be saying certain important plot points over and over again. They can record anything and label it Justin Bieber and the teacher would not have a clue. No MP3's during test time.

Purses/Backpacks - The all go under the desk or in the front of the room. I caught a student going into their purse multiple times for breath mints. I was suspicious and asked if I could have one, but they would not share. After telling them I needed the tin, they confessed and I found a tiny cheat sheet inside the lid.

 All Notebooks and Textbooks - I caught a kid who wrote in red ink on the cover of their red notebook. I had to to a double take, but I busted her.

Cell Phones - Once texting and picture mail became huge, all cell phones were banned from my class. You cna keep them in your bag if you want, but if I see them, they are mine until the end of the day. This is really tough with iPhone because students can listen to music after a test, but not Iphone users. I have an iPhone and love it, but it's too easy to cheat with that amazing device. #Applebias

Misc. - The craziest thing I have ever caught was a cheating with a pen. This pen was a little different. Every time you clicked the top, a message from the Bible would change at the center of the pen. What a creative student did was replace the Bible messages with math formulas. It was very creative, but very wrong.

The biggest tool against cheaters in the classroom is your eyes. Students are a paranoid bunch. If you keep an eye on them, they are less likely to try something sneak in front of you. Then again, you always have those few that will try anyway...