Your Summer of Making #MakerEd #EdChat

When school is out, there is nothing better than just sitting back and relaxing without having to worry about school or the classroom for 2 full months. Said no teacher ever. 

Summertime has always been a time for teachers to explore new areas of learning and see how they might impact their classroom, school, or district. I have taken the Summertime in years past to learn how to use Raspberry Pi, play with Arduino, and have fun with robotics. It has been a perfect time to explore areas that interest me without the pile of paperwork I receive as an English teacher. 

For educators out there looking to dive into Makerspaces, but have not had time to do so in the school year, than I would encourage you to check out my book. I know it is a biased suggestion, but the response I've received from teachers around the world has been amazing.

Educators have picked up my book to start their Makerspace journey and shared great stories. Schools and entire districts have used my book to help guide them as they bring Makerspaces to their educational environment. 

Here are just a few things people have said about my book:

I've never had so much fun reading a professional book, ever. Somehow each chapter is equal parts hilarious, gleeful, inspiring and practical. I would recommend to this every educator I know and even parents and students. This is a book you can come back to again and again to laugh learn and make each time in a new way. - Jennie Magiera, Educator and Author of Courageous Edventures

"Nick Provenzano has written an awesome guide to 'making', that not only makes it accessible to everyone, but is an awesome and fun read. His mix of personal anecdotes tied into powerful examples of how to get started and move forward, make this book an awesome addition to a collection for all educators, not just the ones looking to start a 'make space'. Awesome read!" - George Couros is the author of "The Innovator's Mindset", and a global Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Consultant.

"Interested in STEAM education and even starting a Makerspace in your community, then this book should be on your reading list! Whatever your subject specialism it will give you new perspective on your lessons and maybe even get you thinking a little more nerdy." - Carrie Anne Philbin - Director of Education at @Raspberry_Pi, Author, @thePSF & @CompAtSch board member, Founder @GeekGurlDiaries, Chair of @CASinclude, Google Certified Innovator

"Nicholas is a pioneer. His experience, enthusiasm, and good humor make this book a fun and indispensable resource for fostering meaningful making in your school." - Matt Richardson - Product Evangelist

If you have any questions about my book, Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces,  or anything Maker related, do not hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter or email. There are bulk discounts available for 20 or more copies, so please email if you would like to get a set for your school or district. 

Raspberry Pi Lunchbox Computer #MakerEd #Make52

I woke up Sunday and thought it would be cool to put a computer inside my lunchbox. I'm not sure the exact reason why I wanted to, but I wanted to. I'm sure I saw something on the Internet about doing this months ago and it worked its way through my subconscious and out of my brain on Sunday morning. 

So, I went downstairs to my basement and my Makerspace and got to work. I grabbed pieces from around my workshop area and realized I had everything I needed. Within a 90 minutes, I had a working Pi powered Lunchbox Computer. It is perfect for my #Make52 Challenge this year. Check out other posts I've made on Instagram for each week of #Make52.

Nerdy Guide:

Parts:

Lunchbox

Raspberry Pi 3

Raspberry Pi Monitor

Rechargeable Battery Pack

Wireless Keyboard

USB Extender

Small Speaker 

Tweezers

Prop

Rope

EXTRA:

Raspberry Pi Camera

Advanced:

Wires

Button

Soldering Iron

Solder

1.You need to find the right size lunchbox that can hold the screen you are going to use. The official Raspberry Pi touch screen is 7 inches. Your lunch box needs to be able to hold a screen that size. The Raspberry Pi is mounted to the back of the monitor and the Pi will be mounted to the inside of the lunchbox door. You need to make sure your screen and Pi connection are not too thick or you will not be able to close the lunchbox. 

2. Plug in the USB extender and mount on the back wall of the lunchbox. This gives you access to USB ports without having to reach into the back of the screen. You can use glue or double sided tape to mount the USB block.

3. Depending on the size of your portable battery, you can mount it just below the USB extender. Mine is long and then and was given to me at a conference. I mounted this with velcro so I can take it out for recharging as needed. Plug the Raspberry Pi directly into the battery and make sure your on button is accessible so you can turn on the Pi. 

4. The speaker is a small portable one I had around the house. It is short enough to give the screen the room it needs and it is charged using the battery. Plug it in to the Pi. I use velcro to keep it in place in the lunchbox. The velcro also allows me to take it out for charging as needed. 

5. The wireless keyboard using a small USB dongle that I plug into the USB extender. I use velcro on the keyboard. 

6. The rope is to keep the lid from falling backwards and the prop is something that can fold up and keep the lid from closing. It needs to be long and thing and have a hinge in the middle. I used Tinkercad to design one for the specific dimensions of my lunchbox. 

7. The tweezers are for loading and unloading the micro sd card. If you do not plan to change out the card, you are fine and can skip the tweezers. I like to swap out the card with a Gaming card to play retro games. 

After that, you now have a Pi powered lunchbox computer. 

Extra:

Before you attach the screen and Pi to the lunchbox, you can add a Raspberry Pi camera and mount it to the top of the screen. This will give you your own selfie station. 

Advanced:

The two wires that I added to the Pi are connected to small button. I ran some code that allows for the button to shutdown the entire system. I tucked it behind the handle of the Raspberry Pi preventing any accidental pushes while working. You need to solder the two wires to the button to the lunchbox, I used glue, and then run the wires along the bottom and then up to the top of the Pi and attach them to the GPIO and GRN pins on the Raspberry Pi. 

If you have any questions, please send me a tweet at @TheNerdyTeacher. If you create your own, please share them on Social and tag me so I can see your cool lunchbox too!

Hugs and High Fives, 

@TheNerdyTeacher

Finding A Teacher/Maker Balance #MakerEd #EdChat

Feeling pretty good today. Another moment to sit and think about stuff. I know, super specific right? I've been thinking about my Maker journey lately. I've been so busy with teaching, grading, and travel, I have not had time to dive into some Maker projects that have been sitting in my workspace for a few weeks. It can be a bit frustrating not working on things you are excited to Make, but that is part of the full-time teacher deal.

I'm still getting tons of great feedback from people all over the world who have purchased my book. It is very humbling to hear from someone from the UK that has loved my book and it has inspired them to create a space for their students. However, I feel like a bit of a fraud when I have not had much time to support more own making our the Makerspace because of papers to grade, projects to assess, etc. I get stressed when I do not have the time I want to commit to helping every student that wants help. I'm not sure if this is a normal feeling for others, but I also do not know how many other educators are full time HS teachers trying to balance an awesome learning environment in the classroom for 150 students and an environment for Making in a high school of over 1600.

I feel the obligation for the students that sit in my class, but I also built a Makerspace for students to connect and pursue things that matter to them. Have I failed because I can't do both at the level I feel is needed? Is this just a normal part of being a teacher that does as much as they can to support learning? It's frustrating.

Life is about balance and I'm committed to finding the balance that will allow me to support the Making culture in the school and the learning environment in my classroom. It's a lofty goal, but I feel like it is a worthy one because of the positive impact it can have on students.

Hugs and High Fives,

Nick

Exciting Giveaway with @Makerspaces_com & @HueHD

Giveaway! 

I've partnered with Makerspaces.com and Hue to kick off the New Year with a fun giveaway. If you are looking to get started with Making in 2017, my book and the Animation Studio from HUE is an excellent place to begin. There are going to be 4 winners and each winner will receive a signed copy of my book, "Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces" and an Animation Studio from HUE. Click below to enter the contest and share with your friends and colleagues. 

Giveaway Rules:

Contest will run from 1/1/17 to 1/31/17 at 11:59 pm ET.

Open to all residents US & INTL

There will be (4) winners chosen at random from the list of entries received.

The winners will be announced in the Makerspaces.com newsletter on 2/2/17

Nerdy 9000 with @Raspberry_Pi and @AmazonEcho #MakerEd #ImAMaker

This weekend, I thought it would be fun to attempt to turn my Raspberry Pi in to an Amazon Echo. A number of people have tweeted at me since this started to be shared around the Internet and I thought I would give it a go.

Here are the supplies you will need to get up and running:

Raspberry Pi 3 with the current Jessie build (Other Pis will work, but the built-in wifi is a huge time saver.
USB microphone
External speaker that can plug into the Pi
HD monitor, keyboard, and mouse to set up the Pi

After gathering the supplies, the next part was to work through the programming. Here is a link to the Github page that will walk you through the programming of the Raspberry Pi. The programming was simple as long as the directions are followed as they are written. One misspelled word or misplaced comma will cause errors. Take your time and you should have the code up and running in about an hour. I opted to run the voice recognition software so it would respond to "Alexa". It is possible to dive deeper into the code to have it respond to other programmed words, but I have not gotten there yet. Maybe during the Holiday Break.

Here is the first video after I got it up and running. No case or anything, just the program working as it should.

A video posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Nov 19, 2016 at 2:31pm PST

Once it was working, I knew that I wanted to do more than just have a Pi and a speaker sitting on my desk. I thought about HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It would be very cool to have something like that to connect the Alexa Pi. I jumped on Thingiverse to see if there was anything out there and I found a design from Makerperson that I could totally tweak as needed.

I shrunk the design a little bit to make it shorter and not as thick. I also edited the HAL out and replaced it with Nerdy instead. I knew I wanted to add an "eye" so I printed half a sphere to fit in the whole. I drilled out the back, wired up a red LED, connected the wires to the Pi, wrote a script to have the Pi turn on the light for Pin 26, and I was good to go.

Here is a the printed case, added "eye" and attached red LED.

A video posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Nov 20, 2016 at 12:48pm PST

I let it sit for a little bit and thought it needed something a little bit more. It would be awesome if the light faded in an out. I did not want it to blink, but do a slow fade in and out. This was a bit outside my skill set, so I need to do some searching of the Internet to find the write code to do what I want. I found some helpful instructions on Raspi.tv, that walked me through the process. I had to rewrite the code to make it work for just one LED, but that was nice practice. It was fun to learn about GPIO.PWM.

Here, I was able to make the LED slowly pulse or breathe as it awaits instruction.

A video posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Nov 20, 2016 at 3:50pm PST

This might seem like a project that is too complex to tackle, but it is doable. If you eliminate the 3D printer, you can still have the system set up and do exactly what you need it to do. You have unlimited possibilities when it comes to creating a housing for your new Amazon Echo. If you are looking for a fun project, check this out and see what you can do with your next Raspberry Pi.

Looking to learn more about Making and Makerspaces for you and your school, check out my book Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces for nerdy tips on getting started.

Why Does A Makerspace Die? #MakerEd #ImAMaker

Since my book came out, I've had the opportunity to talk to teachers from all over the world about Making and Makerspaces. I found myself saying something over and over again when asked about creating spaces in their schools or classrooms.

"Makerspaces will die if the culture of Making is not there."

Building a space in a classroom or library is awesome, but students need to understand what is possible in these spaces. Teachers need to know what they are capable of doing with access to a Makerspace. Administrators need to know what they can do with PD now that a Makerspace is available.

Making is a culture. It is an awesome inclusive culture. All are welcome to Make and try new and crazy things. This is a culture that needs to be supported in all levels of education. District admin need to support building admins that are looking to try new things and support student growth and student focused ideas. Building admins need to let their teachers know that it is ok to take risks in the classroom and to try new things that allow more student freedom and self expression in the classroom. Teachers need to create lessons that give students the opportunity for my choice and ownership in their learning. When all of these things happen, you will see a culture of Making take over the school and a Makerspace thrive.

Just putting in a space with fancy gadgets and labeling it a Makerspace is set up to fail. Teachers that are passionate about the space need to receive support from admins to keep the idea going. This will allow them to connect with other teachers and bring them into the fold. The more teachers that are planning on using the Makerspace, more students will interact with the space and seek it out on their own. Without support, Makerspaces die and money is wasted. Sometimes, it is important to just let teachers go and create amazing things and trust them to do a good job. Micromanaging never works. The same is true for teaches as well. The more that we try to micromanage student assignments or projects, the less invested they are in the final product and the sense of ownership vanishes.

Learning about Makerspaces is the first step in creating one,  but the long term goal needs to be creating the culture of Making in the school and trusting admins, teachers, and students to create the best space possible for all learners. 

Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces Available Today! #MakerEd

Today is the day! I just can't believe that my Makerspaces book is available for purchase on Amazon right now. It was a labor of love that I'm so happy to share with all of you. If you buy the book and you really liked, it would be awesome if you could write a review on Amazon to let others know what you thought. Also, feel free to share out the Amazon link with the tag #IAmAMaker.

Look at what these amazing educators had to say about "Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces"

I've never had so much fun reading a professional book, ever. Somehow each chapter is equal parts hilarious, gleeful, inspiring and practical. I would recommend to this every educator I know and even parents and students. This is a book you can come back to again and again to laugh learn and make each time in a new way. - Jennie Magiera - Jennie Magiera, Educator and Author of Courageous Edventures

Your Starter Guide To Makerspaces makes any Hufflepuff feel like they can tackle the maker movement with the brains of a Ravenclaw, confidence of a Gryffindor, and cleverness of a Syltherin. - Emily Gover - Spirit Animal, Edtech Nerd & Librarian

In Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces, Nicholas Provenzano creates a practical and personal look at how to get started with the maker mindset. Chock-full of nerdtastic pop-culture references, the book practices what it preaches and even invites the reader to make content and hack the book itself. While not taking itself too seriously, this book serves up some seriously useful content and new ideas on Makerspaces. - Adam Bellow Co-Founder Breakout EDU

"Interested in STEAM education and even starting a Makerspace in your community, then this book should be on your reading list! Whatever your subject specialism it will give you new perspective on your lessons and maybe even get you thinking a little more nerdy." - Carrie Anne Philbin - Director of Education at @Raspberry_Pi, Author, @thePSF & @CompAtSch board memeber, Founder @GeekGurlDiaries, Chari of @CASinclude, Google Certified Innovator.

“When teachers ask me how to get started creating a makerspace, this is the book that I will point them to. What I love is that through his humorous yet personal "nerd alerts" and the embedded reflective "maker thoughts" that help frame thinking at the end of each chapter, readers will not only feel a connection to Mr. Provenzano the teacher but also create a pathway towards authentic making in the best possible way...with their purpose in mind. “ - Rafranz Davis - Exec Dir of Prof & Digital Learning

"Nicholas is a pioneer. His experience, enthusiasm, and good humor make this book a fun and indispensable resource for fostering meaningful making in your school." - Matt Richardson - Product Evangelist

“The Nerdy Teacher has done with this book what all good makers and educators do in their classrooms and communities. He took a deep, wonderful topic and made it accessible to everyone by scaffolding the content to offer timely and relevant content to everyone, regardless of experience or prior knowledge. Oh, and the pop culture references and whimsical drawings are awesome, too!" - David Saunders - School Library Maker & DesignSaunders.com

“The best part about "Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces"... is it the awesome tips? The pop culture references? The stories? It's all of these things but what makes the book most special is how Nick's voice can be heard throughout it encouraging me to try new things, think big for students, and not to be afraid to step out of my comfort zone. This book is for anyone who's toying with the idea of Makerspaces and hasn't yet taken the plunge. Nick's positive demeanor and warmth shine through every word.” - Sherry Gick - Associate Director of Innovative Learning

Five-Star Technology Solutions

“Nick Provenzano writes the perfect book for anyone interested in Making but don't know where to start. Your Starter Guide to Maker Spaces lowers the barrier to entry and proves that we are all Makers.  The guide is more than a book, it's a companion that new Makers can turn to on their creative journey. We are entering a brave new world in education and Nick is one of the voices proving that more is possible.” - James Sanders - Co-Founder Breakout EDU

"Nick Provenzano has written an awesome guide to 'making', that not only makes it accessible to everyone, but is an awesome and fun read. His mix of personal anecdotes tied into powerful examples of how to get started and move forward, make this book an awesome addition to a collection for all educators, not just the ones looking to start a 'make space'. Awesome read!" - George Couros - George Couros is the author of "The Innovator's Mindset", and a global Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Consultant.

My New Book: Your Guide to Makerspaces #MakerEd

I am so very excited to announce my new book to the world today.

The Nerdy Teacher Presents: Your Guide to Makerspaces. 

I've spent a few months putting together everything I have learned during my Maker adventures and wanted to share all of it with anyone looking to start their own Makerspace escapades at their school.

I was originally going to self publish this on Kindle and see where it goes, but two amazing people, AJ Juliani and John Spencer, reached out to me and asked if I wanted to be the first author to sign up with their new publishing company BLEND Education. After talking about my vision of the book and how they could support me, I signed up and they have helped me make an awesome book a little more awesomer. :-)

We are currently working on the formatting, layout, design, etc. of the book and we should have it all done by the start of September. This will be a physical copy of the book I've been thinking about doing for a year and am excited to go through the process of bringing it to life. As a small appetizer, I'm releasing the first chapter of the book to those that might be interested to see where I'm going with this book. By signing up below, you will be sent an email with the PDF of Chapter 1. You will receive updates, Maker tips and tricks, and other Makerspace goodies leading up to the launch of the book.

I thought long and hard about how I wanted this book to look and feel. I thought about the fancy art that I could get people to make for me on the cover and in the book. However, I wanted to make every aspect I could in this Makerspace book. I might not be considered the best artist in the world, but I do not care. I knew what I wanted to do and and I did it. So, I created all of the art and I will be encouraging every Maker that picks up my book to mark it up and make it their own. I want you to draw on the cover and doodle in the margins. I will give you space to share your ideas and reflect on Making in your life. This is truly going to be your book as you go on your Makerspace journey.

The book is bursting with nerdy pop culture references from start to finish. You do not have to be the biggest nerd in the world to get my connection to Star Wars, Battletoads, McGyver, or Buffy Summers, but you will get an extra giggle or three out of the book when you see them. Since I do not have money to license images, my artistic interpretations of some of the references are simply beautiful.

Nerd or not, the book is filled with everything you need to know about Makerspaces and bringing them to your school no matter what grade level or content area you might teach.

Feel free to share this with your friends and look for the rest of the book in physical form in early September.