Learning at #ECET2

I've been hanging out at #ECET2 for a a day now and it has been a wonderful experience. I've had a chance to connect with old friends and make new friends and share great stories. #ECET2 is a wonderful idea to bring teachers together to celebrate the work they are doing and promote teacher leadership. 

This has been a very positive environment for all teachers and it has been great to see teachers feel so empowered and embraced. You can tell that this is very out of the ordinary for them. It's sad to think that these teachers, most teachers probably, do not feel appreciated on a regular basis. I'm very lucky to have been given a opportunity to attend this event by the people who invited and my building principal that allowed me to come. I would encourage teachers to find a local ECET conference near them or reach out and try to organize your own in your state. It has been a wonderful experience so for and I cannot wait to see what else I will learn over the next 24 hours.

Hugs and hug fives,

Nick

Innovating with TED-Ed #EdChat #TEDEdChat

This past year, I've been very lucky to be part of an wonderful group of educators put together by TED-Ed. The TED-Ed Innovative Educator cohort has been an amazing experience for me. I haven't written much about it, but I wanted to change that today.

As part of the cohort, we needed to come up with an innovative project. This could involve students, staff, or both. I was really stressed over this. I always just come up with ideas and see how they go. Creating something that is supposed to be innovative from the start was just something foreign to me. I was not sure where to go with the project, but I knew who to turn to.

My cohort and the leaders from TED-Ed making this group happen this year have been amazing. They have been supported of me through my stress of choosing a project and trying to get it going. They have also been an amazing support group for when school and life get crazy and I needed a place to share. As a group, I feel like we have really come together and helped each other when we needed it. I've met some awesome people and have made some great connections. We are spread out all over the world, but our love of teaching knows no borders.

When I finally needed to come up with something, I decided to give my students the chance to be innovative in my innovative project. I was taking over a new class that needed some tweaking. The one tweak I brought to the table was to give my students one day of the week to work on an innovative solution to a problem. The first quarter focused on solving a problem they encountered in their daily life and the second quarter revolved around a problem in the community or the world. It was a but like 20 Time and Shark Tank combined.

I had students design their own earbud wraps so they would not get tangled in their pockets. I had a student create a knee brace for a specific condition she was dealing with in sports. I had another student spend their time trying to design a submersible that would clean the ocean and run on the garbage it collected. Two students worked on an app that would connect people who wanted to adopt dogs to shelters in their area. The list goes on from there. These students were highly engaged in their work and really loved what they were doing. One project is even going to be piloted in our district after the student presented their bathroom pass scanning creation that runs on Raspberry Pi! It was great to see students working on things that they created on their own. Their excitement has led me to get my hands dirty with different tools as well. It has been a great experience for teachers and students.

Now that the semester is over, I can reflect on the the project and I can see all of the places I would change the implementation. To some, this might cause extreme amounts of anxiety. It will probably cause me some, but I know that my TIEs will be there by my side to help me in any way they can.

Interested in applying to be an Innovative Educator? There is some time left! Sign up closes January 29th. Fill out the application here.

Failure Fun #MakerEd #EdChat

I've been on a making binge lately. My wife called it my new obsession. She's right. I'm obsessed with taking ideas and using the tools available to make it happen. I've been playing with Raspberry Pi and I have written about playing with it and using for gaming and computing. I ordered a small 7 inch screen for my Pi because I wanted to create a portable device. Here is the screen with the Pi and the controller connected.

I've got a screen, now I just have to design something to hold it and the #raspberrypi plus controller. #MakerEd

A photo posted by Nick Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Jan 16, 2016 at 11:20am PST

It's not practical to walk around with all of this, so I needed to come up with a solution to my problem. I took some measurements, drafted some ideas on paper, slept on the design, thought some more, and finally started to print out pieces I designed on Tinkercad. Here are some shots I posted on Instagram.

My NerdyPi beta design. The screen plugs into the wall and the #RaspberryPi draws power from the screen. Need to work out some design details, but it's a good rough draft. Failing has not been this fun in a while.

A photo posted by Nick Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Jan 18, 2016 at 2:31pm PST

The most important thing I can say about this very rough draft is that I screwed up big time in many different ways with this project. My measurements were not as accurate as I would have liked. I had to print some spacer bard on the front and on the side (The red bars). Trying to print the large part in black in one piece was a mistake and one of the pillars broke off on the front. I used Krazy Glue to bind the pieces together, but it just looks messy.

I've learned so much from this experience. I know where my mistakes were and how to correct them (I think) so the next version will be better. I have a better understanding of Tinkercad and my printer. I even have some better ideas on to improve the design and possibly change it to function like a briefcase so the screen is fully protected if I travel with it.

The best part about these failures is that I get to share them with my students. I've been very open about my work trying new things out and I have a group of students that see me most morning to talk tech and design. Some of them have started their own Pi projects and are excited to see where things are going with my projects as much as I am excited for updates on their projects.

As an educator, I feel it is important to share those failures with students and to let them know that it is just a step in the process. I have learned that my public failures can help me and others see that trying something new can lead to great leaps in learning. I want to lead my example for my students and I'm very lucky to have the chance to do that using these tools.

I'm having the most fun failing in a very long time. It's a love a learning and problem solving that has kept me going. I want to make sure that school is still a place that inspires students the same way.

Hugs and High Fives,

Nick

Try Not To Hide #edchat

One of the things I can be bad at from time to time is vanishing during lunch. I get so overwhelmed with everything at school, I just hide in my room and try and get everything done. That might be fine for a day, but it can be bad for a teacher if it becomes a common occurrence.

Lunch is a great time to connect with colleagues and share how the day has been going. Depending on the grade level you teach and your schedule, you might not have any other time during the school day for adult contact. Lunch offers you a chance to have a grown up conversation. 

Connecting with peers can lower stress levels and remind you that others are dealing with similar issues. Sharing these stories and possible solutions can be good for everyone. 

The next time you find yourself eating your lunch over a student assignment for the 3rd day in a row, break out of your room and join the other teachers to share a laugh or two.