Student Innovation #TEDEd #MakerEd

Part of being a TED Ed Innovative Educator is working on an Innovation Project. We are able to choose something to work on for the year and document what we have learned. I had a hard time thinking about my project and all of the other TIEs have amazing projects. I had to think long and hard about what I care most about and I decided that student innovation is important to me. I want to create more opportunities for Student Innovation.

The first way I tried to implement Student Innovation Projects is to use 20 Time. I gave one class the chance to work on any project they wanted. It went very well and students created some interesting projects they were passionate about. The one obstacle I faced was trying to find balance in helping too much versus not enough. I felt like some students could have used more support, but then there were times I caught myself helping too much. It feels like such a thin line, but it is something I see I need to continue to work on for future projects. 

One project that came out of this group was a way for students to scan their ID card when they leave the room with s pass and scan when they get back to keep an accurate lot of who is in the room. The scanner is connected to a Raspberry Pi and sends the info to a Google Doc. Our Superintendent saw the student presentation and wants to see this piloted in our schools. The students are currently working on this as an Independent Study with my support. 

I really wanted to give students opportunities for innovation outside of my classroom. It is one of the reasons why I worked hard to create the Makerspace in our library. After becoming a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, I thought it might be cool to see what students could do if they were given Pi and asked to identify and problem and come up with a solution. After a few weeks, the students blew us away. We had four teams and here is a quick recap of their projects:

Web-based application that will allow a person to turn on/off any device that is plugged into their system. It could be lights in your room or the coffee pot in the kitchen. Just login and turn them on or off.

A wifi based garage door opener that could eventually have a detector  that can notify you when it is opened or closed.

A wifi connected robot rover that can take pics and record video.

The winning project was a Raspberry Pi connected to a touch screen monitor that allowed users to enter in their medication and the times they need to take it. The screen then starts a countdown and will notify users when it is time to take their next but of medication. Future extensions will have text capabilities. This group has another member that worked hard on the code, but she could not be their because she had sailing practice. 

I loved watching all of these students share their projects and what they learned along the way. All of them talked about the failures and frustrations, but also the excitement that followed when they got it working. It was also fun to hear other students ask questions and offer suggestions for the other projects. It was a very nice collaborative atmosphere for the students and it all took place in our Makers Lounge. 

There were two groups that dropped out. They said that they could not get their projects working and did not want to present. Despite encouraging them to come out and share their work, they were no-shows. I wonder how much more support I could have offered those students. More meeting times or something might have helped. Getting feedback will help for next time. 

Overall, I think this was a huge success. This was the first ever STEAM competition our school has held like this and I think it got kids excited to do something different and see what they could learn along the way. It made me so happy to hear that students were teaching themselves how to code and learned so much along the way. You can't make students innovative, but you can give students the opportunity to explore and learn along the way. More often than not, students will create something innovative they never thought was possible. 

The Pi Teams

Winning Team: Noah, Simon and Eva (not pictured)

Disney Puts the A in STEAM #EdChat

I spent a week at Disney World with my family and it was a blast. All of the annoying things about large parks during high traffic times hold true, but it all washes away when you see the smile on your little guy's face when he meets a favorite character.

Joy @waltdisneyworld World. #WaltDisneyWorld

A photo posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Mar 27, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

These two evil step-sisters where so kind to Leo. They were just finishing up a long shift and they really engaged with Leo and made him feel like the only Prince in the Kingdom. It was almost 90 degrees out and we were all tired, but it melted away with that smile.

The more I walked around Disney, I tried to look past the costumes, the lines, the heat, and I tried to see what really made this place tick. The logistics of running a park like this have to be a nightmare, but everything seems to run and everyone is having a good time. They clearly have a pretty good idea of what they are doing because the park is filled and I think they make a little money on it. After a couple of days of enjoying the various parks and watching my son become a Jedi,

Leo took out Darth. #NBD

A photo posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Mar 26, 2016 at 9:46am PDT

I realized that Disney is an amazing example of why you need the "A" (Arts) in STEM.

The "Imagineers" make Disney possible. They are the ones that are designing the rides, the park structure, and all of the bells and whistles that make things work on a daily basis. They make the park run. However, they are the guts of the park. You need much more than guts to make something successful. That is where the Arts come in. The costumes, the art work, the characterization, the overall goofiness help create the overall experience. You cannot have Disney without one or the other.

This translates beyond Disney though. As we look at more and more companies enter the technology market, there is a premium on how things work, but also on how thing look. Apple has always prided itself on how things look and work. For me, I need a product to work well, but I also want it to look good when I use it. These details fall to the creative minds that are sometimes marginalized in education. It's sad because the students involved in the arts are some of the most brilliant students we have and we tell them their passion is not "practical" or we ask them how they will make money doing this for a living.

Now, more than ever, we need to encourage our students to explore the creative arts and become experts in those fields. Those skills are going to be crucial as new things are created. Jobs will appear for things that do not even exist. We need to remember that the Arts are very important and that we cannot push them to the side because they are not going to be tested. Disney is a great model of fusing Arts with the STEM field. STEAM is important in schools and our future and Disney shows exactly how awesome it can be.

Yo ho

A photo posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Mar 27, 2016 at 8:07am PDT

The skills that are required to program/code all of the robots for this and other rides must be intense. Then, artists need to dress it up to fit the ride. That is no easy feat. STEAM in action.

We Want Your Huck Finn Stories #EngChat

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is  one of the most important pieces of literature ever written in American History. Mark Twain wrote an amazing story tackling the issue of race that still resonates today. It is one of our favorite books of all time and a joy to teach with our students.

Literature teachers are part of a wonderful community and we share many stories about our favorite novels. Huck Finn is one of those books that brings this group together. Ask any ELA teacher for their Huck Finn story and they will share with you an amazing tale that will be sure to make you laugh, cry, and shake your head. These teachers also have great lessons that they use to get students to see the classic the way that Mark Twain had always hoped people would see.

After sharing our love of the book, we thought it would be an a great idea to collect these stories and lessons put together an e-book that all teachers could read and share. In particular, we’re looking for your stories about teaching this novel in present time.

We want your stories about how you've made sense of this text in a diverse classroom. We want your stories about this book being challenged by parents/community. We want your stories about making this book relevant for your students.

If you are interested in sharing your story or lesson, please fill out this form by May 30 and we will pull all of this together over the summer so teachers can have something awesome to read by the start of the school year.

Please share this with anyone that has a great Huck Finn lesson or story worth sharing!

Thank you,

Nick and Meenoo

@thenerdyteacher

@meenoorami

#ASCD16 Wrap Up - Tech I Loved

The ASCD Annual Conference is an amazing conference filled with educators that are connecting and collaborating. The sessions are jammed packed with great information and the ASCD authors that are there are great to engage with and share ideas. I am always excited to attend the Annual Conference and I highly encourage all educators to check it out next year a Anaheim.

I really wanted to highlight some of the really cool vendors I saw this year and I teamed up with Steven Anderson (@Web20Classroom) and Tom Whitby (@TomWhitby) to share what we thought were some very interesting technologies on display at the ASCD Annual Conference.
 There were so many great resources out there for all different types of educators, but these are a few that really caught my attention and I wanted to make sure everyone heard about them. We broadcasted them live via Periscope and then archived them with Katch.me to be able to embed here.

Let's start with littleBits. I have always been a fan, but I've never been to their booth to play with all of the bits. Here is a very excited me talking about them.




I think littlebits is a must for all educators in their classrooms and their Makerspace. You can learn more by checking out their website website or tweeting them Twitter.

The next thing we checked out was a very cool virtual reality system call ViziTech. I was blown away at how amazing this product was and how real everything seemed when I used it to look at a human heart. Here is Steven Anderson taking apart a car engine.


Find out more about ViziTech and how it can be in your school by visiting their website and liking them out on Facebook.

We next stop by EZ-Robot. This robotics company blew my mind away with all of the different things you can do with their technology. It was amazing.


My mind has been racing ever since I was by their booth with all of the different things I could create for my students to explore with the EZ Robot. I am also thinking about all of the different things the students could create for me to try out. There are so many possibilities. Check out EZ-Robot at their website and on Twitter.

I heart Tiggly. As a father to a 5 year old, I am always looking for something different to engage him in learning beyond the worksheets that are sent home from pre-school. Tiggly is an amazing app worth exploring. Here is what Steven had to say about them.


These are just great examples of what is possible with mobile devices and your children. This is something Leo is going to love. I was so excited to find them and can't wait to see what things they have in store for the future. Visit Tiggly on the web to learn more and check them out on Twitter.

These are just a few of the amazing things we saw at the Annual Conference. We encourage all of you to try and attend next year at Anaheim. Until next year!