I hope you all enjoy listening to my Tedtalk as much as I did making it! Stay safe!
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Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well during these harsh times... but we will pull through!
My Ted talk will be focused on how we can create equal learning opportunities for all learners through the use of Maker spaces. My talk will be primarily focused on giving teachers ideas on how to set up and plan their own Maker space, however I believe parents can also benefit from watching if they have no idea what a Maker space is or are concerned on how their child will be able to learn/use the space! This talk will be useful for all grades- as maker spaces can be implemented in all grade levels. I plan on keeping it very general- as in not favoring any grade level or content area in order to attract a broader audience. I am torn between using a Zoom recording or just a powerpoint with a voiceover- but I am leaning more towards the Zoom. I am struggling with this though so if you have any ideas on which you would prefer- please let me know! I plan on making it around 5-7 minutes- as I don't want to take too much time and I want to keep my viewers attention. I have a list on the key points I will hit and the order they will be in: 1. Introduction- Introduce myself a. Maker space- how it can create equal learning opportunities for children with special needs and abilities as well as english learners The How to when it comes to creating equal learning in Maker spaces 3. Democratize Learning- levels academic playing field for students 4. Themes- Provides opportunities to meet the needs of all learners 5. Differentiation- Physical set up of space, providing materials for students 6. Real Life Story to connect with audience and exemplify the how maker spaces can create these equal learning opportunities 7. Conclusion Please let me know what you guys think and if you have any helpful suggestions! I look forward to reading your posts this week! I have chosen to present my TED talk on how technology and "making" can bring equality to education. When used effectively, technology can greatly contribute to creating equity in schools. It can remove barriers to learning materials, supports students where they are across varied learning contexts and needs, and gives educators more insight into the learning environments they're creating. In particular, Maker spaces can democratize learning, offer thematic planning opportunities, and facilitate differentiated instruction.
Maker spaces can be used for all learners, including english language learners and students with special needs. Students who have unique learning needs thrive in Maker spaces because it allows them to express themselves WITHOUT fear of failure. They are inviting and inclusive environments by providing equity and access to all! Of course this depends on ensuring the Maker space is implemented correctly. By properly planning your Maker space, you can build an environment that levels the academic field for your students. This means that you can easily democratize their learning, by ensuring that they make materials, supplies, and concepts available and accessible to all learners. It will encourage tinkering, play and open ended exploration for everyone. Teachers can properly assess existing curricula, programs, and offerings within their school community and pull out concepts that are normally taught to a select number of students and make them available to all by using "making." It is also important to include "Themes" within your Maker space planning. Thematically planned maker spaces provide opportunities to meet the needs of all learners. Supporting themes in varied ways will allow you to address your students diverse learning styles by providing multimodal materials and resources to meet better their needs. This is especially important for students with certain disabilities as they and all learners can benefit from utilizing as many of their sensory modalities as possible. The themes can also kickstart making and creativity by inspiring students. This can be extremely helpful for students who might experience frustration and have trouble working with zero guidelines in place. Finally and most importantly- DIFFERENTIATION! There are many ways a maker space can effectively differentiate the learning environment by providing the materials, activities, and supplies to meet the needs of mixed ability learners! Another way is the physical set up of the space itself. Workstations encourage students to collaborate with their peers, inviting students of varying abilities to work together, creating a community of learners. English language learners and students with special needs will feel welcomed in these type of spaces because they feel equal to their peers. Sources: Fleming, L., & Krakower, B. (2016, July 19). Makerspaces and Equal Access to Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/makerspaces-equal-access-to-learning-laura-fleming-billy-krakower EBSCO Information Services, Inc. (2017, August 30). Makerspaces: Hands-on Learning for Students of All Abilities. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/blog/article/makerspaces-hands-on-learning-for-students-of-all-abilities Meyer, B. (2019, May). elearn Magazine: Makerspaces in Higher Education: An overview. Retrieved from https://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=3331179 4/13/2020 Week 11- Essential Question: What would you need to coordinate a "Maker Day" for your school?Read NowI believe a Maker's Day would benefit my school community the most because I feel there is not enough education or support for our school's Makerspace. In my opinion, one of the most important concepts of this would be to include student's voice in the day. This means that I should give them choice and options as to how the day will go. This could be as simple as having teachers use different projects and have students choose. It is also important to ensure that students are aware ahead of time of the day's festivities and plans. There needs to be set rules put together prior to the day in order to ensure safe learning environments can occur for all students! If I am feeling stressed or anxious about the day, I am sure my students are too. I would ask students to assist me in coming up with different rules to be incorporated into the day's activities.
I think to start, I would ask teachers to start simple. Maybe do projects that don't necessarily involve a lot of different material- this will also help with the cost of the entire day. The idea of the day is to just give students and other teachers a taste of how Making can be incorporated into their classrooms regardless of the discipline. My school's technology plan is vague in its description but for the most part I understand that they have a goal of using the Makerspace that is available and building it more. Therefore my essential goal for the day would be to influence teacher's idea of the Makerspace and demonstrate how it could be used within classrooms and across disciplines. I think this will increase traffic in our school's makerspace and therefore the school will be more obligated to continue to support it and purchase supplies that are desperately needed. References: Gonzalez, J. (2018). What Is The Point of a Makerspace? Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/makerspace/. Martinez, S.L. & Stager, G. (2019). Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom (2nd ed.). Torrance, CA: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press. Rendina, D. (2019, July 12). How to Plan a Maker Fest at Your School. Retrieved from https://ideas.demco.com/blog/plan-a-maker-fest/
For my Burning Man project, I decided to create a Heart Shaped Butterfly. Typically, Butterflies represent life itself- along with kindness, generosity, and hope. I think especially during this time- everyone can use a little more hope in this world. My goal for this project was to make it kid friendly so that children have something fun to do at home during this quarantine. I went with a "heart shaped" wing because we can all use a little more love right now with everything going on. So my project represents "Hope, Life, and Love", the three most powerful things we need to get through these rough waters.
Materials and Steps:
Cardboard Pencil Paint Paintbrush 1 Big 1 Small Paper towel Roll Ruler Copper Tape 6 Lights Glue
Steps:
Step 1: Cut out a heart shape from the piece of cardboard you are using. Try to make it as even as possible. Using the scraps from the card board, cut out two antennas. Step 2: Choose a paint color for the wings and begin using your larger paint brush to paint the wings. Let it sit to dry. Step 3: Add any designs to the wings once they are finished drying, using your smaller paintbrush. Step 4: Allows your wings time to dry- Begin working on the body of your Butterfly. Choose a color and paint the body one color. Once it is done drying, you may draw a face and glue antennas on the top. Step 5: Back to the wings! Begin drawing lines for your Copper circuit. Once the lines are drawn, you may begin sticking the copper tape down. Step 6: Begin to stick on your Lights. Be sure to press them down firmly to ensure they will work! Step 7: Glue your body down once your lights have been applied- You may have to make changes if your body interferes with any of your lights. Step8: Plug in! Hook your project up to power and watch it light up your life! For Full Tutorial Videos: Watch Below!
For this project, I used the Chibitronics set because it is easier to manipulate creative ideas and in my opinion more kid friendly. Like I said above, my goal was to make something kid friendly and meaningful to give them something to do during this time.
First, I had to set up my circuit board. I followed the directions given to me in my booklet. I also got familiar with the parts that were included in my work kit. It is overwhelming at first but taking it step at a time- I was able to download the software and get the light to blink.
Once I set up mu circuit board and connected it to the software, I was ready to create my first circuit. I followed the instructions on page 24 and was able to use a clicker to turn the light on and off!
How have teachers used Chibitronics in their classrooms? Chibitronics is incredibly versatile for teacher's to use in their classroom. It can be implemented across disciplines- including mathematics and social studies! I find that many teachers (particularly social studies) wonder how they can implement such tools in a way that will be beneficial to the content. Chibitronics is crafted with a creative side that teachers can use among different ages and different subject matter. A WWII Circuit Map is just many of the projects social studies teachers can use while implementing Chibitronics into their curriculum. It is a fun and engaging way for students in the secondary level to explore geography and understand the importance it had on WWII. Here you see the student set up circuits behind the Axis powers to light all at the same time when turned on. They also have circuits behind the countries who were Allies, and who were neutral through out the war.This gives the students a better understand of alliances which was a major point throughout the war. Light-up storyboards are the perfect way to wrap up chapters or books students have finished reading. It is also perfect to use in creative writing! They are easy and fun to design but also highlight the important aspects of their writing piece. It can also be used in social studies classes- students can recreate a moment in history and use it to show the significance and importance of that moment in time- or simply use it to go over the end of a chapter! I love this because it can really be used among all ages- both secondary and primary!
In general, chibitronics is a fun ad simple way for students to create while learning content across disciplines. It is a simple, creative way to add some fun and "light up" your classroom! Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://chibitronics.com/educators/ (n.d.). Retrieved from https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/origami-paper-circuits Community, C. (2017, April 25). Storyboard & Stapleless Mini Book with Chibi lights. Retrieved from https://chibitronics.com/projects/storyboard-stapleless-mini-book-chibi-lights/ |
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AUTHORI graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2018 with a degree in adolescent Education, social studies. I am currently enrolled in the SUNY Oneonta Educational Technology Masters Program. Archives
April 2020
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