SRT Workshops at the Middle School

Over the last few weeks, we've taken a different approach to utilizing our Makerspace at the Middle School.

For the first couple of months, we made the decision to have the space "open" and let students drop in and experiment with all of the new items we had to offer. We felt this was an important exploratory phase to give all students a chance to jump in and see what areas they might really like and try and generate some project ideas.

In an attempt to try and take the experience deeper, we wanted to offer more indepth explorations of the tools we have available. So far, we have offered workshops featuring:

Coding with Google Apps Script for the "Hour of Code" week.

Programming the Sphero robot to complete a maze.

Modifying the hardware of the Raspberry Pi to allow for touch and gesture control on the Hover add-on board.

We have more sessions planned for the future to explore other ways of using the Raspberry Pi, 3D modeling and Printing, Green Screen video making and editing, App Development, electronics prototyping with littleBits, and much more!

The future is exciting here at our Middle School makerspace as we get new equipment, new ideas, and new students willing to create their own learning.

FX Studio Makers - An Adventure in After School Clubs!

This semester, to give students a little more time to build their skills and familiarity in our Foxview makerspace, we began an after school club called "FX Studio Makers". Over five weeks, we have rotated the students through five different stations, giving them an hour to complete an activity or challenge related to their station. The stations we had included:

 Using the Makey Makey to play Tetris with our feet:

Programming the Sphero robot to complete a maze:

Learning to Code Through the Game of Pong on the Kano Kits:

Building electronic prototypes with the littleBits:

Constructing models and representations with Megablocks:

It has been amazing to see the students grow in their ability to collaborate with one another and really explore and test things out. We are thankful for the support and assistance of Mr. Valentine, a 6th grade teacher, who was excited to get involved when we first proposed the idea.

This club will run through the end of November, and start up again in February with a new group of students!

An Hour of Cardboard

This past Thursday, students entered the Foxview LMC/Makerspace for an extravaganza of cardboard madness! It was the 2nd Annual "Hour of Cardboard"!

The inspiration for this event was two fold.  First of all, the very inspiring Caine's Arcade video laid the groundwork for what is possible when imagination meets cardboard. This boy didn't let circumstance get him down - he used his imagination and when his creativity caught opportunity, a worldwide movement was born.  That movement is the Global Cardboard Challenge, and that is why we ended up holding this event in October.

So how did we pull this together?

First of all, we gathered as much cardboard as possible. Some teachers and parents contributed, but most of the cardboard was obtained from the generous Food Service staff. Since the middle school is the central hub for all the food service deliveries, we had access to a nearly limitless supply of boxes.

Secondly, we purchases a few tools to make life easier for our kids as they put things together.  The biggest limit we found in year one was that scissors didn't cut very well, and we didn't have nearly enough tape to keep the kids working on their creations. We solved that this year by purchasing nearly $50 worth of tape, and another purchase of Makedo Kits

Thirdly, we set a theme.  This year was "Cardboard City". After discussing this further, we thought it might be better to do something like this over a longer time period. An hour just didn't seem like enough time to bring all the ideas to fruition.

Then, on the afternoon of, we spent some time watching Caine's Arcade:

Then, the kids cut loose and started building whatever came to mind as it related to the theme.  We made a mess of the LMC, and most of the kids didn't want to leave.  Ultimately, all good things must come to an end.  Here's to the next Hour of Cardboard!

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DPMS Lego Building Challenge

Last week Friday was not a usual Fun Friday at DPMS.  Not only was it an early release day for students but it was also activity day.  During the 75 minute activity block, students could choose to attend one or two advertised activities.  Choices ranged from cupcake decorating to gaming in the computer lab to silent reading.

I thought that this time offered a great opportunity for students to utilize some of the materials in our new Makerspace.   Inspired by the amazing Lego Quest Challenge blog and considering our abundance of Legos, I offered a "Lego Building Challenge" in the LMC.  The rules were minimal and simple: choose from an assortment of Lego challenge cards, gather materials, and build a creation in the allotted time.

Since this activity was something that I have never personally done with students before, I had no idea what to expect.  Of course, I should have known that I would be blown away!  This was a group of 7th and 8th grade boys who had free reign to create with Legos!  What more creative group exists?

After choosing a challenge card, students gathered their materials and got to work.  Students used no resources other than their own imaginations to create their chosen challenges.

Once time was up, each group explained what they created.  I was especially amazed by the intricacy of their designs and even some of the stories that some students created to go with what they built. I can only imagine the ways in which this group would use Legos in their classrooms to share their learning.  Legos are a perfect accompaniment to lessons on vocabulary, recreating events in history, or sharing a story.

Here are some images of the finished products so that you can see for yourself some of the amazing work that was created in about an hour.

An intricate aircraft

A Halloween inspired house

A labyrinth with trap doors and secret passages

A boat that can only be considered a marvel of engineering

A futuristic car that can also transport aircraft

What Failure Means In Our Makerspaces

So, the other day this happened...

Yes - a failed print.  A student worked hard on designing some things to be printed, but ultimately it failed. Our understanding of the 3D printer (and other things in our space) is growing daily, but we are still very much novices in how these devices work.

The beauty of this, however, is that we can have great discussions about what it means to fail in our space. We can make a plan for learning from that. Failure is a part of life. It is never fun. To reach our full potential and achieve and create great things, we'll likely fail numerous times. How we respond means everything.

For our makerspace to truly be successful, it needs to be a place where students cannot only fail, but a place where they are supported to grow from those failures to make the awesome happen.

A Sunday At Maker Faire Milwaukee!

Last Sunday, Mr. Gauthier took a trip down to Milwaukee for the annual Maker Faire Milwaukee, showcasing local hobbyists, libraries, and anyone else who has some type of making to share.  We can think about it like a gigantic room full of people passionate about creating things!

So what did he see? Well...

There were a few spaces full of just stuff for kids and adults to put things together.  Nothing too high tech - mostly straws and blocks and....

CARDBOARD! The cardboard city was a site to behold.  This gave Mr. Gauthier some ideas for his "Hour of Cardboard" event, happening at Foxview on Thursday, October 22nd right after school.

There was a dark room in the back with a lot of cool things going on. An act that called themselves "Audiobody" demonstrated the fusion of comedy, programming, and music in an incredibly entertaining show. Also, of course, we can't forget giant Tetris:

Yes, the old Game Boy game Tetris was projected on the wall, with the system that was running it connected to the exact layout of the Game Boy.  It required at least two people in constant communication to rotate the pieces and move them. What a sight to behold, and such a cool learning experience.

In addition to these, so many exhibitors were showing off their talents and passions in ways that boggle the mind.

There was the Arduino that drew...

And the guy that was woodcarving...

And the people that were building their own AIRPLANE!

The most important thing of all, however, was showing that making isn't limited to electronics. Making truly is the spirit of creation, of putting one piece together with another.  Many of the people there were selling jewelry, or soaps, or dog treats that they had made. Some of the interactive exhibits involved soldering and sewing.  Making is for EVERYONE, and our hope is that we can cultivate that spirit in our spaces here in De Pere.

Oh, and one last thing, a super cool portrait of Bob Uecker, made out of various tops and lids:

3D Printing Has Begun!

Even though our laptop hasn't arrived yet, Mr. Gauthier has been bringing his to school to tinker with the 3D printers in order to get them to work.  That way, once we have our equipment, we should be all set to get started figuring out how students can take advantage of this awesome technology.

Here is a quick video showing the 3D printer at work:

In case the video isn't clear, the 3D printer really amounts to a super sophisticated glue gun. It uses plastic, called filament, and melts it through a super hot extruder.  Software and hardware give the printer the instructions of where the filament goes on either an X, Y, or Z axis.  If you designed your model appropriately, and everything on the printer was set correctly, you might just get something like this:

It is still a work in progress. A couple of the prints so far look like this:

The plan is to get all of the kinks worked out so that when we have the equipment, students can design and print with a high chance of success. The opportunities to reinforce math concepts through 3D printing are really excited, and as you can see, we can't start using these soon enough!

Make your Own littleBits Car

A group of seventh graders was once again busy creating with the littleBits.  This time they figured out how to make a car.  Want to learn how to do it yourself?  Watch their video below to see how it is done.

Student Creativity Shines in the DPMS Makerspace

DPMS students have already taken our makerspace tools to the next level.  During the past few weeks, a group of seventh graders have been intrigued by the littleBits.  After some tinkering, they figured out a way to use some of the different bits to create a motorized Segway.  Want to see their process in action?  Watch this short video below to learn their steps to success.

Another group of seventh graders also had some fun playing with video in our makerspace.  Using Legos and iMovie, students learned how to create a stop motion animation video.  While the video is only 40 seconds long, it took this group over an hour to come up with their idea and take all of the pictures needed to complete their video.  View the premiere of Love Story below.  

Stay tuned for the next chapter in the Love Story saga as students continue to film part two.

A Makey Makey Science Experiment

A few of our 8th graders took advantage of our new makerspace tools to conduct their own science experiment.  After developing their hypothesis, they wanted to determine what types of materials were conductive enough to work with the Makey Makey.  Through a little trial and error, they discovered that some apples and a couple pairs of scissors would allow the Makey Makey piano and bongos to play.  They even learned that while holding the other end of the alligator clip attached to earth, they could include a few high fives and fist bumps into their performance.  Watch the results of their experiment in the video below. Their video is also a nice introduction to the Makey Makey for those who have never seen it in action.

Under Construction: The Makerspace Implementation Has Begun!

A blog is born!

Last spring, my Library Media Specialist co-worker Kira and I were fortunate and blessed to receive a School District of De Pere School Board Innovate Grant to create makerspaces at De Pere Middle School and Foxview Intermediate. After months of planning, purchasing, and pondering, the makerspaces are getting close to being fully "open for business"!

So why makerspaces?  The heavy influence for me included the great resources at the hashtag #makered on Twitter, as well as the lessons and knowledge about the Maker Movement in "Invent to Learn" by Gary Stager.  Essentially, the maker movement is taking advantage of the plethora of either low cost or lower cost electronics that allow students to engage in areas they may never have before, like 3D printing or programming. You can read more about the Maker Movement here.

I am extremely passionate about the Maker Movement and feel that offering opportunities for students to engage with modeling, prototyping, and programming will only serve to enrich the education they receive in De Pere.

Currently, we have a few different pieces of our space still in processing, and we hope to be officially set to go by October 1st with drop ins available during the day, as well as after school opportunities. So what will our students get to look forward to this year?

• 3D Printing
  
• Programming with the $35 Raspberry Pi computer
  
• Machine coding and circuitry prototyping with Arduino
  
• Electronics fun with littleBits
  
• Video editing and green screening
  
• Robotics programming with Sphero
  

In addition to these products, we will be looking forward to providing monthly events, such as the Global Cardboard challenge or a Scratch code-a-thon!

We are extremely excited about how this makerspace will grow this year and beyond. Stay tuned for more updates!