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Save the Dates! #FETC, #bigmakerbookclub, #SXSWedu, Pinecrest Innovation Institute

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Creative Commons photo from Dafne Cholet.

I’ve got lots of great events just around the corner! I had to write up a post so you can save the dates for all of these upcoming events in 2017 (and to keep track of all of the links for myself!)

Makey Makey Jedi Interview: January 11th, 2017

This Makey Makey Jedi interview will be hosted by Tom Heck, and we’ll discuss how I use Makey Makey in the library, Makey Makey Poetry, and questions from other Makey Makey advocates. You are welcome to join live on January 11th, 2017 at 4 pm CST or watch here afterwards.

#Bigmakerbookclub GHO: January 19th, 2017

Cassie Janda and Karyn Lewis were excellent moderators in leading some Twitter slowchat discussions around the #bigmakerbook. To end the book club and start the new year, I’ll be chatting with readers and makers via Google Hangouts on January 19, 2017 at 7 pm CST.  

Sign up here to get access to the Hangout link! You’ll have time to share projects you made from our book and ask burning questions.

book-club

 

FETC: January 26th, 2017

During FETC, Diana Rendina and I will be leading a workshop based on the book we just finished writing with Aaron Graves, Challenge- Based Learning in the School Library Makerspace. Come learn with us on January 26th from 11am to 1:30 pm.

SXSWedu: March 6-9, 2017

Core Convo

I’m so stoked (and honored) to be leading a core convo with Makey Makey inventor Jay Silver. We’ll be chatting with YOU about increasing the rate of Invention Literacy.

Our session summary: 

Enjoy a casual chat with the co-inventor of Makey Makey (Jay Silver) and Maker Enthusiast/Teacher Librarian (Colleen Graves) about the importance of Invention Literacy as a missing literacy in education. As Jay defines it, “Invention literacy is the ability to read and write human made stuff, from toasters to apps.” We believe it is important to teach our students how the world works. In this core convo, we will discuss how to increase invention literacy on your campus by helping students “learn to read and write the world they live in.”

SXSWedu Mentor

Plus, I’ll be available for as a maker mentor in a mentor session . Come chat with me if you are interested in a one on one convo about starting your own makerspace, bringing creativity into the classroom, or you just wanna chat about making stuff.

My mentor summary:

Talk to me about:
– As a mentor, I can empower other educators to begin their own makerspace journeys. I can discuss startup resources to complement maker supplies based on interested topics like: coding/programming, robotics, invention, circuitry, and digital fabrication.
– As a creative educator, I can help others bring creativity into classrooms, library programming, and daily lesson planning.
– As a maker, I can discuss gaining creative confidence and emboldening students to believe that they can have an idea and find a way to make it come to life and change our world.

Pinecrest Innovation Institute: June 7-9, 2016

This summer I’ll be leading a pre-conference workshop with maker extraordinaire Josh Burker at the Pinecrest Innovation Institute.

Josh and I will be mashing up our maker ideas together for a rad pre-conference session. Participants will explore the possibilities in this interactive workshop by creating Makey Makey switches, tinkering with marble walls, crafting paper circuits, taking apart items for re-invention, and experimenting with wind tunnels.

I’ll also be Keynoting my ideas on “Making and Literacy” during this amazing institute.

Registration is open for all. Register to attend here. 

innovation-institute

 

Learning Scratch in HS 101 – #bigmakerbook

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Getting to Know Scratch

Today I started the process of teaching all of the freshmen at Ryan High School how to program games in Scratch using project 19 from our Big Book of Makerspace Projects.

I designed this project to be a hybrid between Pong and a chasing game.  I was hoping that my instructions would teach kids how to make games, but also allow for a lot of personalization. AND IT DID!  Instead of giving the explicit instructions from the book, I created “exploration” sheets based on the book so that students could explore Scratch to learn how to create games. I made them as Googledocs, but also offered the option of paper for the students who preferred it. (And surprisingly a lot of them preferred paper!)

Student Personalization

I was so happy today that as soon as students started making games, they immediately came up with their own ideas of how they wanted each game to function.

  • “Can I make the ball bounce off a paddle like pong?
  • “How can I make a ghost that springs back and forth on the screen.”
  • “I’d like to make a game where two players try to catch a basketball and then shoot hoops and score.”
  • “Could I make apples fall from a tree to hit my sprite?”
  • “I want to make four sprites like Scooby Doo characters that once one is out of the game the next one will play. How do I do that?”
  • “Instead of dodgeball, can I make my character kick a soccer ball into a goal?”
  • “Can my sprite fly?”
  • “How can I program two players? Use the WASD keys?”

More to Come!

I loved all the hacking and personalization. Last year, I attempted a similar game instruction and it did not go as clearly as this one.  I found that when students collaborated this year, they had more profound ideas on what to include in their Scratch games. However, if students worked alone, they were able to get further along in their programming.

I also had many native Spanish speakers that found the translation button in Scratch! It was so helpful for me, because I was able to teach these second language students how to program and I learned more Spanish to boot.

I have three more days of teaching Scratch before getting all of the freshmen at Ryan into the library for this coding practice. I can’t wait to see what they all create!