girlsinSTEM

Maker Madness!

/ gravescolleen / 1 Comment

This month Ryan Library filled with buzzing makerspace activities.

Thanks to Donors Choose and “Sensei” Trey Ford technology librarian and wizard of the Denton Public Library, we were able to hold an Advanced Soldering Workshop at our school library makerspace. Some of the kids chose to make their own FM radios and while others made some “Simon” type games. This project took our makers from soldering novices to soldering experts! Which is pretty awesome because now we are ready to tackle almost anything! Plus, the students are obsessed with soldering and they use our soldering station almost everyday!

Last week, I worked with students to test out one of the #superlibrarianhubs projects from our upcoming makerspace project book. I really didn’t think I could do it, but I taught the kids to use a drill, a box cutter, and even a hand saw! The kids who signed up loved, loved, loved everything about it and I almost had to kick them out of the library makerspace because it seemed a few of them had moved in.

Monday was the first day of Girls in Tech Camp ! We had a great day learning about circuits with Chibitronic stickers and cards designed by my #superlibrarianhubs. (He made the art, and I worked on the circuit paths.) These girls had never done any kind of activity like it, so it was challenging and rewarding.

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Today we were able to chat with female engineer Jie Qi the designer of Chibitronics. We loved hearing about her journey as an amazing STEM woman in tech and her connection with littleBits. The girls enjoyed asking her about why some circuits are finicky and how Jie comes up with her designs. The girls are now utilizing their new circuit knowledge to design their own wearable electronics (based on another project from our book. ) Tomorrow we’ll have a quick chat with Krystal Persaud head of product design at littleBits and the girls will begin sewing their circuits for their wearable electronics. I can’t wait to show you what they design and create!

The best thing about all of these activities, is that students are starting to come in more and more to work on their own projects in the library makerspace. The culture of making is growing at Ryan! Students are beginning to come in with their own project ideas and are excited about learning to knit, 3D design, solder, and learn about basic circuits!  I love that they have newfound skills and are applying them to their own ideas.

 

Ryan High School Library Makerspace – a Visual Progress Update

/ gravescolleen / 3 Comments

Cozy Seating (3)With the help of Student Council members, our AV librarian, library aide, and many awesome teachers, we got every book moved in the library.  Some students even helped me paint the columns the week before school started. So now, our fiction is up front for all to see. The students love the faceouts on top of the bookshelves because it’s easier to see the great quality of books the previous librarian ordered.

My amazing student aides helped design new signage for fiction with Canva and are proud to see their work on our end caps. Now we are working on more signs for our nonfiction section. Plus, signage for many other spots in the library are coming.

The new cozy reading spot by the window (I was able to create by removing extra shelves) is a big hit with RHS students.  Many times, I’ll think the library is empty, only to wander in the back and find a gaggle of students quietly reading in this cozy spot and other students studying in the classroom area where I have quiet music playing.

The amazing Mr. Mayes built us some new stands for our catalog search stations. They match perfectly and are at the perfect standing height and located in the fiction stacks so now kids can look up a book easily without having to trek back to the front desk.

I’m still working on our showcase, but for now, the students are finding it quite a handy place to find new books organized by genre.

Teachers also enjoy collaborating in this space since I’m allowing anyone to eat here.

We are all working as a staff to facilitate a love of reading and build up a reading culture at this school.  Thanks to another DISD librarian, Rhonda Thomas, and a new teacher at our school, Mrs. Kidder, our English teachers are all now proudly reading and rating their latest reads with this laminated chart outside their door. (Note: They were already reading, we just made them signs so they could share their opinions and book recs!)

Our makerspace is off the ground and running as well.  We played soccer with Sphero the first day of school in Mrs. Grizzle’s computer science class and I’m hoping to rope them in for more lessons soon.  Our BLAST students will be coming up in the next few weeks to build obstacle courses for Sphero, but for now, kids just come in at lunch or before school just to drive and learn more about this awesome robot.

I’m also working on a mobile charging station for my class set of Spheros housed in side two Harbor Freight toolboxes thanks to an idea from a Twitter friend @natfaure.

I’ve started a little coding club at lunch on Wednesdays and their first task to is program Sphero using the Tickle app. Kids just love Sphero!

Still working on our littleBits corner, but the kids love them without my fancy project spot. I’m also excited to host my first round of littleBits lunches next week.  Gonna teach kids to make their own synthesizers (and hopefully some parents during open house!)

Here’s a little Library Orientation so you can see how it is all coming together. (Made this super quick, so don’t judge my sound inequalities…)