makered

National Writing Project in Atlanta: What could making mean for your classroom?

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My History with the Writing Project

In 2005, I spent my summer writing, reflecting, and learning as a participant in the North Star of Texas Writing Project. This university-based site was a part of the larger National Writing Project that focuses on creating teacher leaders that help every student realize they have the ability to become a great writer. Consider the vision statement of the National Writing Project.

“Writing in its many forms is the signature means of communication in the 21st century. The NWP envisions a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world.”

I loved the experience so much that I continued to participate as a technology leader for the next few summers and attend the yearly NWP conference.

If you want to immerse yourself in a pool of passionate and progressive educators, this is a great conference to attend!

I think it was the 2006 conference where I sat in a room full of educators and was introduced to Googledocs for the first time (it was still in beta at the time because it had only recently been acquired from Writely.) We were all on different computers but looking a blank document and all writing at the same time. Watching the words appear on my screen felt magical! I was in love and knew that this amazing educator tool would transform the way my students collaborated on writing. I went home and started using Googledocs in my classroom (almost a decade ago!) which of course did totally transform the way my students write and the way I teach!

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National Writing Project Conference 2016

Fast forward ten years….. This year, I’ve been invited to speak at the National Writing Project Meeting in Atlanta this week on how making in the library can be incorporated with classroom instruction. I’m honored to be a part of this workshop with:

  • Buffy Hamilton, Title I Writing teacher, former librarian; Atlanta, GA
  • Zach Duensing, Nashville Public Library
  • Valerie Jopeck, Elementary Library Education Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
  • K-Fai Steele, Program Associate, National Writing Project

Our session

If you are in town for NCTE, you should attend this dynamic workshop! (Register here) Each of us will talk about our own practice, but even better, we are going to workshop with participating teachers by breaking into small focus groups and focusing on interested themes and really work together to think about how making and school libraries “can work together to support students’ learning.”

Full session info below:

B31: The Makerspace in the Library: What it Means for Your Classroom

1:30pm – 3:00pm Omni, M3 Meeting Level, North Tower, Hickory

Makerspaces are rapidly being implemented in libraries both in and out of schools, and within this change, the role of the librarian is changing. What are the impacts of this change on the our school communities? Is this phenomenon here to stay? What are the implications for writing teachers, and the larger connected learning ecosystem? Join us in a conversation on making in libraries today, and talk with us about how makerspaces and school libraries can work together to support your students’ learning.

Making and Literacy

Just as Googledocs did for classroom instruction, will making and literacy become wide spread and have a profound effect on how classrooms teach curricular content? Will makerspaces become an example of Seymour Papert’s ideas about “learning environments in which children collaborate around meaningful projects and powerful ideas?”

I look forward to learning and growing this week and sharing back the important conversations that educators bring to the table! See you in Atlanta!

 

nwp

Becoming a Maker Librarian- Field Experience from Brandi Grant

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Last week, I posted about my Maker Ed training on Edutopia. Then a few days later, this email came to my inbox. I love the way this teacher librarian, Brandi Grant, describes her first experience of teaching herself how to make a scribblebot without assistance and then making scribblebots alongside her students. Thank you, Brandi for sharing your story and letting me post your reflection! All of this below is written by Brandi Grant, amazing teacher librarian in Frisco ISD!

Brandi’s Reflection on Scribble Bots

“Last week, during the advisory period, I hosted a Scribble Bot session for 2 days(6th on Tues and 7/8 on Thursday).  Students signed up and I had 30 min to teach 20 of them in groups of 2 how to make them.  Below are some of my ramblings:

Set up

It really helped that everything was set up prior to the sessions.  I tried to anticipate everything that was needed to make the session go smooth and I didn’t want to spend time out of my 30 min trying to grab items for everyone.  The most important thing to have at each table is a pair of scissors and tape.

Did Students Come? Did it go okay?

OMG, the kids came- I thought that I had it all together until they came in and it was time to do it.  I got super nervous because they were asking so many questions, all at once, and wanted me to help them individually.  I got overwhelmed and I just relied on the video I’d watched to remind me of the basics.

Honestly, there were many failures when most of students put it together the first time.  

At first, I was disappointed, but I remembered that a couple of days ago, I tried to make one by myself, for the first time, and it just wasn’t working.  I messaged Colleen Graves expecting for her to tell me exactly what to do to make it work but she didn’t!!

She gave me some things to think about, especially propulsion.

Initially, I had the students use play dough at the end of the motor because in the video I watched, that was used, but it just fell off.   In order to make it go, it has to be off balance,  and Colleen suggested that I add a piece of glue stick (from the hot glue gun) to the end of my motor…

And then she stopped.

Again, I was expecting for her to tell me: how much, where to put it….. and crickets…

I had to figure it out myself. AND I DID! Then, I started to think about what else I could use to help my bot propel faster, make a straight line, and make a perfect circle.

So, Colleen was in my head when the same thing happened with the kids.

I explained about propulsion, gave them tape and a little bit of glue stick, and told them to figure it out…..

And guess what?

They did too! Quickly, they came up with other things that they could use to help their bots propel.

Soon, I heard squeals, laughter, and these amazing conversations about “What if We?”

Students started to realize that there were so many possibilities and they wanted to make their very own that they can take home, so I gave them a shopping list and told them to ask their parents to order the items using their Amazon accounts and to look in their homes for possible items.  In a couple of weeks, we’re going to get together with their items and build again.  Our goal is to hook them together and use different items for the bodies.

Student Ideas on Propulsion

The students figured out if they slant the legs of the markers a bit, the scribble bot would make the perfect circle.  If the legs are straighter, they make lines.  The kids used several things connected to the motor so that it would propel (taped paperclips, play dough, a piece of a glue stick from a hot glue gun, a wad of tape, the cap of the marker with tape, big clothes pins, small clothes pins)

The Aftermath

The library was wrecked!  There wasn’t enough time to have students clean up and the bell rang for school to be out.

As I stood there, I started to cry.

Not because it was going to take me about 30 min to clean up, by myself.  It was because as the students were leaving, they were telling me thank you, hugging me, running up to students who didn’t sign up telling them what they built. I was so nervous and worked up because I didn’t want to fail and I didn’t want the kids to fail BUT the failure and figuring out how to make it work was all part of the process.  When Colleen talked to us about it during the inservice, I listened but didn’t understand until I had that experience.

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Attached is my Instagram, you’ll be able to see the pictures of the kids and the video, the voice you hear in the background is me screaming like a crazy woman because I was so excited.

I owe this experience to Colleen Graves, she is changing the way that libraries and librarians are viewed and I have definitely bought in with the Makerspace movement but I’m going to take it slow and work on one thing at a time.  If you read this to the end, thanks for your dedication and for putting up with my scattered thoughts.”

Thank you so much for letting me share this reflection, Brandi! I love the way you articulated how a maker educator helps nudge students’ thinking and exploring possibilities ! Brava!