Embrace The Learning Curve This Christmas Morning

The more I talk to kids about what they are dreaming about showing up under the Christmas tree, the more I hear about really cool, high tech gadgets like virtual reality headsets, 3D printers, robots like Spheros or Ozobots, and drones.

Here is a newsflash. All of those items are amazing and all of those items can be really hard to use at the start. I am not trying to play The Grinch here; I am telling you now so you can be ready for the learning curve.

When kids dream of drones, they don't dream of a parent muttering words that could get them on the naughty list while trying to assemble it. They don't dream of an endless series of 3 second flights either. They dream of that thing lifting off in the living room and capturing with its camera the majesty of a Christmas morning. Reality is that these toys can make many dreams come true but it will take time. Here are some tips.

1. Prepare yourself. Whether you receive the gift or give the gift, understand that the cool stuff you saw happening in the YouTube promotional video probably was highly edited and performed by the inventors of the device. Make that kind of high level use your goal....someday, not right out of the box.

2. Seek out help. Speaking of YouTube, most companies now post many product support videos online. When I bought my XYZ Mini Maker 3D printer I found their online support videos to be far more detailed and helpful than the printed instructions. You can also often find videos created by other users of the product that share their own tweaks and helpful hints. Use all of the knowledge that exists and that people are willing to share. It can make a big difference.

3. Make it about the journey. Instead of pouting that your first 3D printed phone case turned out more like something stuck to the pan at the bottom of great grandma's egg casserole, have a laugh and know your skills will greatly improve. Try and figure out what went wrong so you can improve upon future designs. Keep that lumpy pile of goo so that when you are cranking out really cool stuff you can look back and see how far you have come. It has taken me months to produce anything really useful with my printer.

4. Remember 1 thing. Everything is awesome! We are so lucky to be living in the day and age we do....especially over the holidays. If you need a reminder, just listen to the old Christmas carol "Up on the Housetop." Here is what those kids got from Dear Old Saint Nick:

"Next comes the stocking of little Will
Oh, just see what a glorious fill
Here is a hammer and lots of tacks
Also a ball and a whip that cracks"

No VR headset for little Will? Bummer. Poor Will probably had to go fix the roof and then drive the oxen to town that day once all of the wrapping paper was cleaned up. The point is.....if you get something amazing, be grateful, and when (not if) it doesn't work perfectly right at the start, be happy about that. Don't get mad. Getter better at it.

Epic, Brain Pop, and Seesaw Lead the Educational Migration to Apple TV OS

Just a couple of weeks ago it was hard for me to justify paying nearly double for the newest generation of Apple TV for classrooms compared to the previous generation. In my living room tons of great entertainment apps make the difference well worth the money. In the classroom there have not been many reasons to not just buy the cheaper model since Airplay is really  the feature most want.

My thinking is starting to change now that educational entities are starting to code for the TVOS platform. There is still a lot of space for growth but three key players are charting a course through these open waters.



Epic - Think "Netflix meets Childrens Lit." This great site is full of the latest children's fiction and non-fiction and is 100% free for elementary teachers and librarians. These aren't poorly made ebooks; they are digital versions of some of the most-loved and newest books on the market. With the AppleTV app teachers can display the book on the big screen and read it aloud to the class. No more sore arms and no more hearing, "I can't see," as you try to read a picture book aloud to the class. Several books even have a "read to me" feature.

BrainPop Jr. - Movie of the Week - BrainPop has been producing great non-fiction animated shorts for years and now has brought its K-3 focused "Brain Pop Jr. Movie of the Week" to TVOS. Check out a different one each week with included educational activities. BrainPop Jr. subscribers can also login and access even more content.

Seesaw - This digital portfolio suite is taking classrooms by storm and now it comes to the Apple TV.  Teachers can log in to their classroom accounts and share on a big screen examples of student work or create slide shows and galleries. Think of how cool that would be to have playing during conferences or parents' night. Parents can log in to the app at home and then be connected with their child's individual portfolio. Now there is a great way for kids to show off some accomplishments the next time grandparents come to visit.

There are other non-education-specific apps too that could lend themselves to the educational setting. Word Girl and Super Why are great programs available through the PBS Kids app and a number of virtual planetariums are now available on TVOS.

Let's hope that more educational entities continue to write for Apple's newest platform, further bolstering an argument for choosing the newest generation of Apple TV over the previous generation.

 

 

Fidgits: Fabulous Design-Thinking Problem-Solvers from PBS Kids

PBS has a great show called the Design Squad and with it comes a ton of fabulous challenges at PBSkids.org where users have to save little robotic creatures called Fidgits.

Teaching the design process has found a home at the core of a ton of my teaching in our elementary technology classes. "Fidgits" lets kids design their own fictional robotic creatures or perform a number of challenges to save Fidgits in danger.

How many challenges can you complete?

Although I use a pared-down version of the formal design process, I start in second grade at teaching kids that every challenge requires them to follow the design process.

1) Define the problem

2) Ideate

3) Prototype your solution.

4) Test

5) Repeat the process until it is perfect.

Fidgits is a great exercise for practicing that mindset.

Play now.

Makey Makey Just Got Easier With Makey Makey Go

It is not like inventing with the original Makey Makey was extremely hard to begin with, but things just got more simple and more mobile with the "Go" version.

Makey Makey Go will begin shipping in December and is the size of a thumb drive making it totally mobile and less likely to get you taken "behind the curtain" by TSA when on the way to some nerdfest you're carrying kits with lots of wires, panels, and alligator clips through airports (I know a lady who experienced this.).

What exactly is the "Go"? Well, this video can explain and describe it way better than I can.

AT&T You Will Ads From 1993 - Amazingly accurate predictions

I vividly remember these AT&T ads from College and half-thinking "I can't wait," and half-thinking "Yeah, right!".

Well, twenty-two years is a long time but almost all of these predictions have come true in one form or the other.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PJcABbtvtA&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

The Easiest Way To Learn Fractions With LEGOs - YouTube

Yep, it's that easy. Cutting Lego blocks like that isn't. Great video that will stick with your kids. Thanks @scottsy for sharing.

The Easiest Way To Learn Fractions With LEGOs - YouTube.

MACUL 2015: Get to the MichShift Idea Slam!

Check out this great event for Thursday March 18 at MACUL in Detroit.

ShiftMich Idea Slam

What better place than here? What better time than now?

A unique event during MACUL week

Are you a Michigan educator who is....

creative/inspired/adventurous?

Are you ready to...

connect with others/start something/tell your story?

If you are passionate about innovation in education...

Meet in Detroit!

The Idea Slam is a fast paced "pitch fest" and networking event for educators. Selected projects will be presented and attendees will vote on their favorite ideas. Winning projects will receive up to $1,000 towards their innovative educational idea. The rest of the evening is an informal meet-up with fun conversations and delicious offerings from Detroit Beer Company.

The concept of the Idea Slam was inspired by the Detroit Soup and TED Conference formats.

GET YOUR TICKET

200 tickets available- Sellout anticipated

All proceeds given back to the winning educators who pitch their impactful idea!

---

Detroit Beer Company

WHEN

Thursday, March 19th, 7:30-11pm

WHERE

1529 Broadway Street - Detroit

MORE INFORMATION

Detroit Beer Co. is located just a few steps off of the Detroit People Mover! Exit at the Broadway Street Station.

Driving? Your best bet is the Opera House Garage located at

1426 Broadway St

Detroit, MI 48226

Get Directions

Great city	Great space	Great people  7:30pm- Doors open

8:00pm- Opening remarks

8:15pm- Idea Slam pitches

9:00pm- Voting

9:15pm- Winners announced

9:15-11:00pm: Networking and idea sharing

Have an innovative Idea that could make a positive Shift in your school or education in general? Pitch it and you could walk away with money to get it off the ground! (Use the above link to apply for one of five pitch spots at the event. Organizers want to ensure presenters are organized and ready to SLAM. Only the top five selected will get a chance to pitch.)

Event flier on SMORE

iPad Apps for Film-making | A Listly List

Here is a great post I came across today highlighting 9 apps for film-making. These are great app smashers where each one performs a certain task and those products can all be mashed into one project.

iPad Apps for Film-making

Listly by Cathy Hunt

These apps provide us with endless possibilities for innovative teaching and creativity in the classroom. Introducing apps and workflows should be a derivative of considered instructional design and pedagogies that stems from a focus on the learning.

See Cathy's full post: iPad Apps for Film-making | A Listly List.

Turn all of the sensors in your Android devices into learning tools

I recently read a great article from Matt Miller's Ditch That Textbook blog about utilizing all of the different sensors that are part of so many mobile devices and turning them into learning tools.

Matt, a fellow Google Certified Teacher, recently did a Hangout with Rebecca Vierya. Rebecca and Matt met at the Austin Google Teacher Academy and she shared some of the Android software she and her husband developed to tap into all of the power that phones and tablets possess but isn't easily accessed for learning.

The Vierya's free Suite of Tools at Google Play is simple to use and contains the following apps:

• G-Force Meter - ratio of Fn/Fg


• Linear Accelerometer - acceleration


• Gyroscope - radial velocity


• Barometer - atmospheric pressure


• Roller Coaster - G-Force Meter, Linear Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Barometer


• Proximeter - periodic motion and timer


• Hygrometer - relative humidity


• Thermometer - temperature


• Magnetometer - magnetic field intensity


• Light Meter - light intensity


• Sound Meter - sound intensity


• Tone Generator - frequency producer


• Orientation - azimuth, roll, pitch


• Stroboscope

According to the developers, "Useful for education, academia, and industry, this app uses device sensor inputs to collect, record, and export data. in comma separated value (csv) format through a .txt file sent via an e-mail or through Google Drive. All analog data is plotted against elapsed time (or clock time) on a graph. Users can export the data for further analysis in a spreadsheet or plotting tool. The app also allows for a tone generator output."

Through the user interface a number of the sensors can be used together for all kinds of different explorations of math and physics concepts in the real world.

On her own site, Rebecca has compiled a ton of links where the tools have been referenced at all levels of academia from elementary schools to higher education.

A Great Use of Space

Check out the picture that Oklahoma's Jeff Lay shared on Twitter.

All areas of a building can be utilized to encourage learning and something like this sends a message to the kids that multiplication facts are important more than during that sliver of the day when the class practices them.

Great stories show Michigan schools "Doing More Together"

Check out just some of the amazing teaching and learning happening across the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District here in Michigan. I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many educational organizations doing things at an incredible level.

DoingMoreTogether.org Stories.

Power to the pupil | Jennifer Magiera | TEDxBurnsvilleED - YouTube

Jennie Magiera folks.......As good as it gets! A great friend and great inspiration.

via Power to the pupil | Jennifer Magiera | TEDxBurnsvilleED - YouTube.

Sony Education - First Grade Case Study - Xperia Tablet in Action - YouTube

Sony's venture into K-12 education via its Xperia tablet might have gone the way of the dodo bird but some of viva video app our ambassador resources still remain as great tools in teaching and learning.

Sony Education - First Grade Case Study - Xperia Tablet in Action - YouTube.

Hacking #ISTE

Last summer I hacked the ISTE conference in San Antonio. Now before you send the federal agents, windbreakers and all to seize my Macbook Air, let me explain what I mean by "hacked".

I didn't hack into any computer system or manipulate any records. I would have no idea where to even start that process other than with some eleven-year-old's instruction video on YouTube. Just think of my "hacking" as attending the massive educational technology conference in a non-traditional way to meet my own personal needs.

San Antonio was my third ISTE but I never did register for the 2013 conference. I still learned as much, if not more than I did in Denver and in San Diego. I saved between $300 - $450  and  had an amazing learning experience. Here is how.

ISTE has gotten so big that I liken it to the Super Bowl. The game or in this case the conference sessions are just one piece of the overall circus. At the Super Bowl there is the NFL Experience which is an interactive fan zone of displays and activities. There are often celebrities and players signing autographs as well as countless other ways to have fun. The NFL's corporate sponsors also descend on the host city and put on tons of parties and promotions open to anyone and not just ticket holders for the game. ISTE is the same way now. The exhibit hall is easily the biggest single gathering of edtech resources anywhere in the United States and free evening receptions will keep anyone stuffed all week. Just don't check your cholesterol for a couple of weeks. Other user-organized, non-affiliated events like the Apple Distinguished Educator photo walks also abound. The 2012 walk in San Diego was my single favorite part of the trip.

[caption id="attachment_650" align="alignleft" width="300"] invaluable learning time with Rushton Hurley and Dr. Courtney Steffens[/caption]

ISTE does charge $50 for exhibit hall passes but comped ones can be found quite easily  by checking vendor websites. Thanks to the great people at Spelling City for the two days of passes they sent me last year. By camping out at some of the bigger booths like Google's and Adobe's I caught session after session from people like Kyle Pace and Leslie Fisher, all of which were of the same quality state conferences run up as featured classes.

Most valuable though at ISTE is the chance to spend face-to-face time with some of the most incredible people in the world of education.  During the previous two conferences I attended very few sessions because the social area conversations and networking opportunities were too compelling to leave.  In San Antonio I didn't have that dilemma. Lunch with Rushton Hurley and Ken Shelton (yep...name dropping) was worth the hassle of flying through O'Hare on a stormy day.

Let me state for the record that I truly appreciate all ISTE does for education in general and all the organization puts into their annual epic nerdfest. Without such a tremendous conference program, all of the ancillary benefits I am describing wouldn't exist. That goes also for all who give presentations. These people still endure a significant amount of cost and give their time to make the event what it is. For thousands upon thousands of educators every year the conference provides exactly what they need and if you have never been I highly recommend doing the full boat. I should also add to that record that I was careful in San Antonio to respect physical conference boundaries accessible to full-paying registrants. There was no sneaking past or "just acting like I belong".

I have gotten some kickback from a few people in the edtech world who state  that I am missing the  "intent" of the conference. To me the intent of ISTE is to bring educators together and help them grow professionally. That is exactly what I get from it. The irony lies in the fact that most of us, including the critics take great joy in mastering a digital tool and then McGyvering it to meet our own needs in a special way. Isn't that all I am doing by attending ISTE this way?

Right now I have a few factors up in the air and may or may not make it to Atlanta. I am hopeful a few pieces will fall into place and I can spend a few days with all who will be on their own learning adventures. Make the most of your ISTE experience, however you choose to do so.

Insanely Great Science Journals from 1:1 Android 1st Graders

The first graders in Kristi Zoerhof's class at Bentheim Elementary each have their own Sony Android tablet.

This spring the class studied the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies. Kristi sent the students daily pictures via Chirp and then by using the Skitch app, each student annotated his or her observations. Students then built beautiful journals of the entire process in the Book Creator app.

By using real pictures and annotation tools, students were able to create truly scientific products as opposed to the old cartoonish drawings they used to make in their science journals. The depth of exploration and knowledge displayed is fascinating.

A year ago, Kristi tried this project as part of a pilot with Sony. That class organized findings in Pic Collage. Employing Book Creator has taken it to a completely new level as the app creates an ePub readable on many electronic devices.  To share it here I had to convert the .ePub in Zamzar to a PDF and upload it to Issuu.

 

Below is one student's beautiful work. Original .ePub to download

Autodesk offering free software to educators

Autodesk has built itself into a huge force on the industrial design and 3D animation fronts in gaming and entertainment.

Now they are making a big push for education and inviting educators to use all of their software for free.

There are some amazing design apps for as young as 4th grade and some serious high-end tools for computer-aided drafting and video editing projects as well.

For a good place to start, go to the app store and find anything "123d" for your iPad. Let your kids figure out how quickly they can begin molding and modeling. Be warned that you will probably want to get a 3D printer though so you can make their creations a reality .

My favorite so far is the Catch app that lets you shoot panoramic shots of an object and then the apps builds it into a 3D digital model. I showed our art teacher how I created a digital version of one of the 3rd grade sculptures a girl at Blue Star Elementary made. This gives us the ability to save physical creativity in digital portfolios or share it far beyond school walls.

Autodesk is involved in so much. I was surprised to learn they also make the Pixlr online creativity suite, Tinkerbox app (iOS), and the Instructables app (iOS and Android).

Look for what I hear will be an impressive presence at ISTE this summer.

I would bet serious money that this company will become a major, well-known force in education in the next 5 years...if not a lot sooner.

Hangin' with #2GuysShow, Havin' a Daqri, Talkin' #CUERockStar

Great stuff from Drew and Brad as they discuss Augmented Reality creation through Daqri.

I jumped in at the end to talk about #CUERockstar Saugatuck coming up in July as well as a bunch of other awesome things like this performance from Pearl Jam.


Catch the 2 Guys Show every Tuesday night at 9:00 PM EDT.

Going Big - Caine's Arcade Style

[caption id="attachment_532" align="alignleft" width="225"] Willis Tower, Caine's Arcade Style[/caption]

Inspired by all of the creativity and ingenuity involved in the building of Caine's Arcade, I took our annual research of the World's tallest skyscrapers into the cardboard construction world.

This project with third graders took on many layers.
-Learning to research, looking

[caption id="attachment_545" align="alignleft" width="225"] One World Trade Center Freedom Tower[/caption]

for specific facts
-Manipulating and studying models in Sketchup
-Understanding and calculating scale, 200 feet in real life equaled one foot of cardboard
-Engineering of a free-standing structure
-Creativity and style
-Developing perseverance and stamina when the best laid plans fall flat, literally

Some projects came together much better than others. We are dedicating one final class period to our architecture next week. At that time, we will sit down and take a hard look at what went well and what did not go well. Not all buildings are are going to stand as well as this version of the Willis Tower in Chicago. The biggest challenge will be for the kids to tell me why their building experience went well or what could have gone better. They are just third graders. If we don't give them the chance to try projects like this and experience the trials and tribulations of collaboration then we can't expect it just to naturally happen.

Update: #FlippedClassroom Flop

Mako by Emma from Andy Losik on Vimeo.

So it has been three weeks since my attempt to get second graders making movies crashed and burned right before my principal's eyes for my formal observation.

I can't tell you how much support my sharing that experience generated from readers of my blog and friends on social media. I stated then that it was actually an experience I needed because I was bound to grow from it and see this project through to completion.

Now three weeks later I am proud to share that over half of the second graders have successfully completed their projects. Check out Emma's above.

Along the way the kids began to express their frustration over the amount of background noise that kept interfering with their voiceover work. Others simply struggled with using that specific feature in iMovie. To assist in this step, I slowed down the process and worked one-on-one with them on this part. One kid would record at a time with me away from where the rest were working quietly. To provide help to those still just trying to reach this step, I set up a Genius Bar just like at the Apple store. Kids who had mastered the process set up shop to help other students. Those completely done or waiting to record voice could select from a handful of problem solving games like Tinkerball and Tumble Town.

Projects are getting done with quality. Kids are getting one-on-one time with me. Kids are helping kids while others build additional skills...and I got better as a teacher. It just took a few lumps getting to this point. As far as the observation goes, my principal came back yesterday and liked the progress. He even spent a little time working at the Genius Bar helping kids with their videos.

Elementary Market Day: A great 'maker' experience

Two  of the really cool events that happen at the elementary school where I teach and the elementary school where my daughter attends are the student-led market days.  The two schools put their own spin on market day, but the premise is the same.

It is a mini maker faire, DIY entrepreneurial experience where students develop, market, and then sell handmade wares to classmates. My daughter used unwanted upholstery samples to create microfiber computer/smart phone screen cleaners and cloth book marks. Other projects kids made included root beer floats, pvc pipe marshmallow shooters, and laser cut metal letters painted in popular university colors glued on a magnet. I have even seen a massage booth and a miniature golf hole complete with volcano.

What an amazing outpouring of creativity was on display in those gymnasiums!

Products have to be pre-approved by staff but created primarily by the students themselves. Each school has students advertise during the days leading up to the big sales day either via poster or promotional spots they deliver live during morning announcements.

At Douglas Elementary, Market Day works as a fundraiser where proceeds go toward the end of the year 5th grade celebration at a local fun spot. Raising money this way gives the kids a stake in the efforts and builds a sense of giving and working toward a shared cause. Items are sold to other kids and nobody ends up with ugly wrapping paper and overpriced cheese logs like the average fund raiser.

At Blue Star Elementary, teachers use Market Day to build meaning around economic concepts like operating costs and profit. Students have to use their own money or seek a loan from family members. All costs have to be detailed and recorded. These students get to keep all of the money from their sales but must re-pay any loans immediately.

Talk about authentic assessment when it comes to whether kids developed and marketed a successful product.

The thing I like most about the Market Day concept is that it lets each kid develop something they enjoy from their own interests and background. These are just a couple of ways to hold Market Day. I am sure with a little more creativity, there are lots of other ways too.