A learning opportunity comes to mind immediately when I think of skills I would like to acquire in the near future, so that I can apply them towards my teaching and offer students new experiences and learning opportunities. I have a nagging feeling that I have not learned how to use the 3D Printer and it's associated design programs that our LLC currently has available.
In my first year, here, at my third library, I was overwhelmed by the amount of technology it had to offer. I spent the year teaching myself and learning from others how to use it and am becoming more literate each day. I learned how to use multiple tools and technologies to help students create projects and have gone on to teach others how to incorporate technology and web tools into their teaching practices.
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| By combining green screen technology with the editing capabilities of Book Creator, students have learned how to combine multiple digital skills when creating. |
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Our school is really big on making and Maker Faire. It used to have a Makerspace, however, the school has grown immensely and is continuing to grow with a 12 classroom addition starting this summer. As a result, the designated portable previously used for this purpose has been taken over by a classroom. For this reason, the 3D Printer has been moved to the LLC.
I would like to explore the grade 7 ADST part of the curriculum that encourages learners to acquire sets of tools that help them in their design thinking for problem solving and in creativity.
Problem and project based learning models would be ideal pedagogy for inspiring design thinking. The questions that arise from student collaboration about problems and possibilities will bring them to the main area of study on their own rather than being led there by a teacher.
Key words I envision for this inquiry include:
design thinking
drafting
designing
prototype
planning
visualization
brainstorming
ideation
adaptability
both open and closed questioning
collaboration
I will need to learn how to use a digital design app such as Tinkercad in order to create and Tinkering Suite in order to ensure the design can be transferred to the 3D Printer and printed. I feel it would be necessary to have a command of this technology before offering it again as a learning opportunity for the makers in our school.
We have been able to repurpose an unused Library Truck to house the ADST tools, so that it can be wheeled around the school. I have collaborated a lot over the year helping classes use these tools as my background in StageCraft has allowed me to do this. As the LLC teacher and one of the Maker specialists in our school, I feel the additional knowledge on designing and making with the 3D Printer could really benefit the learning opportunities of students when it comes time to create.
A strong first post. You are making good connections to the ADST curriculum and have curated a list of very topical keywords. The picture of the green screen project highlighted an important part of your discussion. Your comments, about how using tech tools alone does not inspire meaningful learning opportunities, resonates with me. It is so important to have our students move beyond learning to use tech and get to the place where they are using tech for their learning. In your next post, I encourage you to include links to outside sources (articles, images, videos) to compliment, highlight or annotate the discussion. In this post, a link right to the ADST Curriculum would have provided further information for your reader.
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