Monthly Archives: May 2015
NAESP National Panel on Innovation
Click Flyer to View Video
We’ve got an NAESP National Panel planned with some spectacular surprises. Join us for a conversation about innovation and connectivity in education. To get to know the presenters before the conference, simply click on the image above or download the DAQRI augmented reality app on a mobile device. (Just hover over the flyer while in the DAQRI app to launch into a 4D experience!)
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Time: 2:00pm – 3:15pm
Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Room 201B
Presenters Include:
Can’t travel to NAESP in Long Beach? Watch for a Periscope link via Twitter to join us virtually!
What’s Your One Book?
We teamed up with the kids from Cantiague Elementary in New York and Byram Intermediate School in New Jersey to share our favorite books. Our kids created their collaborative podcast to inspire the most awesome summer of reading EVER. They packed nearly 30 book recommendations into this action-packed five minute podcast. Checkout what K-8 students are reading across the country!
We hope you will share what you plan to read this summer too. You can start by answering the same question our students responded to, “What’s your one book?” Post a picture of your book to the hashtag #StuConnect on Twitter. Let’s celebrate with our students and join them in their reading awesomeness!
*Special thanks to my friends Mr. John Fritzky and Dr. Tony Sinanis who helped amplify student voice and create this cross-state podcast.
And One
Image Credit: imgkid.com
In basketball, you might hear a player yell the phrase, “And one” after somebody is fouled attempting to make a basket. If a player makes the basket in the process of being fouled, the referee can award an additional shot attempt. In other words, “And one” can be unexpectedly awesome because it means that a player made a basket and gets the chance to score again.
Life is full of “And one” opportunities, but you have to be purposeful in creating them.
University teacher preparation programs play a significant role in education. Earlier this year, our school welcomed a busload of more than 20 future educators. The undergrads were taking their first education class. Our goal in engaging with the university and undergraduate students at such an early stage of their preparation was simple; we wanted to provide an authentic glimpse into the 21st century student learning experience in a way that no single semester-long technology class ever could.
Our students will be better served if we are more intentional about formal & informal induction processes.
Teacher preparation programs must interact with the mind-blowing possibilities that a relevant and connected pedagogy represent. Technology can be a transformational tool and future educators should be made aware of this expectation early in their studies. The moment we pigeonhole technology to an app or electronic worksheet we limit student potential. We need to shine the light on current best-practice! Hence, our “And one” moment was born.
After the busload of future educators arrived, we started our day by convening in our media center to review the rotations we’d set-up in advance. Flanked by a few of our Mobile MakerSpace carts we conversed about pedagogy and discussed important “look fors” prior to visiting classrooms. Then, we initiated some rotations that provided university students a variety of opportunities to observe what our teachers were doing to cultivate skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Towards the end of the visit we reconvened to reflect on the rotations and discuss important questions. The entire experience was an “And one” moment for me.
When we invest in the capacity of others we’re not only living in the moment, but we’re adding value to tomorrow’s generation of learners.
I knew that the 20 or more future teachers on that bus would be profoundly impacted by seeing the inspiring everyday work occurring in our classrooms, but I didn’t expect to be so deeply moved by the experience myself. I am convinced that schools need to be more actively engaged with universities and teacher preparation programs if we are to collectively rise to the challenges we face together.
What’s an “And one” moment you experienced this school year? What was unexpectedly awesome and how did you make a difference for kids?
I challenge you to respond by sharing your #AndOneMoment. Then tag two additional educators you respect to add to the conversation!
True Learner Empowerment
We recently had a couple remote controls from our educational drones drop to the ground resulting in broken joysticks. Accidents happen and we completely understand this, but thanks to our amazing staff and students this is not the end of the story.
An elementary student was empowered to help engineer a new joystick using our school’s 3D printer. She worked with Mr. Hinnenkamp to create a tiny joystick sleeve that fit over the broken drone remote controls using a design program called Tinkercad. Everything works as good as new now, and our students had the opportunity to experience authentic innovation and learner empowerment.
This is precisely why we feel it is critical to put students in the center of their learning (even if it means things get messy or broken every once in a while). Kids have the capacity to innovate, engineer, think critically, and solve a myriad of real problems; they don’t require worksheets to do so! All students deserve the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in a safe and supportive learning environment. If the first time students have the opportunity to innovate and invent using real-world tools is high school or college, then we will have failed them.
This is more than a story about drones or a 3D printer. I took the opportunity to speak with the student that helped repair her drone remote control. The pride she exuded when she explained to me how she had fixed something that was accidentally broken was unmistakable. There was a humble confidence that I had not seen before. As we finished chatting I asked her how this experience made her feel and her response literally choked me up…I nearly cried. Suffice it to say, the opportunity she was given to fix her drone remote meant the world to her. And THAT means the world to me.
Thank you, teachers. Thank you for truly empowering our students. I honestly LOVE how our entire team empowers students and supports our kids in learning skills they will need to thrive today and excel tomorrow.
Adjusting Course 