10: Future-casting with Makerspace

The practice that I will take with me after this course was all the information I learned about MakerSpaces.  I have felt skeptical about makerspaces for a couple years now and I really doubted a makerspace's place in the school library.  For example, if I am working with a class of reluctant readers, giving them a bunch of Duplo blocks and telling them to make something isn't going to influence their interest in reading.  How would parents respond to their child building on an epic Lego wall in the school library?  It's a library. Get a book.

Now, I understand the power of makerspaces and I appreciate how the hands-on nature of makerspaces counters all the screen time students experience during the school day. I will continue to use digital curation to promote makerspaces.  We are starting makerspaces in January and I predict more than a few eyebrows will be raised as parents, teachers, and administrators pass by the library as they walk down the halls.  The digital curation I have about makerspace resources will be a good justification and introduction to makerspaces for education stakeholders who are unfamiliar with makerspace. 

I also find the BEST applications of makerspace materials tied in with curriculum via Twitter.  I will continue to scour Twitter for makerspace ideas and to hopefully share our own makerspace creations someday. I agree with Laura Gardner in the Horizon report when she said that "No one is anti-library, but libraries do have a marketing problem." That statement galvanizes me to continue to tweet about JBE library and all we are doing, reading, and creating.

Sullivan, B. (2016, December 29). Librarians share their predictions for education trends in 2017. Retrieved December 02, 2018, from http://oomscholasticblog.com/post/librarians-share-their-predictions-education-trends-2017

9: Coloring with Quiver

          Quiver is an app that transforms a coloring page into a 3D, animated interaction.  Users simply visit the Quiver site and print off Quiver coloring pages.  The user then colors the page.  When the user opens the Quiver app over the completed coloring page, the page comes to life.  See the below video for an example:

Please note that the coloring pages must be printed from the Quiver website for the animations to work.  

The Quiver app can be downloaded from the app store and the Quiver coloring pages can be found here: http://www.quivervision.com/.

I can see educators use Quiver to extend a lesson.  Here is an example from Common Sense Media (2015) of how a teacher uses Quiver:

"I have used Quiver, formerly ColAR Mix, with my elementary students. We would use these coloring pages when they tied into what we were covering to extend a lesson. For example, we used the dragon coloring page after reading a story about a dragon and the design a shoe page after we learned about how shoes are made. Students loved seeing their 2D art become 3D when using this app."

Coloring pages aren't the most rigorous activity out there.  I would suggest using Quiver with younger students to close out a unit of study with a bang.  I don't see how Quiver would benefit older students, but I would love to hear suggestions if any are out there!

Quiver Education - 3D Coloring App Teacher Review. (2015, November 29). Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/quiver-3d-coloring-app-teacher-review/4092031

8: Old Toy, New Trick: Epic Lego Wall

Diana Rendina's Epic Lego Wall is a new-to-me concept that I can see implementing in my school library.  

Full disclosure: I am uncharmed by Lego.  I have stepped on hundreds of Legos though my baby-sitting years and I have scooped countless Legos from the washing machine after my stepchildren ran their laundry.  However, I respect Lego's lasting appeal and I am drawn to Lego's approachability in the myriad of makerspace tech and tools. But how to implement Lego in the library?  The Epic Lego Wall.



A pro of the Epic Lego Wall?  Its vertical execution.  Something about the up-and-down of the Epic Lego Wall suggests collaboration to me in a way that horizontally executed Lego work spaces does not.  I think it's that the "huddle and hoard" element is missing.  You know, when you see a child claim rights to a selection of communal Legos and then the child hunkers their shoulders down over his or her Lego stash to communicate a physical boundary to potential Lego snatchers. 

 The vertical board insists on left-to-right-to-up-to-down orientation which, to me, promotes Lego interaction.  You'll note I did not say "Lego sharing".  I am a realist.

Another pro of the Epic Lego Wall is its fluidity of creation. In my world of mostly fixed schedule school library, maker spaces compete for time with book checkout and back-to-back classes.  I like the idea of starting with a maker space that does not require project completion because there is no project.  The maker space  just exists there, waiting for a creator to begin building or begin prying Legos off the wall in order to build differently.  

Epic Lego wall is universally approachable and worthwhile to all school libraries.  Instead of allowing students to create with Lego for their allotted 40 minute library period and then put the Legos away, the Epic Lego Wall gives makers an audience for their creativity.   As Colin Angevine and Josh Weisgrau (2016) state, 

"The magic of the makerspace does not come from the tools in the room; instead the learning theory that guides makerspaces is founded upon the unique power of learning through creating shareable work."

The Epic Lego Wall never ends, there is no finished product, no circuit has to light up, no characters must be coded correctly for it to be a "success."  The Epic Lego Wall is  there to create simply for the sake of creating.  In our highly anxious world of education, I imagine that as a relief for our students. 

Site: http://renovatedlearning.com/2014/09/12/the-epic-library-lego-wall-how-to-build-one/

Situating Makerspaces in Schools. (2016, June 06). Retrieved November 01, 2018, from http://hybridpedagogy.org/situating-makerspaces-in-schools/

7: Civility and Cyberbullying

What struck me the most reading about cyber bullying was the categorization of different types of bullying.  This is such a change from when I grew up and a bully was identified as simply that- a bully.  A kid with problems.  A kid to avoid. 


     The acknowledgement of the nuances of bullying and bullying types identified by Faucher as: overt and covert, physical, verbal, and psychological, and cyber-bullying (2015) demonstrates to me a thorough commitment to reducing bullying.  The identification of bullying categories seems to be a start towards helping bullies change their behaviors.

Bullying will never be completely eradicated.  As we interact over more and more virtual platforms, bullies will find more ways to bully.  I plan to teach cyber-bullying to my older students by presenting scenarios of cyber-bullying on cards for small groups of students to read out loud and discuss what type of bullying is being presented on the scenario card and how to deal with it.  I also invite my students to present their questions about what is cyber-bulling.  They come up with great on-the-spot questions such as, "If someone takes a picture of me with their school device and without my permission, is that cyber-bullying?"  

For my younger students, I plan to teach cyber-bullying through a Kahoot to first identify what is bullying.  I find that my younger students are quick to assume they are the target of bullying when really the behavior is teasing.  Correctly identifying bullying behavior in real life interactions will set up a solid base for identifying cyber-bullying later in virtual interactions.

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the Sandbox to the Inbox: Comparing the Acts, Impacts, and Solutions of Bullying in K-12, Higher Education, and the Workplace. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(6). doi:10.11114/jets.v3i6.1033

6: Kahoot

Using Kahoot! for Pre-Assessment and Formative Assessment

Kahoot! is a device agnostic web tool that allows users to create question/response and survey activities for their learners.  For example, a user can type questions and corresponding multiple choice answers into Kahoot! and then share the Kahoot via a code to their learners.  The user then hosts a real-time learning activity as Kahoot presents each question to the learners on a large communal screen, such as a smart board, and the learners use their personal devices to select the correct answer for each question.  The user then advances through each question one at a time.  Question and response availability can be set up with a time limit or not.  Music can be played throughout the Kahoot or not.  Also, after each question is completed, the learner who answered correctly and the quickest is posted on the communal screen.  When the Kahoot is over, the top three learners' names are posted on the communal screen as well.  Kahoots can be set up as learner vs learner on an individual basis or small group vs small group.  

Kahoot accounts can be set up and Kahoots can be created by visiting kahoot.com.  Learners, however, must access a particular game pin for each Kahoot via kahoot.it.

Kahoots can be integrated into instructional activities as pre-assessments and formative assessments.  I can see how Kahoots can be especially helpful as a formative assessment tool administered just before a summative assessment.  Another feature of Kahoots is that after learners have responded to a question, the communal screen shows a percentage breakdown of how many students chose the right answer and how many students chose the wrong answer.  This feedback is useful for learners- as in, better get to studying if your answers are all wrong in the Kahoot- and this feedback is useful for instructors, as they can see where content needs to be reviewed or retaught.

Here is a quick tutorial for Kahoot!