Overview of the Project The objective of this project was to introduce our 7th-grade students to the world of automata. Using a 4" x 6" cardboard box, 1/4" dowels, and laser-cut pieces for elements like cams and cranks, each student embarked on a journey to create their own moving sculpture. The students were given the... Continue Reading →
My teaching partner and I recently worked with our 7th-grade students on a 2D design project using Procreate on the iPad and Adobe Illustrator on their laptops. Our goal was to have students create portrait designs incorporating the concepts of line, color, texture, and shape while selecting a person that inspired them in some way.... Continue Reading →
As part of our sixth-grade capstone project, The Legends of the Trash Creatures, students learn coding and robotics skills through the Hummingbird Robotics platform, the micro:bit, and MakeCode. We take students through basic operations like turning an LED on and off, controlling a servo motor, and sensing the environment through changes in light and distance... Continue Reading →
(* This post has been updated since the original post date) I first saw this concept in action at Moxi, the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, in Santa Barbara. Like a mini version of the Exploratorium, Moxi provides visitors of all ages with hands-on science experiments, arts and crafts, and workshops ranging from high-tech... Continue Reading →
As a ramp-up to the 8th-grade capstone Passion Project, we work to provide our students the experience of design and Design Thinking through various projects. This year, as a result to having little exposure to woodworking and power tool training due to the pandemic, our 8th grade DCM (Design•Code•Make) class focused on a furniture design... Continue Reading →
In almost all of my work with students, I search for "low-floor and high-ceiling" tools, meaning they are easy to use from the start yet have tremendous potential for growth in the learning process. However, I often take on new tools that have a steeper learning curve in my own learning, hoping to utilize my... Continue Reading →
This month, Tinkercad released a new Shapes Panel organized by categories and subcategories of shapes. This new look replaces and enhances the previous version and will soon include models submitted by Tinkercad users. Here are the current categories: You can preview each category in full or isolated into subcategories. For example, here is the Vehicles & Machines... Continue Reading →
For the past few weeks, I have been working with the 6th grade on micro:bit in preparation for their Legends of the Trash Creatures project. This year, given our health protocols related to COVID, students are not doing group work, which is traditionally an essential part of our LTC project. In years past, part of... Continue Reading →
During one of our board meetings at LumenSparQ, a board member introduced us to the concept of a tiny home-built lending library where people in the community can borrow, take, and also share back books. Intrigued by this idea, I did a quick google search which turned up a fantastic nonprofit organization called Little Free... Continue Reading →
When Google's CSFirst curriculum initially debuted a few years back, it provided a simple launch pad and curriculum for classrooms to use and learn about Scratch programming. Basic lessons walked students through engaging videos on various coding topics as students practiced what they saw on video in their own Scratch project. The main frustration with using CSFirst... Continue Reading →
For the Love of Learning 