GOOGLE CERTIFIED EDUCATOR....WOHOOOOO!!!

One of my sabbatical goals was to become a Google Certified Educator.  There are currently 2 levels and I am happy to say I passed the 3 hour (yes, 3 hour) test for Level 1!  I began by going through the online modules Google provides, which can be found here.  I took all the practice tests sometimes more than once to prepare for the test.  I also took a 2 day prep course from our Intermediate Unit, which really prepared me for the 3 hour exam.  

Did I think I knew a fair bit about Google?  Absolutely.  Do I think I would have passed without putting the time in to study and take the prep course....likely not.  Although I can't share with you anything specific about the test, I suggest you put the time in to review the modules, and know how to use your Google products.    Just know that to date, if you don't pass the test the first time, you will have 2 more chances to pass.  You must get an 80% on the exam to pass and pay (mine was $10) each time, so make sure you study and go to the bathroom before taking the test!

"Hoopla"....now available FREE at your local library!

What in the world is "Hoopla"?  Only one of the neatest (if that is really a word) benefits to your local public library!  I have been wanting to try this for some time.  I recently got a new phone....the Google Pixel XL2 and I love it!  However, unlike Apple phones, it takes just a little bit of time to transfer your music to your Android phone.  I do have to admit, even though I am not an Apple person, iPhones are so much easier to incorporate music....Android phones are not impossible but you need a little more patience to get your music onto your phone.  While I was trying to figure out the music, I thought it was a great time to research about the free option available through my public library known as "Hoopla".  Downloading was so easy and they offer a ton of movies, music & audiobooks.  At my library I can borrow up to 10 items per month.  It was super easy to learn and use.  I encourage you to find out more about "Hoopla" through your public library website, along with the many other free databases and resources available for FREE from your public library!

WVSTC

The West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference gave me a chance to learn and also give back.  I held a session introducing Breakout EDU and reviewing both physical and digital breakouts.  When I walked into the room to set up I thought is was way too big for the number of people I expected...but I was wrong.  I was amazed at how many people came to find more information about how to get started and the tools they would need.

This conference was exciting for me because I was able to attend sessions from  2 award winning Future Ready Librarians.  The first was a day long pre-conference with guest speaker/moderator Leslie Preddy, who is the most recent President of the American Association of School Librarians a division of the American Library Association.  She talked about the new "AASL National School Library Standards" which will be released this November 2017.   Our district library curriculum was developed incorporating AASL Standards, in conjunction with our own district curriculum in ELA Science and Social Studies, as well as the ISTE Standards for Students.  This information will be especially helpful as we continue our interim library curriculum review this year.

The keynote speaker for this conference was Shannon McClintock Miller.  Shannon is the new spokesperson for Future Ready Librarians and Project Connect.  She also won the "Making It Happen" award from ISTE, along with a "Shorty Special Award for Connecting People".  Her message and story how she connected a whole community is important for all of us.

STEM Camp EDU

As I was planning my sabbatical and evaluating the best conferences to attend, I came across STEM Camp Edu.  When I read the goals of this week and looked at the sessions, I knew this was the camp for me.  Many people attend technology only conferences that incorporate STEAM, like ISTE and PETE & C.  STEM Camp was all about those technologies, but also included sessions on the design process and methodologies surrounding STEAM lessons.  This is, in my opinion, an important part of STEAM education.  The technology tools we use like Spheros, Ozobots, Robotics bring technology to our students, but without teaching part of a design or engineering process, I worry that these tools can easily become toys.

I met Tom Guellich (my friend in the top picture) at ISTE.  If you've ever been to ISTE you know that there are literally thousands of people in attendance.  This year they topped some 15,000 attendees.    So imagine how surprised I was checking-in at STEM Camp to run into a long lost friend!  Tom is the "FLITE" Instructor at at Hereford Elementary in the Upper Perkiomen School District.  FLITE stands for "Fundamentals Learned through Innovation, Technology, and Exploration".  What a neat title as opposed to STEAM teacher! He was one of the great lead learners at camp and taught us how to code drones....I was totally hooked!

The 2nd picture were my wonderful dorm mates.  They are all Future Ready Librarians who will be incorporating STEAM into their library curriculum.  The last picture is our final project for the week long camp.  We were to use the provided makerspace to create an arcade game that incorporated the elements of STEAM.  I am proud to say our design won first place...thanks to our friend the Pigeon!  For those of you who don't know, author Mo Willems has an incredibly popular book series around a rather demanding pigeon.  Talk about combining literacy in every aspect of STEAM!  The goal of our game was for two players to race each other using a Sphero to get the pigeon ultimately to a hot dog!  We incorporated lights and sound to make a really fun game.

After a full week of day and evening activities, I was exhausted driving home from Kutztown University.  However, I can tell you the camp was so well run and I learned many things that I can take home for my students next year.  The best part of camp though were the participants and friends I made along the way, who are passionate about incorporating STEAM into their lessons.  It was a great mix of elementary, middle and high school teachers across varying areas, from schools across the country.  I have to say I was most intimated being grouped with the physics teachers, but what a great way to learn from each other!  Because of STEM Camp, I am now part of a larger PLN with such teachers from across the country.

Project Based Learning, Studio A: Remake Learning

Studio A is a conference through the combined efforts of Avonworth School District, the LUMA Institute and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.  The focus of these 3 days was to incorporate Project Based Learning, Design Thinking and Arts Integration.  The whole idea was to remind us that we can teach PBL and also incorporate the arts for a more rich experience for our students.  The best part of the 3 days was a sharing session with other teachers/artists, to share lessons and ideas on how to make this work easily in our classes.

Presidential Libraries

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
College Station, TX

 According to the National Archives Website:

"Presidential Libraries are archives and museums, bringing together the documents and artifacts of a President and his administration and presenting them to the public for study and discussion without regard for political considerations or affiliations. Presidential Libraries and Museums, like their holdings, belong to the American people."So why are there only 14 Presidential Libraries when we have 44 former presidents?    The formal Presidential Library Act was not passed until 1955, which established a system for presidents to donate their historical documents so they are available to the general public.

Have you ever been to a Presidential Library?  I never had.  In fact, I didn't even know what a Presidential Library was.  There are currently 14 Presidential Libraries. 

This "library" was an eye-opening experience for me.  I kept wondering, "Where are books?"  While there were some books, this Presidential Library was more about the artifacts that made up President Bush's presidency.   My biggest takeaway from this museum?  I never knew that he fought in a war.  I never knew that he almost died serving our country.  Regardless if you are Democrat or Republican, I think we can all agree that those in our military that work tirelessly to defend our country are heroes.  I learned a great deal about his life before, during and after his presidency.  I can only encourage everyone to visit any presidential library any change you get.  History may not be your thing, but history tends to repeat itself...and for that reason alone, please make a point to visit.  There is so much of our history that we all hope NEVER repeats....

ISTE 2017

 

 

So this was not my first ISTE.  I thought I knew what to expect.  Attending ISTE is like drinking technology from a firehose...there is JUST. SO. MUCH.  I went about 8 years ago and it was crazy then, but nothing compared to this year.  Even just understanding the different sessions and deciding what to attend took literally hours.  In the "old days" you could attend any BYOD workshop that was being offered.  That is no longer the case.  Now when you register you can only choose one session per day.  I was honestly not crazy about that....and if you are late for your session, they will give your seat away.  Anyone that knows me knows I can't stand to be late for anything.  My whole life I have been like a little old retired person who gets to everything some 30 minutes before, so I had no fear that I would be late.  But I highly underestimated finding the right spot within this massive venue.  No, I wasn't late, but I remember one session that the room number actually had a typo in the app and no one could tell me exactly where to go.  I found myself doing the running dash just making the sessions that was outside the venue...literally.

So there are so many ways you can learn at ISTE.  Here is a quick review:

Poster sessions
That's where you can walk up to presenters who talk about a particular program they run.

Listen & Learn  
Sit down & listen.  There is usually a Q & A at the end, but with tons of people attending, it's harder to get a question answered.

Participate & Share
These can include poster sessions, but also interactive lectures.

Explore & Create
These can be playgrounds, which give you a chance to interact with new technologies.

Explore & Create
These workshops let you examine & interact with new technologies.

Do you feel like I've just put the firehose on you?

Studio A: Designing Creative K-12 Project Based Learning

The final 3 days I spent as part of a Remake Learning series was with the Avonworth School District, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Luma Institute, known as "Studio A".  The goal of this series was to foster the idea of incorporating design thinking and the arts into Project Based Learning.  I spent this time learning not only about creative ways to infuse the arts into my lessons, but also PBL strategies that could be incorporated into any unit.

An Innovator Is Someone Who....

The last few days at South Fayette, I spent in their elementary Makerspace Classroom.  I was honestly not sure about this particular session.  I have been researching "makerspaces" in libraries, classrooms, public libraries, museums....etc., now for over a year.  I have seen elaborate Makerspace areas with sewing machines, saws, drills, and more.  I have seen classroom spaces that have a few basic items like Legos and K'Nex and your usual supply of craft items; I have public libraries with "Make Areas" for buttons, weaving stations and "Makey Makey" centers.  Overall, I was left with very little excitement as to the educational value of any "Make" area.  These Makerspaces just looked like an area in my house that I had when my children were growing up.  I thought of it as my children's "craft" or "play" area....not really thinking it had much educational value.  So I entered into these two days with little expectations.  What I left with, was a fabulous toolbox of how to convert a "Makerspace" into a "STEAM Station".  

As I have mentioned before, the South Fayette approach in these areas revolves around the Engineering & Design Process, the "Habits of Mind" and Visual Thinking Strategies.  These are the influences on a Makerspace that create an invaluable learning area for their students.  Being exposed to many of their Project Based Learning lessons started me thinking about a wide variety of ways students could utilize Makerspace materials in ways that created more actual STEAM experiences.

I See....I Think....I Wonder...

South Fayette incorporates Visual Thinking Strategies in all their STEAM lessons, as well as in all curricular areas where applicable.  The "I see, I think, I wonder" came as a result of Project Zero, born from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Project Zero was originally designed to improve education of the arts, but over the years has expanded into the areas of intelligence, understanding, creativity, and many other areas of human thinking. As this concept is introduced to their students during Project Based Learning, an Essential Question is then created.  Lessons generally conclude with a "3-2-1 Bridge".  Students are asked to add 3 words of reflection, 2 questions and 1 way to apply.

3D Printing

So what exactly does 3D printing do?  Is it a fad or in our future?  This video explains relatively simply how 3D printing works.  It is just amazing to see what has been printed and how far we have come with this technology.  Some 3D printers are even within the $200 range.

The class I took at South Fayette was on the 3D software called BlocksCAD.  It is a fairly complicated program but sure gave me the overview I needed to finally understand how 3D software and printers actually work.  

I also took a class on TinkerCAD, which is another 3D design software and much more user-friendly for younger students.  By user-friendly, I in no way mean easy....after 15 minutes I was completely frustrated and not sure how to move forward, even with the TinkerCAD tutorials.  Luckily, Kirston, one of my Lead Learners at STEMCAMP.edu, was able to sit with me and review the very basics of the program.  If I decide to use it in class, I know there will be huge learning curve for myself before I could ever bring it to my students. 

My takeaway from 3D printing?  I believe it is here to stay and is just in its infancy.  The possibilities especially as it relates to medicine and its ability to help prolong life or make the world easier for those who have lost limbs seems so promising.  My own grandfather lost fingers on his left hand in a terrible farming accident and spent the rest of his life struggling with use of only one hand.  Today the strides that have been made in prosthesis would have made his life so much easier.  I can only hope that the advances in medicine/technology continue to help others.

Lego We Do 2.0....or "Lego We Did After 3 Attempts"!

Another set of Robots we worked with were the Lego We Do 2.0 Core Sets.    Again, I am not being compensated to write about these, nor do I have any in my library.  But I do know that children young and old, are fascinated with anything that has the word "lego(s)" attached! These are the most recent offering from the Lego people.  They differ from the 1.0 version in that they have added many online educational modules for the students to interact with while building their robots, and they also work off Bluetooth.

The software to code these robots is available as a free download.  It was fairly easy to use, although not necessarily as intuitive as I would have hoped.  The modules available online to create each robot, however, were easy to follow and we built our robots with ease.  I had two takeaways from this experience:  

1.  The process for the initial building of these robots lacks creativity from the onset.  Not     that the robots can't be modified, but building from the beginning is something most young children will easily be able to do.

2.  The kits themselves are fairly expensive and we found the bluetooth to be finicky, as shown in the video above.  It seemed that some computers were able to launch the bluetooth more easily than others.  

While I would still love to have these available in my library, my first purchase would still be the Hummingbird Robotics kits because of their integration of the Arts and Electricity, combined with block coding.

Hummingbird Robotics

One STEAM session at South Fayette centered around the Hummingbird Robotics Kits. The Hummingbirds originated right here in Pittsburgh through Carnegie Mellon's CREATE Lab. Anyone involved with STEAM knows there are so many options for robotics/tools that it can be overwhelming to find just the right ones that can offer students a wide range of experiences.   I am in now way being compensated for these kits, nor do we even have these in our library.  However, I am hopeful that will change in the future.  The Hummingbirds give the students the chance to be creative, while also learning block coding and some basic electricity facts as well.  

First stop on my sabbatical journey....the endless professional development options offered through Remake Learning.  The first set of sessions I attended were held at South Fayette School District.  South Fayette has had a vision for years directed at creating a STEAM environment for their students.  The district did not just invest in their physical buildings and talk about STEAM, but has embraced this movement or rather philosophy, district-wide.  I can't tell you how excited I was to attend these sessions!

Most of the classes I attended were at their new Intermediate School.  The first thing that completely knocked my socks off was their STEAM room.  The tables were all on casters with whiteboard tops.  Their "Wonder Wall" was the ideal space for students to brainstorm, create a vision, and revise this idea based on their experiences.  The organization of all things needed for STEAM was incredible.....and this was just the front room!  In the back "Collaboration Room" area, was yet another separate space for students to work through ideas collaboratively.  Now, here is the best part; this was just 1 of 3 "STEAM Rooms" in this building!  They were all on different floors, located in the very heart of the floor and school. It was not hard to imagine the focus of this district for their students and/or visitors.  

If I have learned anything recently, it is that STEAM can mean, depending on the school district and teacher, different things.  It can be the simple integration of a STEAM component such as Bee Bots, Puzzlets, Dot & Dash Robots, etc.  Lessons in coding can appear in a classroom, or as a standard required curriculum for specific grade level(s).  However, at South Fayette, their STEAM curriculum incorporates computational thinking across many curricular areas, beginning right in Kindergarten.  I learned about their incorporation of "Habits of Mind" as well as Visual Thinking Strategies.  After 7 days my head was literally swirling with new ideas not only from the wonderful teachers at South Fayette, but also from the connections I made with many other educators from schools across Pennsylvania!

SO MANY BOOKS SO LITTLE TIME!

And so it begins....my professional development reading journey!

Of course, as a Librarian, my first source for professional development books would be our wonderful Allegheny County/Carnegie Libraries!  I follow countless, fabulous librarians/STEAM teachers & technology leaders who have recommended these books to help create library/technology lessons for all diverse learners.  Call me a nerd, but I am so stinkin excited to dive into each book....I only wish there were more hours in the day!

Welcome To My Blog!

A warm welcome to everyone joining me!  I am a K-5 Librarian located just north of Pittsburgh, PA.  This blog will detail my Sabbatical Journey for the 2017 - 2018 School Year, but will begin now, during my planning period!  

As if deciding to take a sabbatical wasn't a big enough decision, organizing my professional development activities has also proven quite challenging.  My plan is to attend as many educational conferences as possible along with visiting outstanding Librarians, STEAM Teachers and my friends at Public Libraries.  My main goals are to develop professionally in the areas of:

• STEAM curriculum and implementation in a School Library setting
• Continued Technology integration
• Sensory / Storytelling best practices

Join me along the way!