micro:bit, macro:thanks

Matthew Griffin, Operations Manager at Kids Code Jeunesse (KCJ), was in our classroom yesterday. He came to teach us about the micro:bit - a hands on tool that makes teaching code fun, easy, and accessible. KCJ is bringing micro:bits and a FREE micro:bits workshop to schools and educators across Canada. I read about this initiative on Twitter through my PLN - big thanks to Doug Braden (@DugBraden) and Michael Leonard (@mfleonard23) in particular. I applied for a workshop and was fortunate enough to get a spot.

Matthew did a great job of working with the students and presenting the material to them at their level. The students were partnered up and each group of two had a Chromebook. After an unplugged activity, the students were introduced to the block coding site where they would start putting instructions together to be tested out on the emulator and then downloaded to a micro:bit. This experience was a great opportunity to practice showing grit (persistence + resilience) as the students failed forward in their quest to program the micro:bits.

Aside from my students having a great time learning how to code the micro:bit, I have to say that this was excellent professional learning for me. Since Matthew was directly teaching the students, I had the same learning opportunity as them and I got to walk around the room and help students as well as troubleshoot some of their issues. Rather than leaving the classroom to attend a workshop on my own, it was embedded in my class with my kids so we could all learn together. This has turned out to be quite beneficial for me because I was learning it with them and because it came naturally to some of them - more than it did for me! Now I have "experts" in the room who can support their classmates. This is a big win for me and for them.

When school started this morning there were a handful of students asking when they would get to work with the micro:bits again. They are excited and want to engage with the technology to learn more about how it works and the things they can do with it. I was provided with some resources for next steps and will certainly be using them to help the students who are keen about continuing their learning around coding.

If you are interested in trying this out, head over to https://kidscodejeunesse.org/microbit.html and apply to have someone from @kidscoding come to your school to work with you and your students. You won't regret it!

The Spark

A couple of weeks ago I emailed all the teachers at my school and asked if anyone had any interest in learning about 3D printing.

No one responded to the email. I was feeling low, but realized that we were in the middle of writing progress reports.

I decided that I would approach a few people and talk to them - face to face. Before I could get out of my classroom three staff members approached me about my email! I was feeling high again - ready to chat with and support teachers and students who want to bring their ideas to life with respect to their learning at school.

One of the grade 6 teachers decided to dive into 3D printing by allowing his students to spend some time playing with Tinkercad in order to familiarize themselves with the software they would be using. The next step involved providing them with an assignment to create a key-chain with specific dimensions. The teacher was a bit apprehensive but also quite excited about the process his students would enter into.

You can imagine how happy I was when two of his students came to my door late this week to ask if they could print their key-chains. They were excited to see the machine and how it worked. We loaded their stl files into Makerbot and hit print. They were mesmerized as the machine started to do its magic.

A few hours later they were holding their key-chains and amazed at how they had visualized what they wanted to create. They put their thoughts into action to get their ideas out of their heads - into a computer - and then finally into the palm of their hands.

The classroom teacher was full of excitement as he talked to his students about their key-chains. He talked to them about the success criteria attached to the assignment, asked them to reflect on it, and together we made notes about how the machine works and how to maximize what the technology can do and the connection to the design process.

I left school on Friday feeling good about the support I was able to provide the teacher and his students and look forward to what comes next with respect to their learning and bringing it to life with the 3D technology.

As I was pondering this blog post this morning, I received a message from one of the Grade 3 teachers asking about providing him support this coming week with the technology. Of course I said yes and can’t wait to see what his ideas are and how his students respond to the challenges that will be presented.

Sometimes, a spark is needed to get people to take a risk and try something new - something they are not comfortable/familiar with. When it comes to technology and its integration into the classroom I don’t necessarily need a spark, but I recognize that others do. These teachers have started their learning journey - I can’t wait to see and hear their students in action as they embark on the same risk taking that their teachers have undertaken.