March Madness-Team JXN Style

I use to complain about how long and drawn out the month of March was. No holidays or vacations to look forward to, and spring break teasing us at the end of the month. You may get lucky with one last snow day (which we did this year) and if I was fortunate my birthday would fall on a weekend at the end of the month.

As we roll through this final week of March and into spring break I caught myself saying "Holy crap, it's almost April!". I have felt blessed for this "easy week” with not many appointments so I can get caught up on all the things I have let slide over the past month.

However, March 2016 was pretty amazing for Team JXN!  Kellie DeLosSantos joined our team in late February and jumped right in.

We spent 3 days in Grand Rapids at MACUL presenting, volunteering, making, networking and enjoying time with educators we only get to see a few times a year.

On St. Patrick's Day we had some fun with the New Teacher Academy and held Shamrocks and Scavengers a massive scavenger hunt through Jackson County. Teachers were divided into teams of 4. Given a list of coordinates and hints. Then given 30 minutes to plan their routes. Once they were on the road their task was to get to one of the points, take a team picture at the location, and use a QR code to post the picture to a Padlet to let us know they had made it to the location. If they were one of the first 2 team to the location they were given some pretty great St. Patty swag by one of the JCISD employees that was hanging out there. Teams were given points at each location (they did not know the point values) and extra bonus points were given to teams that could find Alaina or I at specific locations we tweeted out. At the end of the afternoon they all met back at the ISD for cool prizes! Check out pictures from the event HERE.

#teamjxn

The following week we hosted a PD for local teachers called “I STEAM, You SCREAM”. This PD was developed to give teachers time to play and plan for STEAM and Maker activities in their classrooms. Time is something that many teachers don’t have and as great as STEAM and Maker are, planning can be very time consuming.

Teachers playing with Spheros 

We topped off March with Keicher 3rd Grade Tech Day. This was a conference inspired by some awesome Mattawan teachers that have paved the way for technology exploration in a fun and engaging way. Stacy Arnold was the brainchild for this specific event and we were fortunate enough to help her in the planning process. Students selected sessions they wanted to attend throughout the day. Volunteer teachers and Michigan Center High School students helped run each session. It was an amazing and inspirational day for everyone. I think the VIDEO will say it all.

Students playing with MakeyMakey

I am proud of ALL our TeamJxn members! Alaina and Kellie are two amazing gals to work with and Shannon who lets us follow our crazy ideas. Along with some pretty amazing admin and staff in Jackson County with innovative minds along with passion and pride to do what is best for their kids! 

I can't wait to see what the rest of 2016 holds.

I Lost Something at MACUL 2016

Yes, I came home with all the iPads and robots. What I lost at MACUL 2016 was my voice! If you know me well, you know I can talk...a lot. It's a trait of being an only child. However, it has been a long time since I lost my voice. I think I was in the 8th grade when I had full-on laryngitis. I guess it's a good thing I don't plan on spending the evening on my party line. 

This bout of laryngitis is due to the great conversations I had with amazing educators at the MACUL conference. Conversations with good friends, co-workers, old co-workers, Twitter friends I finally got to meet, new acquaintances, and attendees at my sessions. 
We spoke about Making, MakerSpaces, technology, technology clubs, networking, communicating, learning spaces, and coaching. We shared stories, experiences, and goals.

I may not have made it to many session. Ok, I did not make it to any. But, spending that time listening to adults who were inspired to make a change in their classroom because of something they learned in a session or played with in the MakerSpace and hearing from those sweet kiddos in the student showcase share their learning was well worth it!
I will continue to learn from these conversations because I will continue to learn from these people I met and connected with at MACUL. Once my voice comes back:) 

NovaNow? Yes Please!

"Ever wish that you could chat with the “expert presenter” at a coffee shop instead of watching her PowerPoint in a large auditorium?

Ever wish that professional development involved critical thinking instead of following the latest fads?

Ever wish a conference was small, intimate, vendor-free, conversational, and actually located in a school?

Ever wish students themselves were part of professional development?

Ever wish a conference was the beginning of professional development relationships instead of the climax?"

The front page of the NovaNow website pretty much sums it up! I had a blast at my first NovaNow conference held at a beautiful school, I am extremely jealous and in awe of; Kent Innovation High School, in Grand Rapids, MI. The first day started out with the KI students showcase, tour, and MakerSpace. I had a great time listening to the students talk passionately about the projects they had worked on. You could truly see the pride in their eyes as they spoke to our group. 

I also learned that I am no match for a Polaroid Camera. The take apart station in the MakerSpace and the amazing Lori Barr session on her take apart labs was a huge motivator for me to start one myself soon! (wink wink. DM me if you are interested).

Ann vs. The Polaroid 

Innovation is everywhere in this school! From record players (I checked, the students do know how to work it, according to Trevor Muir) to the cell phone in the boot! How come I never thought about that? Genius! 

The beauty of this conference is the connections you will leave with and conversations you will wish to have more of; from PBL in math to classroom design, from the roots of Montessori to PBL chaos, to icy debrief walks in the afternoon...

On the morning of day 2 were had the privilege to listen to a group called Diatribe, a group of amazing young adults doing amazing things for high schools around the state of Michigan. I would highly encourage you to check out what they are about and consider bringing them into your schools. Their message and poetry is amazing and left me teary eyed and joyful all at once! 

I would encourage educators to follow NovaNow and plan on attending next years conference. You will walk away feeling refreshed, inspired, and connected following this conference!    

Last, but not least. I learned what Fromage is! Thank you friends. 

Build Your Own Lessons for Osmo

I love in when I learn something new! Here is a short clip (not the best editing I have ever done) on how to build your own lessons for the Osmo Words app!

Classroom MakerSpace Solution

"It was easy and it's the most desired planning time choice. It's great to see what the kids create."

~Laurie Chenevey, Adrian Public Schools

One of my New Year goals is to write a blog post at least once a month (I need to get myself back on blogging track). An unexpected work from home snow day has given me some much needed time to get caught up this month. A bonus is that I get to write this poolside as my kids swim at our local (as in, across the street) family rec center.

Before school was let out for the holiday’s I was lucky enough to visit my son’s kindergarten classroom. Laurie Chenevey is an amazing teacher, she has had both of my children for kindergarten and I am so amazed by her patience, kindness, flexibility, and willingness to try new things. At the end of each school day, Laurie gives her students a 30 minute Planning Time. This is a time for Laurie to get her day wrapped up, folders ready to go home, answer a few quick emails, and get organized for the next day. Kids are given choices such as; iPad time, LEGO’s, scrolling, marble run, and others.

After introducing MakerSpaces to the staff, Laurie took it upon herself to add a creation station to her Planning Time. The creation station consists of random materials like cups, foam, cardboard, and straws. Kids are simply allowed to create! My son LOVES this time! So much he has requested for an old shelving unit I was going to take to the dump be moved into his room so he can display the things he makes during this time.

The beauty about this time is that it is complete student choice. Even before last year and adding the creation station, she essentially had a MakerSpace. A place with really no rules, no standards, no steps. Just a place for students to express their passions and create them with different materials.

Follow Laurie on Twitter or check out her classroom Facebook Page!

To Unfold: What a MakerSpace Taught Me (Part 2)

My four major takeaways from running an elementary MakerSpace: 

1. How to answer the question, What is a MakerSpace?

           My best answer...a space with materials for students to let their curiosity and imagination
            come to life. An informal, playful, atmosphere for learning to unfold. A space where making,    

            rather than consuming is the focus. A space where transdisciplinary learning, inquiry, risk-taking,
            thinking, crafting, tinkering, and wondering can blossom.  

2. Where to find materials for MakerSpace.

           Twenty kids will go through materials quickly. The Lincoln School Improvement Team was lucky
            enough to have received a $1,000 grant from the Adrian Schools Education Foundation to buy
            many of the non-consumable materials, tools, and robotics for the space. However, what really
            makes a MakerSpace is the consumable materials cardboard boxes can be unfolded to make
            cars, boats, and Eiffel Towers. Foam pieces, tubing, and random plastic shapes become the
            lights, windows, hinges, and legs to those creations. The Scrapbox in Ann Arbor, MI was my
            saving grace for finding many of these random and odd materials. Goodwill is where we were
            able to get our free cardboard, and parents also donated materials that they had at home or work.

3. It’s not always about the Making

          Yes, the making is where all the tinkering, creativity, and innovation unfolds. But, in the end most

            of those creations will get taken apart, torn down, and remade or recycled into something new. As
            I see it, a MakerSpace is about investigation, planning, creating, communicating, personal
            learning, and reflection. It is not a place for grades, standards, test, or pressure (and should never
            be in my opinion). During MakerNIght, I watched parents, teachers, students, and community
            members creating and discovering together. What they took home (other than a cardboard
            creation) was a memory. A memory of creativity, community, and fun in their child's school
            building.  

4. To Unfold

           In a MakerSpace environment, there are no specific directions, no rules, no time limits or
            deadlines. It’s a place where ideas can be crumpled up, evaluated and reflected upon, unfolded,
            and recreated. Then repeated, over and over again...and it’s safe.

 

Shift: What a MakerSpace Taught Me

Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of running an after school MakerClub at my children's school. As amazing and rewarding as this experience was I have had a really hard time preparing this final reflection. If this Google Doc would have been a piece of notebook paper I would have crumpled it up a million times. Ironically, that is what I took away from the MakerSpace, the fact that it is OK to unfold that crumbled paper and start over. No one is watching me write this draft, no one is judging me, no one will give me a grade, and I have as much time as I need.   

Week, after week, I watched the MakerClub kids create, teardown, redo, forget, start again, ask questions, try a different avenue, smile and laugh. In this space no one was watching to make sure they followed directions, no one was judging how their project looked compared to the next kid, no one was grading them, and no one was rushing them. And I bet, you could see more determination, drive, grit, and perseverance in that one hour each week than you would see all year in the classroom. However, that was not evident the first few weeks. The kids had a hard time just being told to "make"; they were a bit lost and looking for directions. All day they are told what to do and how to do it. This "space" in the school, where they were told to do as they pleased, with lots of materials, was a bit confusing for them (and some of us parents).

It’s by no means the teachers fault, they do their best each and every day to make learning meaningful, playful, and creative for our children (and still hold to standards, testing, and evaluation expectations). This is a systems problem. A system that needs a shift. A shift away from the industrial, conveyor belt, spoon feeding system to an inquiring, planning, creating, sharing, communicating, and reflecting system. I am not suggesting that every day should (or can) be filled with cardboard, glue, and popsicle sticks. What I am driven to do is help educators, and stakeholders recognize how to make a shift and keep in meaningful.

Stay tuned...

“Classrooms could once again become places of great joy, creativity, and invention.”

-Invent to Learn