Dec. 6: Robotics!

One of the things we strive to do with our IGNITEd sessions, is cater to what participating teachers want to learn. At the end of the summer, one of our previous participants suggested an introduction to robotics, and we were happy to comply.

On Saturday, December 6, Manitoulin IGNITEd welcomed Darren Foy from Algonquin Public School (Sudbury) and volunteers from his school's robotics team to introduce an enthusiastic group of teachers to LEGO EV3 Mindstorm robots. He put together an amazing workshop that combined lots of play time with the robots with information as to what this robotics thing is all about.

Darren giving us the overview of the day, and introducing us to resources.

Most of us had never had the chance to play with robotics like this before, and weren't sure what to expect. Darren started us off with a couple of videos showing us the best of the best - what do the most advanced robotics groups do with this technology?

We then talked about how FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO Robotics League works, including the emphasis placed on fair play, sportsmanship and team work. The robotics team shared with us how they witness students practice persistence and become more creative in their approach to programming, as well as how students quickly learn that it's better to get really good at a few tasks rather than being mediocre at many tasks.

Algonquin's team display at the recent FIRST LEGO League competition, which focused on growth mindset.

Darren walked us through how to best apply for funding, and how the club works at his school as well as at a couple of the high schools in Sudbury.

After a bit of discussion, the robots were unleashed! Each student expert was paired up with a couple of adults who tackled a couple of basic challenges, such as programming a robot to follow a line, or to turn before a robot runs into a wall.

We finished up with lots of questions and answers for our hosts, a curriculum scavenger hunt, yet more hands-on time, and several grapes being launched across the room by robotic arms!

We ended the day with at least two grant proposals being put together to try and get robotics to the island. Huge thank you to Darren and all of our parent volunteers and student experts for a thrilling workshop, true to the IGINITEd spirit!

You can check out our #2014IGNITEd Twitter feed from the day here. 

Reflections on Redefining Student Learning with Technology

Our most recent session (March 22) was looking at ways to redefine student learning with technology. In particular, we were trying to reach the ever-elusive upper levels of the SAMR model.

The SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, is a spectrum of sorts, demonstrating how we can use technology in an educational setting. The spectrum begins with direct substitution (instead of looking at a hardcover textbook, one could look at an e-book of the same text), and finishes with a complete redefinition of the learning environment - having students create their resources and communicate their learning with the world.

Our guide for the morning was Neil Finney (@igniteincite), a teacher from the Simcoe County District School Board who has been very active in not only engaging students with technology, but also having them create new products, reaching out beyond the boundaries of the classroom.

After a quick introduction to SAMR using a grade 2 science example, we let Neil take over for the first hour. He introduced us to a great many tools - some familiar, like Skype, Twitter and Dropbox, others new to many of us, such as Screencast-o-matic, blogging tools and todaysmeet. There are so many ways we can help our students reach out to others outside of the classroom, and it was very inspirational to see examples in action.

One of the group's favourite example of student collaboration was how Neil had his senior elementary students plan an outdoors, Olympics-like event for the junior students. All of the planning and collaboration was done online with another group of students, however the product was anything but digital - it was all the events and activities for the younger children. What a great idea to meet the students where they are and engage them using technological tools, but end with a result of physically getting out of the classroom and involved in their community!

Image from http://www.thinklinkgraphics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2013-OELC-web.png

Neil also introduced us to an image of how students imagine the future of Ontario's education system (above). How can we use the tools available to us to help students get what they want out of their education?

The idea of screencasting also impressed us. Neil used this to have his students not only demonstrate their knowledge (of math, in particular), but also to practice their learning. One of our participants noted that having students literally talk their way through problem solving while their work was screencasted was not as "high stakes" as a test, and might help relieve student stress, while still having them complete higher-order thinking tasks.

After Neil's talk, we took the time to discuss whether we thought the idea of SAMR was a linear process (teachers new to using technology in class should start with substitution, and progress through augmentation and modification to redefinition), or whether a teacher could jump into the middle of the spectrum wherever they pleased.

Discussion around the table.

...and then we jumped in wherever we pleased, trying new tools. One teacher took the time and created a class blog, whereas others played with pinboards like padlet, and screencasting tools. We were given a handout to help us get started on where, in our own curricula, we could begin the SAMR process.

One of my personal favourite parts of these IGNITEd sessions is that we have the time to discuss what we've learned from our guest, and actually start to implement some of these ideas into where we are in the classroom. Thank you, Neil, for your inspiration and for documenting some of the amazing things you and your students are doing to redefine the learning process, and then sharing them with us!

Reflections on Global Collaboration

We seem to be two-for-two when it comes to scheduling IGNITEd sessions on days when the weather makes the roads treacherous. Our first session, on design learning and the maker movement, saw several participants unable to make it due to highway closures. Our second session this past weekend on global collaboration only had 4 of the 12 registered participants gather in Little Current after a night of freezing rain.

But instead of hampering the organizers' efforts, this actually served to demonstrate just how powerful collaboration across the miles can be. Six participants were able to join the Adobe Connect room our guests had set up and still participate in real time. We asked questions on behalf of others, linked up via Connect, Twitter, GHO and GoogleDocs, and all managed to be inspired by our guests and their experiences.

Mali Bickley and Jaclyn Calder (@jaccalder) joined us remotely from Newmarket and Penetanguishene respectively, to speak with us about the benefits and possibilities when it comes to engaging students in social justice, and working with other students around the world. Mali, one of two co-ordinators for iEARN Canada, started us off with a quote by Jennifer Corriero, co-founder of Taking it Global:

"I wonder... if young people were actively engaged in all aspects of society, and thought of themselves as community leaders, problem-solvers, role models, mentors and key "stakeholders"... how would the world change?"

How exactly would the world change?
We heard wonderful stories of students who started an Earthwatchers project - collaborating with other students to monitor an assigned plot of rain forest land for clear-cutting activity - in science class, but continued monitoring their land long after they had finished the course.

We heard of students who started reading ingredient lists and refusing to buy (and forcing their parents to not buy) products that contained ingredients that were not sustainably harvested.

We heard of students who began speaking out against war - not because "war is bad" but because they learned first hand through discussions with other students about the effects of war on their schools, homes and families.

And we learned that connecting our students with other classes around the world can be as traditional  as exchanging letters (or books or artefacts), or as 21st Century as sending GarageBand files back and forth to compose truly international music or teach students how to speak English over a Google Hangout.

With the digital tools at our disposal, and access to organizations like Flat Connections and iEARN, the connection part becomes easy, while the content of our collaboration can suit whatever needs we have for our various classes. How amazing is it that we can take our students around the world and have them make a difference in another student's life!!

It is often easy to always look elsewhere for experts in the field, but we should never forget about the wealth of experience local colleagues can also share. We were fortunate to have two teachers with us who could tell us more about Skype in the Classroom and the Flat Connections projects (as well as their pros and cons), and share their resources with us.

Regardless of the amount of global collaboration experience each participant had prior to this session, I know that each of us came away with not only a new idea or two to try, but also the excitement that comes from working/planning/discussing with enthusiastic colleagues. Thank you Mali and Jaclyn, and all our participants for making this another great IGNITEd session!

Unveiling our new created IGNITEd logo by Robert Luopa

Reflections on our First Session

When Yana and I started putting our heads together and planning the inaugural IGNITEd session, we weren't sure what the reaction would be. There's been an ever-growing push by teachers toward edcamp-style professional development: professional learning, independent of respective school boards, based on what teachers want to learn about, plenty of opportunity to network and time to actually play with new ideas. This is a relatively new concept for teachers in our area, and we were excited to get it off the ground.

We arbitrarily chose to start with a session on Design Learning and the Maker Movement, and we set to work assembling a fantastic guest expert, tools to play with and resources for all levels of education. Then we started spreading the word.

But in a rural setting, on a Friday night, during hunting season? We weren't sure how many would be interested in joining us. About a dozen teachers registered, but then on top of it all, adverse weather conditions that day shut down local highways and prevented much travel.

We put the coffee on, set up the laptop for the G+ Hangout, created stations around the room, and waited. In the end, we had an enthusiastic group of seven educators join us in person, and two via the Hangout. And we had a blast.

Coming up with ideas to survive the Zombie Apocalypse

We started with introductions, and a talk via Hangout by Marcie Lewis (@MarcieLew), our guest expert on Design Learning and the Maker Movement. Marcie is a grade 4 teacher in southern Ontario, who was immersed in these topics this past summer as part of her Master of Arts - Educational Technology (Overseas Cohort) Program through Michigan State University. She also actively includes design learning in her classroom, and encourages "making" amongst her students.

And this is where the session derailed, in the best way possible.

We had originally planned for one hour of "talk" (presentation by our guest expert), one hour of "tools" (actively trying out the design learning experience and playing with new resources), and one hour of "time" (an opportunity to reflect, research and collaborate on where we could use this in our own classroom). But then Marcie's talk became more interactive - teachers both in the room and in the Hangout began discussing different aspects of the design learning process, already questioning how it could be used in various teaching scenarios, what worked and what didn't, and how to overcome many of the challenges we foresaw with our students.

Teachers were scribbling thoughts on the large paper on the tables, sharing with each other great ideas found online through Marcie's suggestions, and collaborating cross-curricularly and across panels. The single hour we had scheduled for Marcie quickly turned into two. 

[And as an aside, I personally loved how easy the G+ Hangout made it for us to collaborate with teachers in Sudbury. The interactive nature of Marcie's talk was a wonderful catalyst for great discussion the continued long after the Hangout was finished.]

Some teachers created physical prototypes, others set to work creating apps

With just one hour left, Yana walked us through the design learning process, based on a template by the Institute of Design at Stanford. Our task was to design a tool to help our partner survive a zombie apocalypse. As we worked through the methodology, the conversation continued, and even after all the prototypes had been presented, we continued to discuss pros and cons. We were excited by what we were learning, and only just starting to realize how we could incorporate these ideas into our teaching.

It was 9pm on a Friday night, and no one was ready to leave. A flick of the lights by the custodian reminded us our time was up, and we began to put everything away, including the massive amounts of food (did I mention it was a potluck? We were certainly well-fed!).

We were joined initially by teachers who were intrigued, but not sure what to expect (including ourselves!). By the end, we were all inspired. One participant summed it up perfectly by saying: "I'm not going to go and change what I'm doing, but I am going to start looking to see where I can fit this in."

As teachers, we are constantly evolving how we teach, and it is through small steps like these - adding in new ideas here and there - that we can make the classroom a more exciting and engaging space for our students. Thank you to everyone who joined us both in person and virtually!

Prototype in the making for a zombie domesticator. Patent pending.