The AMAZING 3D Designers of Room 10

Wow! My week has been amazing and it is only Tuesday! 

My class have embarked on 3D design and printing.  My first task was to figure out how to add my students onto a programme which was R13.  I have an ongoing frustration with web tools and the restrictions the makers put on them, meaning that they are not available for primary school aged children.  I sought advice from many of my new #3DprintchatNZ buddies on Twitter and they suggested that Tinkercad was the best programme to use.  To start with this was a problem due to said restrictions but through a bit of research and some problem solving on my part, I realised that I could sign my class up through Project Ignite.  This programme allows me to monitor my student accounts and also lets me send them lessons where they are stepped through the design process.  

  

Their first challenge was a pretty basic one.  I wanted them to create a simple name tag which we could make into a keyring or bag tag.  After completing a few Tinkercad lessons at warp speed,  my Year 3 and 4 students embarked on making their names using the shapes and letter tools on Tinkercad.  I expected this process to take them a wee while, as the levels and sizes took me a while to get my head around...can anybody say 'duck to water'??? 

They were so engaged and enthusiastic about the design process.  It was no surprise to me that come Monday, majority of the class returned to school having completed their designs over the weekend.  On Monday we moved the MakerBot Replicator 2 up to Room 10 where is now sits proudly and hasn't stopped printing since being in it's new home!

Children learnt how to complete their designs in Tinkercad and follow the process of uploading to a class Thingiverse account.  They then find their design on my Mac which is connected to the printer and go through the process of printing.  

Initially, I had a drama with printing as the SD card had been taken by little fingers when the printer was housed in the library.  I was in a panic as we had guests coming this afternoon to view the printer in action and talk to +Sonya Van Schaijik and I about 3D printing in classrooms and implications for teachers etc.  After putting out a tweet to ask for assistance, I was overwhelmed by @dannydillen and @KiwiMrDee reaching out and offering support, even offering to send a spare SD card my way.  It is so great to have a social media platform like twitter to communicate with people who are more experienced in this field.  Danny suggested that I plug the MakerBot into my computer, I tried it and was printing within 30 minutes.

Most of the children's designs have turned out perfect.  We did have one design which started spooling and making 'candyfloss' which was a disappointment to Max.  We looked upon this 'failure' as a learning experience and as a class we problem solved and figured out where the design had flaws.  Room 10 and Max decided that he hadn't overlapped his joins enough and therefore the letters and details were just sitting on the rectangular platform shape that he has chosen for the base of his keyring.  With Max, I worked with him to change the depth of his details and letters and we then reprinted his design.  We still had initial 'candy-floss' but that was mainly on the raft and therefore the design corrected itself.  

Through Max's designing and printing experience, the whole class has learnt something.  All students had to go back and collaboratively check their designs, thinking about overlapping and talking through the print process with their partner.  We now have 19 more designs in tomorrow's print queue - I am pumped to go to school early tomorrow to get the printer fired up! 

  

This afternoon, the children were set their second challenge.  In pairs, they had to design a four piece puzzle.  This was something that again, I thought was quite tricky...not for my little clever clogs! They were problem solving and the language that was emerging when they were talking to each other was amazing.  Terms like extruder, spooling, printing plate, levelling, rafts etc are now just normal terms in Room 10's vocabulary. 

Once the base of their puzzle was made, the children decided that they wanted to make the theme around 2D shapes and their properties.  One piece containing the shape, other pieces including the name, sides and corners of each shape.  Once the puzzles are completed we will print and give them to Te Ako Kowhai (our Junior Syndicate) for a maintenance geometry activity.

Lastly, I am loving my students thoughtful reflections on their 3D printing learning journey.  Using Edmodo, they are posting their thoughts including challenges, successes, questions and experiences with each other.  This '3D learning' is really bringing my class together as a group and the collaboration has been nothing short of incredible...and we are only one week in! 

Watch this space - more to come! 

The Power of Twitter #3DprintchatNZ

I have been curating a resource with +Sonya Van Schaijik using Google Slides.  This document highlights the expertise in the field of 3D Printing.  It also celebrates the great teaching in this area that is taking place throughout New Zealand.  

#3DprintchatNZ Collaborative Document

There are so many talented NZ based educators who are using 3D Printing really well in their classrooms/schools and it has been a life saver being able to call on them for support.  Taking on a new challenge is always hard and a little daunting - the support via Twitter is reassuring and highly motivating! 

If you are a NZ educator who is using 3D Printers and Design Programmes in your classroom or school please add me on twitter - @wavesbryant.  I will then add you to my 3D Printers list so that you too can share in the great PD that this group provides.

I have also started the hashtag #3DprintchatNZ and with the help of Sonya, I am hoping to run my first Edchat in the next few weeks.  This will be another first for me but I am excited to take on a new challenge - I know the people I have already made contact with on Twitter will be supportive and keen to discuss the pros and cons or 3D Printing in NZ education.

Twitter #engchatNZ: Growth Mindset...

I love the idea of taking an edchat and then blogging my own answers following the discussion to consolidate my understanding of each question. I took the idea from http://learningshine.blogspot.co.nz/ as I loved her way of reflecting beyond a twitter chat.

What does it mean to have a growth mindset?
Being open to try new things and push boundaries with my teaching. As a teacher, the learning shouldn't stop and if it does then I am unsure how that helps your students. Learning from our mistakes and seeing mistakes as an opportunity - being in 'the pit' and in a state of worry, unknowing or confusion is one of the most powerful places or mindsets you can be in!

Why is it important to have a growth mindset?
So that development and individual learning occurs. Life must be a very boring place when you are stuck in a fixed mindset...growing and learning new things is so much fun. Especially in education which is so fast paced and embracing exciting change at the moment. Having a growth mindset is important to maintain and achieve what I have dubbed the CSI's! 

C's - continue, collaborate, create 

S's - share, succeed and sustain 

I's - implement, improve and inspire!

So - how do we begin to develop those growth mindsets in our students (and ourselves)?

Ask children what they want to learn and let them be involved in the creation process. Foster and encourage their curiosity about various subjects and let them ask questions and lead their own and each others learning.

I have been doing lots of work with my class on 'The Pit'. By teaching them that making mistakes is a powerful tool, they are really challenging their own thinking and learning. Teaching children that it is about the journey rather than the end product. If the journey is a direct route then it possibly hasn't inspired, challenged or taught you much...

Describe a particular time when you saw a student change their mindset.

Describe a time you overcame your fixed mindset about a particular obstacle and how it relates to Ss perspectives?
Moving from teaching seniors to middle school at the beginning of this year. I was convinced that I would hate it! Turns out I am absolutely in love with teaching Year 3 and 4. They are so creative and have such curious minds! I am able to do some very cool things with them (Edmodo, Blogging, 3D Printing, Tinkercad, Digital Badges, Using GAFE Tools) all because I am not constrained by the extra-curricular pressures I had teaching in the senior school.

What is the next thing that you are working on to build your growth mindset? Next goal?
Embracing the challenge of 3D Printing and designing with children aged 7 and 8. It is scary but so exciting and I cannot wait for them to overtake me and then become my little teaching experts - it is bound to happen sooner than I think!

Also continually developing my patience around teaching with people who are 'still developing' their growth mindset. It is one of the hardest things to watch but at the end of the day if a teacher is not willing to change their own thinking then it is very hard to assist them - it leaves you with an unspoken question!!!

Thank you +ariaporo22 for hosting!

A Week on Twitter #engchatNZ and #edchatNZ

This week Twitter has really taken off for me! +Sonya Van Schaijik has continually been on at me about the power of this tool and reluctantly I have become a convert!

This week I participated in both #engchatnz and #edchatnz - both fascinating and gave me a total buzz! It is like a hit of adrenaline - partly from trying to keep up and partly from collaborating with such amazing names in NZ education! (I would tag you all but there are simply too many!)

#engchatNZ was hosted by the lovely and inspiring +ariaporo22 (Alex Le Long).  The topic was #growthmindset and throughout the chat a trend was definitely apparent.  I found it ironic that all of the people involved in the chat would be the type to have already adopted or at least realised the importance of having a growth mindset as a NZ educator.  Yet, the trend was largely about why having a growth mindset is important and sharing ideas of what this 'jargon' term means.

The storify of this chat is available at

#EngChatNZ - The Importance of Developing Growth Mindsets - 19th May 2015 https://t.co/30rXgzvdoj via @ariaporo22 #EngChatNZ

— Alex Le Long (@ariaporo22) May 19, 2015

Also, as part of the chat, Alex shared a great collaborative document of Growth Mindset Media Tools which I have added many videos which have helped me understand the importance of this mindset.  They also motivate me to carry on finding professional development which targets and interests me.  These two videos in particular stood out to me (the Kid President one was a hit with my class)

On Thursday night, #edchatNZ took place and this weeks topic was about MLE vs MLP. Hosted by +MissDtheTeacher (Danielle Myburgh).

#edchatNZ Twitter Feed

@BeccaSweeney @tonycairns You've been quoted in my Storify "Modern Learning Practice - #edchatNZ (21 May 2015)" http://t.co/H6lojDhw4U

— Marnel van der Spuy (@1MvdS) May 21, 2015

 Again, a powerful way of highlighting my own views on the importance of the pedagogy that goes along with 'Modern Learning Environments'.  It isn't enough to chuck some colourful beanbags into a classroom along with a few wobbly chairs and varying tables of different sizes and colours.  If the pedagogy and mindset of the teacher doesn't change then the learning will remain the same as it always has.  Teachers influence students in such a profound way and the pedagogy behind their teaching will directly impact on the type of thinker, learner and future leader each student will be! 

I truly believe that teachers who are set in their ways and are not willing to change, have no place in the classroom anymore.  In saying this, I personally do not think that expecting teachers to keep their thinking and pedagogy current and up-to-date is a big ask or requirement.  If teachers are not willing to change and continue their own learning then what kind of role model are they being for their students?  And are such teacher meeting the Registered Teacher Criteria? It becomes detrimental for children who remain in backwards or standstill thinking classrooms.  

This is an area I am passionate about and really feel should be embraced and developed by all NZ Schools - Drop the E on MLE, it goes beyond that!

More to come! 

The Power of Edmodo

Wow - what a past couple of weeks it has been in my class! I have introduced the most wonderful tool to my 7 and 8 year old students +Edmodo.  One could say I have unleashed another monster - everything we do in Room 10 at +Newmarket School becomes a new addiction for my students!

Edmodo is a tool which is a similar platform to the likes of Twitter or Facebook.  Children are all joined up under a class and have their own log on details.  The main page is a live newsfeed which can contain 'notes' or 'alerts'.  Similar to the other social media platforms, Edmodo lets children use the hashtag function to group ideas or conversation topics. 

As a teacher I have added subgroups for my reading and writing programmes so that I can direct specific learning to the children at their level.  This is a great way of differentiating the learning and encouraging group collaboration and reflection.

So how is my wonderful bunch of genius' using this platform? 

Firstly I have been setting 'assignments' each week as part of their reading and writing rotations.  Each group will be set a task related to their learning or level.  

In writing, Room 10 have been looking at simple, compound and complex sentences.  Each group has been set assignments containing motivational pictures related to WW1 (a topic which is still engaging to them despite an intense focus for the past 5 weeks).  The children are then required to reply to the picture with their #simple #compound #complex sentence hashtag.  It is great to see them commenting on each others and identifying the main and subordinate clauses in the comments below each post.  Children have also been maintaining their understanding of figurative language by posting a 140 character alert including a metaphor or simile about different colours - a simple yet really effective task!  In reading, children have been commenting on their weekly reading text and asking questions to further their understanding.  They have also been responding to visual reading texts and audio books which I linked into their reading group via assignments.  This has been a new way of using computers in my literacy rotations and the groups who are on Edmodo each day are beyond motivated.  A collective moan occurs when it is time to rotate to a different activity.

Secondly, my students have been learning how to reflect on their learning.  We have established success criteria for a good reflection.  It must contain both positives and negatives, indicate what you have learnt, anything you found challenging, what you enjoyed and the impact it is having on you as a learner. 

I have seen great reflecting about the classes I take but also it connects me as a teacher to students who are cross grouped into other maths classes.  In just one week, I have been blown away by the thoughts of my Year 3/4 students.  It is so powerful to see such strong student voice coming through and this is really helping me to inform my future practice and planning.  Students are using their own hashtag eg. #refWB to group their reflective posts together.  This will be invaluable later this term at the triadic conferences, as students will be able to share their reflections with their parents, simply by clicking on their hashtag.

Thirdly, individual passion projects are stating to pop up.  Maisie is using the hashtag #mauidolphins to inform and educate the class about this endangered species.  From this, other members of the class are jumping on the bandwagon and creating social action via information websites.  This is not something that I directed in any way - they are taking control of their own learning! One thing Maisie and I have spoken about is the possible use of Google Forms to make a petition that we could send to schools and families to save the Maui Dolphins by putting a stop to netting and trawling.  This is our next step! 

Fourthly, it has made me question the tools I am using in my classroom.  I have a discussion with +Sonya Van Schaijik about the use of our class blog.  It is a good way to communicate with parents and share student work, however with Edmodo it might not be necessary anymore.  When two of my boys figured out how to link their Google Drives with their Edmodo accounts I realised that they could then easily share documents from their Edmodo 'backpack' with their classmates.  This week I am going to experiment with three parents in my class by adding them as parent Edmodo users which will allow them to connect with their child's learning everyday and with the use of the Edmodo app, they can receive live updates to their mobile devices! 

Absolutely amazing tool which has inspired me as a learner, teacher and most importantly, inspired my gorgeous class! 

Titoki goes 3D

So it all started with a simple Dogo News article that I gave my top reading group for their weekly text.  We were in the middle of a healthy eating unit and this article about 3D printed food seemed to tick more than one box.

Dogo News Article

My reading group then started getting really into the idea of printing food and this began our long journey.  First we analysed the article! We were shocked to learn about the rapidly increasing population and seemingly decreasing food supply.  This led to a discussion which took many tangents from 'supply and demand' to 'unusual food sources' to 'Global Warming' and then to 'Our Future'.  Suddenly this article had unlocked the many questions and really put my top reading group into the pit - how were they going to get out?

After an in depth discussion about how my Nana would not have made the prediction 80 years ago, that computers would be an everyday technology, the class decided to think about what life would possibly be like in 80 years time.  Looking at the group this would make the average age 87 years old which was the moment it dawned on many of them that they would be living this predicted lifestyle in their old age.

One of my students dads came up with the ideas that we could replicate a 3D food printer by using everyday ingredients.  He discussed this with his daughter and through learning about her learning at school, they came up with a way to demonstrated how a 3D printer would run, to make pizza.  Andrew came into school and with the children he made dough and used a very liquified version of each ingredient to fill a squirty bottle.  The class then took turns at moving their arms in a similar pattern to the printer nozzle of a 3D printer.  The children were so excited that this was essentially how a 3D printer would make food although the ingredients would be derived from protein, carbohydrate and mineral powders.

@rsehji @mrbenbritton @vanschaijik Rm10 @newmarketschool mimicking a #3dprinter making pizza #cantwaitfortherealthing pic.twitter.com/9zmj7SCqcd

— Waveney Bryant (@wavesbryant) April 13, 2015

The Slytherin group then wrote letters to the BOT to outline the pros and cons of 3D printers and we started looking as a class at way we could potentially use a 3D printer at Newmarket School.

We are very excited because our wish has been granted and a 3D printer has kindly been donated to NPS. We are so looking forward to hopefully house this unit in our classroom and explore programmes like sketch up to design and create various items for 3D printing.  Tomorrow at school the group are presenting their learning at the ceremony of the 3D printer presentation and I am so proud of them for all the hard work that they have put into inquiring into 3D printers and making this dream a reality.

Room 10 3D Printing Presentation