STEM Grant, Bootcamp, Encouragement, and Mistakes - Wk 35

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 35 (May 13 – May 17, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                How does a cucumber become a pickle?
It goes through a jarring experience.

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

Congratulations!!! Copper Hills just received a $2,000 STEM grant. They will receive filament and audio technology to support 3D printer projects on their site. That is awesome. Way to go, Team! 

Temporary supports were not removed in this print yet. Temporary supports are necessary to substantiate the interior places of a build. Yet, they are designed to be temporary.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

     This year, Bootcamp will fall the week after school gets out. One reason behind this is that Summer School teachers cannot go each year due to the old calendar. So, Summer School teachers can now go to Bootcamp. To sign up for these sessions, head to THIS LINK.

Image credits here.

Encouragement. Truly worth watching. Take a minute. This will make you smile. Turn the volume up. You’ll be glad you did. #Encouragement #TeacherAppreciationDay VIDEO LINK HERE.

Mistakes. Is your environment safe enough to make mistakes? I hope the people around you welcome mistakes that move you all forward. Nothing is more defeating than someone making fun of your mistakes where you feel defeated and discouraged. I hope you share the hiccups/mistakes/discoveries you encounter with people. And I hope those same people share their mistakes right back.

Here’s a quick article that highlights how failure resulted in innovation. LINK HERE.

Image credit here.

My husband shared a quote with me the other day. He said, “We never truly fail. We either succeed or we learn.” If you know who deserves the credit for that quote, please let me know. I want to give credit where credit is due.

As a child, I learned what not to do by watching my older brother. By standing back and watching him, I learned a lot about life. We all need people around us who share their discoveries. This insight makes the team stronger and better.

I failed Algebra the first time. I took voluntary summer school when I transitioned from one school district to another back in grade 7. I had never seen letters in math before in my life (this shows you how education has changed over the years). When my math teacher introduced me to parenthesis and variables, I was lost. I had no prior knowledge about these things living in math before and I was lost. The next term when I took the class during the traditional school year, I soared through the class because I had prior knowledge. Failure didn’t crush me, it pushed me forward.

As I navigate the world of 3D printing, I am failing forward one print at a time. Each of these hiccups make me a better teacher. I can share my “perceived failures” with others so they can save time by not making those same mistakes again. And, my next lesson on 3D print design and execution will have detailed examples that clarify why certain things must be in place for a print to work successfully. No, that’s not a palm tree, but we can call it that.

We all need safe environments where we can make mistakes. This is essential to our survival as educators. Let’s share our hiccups/mistakes/discoveries with each other. Let’s all help our neighbors cross the finish line in any way we can. Celebrate these learning discoveries together. #WeAllMakeMistakes

Let’s all stay curious,
Melissa Culver

Skype in the Classroom, E2 Wrap-Up, and STEM Lessons by Microsoft - Wk 34

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 34 (May 6 – May 10, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                Where do pencils go on vacation?

Pencil-vania.

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here.
Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Wednesday, May 15 – Chrome Add-ons & Extensions @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30        The above class was canceled. Sorry.
       Technology Bootcamp - June 12 & 13 MORE INFORMATION

Skype and Google Meet in the Classroom. Microsoft EDU recently released a host of lessons that showcase learning in the classroom that includes video conference. Now, you don’t have the ability to go on 20 field trips each year, but you can bring people to you for FREE all year long. And, you can do that with technology. Geologists on a dig, meteorologists at NASA, an author, a web developer, and athlete, you name it. As long as you can make that connection, you can make it happen. Check out this LINK to learn more about utilizing video conference as a teaching and learning tool.

Image credits here.

Guest Speakers. Aren’t sure who to Skype with? Try this PAGE. You can find speakers who are willing to Skype with your classroom. View those profiles and see what topics can drive curiosity.

Image credits here.

Global Innovative Change. Microsoft recently hosted a global event for educators. HERE is a glimpse into what that global event looked like. As I finished up my graduate degree in Teaching and Learning, I realized that the globe (in general) is doing amazing things in education. New Zealand is driving full-force towards Computer Science (CS) integration. Poland, the UK, Israel, and China are all showing great growth as far as Computer Science in the classroom is concerned.  Let’s continue to explore amazing things together. VIDEO LINK HERE.

The Entire E² Wrap-Up. If you are curious about the Microsoft event hosted in Paris, you can find out more HERE. As I continue to talk about a globally-connected tomorrow that is tech-saturated, this is why. Classrooms all over the world are teaching their students to collaborate, connect, and use technology in helpful, meaningful ways. Events like this motivate, inspire, and encourage educators to use technology in their daily teaching practice. As we prepare students for a competitive work environment, the skills they learn in these lessons shape and transform their ability to succeed in the future. Would you like to check it out? Head HERE for more information.

Image credits HERE.

STEM Lessons by Microsoft. Here are some ready-to-go lessons. Yes, it’s no longer Earth Day, but these lessons still teach content that is tech-rich, collaboration-oriented, and science-filled. Even if you don’t use them, it’s nice to see what other classrooms are exploring. Have a go, HERE.

Image credits HERE.

Let’s stay curious together,
Melissa Culver, M.Ed.

Shout-Outs, Tinkercad, Coding, VR, and Grant Money - Wk 33

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 33 (April 29 – May 3, 2019)

Thursday Giggles:                Why do bees have sticky hair?

Because they use a honeycomb.

If you ever try out any ideas I suggest in my blog, please let me know! I would love to showcase your awesome discoveries here. Others would love to learn from your experiences. And, you’ll inspire others to try something new.
Email me here: melissaculver@cusd.com. Check out my website: www.melissaculver.com.

PD Dates to save on your calendar:

       Wednesday, May 15 – Chrome Add-ons & Extensions @ Mountain View from 2:30 – 3:30
I will attend the Ready Math Webinar at this time. Class was cancelled. Sorry.
       Technology Bootcamp - June 12 & 13 MORE INFORMATION

Shout-out to Shana Blankenship! She used the Google Slides video to showcase student work at Open House. Nicely done, Shana. Thank you for sharing your success story with me.

Shout-out to Elaine Cheney who is introducing her students to 3D printing using Tinkercad! What an awesome opportunity. VIDEO LINK.

File upload tutorial here:

Shout-out to all the teachers who used the YouTube video to print student artwork.

Shout-out to all the teachers who participated in a three-week coding experience using Code.org. It was phenomenal to watch your students write computer code to solve puzzles. And their creativity was fantastic! Some of them were simply curious and wrote more code to answer additional questions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics for the next several years shows that computer programming is a promising field to enter. And some of your students will develop a passion for this field now. Thank you for introducing your students to computer programming. They’ll never forget it.

Shout-out to all the teachers who have participated in VR Training: Muirheid, Silva, Manganiello, Bowns, Panosian, Lewis, Callisch, B. Thomas, Dritz, Mushegan, and Byrom. Most of you have experienced Africa, Asia, and Amazonia. These are awesome places to explore, and your kids were the first to explore this great learning tool!

There are 900 places to explore in the VR headsets. CLICK HERE to find out more.

Grant money. Do you want grant money? Share your ideas with me. I’ll see if I can write a grant for you or your site. It needs to be saturated with tech if I’m going to write it. But, your input would be awesome! I always need people who are willing to say “yes” to grant money. How about a 3D printer? Or programmable robots? If you let me grab data on your learning experience, I’ll try to write the grant.

Let's stay curious,
Melissa Culver