MakerBot, Bootcamp, Laptops - Week 26

CN Area Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 26 (March 2 – March 6)

Thursday Giggles:                            Why couldn’t the pony sing a lullaby?
She was a little hoarse.

3D Printing. MakerBot recently came out with a school edition machine. Smaller. Affordable. Comes with access to 600 lesson plans. LINK HERE.

Image credits here.

If you are interested in learning more about 3D printing, or if you would like to be a lead teacher for your site, please let me know. Reach out. Email me. Let me know if this is interesting to you.

We can build community within our communities by showing students in grades 4, 5, and 6 how to design/edit models for children in our special education department. Pictured below: Flexible gecko. Braille cards. Cane tags.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to sit at a kidney table and teach blind children how to read? How can you inexpensively acquire multiple sets of braille cards? I’ll give you the answer: we can print them. Or how can a blind child locate their cane as it rests on the wall? Same answer: we can print a solution.

Long-term, real world connections. 3D printing will impact many industries (nearly all) of tomorrow. Eye glasses. Fashion. Machinery. Mechanics. Medicine. Computers. Architecture. Transportation. Dentistry. Organ transplant. Tumor removal. Bone surgeries. Many industries are being reshaped by what people can produce on a 3D printer.

Bootcamp. Sherri Johnston will email out a presenter form soon. If you would like to teach a session at Bootcamp, just pay attention to that submission form. Dates are June 15 and 16. Location is CART (Center for Advanced Research and Technology). Cost for CUSD staff is free. Email me if you have more questions.

Laptops. Remember to report maintenance issues ASAP. Warranties expire and we lose out on free repairs when damage is not reported in time. Remember to restart all student computers every 7-10 days. This ensures that they function at their best.

Team, you’re awesome and you are doing great things.  I am thankful for you.

Stay Curious,
Melissa Culver

Dash Robot Lessons and VR Technology - Week 22

CN Elementary Teaching Team:

Here are a few highlights from this week:

Week 22 (February 3 – February 7)

Thursday Giggles:                 Why didn’t the orange win the race?

It ran out of juice.

Robots. Here is the PDF file that showcases my initial lesson and 60+ learning ideas that integrate content standards. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to using these great learning tools in the classroom. Talk to your colleagues and get their first-hand feedback on this awesome learning experience. Lesson plan tools here. Multi-page lesson plan and curriculum ideas.

VR Technology.  Space is limited for this opportunity (during this timeframe). I will be on each site for 2 days (10 days total). If you receive an email from me, please respond in a timely fashion. This helps me solidify the calendar in a timely fashion. I’ll work with 35+ teachers during these sessions. Poke your head into the lab when it comes your way, and try it out if you are interested.

For VR, we use Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions has over 900 learning opportunities in this great app.  The respiratory system. Historical sites.  Great Wall of China. Underwater scenes. International Space Station. College campuses. Landforms. Visiting a farm. Visiting a pool for swimming lessons. The day in the life of  a surgeon. Shakespeare. Nine hundred. I won’t list them here. Check the list out for yourself (see that link). My website houses more tools associated with this learning tool. Find the drop-down menu at the top. Or, locate the Workshops tab. You’ll find the teaching slides there.

Minecraft Training. Yes, this is educational. Geography. Science. Math. Tons of learning. Email me by Tuesday, February 11 if you are interested.  Space is limited.  I have three teachers signed up already.  March 3 and March 4. We’re at the Technology Service Center (district office).  A team from Minecraft will host the training. Your sub is paid for. It will happen during the school day. Limited spots available. Lunch is paid for. First come, first served.

The software is practically ready-to-go on LENOVO student laptops. We just download (for free) and go. 

Image credit here.

Stay curious,
Melissa Culver