For a long time, I've been 3D printer-adjacent; I've been fortunate to work alongside instructional technology and STEAM personnel on campuses, so I knew what 3D printers could do and encouraged students to use 3D printing as independent project formats, but I hadn't managed the machines or designs myself. I started at a new campus this year, and I knew I didn't want the brand new 3D printer to be sitting in a closet, so I went to some hands-on training, built a lesson, and jumped in with both feet. I hope this post can offer some tips and learning to others out there in similar situations! The Lesson
I worked with 15 different 8th grade ELA classes in the library - about half were advanced, and half were "on level." There were about 20 - 30 students per class, and I have nine tables with 4 chairs each in the teaching/presentation area of my library. I started with a read-aloud that was only loosely connected to monsters (I'll take any excuse to share a fun picture book): Alex Willan's Unicorns Are the Worst. The text talks about some characteristics of unicorns, as well as goblins and dragons, so we would be focusing on designing our own original monsters.
0 Comments
One of my librarian courses this semester was about instructional technology, and I loved getting to try new apps and tools. I have asked my students to use Book Creator before, but I had never made a complete project myself.
I'm sharing this short book, which can be read aloud to you if you use Chrome. I borrowed some vocal talent from a semi-reluctant teen for the complaining relatives in the story! I'm thinking of giving students the option to choose one of the four design challenges presented in this book for a maker exercise this week . . . and then extend it by having them design their own maker challenges in digital twisted fairy tales that they create. It might be a great exchange idea for our Canadian buddy class, too. Digital storytelling is incredibly hard for fifth graders to do well, as it involves so many decisions. Topics, research and content, organization, voice, presentation, and editing all involve choices that can quickly become overwhelming. That's why I waited until the end of the school year to ask students to create a TED Talk, applying skills such as research, organization, and the use of digital tools. Students were invited to choose any topic that was appropriate for school that they cared about. The message needed to have at least one goal: to make others understand, to make others care, or to inspire others to change (take action). Our topics included the appeal of graphic novels, the importance of art in our lives, how people treat each other, and why bees should matter to humans. See some examples below!
I recently created a movie to explain Exhibition to students, teachers, and parents. This was my first time using WeVideo (you may notice the free version tag gracing the upper right hand corner), and I was glad to explore the tool.
I very much wanted to include student interviews and reflections in this film, but access to good sound equipment is still a struggle: our iPads pick up a lot of background noise and can't record soft-spoken students well, even just a few feet away. Next time, I hope to capture student reflection quotes throughout the process. Natural breaks in the school year prompt reflection, and my students examined their independent reading habits and progress so far. This month, I asked students to create infographics to tell the story of their independent reading for the first semester. This was our first attempt to examine and create infographics, and we found it challenging to distill pieces of information into a clear visual format, but the challenge required us to think carefully about what was true and what we want to be true.
|
Jamie Wright
I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of students and families in IA, CT, NC, MO, TX, and Canada. I love being a teacher-librarian! Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|