At Liberty Elementary School, students in kindergarten through 5th grade receive technology class at least once a week. During this time I work with students to collaborate, design, and build new creations. My goal is to create a space that empowers students to create beautiful things through feedback looping and the design process. We strive to elevate learning through the ubiquitous use of technology. Below is a sampling of the projects we have created this year.
Engineering Challenges
First and second grade students engage in a number of design challenges. In addition to studying architectural elements and structural design, students also go through a complete design process. Students design both a horizontal bridge and a vertical tower. Students create and share digital prototypes using iPads and the NearPod app. Students then share their prototypes and gather feedback from peers.
We use a number of materials that are both inexpensive and easy to manipulate. Bridges were created using marshmallows and toothpicks. Towers were built with dry spaghetti, string, and tape. During the building process students use the time-lapse camera feature on the iPads to film themselves building. They then go back and watch how they built their structures to do self critiques of their building process. These challenges are great for building creative capacity, perseverance, developing reflective practices, and teaching the power of teamwork.
The inspiration for these learning experiences came from Tom Wujec's TED Talk: Build a Tower Build a Team.
The inspiration for these learning experiences came from Tom Wujec's TED Talk: Build a Tower Build a Team.
Patterns and Logical Reasoning
We start the year introducing basic patterns of coding through Tynker, using the free resources available to students and teachers. Building from there students program using Scratch and the Makey Makey kits to make everyday materials come to life. The PlayDough is used as a controller or makes different sounds based on the code they created. We were working on Chromebooks and using the web based version of Scratch. These activities allow students to understand the basic elements of computer programing and coding, practice logical reason, as well as the use of strategic patterns and cause and effect relationships.
Inspiration for these activities stemmed from Mitch Resnick's TED Talk: Let's teach kids to code, and the amazing talk given by Thomas Surez: A 12-year-old app developer. More resources for coding with your students can be found at Code.org.
Inspiration for these activities stemmed from Mitch Resnick's TED Talk: Let's teach kids to code, and the amazing talk given by Thomas Surez: A 12-year-old app developer. More resources for coding with your students can be found at Code.org.
Circuitry
Our youngest students are ripe for learning elements of circuitry. By molding these lessons around how the world works and how we interact with it, students learn about open and closed circuits, electricity, and energy. I introduce these ideas through the children's book When Charlie McButton Lost Power. Students then build a closed circuit system using the Snap Circuit Boards and Little Bits Kits. The goal is to build a closed circuit with a switch to turn something on and off.
We take this experience building circuits and use wires, a battery, and tape to make a small LED light turn on. The lights is then placed inside of a paper snow globe they create in their general education class. They make a pull-tab switch out of paper and aluminum foil (or copper tape- either will work) to make their paper snow globe interactive. This project is a powerful example of cross-curricular connections and arts integration.
Inspiration for this lesson came from working with an incredible team of teachers that were motivated to revamp a lesson they had been doing for years. A variety of resources can be found on Pinterest and the MakeToLearn website.
Inspiration for this lesson came from working with an incredible team of teachers that were motivated to revamp a lesson they had been doing for years. A variety of resources can be found on Pinterest and the MakeToLearn website.
Digital Design
Being able to apply elements of design to our creations allow students to pair math and art in beautiful ways. By studying movement, symmetry, and principles of design, students can then start to use these skills to create power visual displays. We start this unit by altering photographs using free apps such as PhotoGene. This allows for rich discussion and application of design principles such as balance, gradation, contrast, dominance and unity, as well as size and color.
The next step is to study movement. We design, create, and publish a stop motion video. The premise of our design is based off of old video game structures, such as Mario Brothers and PacMan, where the main character (a Lego Man in our case) has to navigate through a maze in order to gather materials and beat the challenge by getting out on the other side. Students study lines and geometric shapes used to create complex maze systems and design a maze background for their video. They are also given a bag with various other materials (cotton balls, marker, aluminum foil, etc), they can use in any way to help create their video. Using the iStopmotion app, students film their maze adventure. We also spend time thinking about powerful introductions through the creative use of movement and letters in creating their title.
The last part of this project entails a digitally designed movie poster to advertise for their film. Students pull from the entire unit and apply their knowledge of design to create a poster that showcases their film's theme and characters. We use Canva and allow their tutorials to help us learn how to transfer our knowledge of design to actual digital formatting and creation. This unit ends with students inviting teachers from the building to enjoy a small film festival in which their videos are showcased. Students write a 30 second director's introduction to their film which they present to the audience. The festival ends with a Q&A session where the viewers can engage with the students.*
In a world that is increasingly visual, our students need to know how to interact with design elements in critical and strategic ways, for a variety of purposes. The activities in this unit strive to marry media and design in ways that will enable our students to utilize elements of design to meet their needs or the needs of others. This unit allows exposure to photo editing, film, advertising, and graphic design techniques, as well as publishing and public speaking skills.
If you are interested in how design can be used to shift the educational framework and cause social change, I would recommend checking out Emily Pilloton. She is a designer and social advocate for both rural communities and educational advancement in our poorest counties in the United States.
*This unit is still in progress. More images will be posted as we finish the final pieces and host our film festival.
The next step is to study movement. We design, create, and publish a stop motion video. The premise of our design is based off of old video game structures, such as Mario Brothers and PacMan, where the main character (a Lego Man in our case) has to navigate through a maze in order to gather materials and beat the challenge by getting out on the other side. Students study lines and geometric shapes used to create complex maze systems and design a maze background for their video. They are also given a bag with various other materials (cotton balls, marker, aluminum foil, etc), they can use in any way to help create their video. Using the iStopmotion app, students film their maze adventure. We also spend time thinking about powerful introductions through the creative use of movement and letters in creating their title.
The last part of this project entails a digitally designed movie poster to advertise for their film. Students pull from the entire unit and apply their knowledge of design to create a poster that showcases their film's theme and characters. We use Canva and allow their tutorials to help us learn how to transfer our knowledge of design to actual digital formatting and creation. This unit ends with students inviting teachers from the building to enjoy a small film festival in which their videos are showcased. Students write a 30 second director's introduction to their film which they present to the audience. The festival ends with a Q&A session where the viewers can engage with the students.*
In a world that is increasingly visual, our students need to know how to interact with design elements in critical and strategic ways, for a variety of purposes. The activities in this unit strive to marry media and design in ways that will enable our students to utilize elements of design to meet their needs or the needs of others. This unit allows exposure to photo editing, film, advertising, and graphic design techniques, as well as publishing and public speaking skills.
If you are interested in how design can be used to shift the educational framework and cause social change, I would recommend checking out Emily Pilloton. She is a designer and social advocate for both rural communities and educational advancement in our poorest counties in the United States.
*This unit is still in progress. More images will be posted as we finish the final pieces and host our film festival.