Remaking Education with the "Maker" Movement

I was catching up on checking out my usual blogs to find resources to share with the teachers I work with when I came across a post on the CNN Schools of Thought blog. It was discussing the current state of science education in our country and how it is being minimized in both the amount of time spent on teaching science concepts and in the way it is being taught. More and more students are being prepared for standardized tests, and are being told "what" the science concepts they need to learn are, and are not given the hands on opportunities to explore "why" these concepts work they way they do. 

The post, Teach Kids to Make Things, talks about ways the Maker Movement is being utilized to increase students interest and understanding of science and engineering concepts. Wait...you don't know what the maker movement is? Well, just think of it as a bunch of mad scientist/inventor types that in shared spaces to tinker on ideas and create some pretty amazing stuff. These "Maker Spaces" are popping up all over too. Community center type places are popping up in cities, museums, and even schools!

These places usually have are equipped with equipment and resources for people to use to get started creating. Usually, members of the space will teach classes and workshops to each other, and offer support through mentoring and team work. 

This hands on/project based approach fosters deep learning of concepts, and inspires people of all ages to pursue knowledge and create bigger and better things. Many believe, me included, that this is the way we can help students learn that is much more meaningful than the current test prep approach schools are being forced into.

The blog I read referenced an article about two extraordinary kids that have been inspired by this movement and are creating amazing inventions, teaching others, and even running their own businesses! (They are chauffeured by their parents though...) 

Quin Etnyre and Sylvia Todd are both young makers that are doing some amazing things. Here is the full article from September's Popular Science about what they have been doing:
 A 12 Year-Old's Quest To Remake Education, One Arduino At A Time

I have also posted videos from these two inventors' YouTube channels below so you can really see how amazing what they are doing is.

Quin Etnyre Shows How He Created His "Fuzz Bot"

Sylvia Todd Shows How You Can Create a Heart Monitoring Necklace

WeVideo: Create Videos on the Web

More and more we find ourselves working on our computer on things on the web. The days of saving to the desktop and flash drives are fading away rapidly, and the use of computers with actual software on them are diminishing as well.

While the convenience of having content on the internet is awesome, it does leave us a few voids in what it is capable of. In many classrooms Photostory 3 and MovieMaker have been staples in helping students express themselves through digital stories, documentaries and other projects.

As my district was contemplating the next batch of devices to buy, Google Chromebooks were high on our list. We had already committed to using the Google Apps tools for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, but we were left with the question of how we would create video projects on the web?

Then we found WeVideo! It was not a perfect tool, but it has gotten better and better. Right now, I would rate it as being better than what we used in the past. WeVideo allows students to create and edit video anywhere they have the internet. No special software is required, and its free smartphone app makes it easier than it has ever been to get video and pictures from phones into projects.

No longer will you be spending time pulling video from handy-cams to get it saved where it can be edited. Students can save their media and work on it almost anywhere.

The free accounts offered by WeVideo allow students to publish up to 15 minutes of content a month, and students can even log in using their school Google accounts. 

It is a great tool to consider using for your digital storytelling and movie making needs. 

Check out some of the resources below I have create to help you get started.

Click here to see my entire WeVideo Instructional Video Library.

WeVideo: A Photostory Alternative

WeVideo: Create Documentaries

Great TED Talk on 'Re-Wilding' and Unexpected Ecosystem Relationships

In this great Ted Talk Mr. Monbiot talks about the effects the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone Park in 1995 have had on all of the ecosystems there. It is both surprising and amazing to hear about all of the different things that can be attributed to the introduction of a large predator back into the world.

He also speaks about the roles of whales in the ocean, and how their presence there can actually lead to larger populations of fish and healthier waters.

Definitely a talk worth checking out!

Re-Wilding: George Monbiot Talks about Wolves, Whales, and Yellowstone

Enhance YouTube with Video Notes

Video Notes will make your use of YouTube more effective as well as helping you hold students accountable for media they are supposed to watch. This tool works with Google Drive to allow you to embed a YouTube video into a document you can use to take or display notes. 

Each note that you enter is time coded to a specific point of the video you choose. At anytime, you can jump to the part of the video you are interested in!

This is not a great tool for use in class, since so many students watching separate videos would take up too much bandwidth. It is however, a great tool to add more to a video you are showing the class, or something you are sharing for homework.

Another possible use would be for students to find their own videos and add notes to them to demonstrate how the video fits a certain topic or concept.

All video/note files are saved into a special folder in your Google Drive account and can be opened and shared at any time.

Check out this sample video link: Crash Course - WW@ with Notes

Making it Easy to Share Google Docs with Students

As we start the new year, more and more people are giving Google Docs a shot as the tool they will use in their classes this year. While Google Docs is a powerful tool that

 can be used to do more than we could with MS Office and the H-Drive, it can be tricky to get started sharing materials with your students. 

We have created a few videos to help you create an organizational structure in your Google Drive/Docs account that is going to make it easier for you to share and receive than it has even been before!

Here are the main ideas that will be covered:

1) Creating a shared folder with your students for distribution of materials. 
(You share it once, and everything in it gets automatically shared.)

2) Having students create a folder shared with you for handing in work. (They do all the work!)

3) Creating Class folders to make navigation of student folders easier.

Study Smarter with Study Blue

Smartphones and tablets have taken over the lives of more and more people, and this is even more true for our our kids. It is almost impossible to walk through a public place without seeing someone absorbed by whatever is on their device. Video games, texting, Facebook, and YouTube are capturing more and more attention through the link to the internet they carry around in their pocket. Imagine if only there was a way to put some of this time to good use...

Study Blue is one of those tools that can be used to put some of this time kids are attached to their devices to good use! 

This free app and website can be used to create flash cards and study activities that can be used anywhere. You can login with your existing Google account with makes it easy to get started and saves you from remembering another password and username. Students can join a teachers class or a study group and share study materials anywhere and anytime. They can also create their own private material as well using pictures they take on their phone or cards they create using Study Blue.

Now, when you are sitting at the Dr.s office or waiting for someone to finish shopping, you can spend this time studying for your classes. All of these small moments that were hard to make useful because you did not have your work with you, can now be used to get things done!

Below is a Google Doc with some direction for getting started.

Getting Started with Study Blue