Creating Coding Lessons Reflection – Iteration One

As an Engineering teacher I strongly believe in the power of iteration and reflection. Everything I ask my students to do, I ask them to do more than once. This gives them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Iteration is how real design works, so we should teach accordingly. I am such a fan of the concept that I apply it to my teaching practice. What follows is my coding lesson reflection for my first iteration.

The first iteration of creating coding lessons using App Inventor 2 did not go as well as I’d hoped. Because it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped I have Two choices before me. I can scrap the lesson, or I can reflect on it and how to make it better for next quarter. What follows is my reflection on this past quarter. If you haven’t read the first Two posts in this series you should check them out here, and here before continuing. I’ll wait.

Coding Lesson Reflection – Complete Successes

 

My primary goal for Middle Grades Technology Education is to introduce new technology or technical concepts to my students. In terms of technology and concept introduction this lesson was a complete success. Every student in my class was able to have some success in making mobile applications.

The lesson was easy to both scaffold, and differentiate. Depending on individual student ability I could give more, or less help as needed. I was also able to easily alter portions of assignments in order to bring each student to the level of challenge they needed. Everyone stretched, but no one was drowning (at least not for long). Additionally, I think that all of my students were both engaged, and entertained by this lesson. The only times students seemed to lack engagement was when they felt overwhelmed by the content. In this case I could simply add scaffolding to bring them back.

The vehicle for learning here was outstanding. MIT App Inventor 2, worked as well as I had hoped. The interface is well within the comfort level of all of the grade 8 students in my class. They were also able to apply learned concepts to other problems. The phones, and tablets worked how I expected them to with minimal problems. For next year I will need to buy devices for my classroom out of my own budget, but based on how my test devices performed I am comfortable doing so. Ideally, these phones will still be available when my equipment gets purchased.

Coding Lesson Reflection – Mediocre Successes

 

Though MIT App Inventor 2 worked exactly as I had hoped, the tutorials I used didn’t. I have a fairly specific vision for what I want to teach in the course, and the tutorials I used were not exactly right. They were also not as easy for my Grade 8 students to understand as I was hoping for them to be. I am not particularly surprised by this as I have yet to find something made by someone else that I am completely happy with when it comes to curriculum. Using videos for teaching app programming however, seems pretty solid. I also like that the format is comfortable for my students, that they can refer back to the information contained in them, and that it allows me to spend class time scaffolding learning for individual students.

Encouraging collaboration was also “sort of” successful. In the beginning of the quarter I suggested that my students lean on one another for assistance, and tried to facilitate that communication. As the quarter progressed I added collaboration, specifically through web site comments as a requirement. Students were successful in helping one another, but resisted when I added the collaboration requirement later in the quarter.

Coding Lesson Reflection – Unsuccessful

 

The lesson itself was an overall success, but I am left with a distinct feeling that some things went terribly wrong. First, I stepped back to far, and too quickly. By this I mean that I only went through one complete tutorial with my students before giving them the others, and having them try to figure out the tutorials on their own. Doing so was certainty a conscious choice, but it was the wrong choice. I essentially gave my students scaffolding that didn’t involve me, and made the assumption that if they got stuck they would ask me for help. Unfortunately, they didn’t ask for help until they were completely frustrated and lost. The result was that many of  my students didn’t get as far as I’d hoped they would.

Next, the way I graded this lesson was deeply flawed throughout the quarter. Typically in my classes I use a participation grade. Most of the time this method of grading is perfect because I’m not expecting work outside of class. By the time I figured out that I should move to a grade by assignment model everything was already thrown out of whack. I then made the mistake of doing a combined model, which really didn’t work out. Finally, I added different types of grades in the middle of the quarter. The result was grades that poorly reflected the work being done.

My expectations of my students were also incorrect. I had the expectation that many if not all of my students would be doing some of the work for this class at home. Though I had a few do so, most simply didn’t. Some told me they didn’t have a computer or internet at home, and others said they were to busy with other school work.

Coding Lesson Reflection – Immediate Changes

 

The great news about all of this is that I have an opportunity right away to solve some of the problems with this lesson. A new quarter just started, and my coding lesson starts anew along with it. I am certain I can remedy all of my failures, and likely improve some of my mediocre successes.

• Grading: Beginning with a project based grading system, and setting the expectation early on should allow grades to more accurately reflect the work produced. Additionally, I will insert a collaboration requirement from the beginning, and stress the impact of this requirement on overall grades.
• Expectations: Now that I am more familiar with what students are capable of I can tailor my expectation accordingly. I can closely examine what is happening in the tutorials I assigned last quarter, as well as the results achieved with them. When I look at what my students did in relation to what I was looking for I can eliminate or scaffold as needed. Additionally, I can be more cognizant of what students are likely able to accomplish at home, and assign work accordingly.
• Role of the Teacher: In this next iteration of the lesson, I will simply increase the amount of scaffolding I give my students, and be more active in checking up on their work. By increasing this I should be able to achieve better results.
• Collaboration: This quarter I will institute a collaboration requirement from the start to make collaboration a greater part of classroom culture overall.

 

Coding Lesson Reflection – Long Term Changes

 

In terms of long term changes I am going to focus on the tutorials themselves. As I mention above, though the tutorials I have found are useful they are still not quite right. During summer break it is my intention to make my own tutorials with which to teach this lesson. When I do I will add a new section to SuperStarSTEM.com where my tutorials will live.

Thank you all for reading, and if you have found this post useful please share links wherever you can. Doing so will allow other educators to benefit from our work on SuperStarSTEM.

Note: Just about any Android phone will work for App Inventor 2. Ideally you will find some that are $20-$30, and have both an auto focus and a flash. Those two features are not required, but will allow you to use Rocketbooks in your class. The only required features are an accelerometer, a camera, wifi, and possibly GPS.

 

 

Top 5 STEM Funding Sources – Make It Rain

 

As I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve read any of my other articles, I’m a public school teacher. It is one of the greatest joys in my life, and I hope I get to do it until I retire. That said, the public school environment can be frustrating. For me, and I imagine for many public school teachers this time of year (budget season) is incredibly stressful. This is especially true in 2017 due to the current political climate. Typically, I consider it a fantastic budget season if my program’s budget stays the same. This year I will consider it amazing if I still have a job. In any case I always need additional STEM funding sources to keep my program strong.

With that in mind there are three reasons I think it’s wise to develop fund raising skills. First, if I can fund my program outside of my allocated budget, my ability to teach is not determined by others. Second, if I can self fund I am more valuable than someone who cannot. Third, if I can self fund I have the ability to expand my program unhindered by the political process. In short, my ability to fund my own program means that I have more freedom in my teaching practice.

Mindset

Here is where most teachers I know have trouble. We know we need more equipment. Teachers know we are better teachers when we have better tools. We know that the likelihood of getting the Administration or the Board to give us more money is pretty low. Most people are terrified to even ask for money. If given an opportunity for additional funding we may not have a plan in place to utilize it. I have covered some of this in the past with posts on the Top 5 Learning Tools Wishlist, and Content Drives Technology NOT The Other Way Around.

This post is focused on how to get more money for your program. Specifically, how to do it as efficiently & painlessly as possible. Maybe some of this comes a bit more easily for me because of my sales background, but everything below is pretty painless. Additionally, some of this you are doing already, but aren’t leveraging effectively. I’m ranking the below STEM funding sources from most effective (for me) to least effective. That said, even the least effective options here are pretty great. They are in my top 5 for a reason. Above all be patient, education funding is a marathon not a sprint.

STEM Funding Sources

I have actually used all of  these resources effectively in my own practice. In some cases I have gotten a lot of equipment, in some cases less equipment. To have a well equipped program you need to be able to gather large, medium, and small amounts of equipment effectively. In some cases the below sources have also led to some fairly lucrative consulting work. Where this is the case I have noted it.

1. Local & Not So Local Higher Learning Institutions

In terms of general STEM funding sources, this one is far and away my favorite way to get extra equipment for my classroom, as well as where I get most of my consulting work. At the time of this writing, STEM is incredibly in vogue. Anything having to do with Engineering, Computer Science, or Design is being studied, analyzed critiqued, and funded. Colleges, and Universities are really good at receiving grants of all sorts.

What you may not know is that part of those grants, as well as the University’s ability to receive further funding requires them to do case studies. Their case studies need to be done in classrooms. Additionally, they don’t always end up using all of the money they receive. If they don’t use all of the money they are given, they need to give it back. If you are exceptionally comfortable talking to people you can try to approach Computer Science and Engineering departments directly, but I’ve never done so.

Best Practices for Higher Ed Networking

The best way I have found to develop contacts at these places is through Professional Development. In my experience, the same departments at higher learning institutions that offer free (or even pay you to attend) PD are the departments that have grant funded projects focused schools. If you take PD through them they will approach you, or at least be willing to listen to your ideas. ALWAYS tell them about your program. Try to spend part of your breaks at PD talking about your program, and what your hopes for your program are to the presenter.

Make sure you get their contact info, and send them an email thanking them for the workshop. If they mention a project while you’re talking with them feel free to mention it in your thank you message. Ask them to keep you posted about additional PD they are teaching. Almost invariably this will lead to them eventually approaching YOU with funding opportunities.

2. Local Non Profit Educational Services Providers

As I have only taught at one school, in one specific region I am not certain that companies like this exist everywhere. I know they are pretty common in NH, and I know that the one that serves my area is fantastic. If you are unfamiliar with organizations of this type, their whole purpose is making the lives of educators better. They provide Professional Development, apply for grants. Participate in studies. Provide meeting space. Facilitate educator networking, and a whole host of other things I’m sure I’ve forgotten.

I have found this STEM funding source incredibly useful in in my Professional Development. Again, I take no cost (to me) PD that makes me a better, more informed, smarter teacher, and I get additional benefits. Developing a relationship with these types of companies has absolutely led to getting additional equipment. Lots of other organizations donate their old tech to these non profits. Oftentimes the tech they take in isn’t good for much other than recycling (or taking apart), but if they know what you’re looking for they will give it to you when they get it.

Organizations like this are also always plugged in to what grants are out there. As such, when they apply for a grant they may name your program as a participant. Additionally, once you are well known they may ask you to present a workshop. This is beneficial on many levels, but these engagements are often paid consulting jobs.

Best practices for Non Profit Networking

You may be surprised to learn that I could literally copy & paste the above best practices section, drop it here, and it would hold true. Take professional development, ideally professional development you get a stipend for taking. Take as much professional development as you can stand. During your workshop talk to the presenter, as well as the individual from the non profit who is observing the workshop. Discuss your program, your goals, and get contact info. Send a thank you email. Let them know you are always on the lookout for more PD. If they ask you what your challenges are, tell them you could use additional equipment. Above all develop a good working relationship.

3. Community Improvement Groups

Every community out there has some group or another that wants to make it better. In some cases there are many groups that want to make your community better. People involved with this STEM funding source, want to help. In my experience they believe (as most teachers do) that the school is at the heart of a community. Strong schools lead to strong communities, and strong communities have a strong school system. Community Improvement groups may not have the resources of the first two STEM funding sources, but they can usually help out somehow. Don’t limit yourself here, look at groups that work to improve arts, adult education, career training, and anything else that improves your community. Oftentimes they have grant funds available that they will not use (and as a result lose). These funds can often be re-purposed for educators with a small amount of finesse.

Best Practices for Community Improvement Networking

In the same manner that you don’t love getting asked for something out of the blue, neither do these organizations. Do some research, and see what sorts of organizations are active in your area. Approach the organizers directly, and see where they could use some help. Let them know what you do, and what your program is like so that they know what you’re doing in the classroom. In my experience they almost always have committees they want people to serve on, input about their own ideas, and participation in the programs they offer. Just like the other organizations mentioned above, once you develop a relationship with them they will likely approach you about helping your program.

4. Youth Groups & Museums

Groups such as 4H, Girl Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, and the Civil Air Patrol are all in this bucket as well as many others. In fact, the Civil Air Patrol has specific programs that involve Professional Development for teachers combined with equipment donations. It’s important to remember that these types of organizations are designed to help children in a wide variety of ways. Often they have special programs, and specific ways of helping that involve some paperwork, and training. Working with programs such as these is also an excellent way to get news of your program out into your community. The more excited the community is about what you’re doing, the more potential funding sources you will find.

Museums, especially Science or Children’s Museums often have educational outreach programs designed to benefit schools. They also occasionally receive grants for education, and can be an incredible resource for borrowing scientific equipment as well.

Best Practices for Engaging Youth Groups & Museums

With both of these types of STEM funding sources (as well as with the first 3), often you need to do something to receive something. Get in contact with your local organizations and volunteer to run an activity, or help out. Take any training they offer, and find out what their needs are. Do whatever you can to help. As with any other of the above sources, talk about your program. Discuss what you’re doing, and what you’d like to do. Keep in contact with them, and they will likely reach out to you with ideas about how you can help each other.

Getting funding from most organizations involves relationship building, and sharing your program. People help who they know, and who is on top of their mind. The directors of the groups may come across an opportunity to help out with an incredibly short time window. Make sure you are the person they think of first.

5. Donorschoose.org

This crowd funding organization is specifically designed around the idea of helping teachers get the additional equipment they desperately need. I love donorschoose, they are amazing, easy to use, and relevant to your needs. They understand teachers, and are very good at helping you reach your funding goals. “If it’s so good, then why mention it last?” you may ask. Well, first let me mention that last in the top five is STILL in the top 5. Next, there are some features that make this less awesome than other STEM funding sources. First, you are largely restricted to their specific vendors. This isn’t THAT big a deal since they work with both Amazon & Best Buy, but it can be annoying. Second, you need to go to your own social network for funding. Again, not a HUGE deal but certainly worth considering.

How it works is that you come up with some items you need. You find those items from one of their vendors. Next, follow their instructions about points and shopping. Finally, follow their instructions about how you present the project on social media. When I did mine, I would post a reminder to my Facebook feed once per week. I was fully funded within a month or two. Often this is the most attainable, and approachable method for teachers to start their outside funding journey. For me that was certainly the case.

Conclusion

You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned hitting up local businesses, doing fund raisers, or applying for grants here. These are perfectly legit sources, and I encourage you to try anything you can to get outside funding. I have been at social gathering before, and struck up a conversation with someone about work. A few weeks later an Arduino showed up at my house. People want to help, you just need to talk about what you’re doing.

A Quick note about Professional Development. Without exception 100% of the avenues I have pursued for outside funding are tied in some way to the PD I attend. At every opportunity I go to literally every single free PD I can. I’m always on the look out for PD that has a stipend attached. I apply for everything, and I always say yes. When I’m at a PD (or anywhere else) I always network with other educators. I ask questions. By doing the things I mentioned here I have been able to get additional funding, and do consulting work that paid me about 10% of my salary last year. Because of my connections, my school and I have been named by a major university as part of a grant they are pursuing. If I can do it, so can you.

I hope you’ve found this article useful. If you have please share it with everyone you know, in every way you can. Additionally, if you want to keep up to date on everything that happens here at SuperStarSTEM.com please sign up for email updates. I promise we will never share your email or send you anything other than updates to the site. Thanks for reading.

 

Creating Coding Lessons – Grade 6-8: Part 2

Any time I try something new I get some unexpected results. Often I learn something new. Usually I tweak something. Sometimes I find a connection to something else. My students find the lesson easier or harder than I expected. I’ve even discovered that some of my basic assumptions were faulty before. This time is no different. This coding lessons reflection will be of dubious use to you without having read this post. Don’t let me dissuade you though, read away. What follows is an outline, and reflection on what I have done for the coding lesson I am working on so far.

I tend towards jumping right in, and being flexible as I go with new lesson ideas. I know that others prefer to have every moment planned out in advance (and there’s nothing wrong with that), but I am more comfortable winging it a bit. That isn’t to say I don’t have a plan, it’s more to say that my plans are fluid. I trust my research and experience to guide me as I go. This post is a bit different than usual as well. There are a lot of moving pieces to this lesson, and I’m writing to focus my own thinking in addition to documenting what I’m doing for others.

Refined Overview

I am working towards several goals in this lesson. First, I want to provide a solid foundation in computer science to my grade 8 students. Second, I want to introduce my students to some basic web design. Third, I want to give them an outlet for their desire to create. Fourth, I want my students to be less dependent on me for the knowledge they require, and finally I am exploring how to differentiate a performance based lesson across students of varying needs.

Students learn different subjects in different ways. Some students require more scaffolding than others in order to benefit from a lesson, other students learn best with more independence, and still others require something in between. I have always been of the opinion that it is not a given student’s responsibility to learn how I teach. Rather, it is my responsibility to teach how they learn. In the immortal words of Mr. Miyagi: “Teacher say, student do”. My hope here is that I can create a lesson for all students.

Assignments Thus Far

As mentioned here, I started of with a simple tutorial for the Talk to Me App in App Inventor 2. Additionally, I assigned the students to create a google site, populate it with an About Me page, a Links page, a Classwork page, and a Portfolio page. We did the tutorial, and the web site assignments together during class. They were also given a question to answer about computers in general.

Students are required to create a project page for each app, and to fill it with documentation and reflections on each project. After the first assignment they have been given several more in rapid succession. They were assigned the second part of the Talk to me App, the Ball Bounce App, and were tasked with making unique improvements for each app as well. All of the apps up to this point are part of App Inventor’s Hour of Code. As part of these apps we have discussed the concept of abstraction in computer science. Additional App assignments will be designed to cover other topics mentioned in my last post. As an assessment for this first, basic section I asked students to work through the set of tutorials under the Paint Pot App. This assignment is different as I am not giving students class time to complete it.

Coding Lessons Reflection

All assignments are given in the google classroom, and students are encouraged to ask any questions in the google classroom as well. They are also encouraged to answer each others questions.  The first App assignment, and the first web assignments are the only ones we do together in class. The rest will simply be assignments. Students are given class time to work on their assignments. I also expect them to answer many of their own questions through internet research.

There was some push back on these ideas at first, but students are really beginning to embrace this style. This manner of having video tutorials, and performance tasks is allowing me the time to help those students that need it while allowing other students to work at a more accelerated pace. I don’t know yet how the assessment will pan out. My goal is to have students doing work outside of class which will foster greater levels of collaboration on their sites, and in the classroom. My main concern with this is that some students may be unable to work from home because they lack a computer with internet. We’ll see.

I’ve mapped out the app assignments for the rest of the quarter already. I am however, still trying to fit in the concepts & practices I discussed in the first article. That portion is a moving target that I will revisit periodically. Certainly, the app assignments will have most of these ideas built in. My challenge will be to pull out these specific concepts & practices to shine a light on them. A lot of this will come into greater focus as student move away from tutorials, and into building their own unique ideas, but I need to keep them at the top of my mind.

Differentiation in Coding Lessons Reflection

One of the pleasant surprises I’ve come up with is that assigning work in this manner is exceptionally easy to differentiate. In my current class I have several students who are incredibly comfortable with the subject matter, several who are moderately comfortable, and several who need significant scaffolding in order to be successful. By taking myself out of the initial distribution of knowledge to my students, I allow myself to be available to scaffold where needed.

Additionally, by forcing my students to add unique features to their apps I have allowed my students the opportunity to dictate their own level of challenge. Improvements to an app can run the gamut from changing the color of the screen, to translating typed text into another language before “speaking” it. What I’m left with is a room full of engaged students who are given the exact amount of support they require. This has allowed me to view all of my lessons differently, and will change how I teach moving forward.

Next Steps

This Coding Lessons Reflection would be of reduced value without a discussion of where I plan to go next. The rest of the course will continue to be focused on App Tutorials, and web design. In order, the apps I will assign are:

• Magic 8 Ball
• Persisting Photos
• Android Mash
• Logo (App Template Here)
• Student Designed App Number 1
• Presidents Quiz
• No Text While Busy
• Socially Aware App
• Student Designed App Number 2 (Final)

 

As time goes on the tutorials begin to focus on specific features without repeating information. Many deal with some pretty advanced programming concepts so, I’ll have to pay close attention to how my students are doing. There’s a good deal of work left to do on this unit, and I expect to make revisions as I go. I will continue posting about what is going on with the apps individually, as well as what’s happening in my classroom. The really interesting items will be what the kids come up with for individual apps.

Conclusion

Though I am essentially 20% through this first iteration of my coding lessons curriculum there are still a huge number of questions that need answering. I feel like it is going well, and I am excited to see how everything pans out in the end.

Thanks for reading, and if you’d like to keep updated on what’s happening on the blog please sign up for email updates. I promise I will never send you anything other than updates on my posts. Additionally, the more you share this around the more people will get use out of it. Please use the buttons at the top of the post to let everyone know whats happening here.

 

Books as SuperStar STEM Teaching Resources: Top 5

 

Despite the massive tonnage of information available on the internet from places like this little ‘ol blog I found that when I started my STEM teaching journey I really didn’t even know what to look for. Couple that with my lifelong love of reading (including a Masters in English), and it’s only natural that I’d turn to books. Specifically, books on Amazon, and ideally books that I could pop onto my kindle reading app with nothing more than a click of a button. Even with the incredible ease of purchase, there was still the matter of finding the right book, and reading it of course.

If you do a search for STEM on Amazon (or anywhere else for that matter) you get a pile of stuff that you don’t really know is applicable, genuine, good, or even useful for what you are doing. It is my humble hope here to give you some incite about what books I have found to be good investments to increase my effectiveness as a STEM teacher.

In the list below I have linked the Amazon listing where possible. I have linked the actual physical book even in cases where there is a Kindle option to give you the choice of what format to buy it in. Unless noted otherwise, I have actually read the books listed below and applied some or all of what they contain to my actual classroom practice. In the interest of full disclosure I want you to know that if you buy one of these books after clicking on the link provided below I will get a small commission from Amazon. Buying in this manner will help to keep the site up and running while keeping me motivated to create more free content for you to enjoy.

First, lets discuss classroom management. I put this first because without a solid classroom management system in place you won’t be able to effectively teach anything, let alone project based STEM. The very best resource on classroom management that I have ever seen is:

Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids: (and the rest of your class, too!)

by Chris Biffle

 

I use the advice in the book above many times per day every day. It teaches teachers how to set, and enforce classroom expectations while at the same time keeping the classroom environment light, and conducive to engaged learning. I recommend this book to literally every single teacher I meet.

Next, I want to recommend a book on STEM as a generalized topic of education. Regardless of the specific STEM content you are working with, there is a general way I feel professional educators should go about teaching it. We need to be encouraging a few specific traits in our students that STEM lends itself well to. Traits such as problem solving, growth mindset, creativity, and grit are crucial not only to real world STEM endeavors, but to life in general. As such we should be developing our curriculum as a set of design challenges. In order to figure out the best way to do this I found this book:

Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom

by Sylvia Libow Martinez, and Gary S. Stager 

 

 

I have read this book several times, and am always inspired to make my lessons better when I do. It talks about the history of Project Based Learning, and gives STEM teachers some valuable advice about how to teach the engineering design process. Just by absorbing this book you will become a more effective STEM educator.

We started out here with classroom management, and moved into STEM generally. Now it’s time to dive into some specific content areas. For me, one of the most effective content tools for STEM Education is model rocketry. In fact, I have written a whole post on why I think its effective, what national standards apply to it, and why you should have it as one of your units. That post can be found here. If you are going to dive into rocketry in your classroom, whether your dive is shallow or deep, there is one definitive book out there that will cover everything you need to know to get started. It has been revised seven times to keep up with advancing understanding, and was initially written by one of the founders of the model rocketry hobby. This book is literally, THE resource for model rocketry.

Handbook of Model Rocketry, 7th Edition (NAR Official Handbook)

by G. Harry Stine, and Bill Stine 

 

 

This book is not only a fantastic read, but covers the subject in such incredible detail that it’s hard not to be able to teach rocketry well after reading it. I have been doing rockets with my students in one form or another for the past three years, and still refer to this text at least once per week. If you are going to do rocketry you need this book.

The two main systems I work with in my classroom are rockets & robots. Specifically, in terms of robots I use Lego Mindstorms Ev3 for Education. I have already outlined general rocketry in a post, and will do the same with robots in the future (though as of this posting my next post is going to be a rocketry lesson plan) Books on Ev3 for educaiton are few, and far between, at least when I was looking so most of my lesson ideas have come from a collection of web based portals (which I will outline in another post), but there is one book I have found to be indispensable to my teaching practice.  When I had 1 week to figure out how to teach robotics this book saved my bacon.

Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher: EV3 Paperback

by Dr Damien Kee

 

This particular book is a bit on the spendy side at almost $55.00, and only comes in print, but it really is a fantastic resource. I encourage anyone who is just starting an Ev3 curriculum, or even seasoned pros to give it a read. When I was starting it really helped me get through the sticky bits of this stupendous learning tool.

Finally, I would be remiss in a Top 5 STEM Teaching Books post if I didn’t have a Raspberry Pi book. I mention the Pi in my Top Five STEM Learning Tools post, and fully intend to spend a good deal of time on the blog writing about projects, lessons, and uses for the Pi. As such I wanted to make sure I listed a book. Unfortunately, unlike the Lego Ev3 book challenges there are just so many great Raspberry Pi books that picking just one is tough to do. What I had to do is narrow down my selection by focusing on a book that will fit into my own curriculum. Here’s what I came up with:

Programming the Raspberry Pi, Second Edition: Getting Started with Python Paperback

by Simon Monk

 

 

Again, in the interest of full disclosure I actually have the First Edition of this book, and though I have read it, I haven’t applied it in my classroom yet. Programming with Python, which is actual coding is a bit of a sticky wicket for the grade levels I teach. I have done some Linux & Python work with some of my more advanced grade 7 & 8 students, but hesitate to add coding into my curriculum as an actually unit. As I have learned in the past three years, there are some concepts that even I can’t teach to every single 7th or 8th grader in 21, 45 Minutes sessions (the average number of days in a standard quarter which is all I get them for). That said, if I ever move to High School, or ever feel bold enough to try it in grade 8, this book would be the basis of my unit.

That wraps up our Top 5 Books post, but stay tuned to the site for more Top 5 posts, Lesson Plans, product evaluations, and general discussion about STEM education. The very best way to do that is to sign up for my newsletter in the lower right hand corner of this page. Thanks for stopping by!

Top Five STEM Learning Tools Wishlist

One of my greatest mentors in STEM told me a learning tools story soon after we met. He told me about his first teaching position, and one of his own mentors. The head of his department took him into the storage room, and showed him a set of 30 Microscopes. When my mentor said “How did you get all these?” his mentor replied “One or two at a time over the course of a 20 year career”.

Education is a marathon, not a sprint, don’t be afraid to take your time. The learning tools below are fantastic! They are also expensive, and if you read this post not necessary for a strong STEM lesson.

Below is a “Wishlist” of the top STEM learning tools as of the date of this posting. These are the tools to aim for when you ask for extra money, or run a Donors Choose Campaign. If you are exceptionally lucky, and get a lot of funding to start or improve a STEM program you can get several at once. However, if you didn’t win the funding lottery try to buy a little each year.

Some of what I mention below I currently use in my classroom, some I have plans to get in the future, and still others are “dream” tools. Regardless of whether I have it now, am working towards getting it, or simply wish for it, I have a plan for how it will be used. As I mentioned in another article Content Drives Technology.

1)  3D Printer

A 3D printer is hands down the best STEM tool ever invented. It allows educators to customize their curriculum by adding design, and engineering components seamlessly. Almost regardless of the lesson you are teaching, you can integrate 3D printing technology seamlessly. In this blog I will be detailing my own lessons that utilize 3D printing, and design to give you inspiration.

Just check under 3D Printing Lessons (As of this post I haven’t added any yet, but plan on it within the next several days). Depending on your specific needs, skills, and budget these can be purchased for anywhere form $500.00 TO $5,000.00 (or more) so, make sure you research 3D printers very well before buying. I will post some articles about 3D printers, and specifically the ones I have used under the category Product Evaluations (again, I haven’t posted any yet).

2) Lego Mindstorms Ev3

Though there are several platforms available in the marketplace I recommend this one for two reasons. First, it’s the only one I have personal experience with. Second, they allow for data collection, and analysis  with their education version. Though other platforms are similar in that you can program them with a block based language, and have click together hardware for building, I haven’t seen any other that come native with data tools. Lego is also the oldest, and as such there are a ton more resources available than I have seen for other robotics platforms. I use them to teach intro programming, intro mechanical engineering, and advanced programming.

AS the blog progresses I will be posting my lessons, as well as the resources I have used to the blog eventually under the Ev3 Lessons category, but haven’t yet. There will also be posts on here about how to use Ev3 because it can be a bit daunting at first. It is also important to note that you don’t need to shoot for the moon right away. Try starting out your purchasing with an idea of a 4 to 1 ratio of students to kits, you can work over time to reduce that to 2 to 1, but I wouldn’t go down to 1 to 1 with grade 5 and 6 which is where my robotics program is offered. Core kits are around $400.00, and Expansion Kits are around $100.00 each.

3) Raspberry Pi

These little computers can do so much for your STEM curriculum. Not only can you teach coding, physical programming, Linux, and circuitry, but you can use the Pi itself for a wide variety of design tasks. I have seen them used as a controller  for everything from weather stations to cafeteria signage, web servers, and even Minecraft Servers. Really, anything that requires some manner of electronic control can use a Pi as its brain. It is also a fantastic next step after getting your students comfortable with block based programming like the programming found in Lego Mindstorms Ev3, App Inventor 2, or Scratch.

I will be posting lessons for this under the Rapsberry Pi Lessons category, but haven’t yet. The big advantage to using the Pi is that the computer itself is under $40.00. You will need keyboards, monitors, mice, and peripherals, but with a lot of these extras can be found in storage closets in most public schools.

4) Andriod Tablets/Smart Phones

I love this tool for many reasons. The first, and best reason is MIT App Inventor 2. This tool alone (which is free) allows your students to be able to apply their school work directly to their lives by making fully functioning Android Apps. The most common question I get from students in my school since I started has been “Mr. T, can you show me how to make Apps?”. After discovering MIT App Inventor 2 I can finally tell them that I can. App Inventor 2 is so amazing that there are even a whole curriculum worth of video tutorials that teach you (and your students) how to use it. Since it’s free there are also a TON of online resources for project ideas, and help using it.

As if that weren’t enough of a reason I have also been using tablets in my classroom to document my students work. Again, I will go into exactly how I have done this in a later post, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Android tablets seem to start at around $100.00 if you can’t get phones or tablets donated.

5) LASER Cutter

This is the only STEM learning tool listed in this article that I don’t currently have in my classroom. I list it here because it it almost as amazing as a 3D printer, and if you can combine the two you can do just about anything. These also seem to start at about $5,000.00 as of the time of this writing.

LASER cutters are computer controlled, and are used to cut flat objects. Depending on the specifications of the machine you have they can cut anything from cardboard to wood, metal, and plastic. I like them because they are a natural compliment to my 3D printer.

 

I hope you have found the above list useful in your purchase planning. If you have other ideas of fantastic STEM learning tools, or how you use them please feel free to pop on over to the Contact page, and let me know!

Content Drives Technology NOT The Other Way Around

One of the ways I work to help other teachers have success in STEM Education is by working as a consultant and designer. Part of that work involves giving talks on various aspects of STEM, which allows me to meet a lot of different teachers. One of the things I’ve noticed (and it makes me absolutely crazy!) is that teachers fight to buy technology they have no plan for. Often the result is either a piece of dusty tech sitting in a closet, or a piece of tech that is not being used to it’s full potential. What a waste of time and money! Before you spend dime one on any new “product” you should have a good idea about how it will fit into your curriculum.

My biggest, dirtiest educational sin is that when I first started out in education I was guilty of the same mindset that I now rail against. I thought that the silver bullet to giving my students the most enriching, engaging, learning experience possible was to have the fanciest new technology money could buy. Dear reader, I beg your forgiveness. I also hope that you can learn from my mistakes as opposed to your own (it’s much cheaper, and less embarrassing that way).

In my first job as a STEM educator I got incredibly lucky. I was given a comparatively large budget to get my program up and running, and since STEM was just beginning to gain real traction in my area I was given complete discretion on how I spent my initial budget. I spent every dime within a week, and then needed to go back for more money because I forgot to buy a service contract on a piece of equipment.

I had no plan for HOW I was going to use the technology, and in some cases no idea how to use it either. The struggles I went through as I was figuring everything out are a big part of why I decided to start this blog. In here you will certainly find lots of curriculum ideas, units, and instructions on High Tech topics like 3D Printing, Robotics, Coding, and Model Rocketry to help you figure out what to do before you buy anything, but we’ll also cover Low Tech STEM in case you don’t have the budget for the fancy stuff.

By no means do you need to have the most whiz bang LASER cutting, flying, robotic 3D printer on the market in order to teach Superstar STEM. In fact, some of  my most successful lessons were taught using nothing more than the contents of a recycling bin, and some masking tape. Don’t forget that MaGyver had nothing more than some Duct Tape, and a Swiss Army knife, and he did just fine!