The MindLab - Christchurch

I have started a post graduate certificate in Digital Collaboration.  Just like my day to day job that changes constantly, I am undertaking a course that initially seems abstract.  I was very disappointed to be flummoxed at the first hurdle with no Moodle log on and password, and no student ID.  You would think if correspondence said the my application had be "accepted and completed" some 2 months earlier that all of this admin would have been sorted - Yeah/Nah!  OK so I'm behind before I even begin with our first assessment due in 3 weeks! eeek.

The Universe has been re-aligned.  I now have access to the student portal on the Unitec Moodle :)

Exciting new partnership

I am excited with the prospect of working with Caitlin from the University of Canterbury who is completing her PhD in Computer Science.  My new job as the Head of the Centre for Innovation has led me down this path to providing opportunities for our Junior School staff and students to coding and computational thinking.  We know that starting children early and giving them opportunities to understand how everyday objects use code, and how they work is just as important as being consumers of technology.  The programme of learning which Caitlin is leading us through, involves - thinking, problem solving, and lots of trial and error.  Many of the NZC Key competencies can be developed through this course.  Our meeting today with all the Junior School staff proved to positively enhanced the wonderful work that is already being done at this level.  I am hoping that staff and students will learn together and from each other.  I want to allow children to have fun in using these digital tools to produce creative and original pieces of work. As we push the boundaries into new and uncharted directions for girls in computer science, we realise that we are entering a world that is fluid and changing with great speed.

3D Printing

I'm new to this 3D printing idea . . . opening up the box and setting it up was my first introduction to the Makerbot Replicator 2.  Have found the whole experience a delight and something you could easily get caught up with.  What I have found the most useful is being able to produce items that have an immediate practical use.  For example, the filament which we have, are on spools that have a narrower circumference so they will not fit on the spool holder that was supplied with the printer.  No Problem ! A quick visit to thingiverse solved this issue.

Filament Spool Holder

I have now branched out into designing my own items using tinkercad.  Watch this space to see the progress. . . .

My Mathematical Dice Keyring

3D Printer

Unboxing the new Makerbot Replicator 2 printers today was like Christmas all over again.

Unpacked and ready for assembly

Fairly straight forward in putting it together and doing the first print to check that I had levelled the base plate correctly.  Success . . .  today some first prints were a nut and bolt followed by a small comb.  The trickiest thing to do was to put the blue sticky tape onto the base plate (a little like having a 'coverseal' experience)

Nut and Bolt in the foreground and a comb being printed

Plastimake

I am soooo excited about what arrived in the post today. Thanks Brian for the heads up on this product.  Plastimake is so easy to use.  The only risky part of this whole process is that my creativity could go ballistic!  Little plastic beads melt when you pour hot [boiling] water over them.  My white plastic turned clear and once it was cool enough to handle,  I fished it out of the bottom of the mug and away I went . . . moulding the plastic to whatever I wanted.  The 1st object that sprung to mind was a ukulele pick shaped as a cat's head - The final product once cooled was ok but not great so it went back into the hot water to be recycled.  The next products were a series of rings which I discovered keep their shape better if you mould them around your finger and then run cold water from the tap on your hand.

LHS = 1st attempt; RHS warm/hot blob of melted plastic ready for shaping

When the plastic is cooled, it returns to it's original white colour.  I haven't yet added the coloured pallets be so adventurous to venture out of the monochromatic scale!
Tomorrow is another day and another chance to think about my next creation.  I only put a dessert spoonful into the water and discovered it goes a long way particularly when you can remould and recycle the prototypes that don't quite meet the grade.

1 dessert spoon made all these

Very happy with my first day of creation

What did I learn from the GAFE Summit South 2015?

This is the second GAFE Summit I have attended at Burnside High School - another good summit.

This year I was not as floored by all the new information hitting my brain cells.

Suan Yeo started us off and he made us aware of the fact that the "first exposure for kids is a ‘smart’ device - mobile or tablet" so today's digital developers need to bare this in mind.

We should be asking today’s kids . . .

“What problem do you want to solve?” [when you grow up] vs “What do you want to be?” [when you grow up]

“Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions?” Steve Wheeler

What is important? The answer or the journey of getting to the answer. Are teachers, are asking the right questions? Googleable question vs non-googleable question??

Using the "NOUNS" can help us teach the "VERBS".

Our New Zealand Curriculum remains well respected by other countries as we continue to teach to the "VERBS". We must remember that good teachers are hard to replace. Computers always follow rules and even though computers can be taught, the ability to read humans is something that a computer still has difficulty doing. Being connected with your learner and being able to break the rules is what defines us as being great teachers vs a computer.

A few other useful tips I learnt were:

Virtual Reality experience using Google Cardboard or . . .

We could create our own virtual experience by capturing video using a Ricoh Theta camera which can record video 360 degrees. Simply by moving the device up, down or side to side, you can view what is happening around the main subject that is being videoed.

Blogger Junior is a great way for Primary School aged students to contribute to a class blog with ease

Speech Recognition

If you have been using your iPhone microphone to recognise your voice instead of tapping it out on the screen then you will easily make the transition to google's latest voice recognition tool.  It's a free "add on"  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/speech-recognition/idmniglhlcjfkhncgbiiecmianekpheh?utm_source=permalink

It's worth having a look at.  There are the usual obvious issues with accents and clear annunciations however at first glance this could be a useful tool.

I had the privilege of working with our Year 6 students in understanding the concept of cloud technology and using Google Docs.  This generation are quick learners.

Most of these students have access to a device at home.  The class devices need to be co-ordinated. About a third of the current class has had experience in using google docs in their class last year.  I believe it will be educating the teacher in how best to use google docs which will be the greatest challenge.  Some initial discussions have been around producing a final copy that will be printed using google docs.  Year 6 students need to have evidence in their written work which shows their self-corrections as well as implement feedback given by their teacher.

3D pen

the3doodler.com/

When I first started teaching I was using the "bander" machine to make copies of worksheets for my students. Next was a black and white dot matrix printer. The most used printing machine today is still the black and white laser printer but I now have a choice of printing in colour too!  What is even more exciting is the next step in development which is the 3D printer AND 3D pens. Check out "the 3 doodler" which is virtually drawing in the air. The possibilities of creativity something tangible is endless. For people who claim they can't draw, you can trace images in 2D and then construct them to be 3D.  Technology is awesome.  I wonder what is going to be next?