Medfield Digital Learning Day 2017

Explore coding and using BeeBots in the elementary library. We will present what we are currently doing and how it scaffolds into coding for grades 1-5. Attendees will have time to share ideas, best practices, and play time with the BeeBots.

Google Presentation can be found HERE.

These ARE the droids you're looking for.  This will be a hands-on introduction to the LEGO MindStorms EV3 kits and software that are being used in this years high school Engineering class.  You will get a chance to program and test a basic EV3 Rover-Bot and make some modifications.  Some of the students will be on hand to assist with the tech and coding but no previous experience is needed.  Download the 'LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3' to your iPad or Chromebook before the DLD Day and you'll be connected and coding in minutes.

Hyperlinks to Session files

Tutorial 1 (Get Connected) - Brief instructions on connecting a device, iPad or Chromebook, to the Mindstorms EV3 bricks (control unit of the LEGO Mindstorms system)

Tutorial 2 (Sample Programs) - Basic introduction to the EV3 Education app 'Lobby'.  'Run/Send' a basic movement program to your robot and observe the program/coding blocks on your device screen.

Tutorial 3 (Basic Movement) - Write a program to control the movement of your robot.  Program the robot to follow a square path using 'Wait' and 'Loop' blocks.

Tutorial 4 (Move Steering) - Program your robot to travel in a figure-8 around the obstacles.

Tutorial 5 (Sample Program Part 2) - The robot uses the front-mounted ultrasonic sensor to detect obstacles and change course accordingly.

Do you have a lesson you really want to reinvent?  Or learn a cool tool, you’re not sure how to integrate?  How about having a plan but no time to implement?  Here’s your chance to spend some time working on those lessons/projects that need a little TLC.  

You’re invited (with or without colleagues) to bring a lesson you've wanted to redesign.  Tech advice and resources are available from facilitators.

Prestionation available here

Bedford invested in Spheros 3 years ago, and we have been integrating them into the curriculum slowly. This year we used it as assessment for the 5th grade Solar System Units. Come learn how you can integrate Spheros into your MakerSpace or School!

We will be using the Sphero Ligtning Lab app on iPads or (it also works with Android devices). You can download the chrome extension for Chroembooks too!

Sphero Zero To Sphero Hero Presentation

The Student Innovation Showcase will feature the innovative and creative work of some of our students. We will see some app development, 3D design & print, and hear about competitive robotics!  Our slide show is here 

Featuring:

• Zachary Girard - 3D Design & Print
• Taylor Lipsy - App Development
• Amanda Xu - Chrome extension "Bloom"
• Brigid Hern - Chrome extension "Bloom"
• Evan Springer - Competitive robotics!

Little Bits has sparked the Maker spirit at Blake as we combine Design Thinking and Inventing with these versatile electronic legos! Come join us to TAKE THE CHALLENGE ! Illuminate your world using Little Bits! The invention of electric light was a game-changer for all human (and non-human!) kind. In this challenge, we want you to harness the all-powerful LED to build your own glowing invention. You can create...

• a secret flashlight for late-night reading
• a hat that lights the way on your next adventure
• a lantern to decorate a party
• a machine that makes light dance
• a bioluminescent animal

Use your inventor imagination to brighten up a dark situation. You can jump in and start making or follow our super easy-to-follow inventor steps to get started! 

* Of course you'll leave with ideas of how to bring this into your students' learning!

GOOGLE SLIDES PRESENTATION 

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a method initiated by teacher-facilitated discussions of art images that provide students with key behaviors sought by Common Core Standards: Thinking skills that become habitual & transfer from lesson to lesson, oral & written language literacy, visual literacy, and collaborative interactions among peers.


VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES PRESENTATION

Have you ever wondered how to incorporate project based learning and design thinking into your curriculum?  
Our makerspace has a variety of tools that has allowed students to have hands on learning experiences.
We will discuss how learning is happening at the WHS Fab Lab through integrating curriclum, and through individual projects. 
Hear student descriptions about what this has meant to their learning.
See the projects students have created for ELA, Science, Social Studies, World Language, Art and more.  
Learn how this idea has spread to the middle school and elementary schools.
Slides to our presentation 

Using the Extraordinaires Design Kit to demonstrate collaborative design thinking strategies in the classroom. Can be adapted to any content area and/or grade level.
Thank you for signing up for this session! We have a small group, so bring a friend!  Link to my slides is HERE. 

Learn about a free, NSF-funded engineering curriculum called Through My Window (TMW).  A perfect integration of literacy and STEM, TMW includes the mystery novel “Talk to Me” which introduces engineering concepts like design and artificial intelligence; online, interactive, narrative-based engineering learning adventures; and an educator guide with hands-on enrichment activities. 

Please join myself and Isabel Huff, outreach coordinator for TMW, as we demonstrate the use of this free, web-based program. Throughmywindow.org is a multimedia educational website that is comprised of learning adventures that pull the students into applying engineering concepts, thinking deeply, and asking questions. It includes a captivating novel where students relate to and empathize with the characters. Attendees will be introduced to the free curriculum and given the time to explore engineering concepts such as artificial intelligence, engineering design, and engineering ethics in the imaginative learning adventures that are offered.

tinyurl.com/TMWDLD

Did your school recently acquire some Osmos? Are you using them in a shared environment? Are you interested in learning some hints and tricks on how to better incorporate them as learning stations? We will focus on the apps ‘Osmo Numbers’ and ‘Osmo Coding' and pass on some strategies that are working for us. This hands-on session is led by Technology Integration Specialists and a Math Coach from Needham.

Here is our presentation.

View my slides here!

Interesting in bringing 3d printing into your classroom? Teachers and students now have access to a free online tool, Tinkercad, that is appropriate for students from grade 4 on up through high school. Best of all, Tinkercad can easily produce files that can be printed using any 3d printer. This session will go through the steps required to get your students into Tinkercad, give you some time to play with the platform, and then collaborate on a variety of potential uses of 3d printing in the regular ed classroom.