Monday, March 2, 2015

ICE Conference

I recently attended an presented at the ICE Conference and, as always, I had a lot of fun. I went to a half-day workshop on using Lego Mindstorms to teach robotics. We have the kits at school, but I needed a little direction and management help so I feel confident using it with students. I had the chance to build a full robotic car and programmed it to move. I was so proud of my partner in the workshop because our car was done first and it worked! Building robots with programmable sets is challenging- it taps your mathematical and spatial reasoning side, as well as your creative side. Then when you program it you are testing your logical sequencing! It has something for everyone- the builder, the direction follower, the creator, the engineer. I look forward to using the Mindstorms kits with students very soon.


Genius Hour with Third Grade

The third-grade class recently came in for their Genius Hour time. The teacher used this time as a reward for the students, instead of a pajama day, or extra free time. The kids were so excited! We did a Genius Hour project together in second grade so they knew what to expect. The students had an open ended field of ideas, with just two conditions: 1. They had to finish during the 90 minute Genius Hour; 2. Supplies had to available at home or school without shopping for anything new. For example, if they had Lego, they could bring Lego, but they couldn't ask Mom or Dad to go out and buy Lego.  

I gave the teacher a link to some of Joy Kirr's students' videos to share with her students.  This gave them a few ideas and got them excited.

Next, the students met with me as a whole group and their teacher and I gave them the parameters for their projects. We also gave them a planning sheet and they had to meet with us to get it approved. This just helped us make sure they weren't planning anything unsafe, that would take too long, or that would need materials we didn't have. For the most part, the students did a great job. I think the third graders come up with better, more manageable ideas than the 6-8th graders in Activity Class! What does that say? 

Here is a copy of our planning sheet. You are welcome to print it or use it to make your own planning sheet. Sharing is caring!


Here is a peek at the Genius Hour in action:

J.K. is creating another masterful Lego stop-motion animation using the Lego Movie app on the iPad.


I.S. is creating his own board game. He is looking for pictures of checkerboards to print, cut and glue down in a new configuration on his board.


A.A. and T.D. are researching topics they're interested in so they can make posters.
 H.G. is researching the Chicago Blackhawks and making a Google Slideshow.

C.J. is writing music to play on her violin. She is recording her performance in Garage Band.