Look for updates on activities, new books and general happenings in both libraries.
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Look for updates on activities, new books and general happenings in both libraries.
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This year the upper school librarian and grade 6 science classes are collaborating on inquiry in the science classroom to support the K-12 curriculum goal focusing on the Common Core argumentation literacy standard in all subject areas. For our first collaboration, we decided to use the Makey Makey, a popular MakerSpace item. The Makey Makey is an electronic invention kit that allows you to use everyday items to play computer programs. It also inspires students to create their own Scratch games and use MakeyMakey to play them. It is a 'kit to unleash your creativity.' So what did we do? Since many of the students had 'played' with the Makey Makey before in the MakerSpace, we wondered how many of them knew how it actually worked. What is the science behind the toy? We decided to approach the class with only a few guidelines. We discussed the inquiry process and asked them to put their questioning and experimenting skills to work. We created a simple handout/guide which explained how to set up the Makey Makey and then had three open ended tasks. How does it work? an observation chart to record how different materials worked and lastly asked the students to summarize their overall experience while explaining 'the science behind the Makey Makey. A link to the handout with standards can be found here.
Maker Mondays, Minecraft club, Maker Camp and had seniors develop maker challenges as part of a senior project. On a daily basis, we maintained an open space for creative exploration. In our second year of the MakerSpace, we hope to continue to build bridges between self-directed learning and class curriculum. We look forward to having more robotics such as Spheros (codable remote controlled robotic balls) and expanding our electronics with Littlebits.
The most exciting addition to the MakerSpace is a 3D printer. We bought a 3D printer kit from Printrbot. Currently, there is a group of 7 students (grades 5-12) working together to build the kits. Last Saturday, we had our first build session and we hope to have the printer built and running by mid-October. There is so much excitement surrounding the 3D printer; almost daily a student will ask when the printer will be ready. Our students are so excited to create their designs for personal interests. Another team of students is interested in creating the 'rules' for how we will use and share the printer. We love that students ask how we will share this tool - they are taking ownership. Even teachers have stopped in to ask if they may use it too... The answer to everyone is YES. Global collaboration day will see thousands of students and teachers connecting all over the world. Our contribution to the program will be a focus on what it means to be a global learner. Grade 5 Mexican Geography class and grade 6 Social Studies will be taking part in the program. They will both explore the concept of being a global learner and they will make contributions to an international Flipbook. We will also take part in a global class photo - a fun activity to share our learning environment with others. Check out Twitter #Globaled15 The Upper School Library will be experimenting with Flipgrid as a way to share about books. The challenge to grade 5 Spanish class is to post 100 different book talks. Flipgrid is a wonderful video tool that allows for a teacher/librarian to pose questions to a class and students have 90 seconds to craft a video response. These responses are presented in a grid format and can be limited to viewers within our school or to the whole world. The goal is that next year's grade 5 Spanish students will review this flipgrid when looking for a new Spanish book to read. What a great resource. This and more Flipgrids will be accessible on the library touch screen computer. In April, grade 6 students shared book talks that they made on Tellagami using the iPads with students in New Orleans, USA. We used a Padlet page to share our love of books. This format allowed for slower engagement which we hope to continue next year.Starting in May, our new ebook platform will be ready to go 'live' to the school community. During the month of April, we began to develop the collection and share it with members of the community as a trial run. So far, feedback is very positive. Our platform is supported by Wheelers of New Zealand. They have been in business for more than 50 years. Their program seems to be the best for ASFG. We hope to have 400 titles by this coming Fall. Please go to: https://asfglibrary.wheelers.co/ for easy instructions on downloading the app (eplatform) and/or for reading an ebook on your laptop. Stay tuned for more updates.
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More!This page features what is happening in our libraries and Technology Center. Also, please look at the sub-pages with teacher and parent resources. Archives
May 2017
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