Change display time — Currently: Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) (Event time)

Bring MakerSpace Projects to your Classroom: A Hands-on Museum of Circuits!

,
Colorado Convention Center, Bluebird Ballroom Lobby, Table 18

Participate and share: Poster
Save to My Favorites

Presenters

Photo
Technology Teacher
Knox Gifted Academy
@techteachertara
Tara Menghini teaches K-6 Educational Technology at Knox Gifted Academy in Chandler, Arizona, recently named the #1 elementary school in Arizona by US News and World Report. She has over 20 years of teaching experience in elementary classrooms in both general and gifted education in both the United States and abroad. In her classroom, students engage in meaningful, innovative learning experiences through design thinking and project based learning. She is looking forward to sharing her passion and experience at ISTE Live 2024. You can find Tara on Instagram @techteachertara
Photo
4th Grade Teacher
Knox Gifted Acadamey
@_mswilkewitz
Krista, a dedicated fourth-grade gifted teacher, collaborates closely with her team of five to create enriching learning experiences. Passionate about integrating maker activities seamlessly into the curriculum, she fosters interdisciplinary exploration, nurturing creativity and critical thinking skills. Transitioning into a design thinking classroom next school year excites her, as she looks forward to guiding her students through empathetic problem-solving and innovation. Together with her committed colleagues, Krista cultivates an environment where curiosity flourishes and students are empowered to shape their own learning journey. You can follow her @wonderwithwilk

Session description

Resources such as Makey Makey kits, Microbits, and LittleBit Kits will be used to create artwork, music, and interactive experiences with circuits. Walk away with easy, high interest ways to make circuits come to life. See what happens when grade level teachers collaborate to create a hands-on interactive museum!

Purpose & objective

When we attended ISTE in 2023, we went with the purpose of finding real tools to bring back and implement in our classrooms. We feel like we were successful in doing this, and we want to share the best tools and processes that we learned, and teach easy ways to implement these tools. We also want to show what is possible if you take these separate tools and collaborate among a whole grade level to create a walk-through, hands on "museum" of circuitry.
Fourth Graders in our district learn about circuits, so we focused on ways to create circuits, and narrowed our materials to three main tools:
Makey Makey Kits: Participants can create interactive art, musical instruments and game controllers using just a Makey Makey kit, paper and a pencil!
MicroBits: Participants can code Micro:Bits circuits using makecode coding to run lights, motors, and other graphics.
Circuit Playgrounds: Participants can make circuits with Playgrounds using the makecode coding platform to create light shows, sound, and other interactive elements.

We will have photos and videos available to watch, which will show participants our school model and how we made this concept come to life at our school (and how it can be possible for them, too!). We will have laptop stations set up so that participants can have a hands-on experience with Makey Makey kits, Micro:Bits, and Circuit Playgrounds. We will also bring authentic examples of student work for them to interact with.
At the end of this session, our participants will walk away with the knowledge of how to use these simple tools, which are relatively low cost and easily accessible (and success can be had without the use of the tools as well).

More [+]

Outline

We will have photos and videos available to watch, which will show participants our school model and how we made this concept come to life at our school (and how it can be possible for them, too!). We will have laptop stations set up so that participants can have a hands-on experience with Makey Makey kits, Micro:Bits, and Circuit Playgrounds. We will also bring authentic examples of student work for them to interact with.
At the end of this session, our participants will walk away with the knowledge of how to use these simple tools, which are relatively low cost and easily accessible (and success can be had without the use of the tools as well).

More [+]

Supporting research

https://youtu.be/oQvcbLmNfok
https://makeymakey.com/
https://makecode.microbit.org/
https://makecode.adafruit.com/
https://learn.browndoggadgets.com/Guide/The+Clapper/245?lang=en
https://learn.browndoggadgets.com/Guide/The+Instant+Star+Guitar/441?lang=en
https://classroom.littlebits.com/inventions/light-up-safety-dog-tutu
https://classroom.littlebits.com/inventions/serial-music

More [+]

Session specifications

Topic:
Maker activities and programs
Grade level:
3-5
Skill level:
Beginner
Audience:
Library media specialists, Teachers, Technology coordinators/facilitators
Attendee devices:
Devices useful
Attendee device specification:
Laptop: Chromebook, Mac, PC
Subject area:
Computer science, STEM/STEAM
ISTE Standards:
For Students:
Innovative Designer
  • Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
  • Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
  • Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.