MORE EVENTS
Leadership
Exchange
Solutions
Summit
DigCit
Connect
Change display time — Currently: Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) (Event time)

Engaging Students Through STEAM Lending Libraries

,
Colorado Convention Center, Bluebird Ballroom Lobby, Table 33

Participate and share: Poster
Save to My Favorites

Presenters

Photo
Melissa Cook is a Digital Learning Coach in the Kent School District. She has been an educator for more than seventeen years and has her M.Ed. in Digital Education Leadership. She is passionate about hands-on learning, makerspaces, creative computing, and all that is innovative to inspire learning and wonder in her students. Melissa is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Minecraft Education Ambassador, and Flipsider.
Photo
Digital Learning Coach
Kent School District
@mhdigitalcoach1
@mhdigitalcoach1
Megan Heineman is currently a Digital Learning Coach in the Kent School District, based in Washington state. She works with a team of coaches to support the k-12 librarians in her district with technology integration. She is passionate about supporting educators in using technology in innovative ways to enhance student learning. Megan is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Flipsider, and Wakelet certified.

Session description

Discover how utilizing a STEAM Lending Library can transform teaching and impact student learning. You will get hands-on experience creating a paper circuit project using resources from our district’s lending library. We will share our process and best practices to help you create a lending library for your space.

Purpose & objective

The purpose of the presentation is to highlight the benefits of creating a STEAM Lending Library (SLL) to provide more equitable access to STEAM learning. We will share why we started a SLL in our district, our process for storing and checking out kits, resupplying of consumable inventory and how we have continued to build/grow the program. As a result of our presentation participants will:
- Be able to describe steps needed to start a SLL of their own.
- Be aware of various resources available that can be helpful to have as part of a SLL.
- Know about various grant opportunities.
- Explore and create a paper circuit bookmark activity as we model what professional development for staff in our district looks like. Giving them ideas for how to support the check out and use of SLL kits in their spaces.

More [+]

Outline

What is a STEAM Lending Library and how we got started
o How we built the program (PNA process)
o PD and Coaching support offered
o Resources in our library
o Ways to fund a STEAM Lending Library (Grants, Donors Choose, Infosys, Birdbrain, etc)
- Example kit/project. Hands-on project using crafting supplies and paper circuits (conductive tape, LEDs, paper, markers, batteries, etc).
- Q&A and Resources. Wakelet for sharing, https://wakelet.com/i/invite?code=rjwivynr

More [+]

Supporting research

- What are the Benefits of a Makerspace? Blog post: https://www.invent.org/blog/trends-stem/benefits-makerspace
- Invent to Learn by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager, Ph.D.
- Hummingbird Robotics Kit Research Findings, https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ResearchSummaryHummingbird.pdf
- Kent School District Project Needs Assessment, https://bit.ly/48zhSJJ

More [+]

Session specifications

Topic:
Innovative learning environments
Grade level:
PK-12
Skill level:
Beginner
Audience:
Coaches, Library media specialists, Teachers
Attendee devices:
Devices not needed
Subject area:
STEM/STEAM
ISTE Standards:
For Coaches:
Learning Designer
  • Collaborate with educators to develop authentic, active learning experiences that foster student agency, deepen content mastery and allow students to demonstrate their competency.
For Educators:
Designer
  • Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
For Students:
Creative Communicator
  • Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.