Yesterday I hurried home to join a webinar with CodeJoy called Teacher Talks. This time of the year is a time when I struggle for inspiration and I knew that Matt and Kelsey would deliver something useful that I would want to do in my class. I was not disappointed. In 40 minutes, I learned how to create a little robot as well as different ways to use the mini robot to connect to both coding and creation. | |
In a few weeks, I will be able to access the tutorials for this project. I am continually amazed at how easy it is to learn with Kelsey and Matt but also the amount of resources that they share freely with educators and students. If you go to the student section of CodeJoy's website, you can click on the interactive student sessions where there are videos and project PDFs that you can use with your students. Nothing will replace the banter of a PD session with Kelsey and Matt but I truly appreciate the resources that I can use with my students too.
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2022 InfyMakers AwardsWhile reading my twitter feed during the spring of 2022, I found information about the InfyMakers grant and decided that it was worth a shot to apply. I never realized that this would be the start of a much bigger journey with Infosys, making, and computer science for both me and my students. Link to Blog Posts About InfyMakers ImpactInfosys Pathfinders Summer PDDuring the summer of 2022, I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in 4 different virtual professional development opportunities with Pathfinders. I started with Chibitronics, Micro:Bit, Hummingbird, and Makey Makey Scrappy Circuits. I spent the summer learning about different ways to incorporate circuits, making, and coding to create learning opportunities for my students. It was for me one of the most transformative summers of my career. I loved learning in the morning and making in the afternoon while connecting with educators around the country. Link to Infosys Pathfinders Summer PD Blog PostsCrossRoads 2023Link to Blog Posts About CrossRoads 2023I am so thankful for the opportunities that I have been provided to get both training and resources for myself and my designers.
Thank you Infosys Foundation!
So it has been about two weeks since CrossRoads as I write this post about the last day and the impact that CrossRoads has had on both my teaching and connections with the larger Computer Science and Making communities.
Sometimes we forget that what works in one place is driven by the relationships and trust that was put into place not just a curriculum or idea.I kept hearing in my head Hamilton's "In the Room Where it Happened" song as I spent the day connecting and learning. Sometimes I would step into the conversation and share about my experience in the classroom and I always felt that it was a welcome part of the larger conversations. At times I had to remind myself that I was in a room of people who are passionate about the same thing and that we need to be cautious about making assumptions both in regards to something someone is saying and also in what we perceive to be happening in our schools. I have spent my entire career in the public education system so I recognize how difficult systems change is and continues to be. It was one of the fundamental reasons why I went back into the classroom because for me change happens in my day to day interactions and learning. I would love to be part of larger scale changes but I needed to start somewhere where I could test my ideas and see what might or might not work. My ultimate goal with CrossRoads was to build relationships with different people and organizations that would continue to build opportunities for my students and community. On Day 3, my focus was to lay the groundwork for future collaborations.
Two Weeks After CrossRoads
Right after the Keynote, our Breakout Session kicked off the different choices for everyone. Kate M. had connected our team prior to the conference and I immediately felt blessed to be with these three individuals on the panel. Kareem did a fantastic job of asking questions and having participants break out into groups. For me it was a powerful session to be seated on the same panel with these three as well as being able to share my own journey in making and computer science. After our panel, Matt thanked me for giving CodeJoy a shout out and shared that I should reach out any time. Colleen Graves became part of our conversation and I felt like I was in a room full of friends. Colleen invited me to go on a hike with her or maybe I tried to invite myself. But for me, this opportunity was not just about computer science and making, it was about building real relationships with people around our country. After presenting at our panel, I was able to sit in the Sparking Interest breakout before I was scheduled to do a video recording about the American Dream with the Milken Foundation.
I wanted to thank Tom from BirdBrain for sharing Hummingbird and having CodeJoy facilitate such important PD for me and my students. We had just started using the Hummingbirds so this was an area that I really wanted to consider for part of the C3 Grant collaboration. To be in the same room as Jie Qi, the designer of Chibitronics and thank her for what she designed blending circuits and code with arts and crafts meant so much to me. Each one of these individuals and their creations have impacted my own personal journey in making, coding, and teaching.
CrossRoads 2023 and Hope (Fall 2022)
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CrossRoads started the moment I stepped out of the airport and into the hotel shuttle. I was already surrounded by amazing people from all over the country. I quickly realized that these potentially "awkward" moments were part of the magic of connecting at CrossRoads. It isn't often that I can tell you who I was seated by during a shuttle ride but I stepped into the shuttle with Gabby, her mom, her grandma, Kiki, and who I will refer to as Mr. CodeCrew (Meka). | |
| I was able to check in and explore. You don't need to ask me twice to go hike in the sun. Directly behind our hotel is a Butte. This Wisconsin girl has never been to the desert before so I was in awe of both the flora and fauna. I might even have stalked a roadrunner. That bird is a lot smaller than in my cartoons! |
CrossRoads officially started on Tuesday evening with a reception and keynote at the ASU Makerspace. Prior to leaving the hotel, I met Emily and Kristin who are educators in Tennessee. Emily I followed on twitter and wanted to connect because she is a Glowforge Ambassador. I look forward to visiting their 36 Makerspaces in Hamilton County and attending a future Fab Institute. | |
What I didn't expect was the connections I made on the bus to and from the event. Let me introduce you to Max. Max has mad skills as a conversationalist. He made a long bus ride into one of the most interesting conversations I have had with a complete stranger in a long time. Between sharing what we do today, we found that we both love Little Bits (he used to work for them) and are fascinated by creation. He works with two different companies who are approaching CS in very innovative ways. When the bus ride just kept going, we found out that we both have an interest in Brazil and Florianopolis. I think Max might know more about me than most of the people I work with. I am a serious introvert so to say that Max has mad conversation skills, I'm not joking. We watched videos of what Infento is doing with electric motors, talked about visiting Florianopolis, talked about Little Bits, and in the process became friends. |
Reception and Keynote
| The Keynote was Greg Behr who shared excerpts from his book. I had listened to half of the audiobook and loved hearing him share some of my favorite parts. |
While waiting in line to possibly snag an autographed copy of Greg's book, I just happened to be standing by another published author. Jason McKenna graciously shared about his journey to publish his new book and even offered to give me a copy the following day (which he actually found me and gave me a copy) which I immediately started reading. I was just so stunned at how approachable and humble Jason is. We talked about Vex Robotics and his publishing journey. I look forward to sharing more about his book. | |
The night would not be complete without my other bus ride partner. Who knew that I would sit next to John Pearce of CS is Elementary? We had such a fascinating conversation around K-5 Computer Science and Family Coding Night. I shared about how my middle school students are starting to mentor our neighboring elementary school students and the power of this mentoring for both groups. John made me feel like I was the most amazing educator and his passion for CS is evident in everything he says and does. He shared about the upcoming CS is Elementary Summit. We talked every day when we connected about different ideas. I look forward to being part of CS is Elementary and working for our state to have more opportunities for our younger learners. So this was Day 1... it just was the appetizer to the next few days of connection, learning, and collaboration. |
CrossRoads 2023 and Hope (Fall 2022)
Before CrossRoads 2023
First I needed to get permission to go to CrossRoads after having accepted the invitation. This required more than a simple, "hey, I'd like to go.". As a classroom teacher in a system where substitute teachers are at a premium, it isn't a simple request. Both my district technology director Jason Rubo and my principal Quinn Craugh were very supportive of me participating but neither could guarantee that this was something that could be approved for both the days I would be gone or any monetary support.
Before approaching them, I had already made the decision that I would take unpaid days and pay my own way if it was the only way I could get there. Of course, I was not guaranteed anything but that didn't stop me from creating a Donor's Choose to fund the hotel and the flight. The hotel was fully funded, mostly by me, in a matching Giving Tuesday... but because of Covid, Donor's Choose had opted to not support teacher PD in person for the entire school year. So now I had my money tied up in a project that would not be approved but I could apply all of the money to a different project. Thank goodness Donor's Choose support received and approved my request to return the money to the donors, which actually is not something that happens often.
So Plan A of using Donor's Choose was not going to happen. A colleague and friend, Porter Palmer, reached out with a donation to help me get started and to encourage me as she has for many years first in the Discovery Educator Network as our leader and now as part of Nourished Teachers on Meta. I purchased my plane ticket and tried to regroup. Realistically I don't have $1500 of my own money for professional development but this is very much a reality for the majority of educators in our country who want to pursue professional development learning opportunities. PD and conferences come at the cost of the educator's personal bank account unless you are a select view who have been designated to be funded to attend.
I continued to look at the possibilities of meeting Kelsey and Matt of CodeJoy, Colleen of Makey Makey, Katie of Micro:Bit, and all of the other invitees and the impact and connections that I could make in person if only I could just get there. So I did the unthinkable, I looked at the remainder of my InfyMakers Grant and started to research if this was important enough to use the remaining money on PD for myself. I knew the remaining $900 was a lot of money for our project but as I read the contract, I also noticed that the money could be used for Professional Development. But could I do it?
Before considering using the grant, I reached out to Kate Maloney and her team at the Infosys Foundation. It was their organization that had provided the amazing grant as well as the invitation to CrossRoads so I wanted to make sure that if I used the money, I was not violating any agreements that I had signed for our school. On a Friday night with a heavy heart because my district had approved the dates of my absence and I would be paid, but my last option before using my own money was to use the remainder of the grant, I reached out to Kate. Honestly I did not think she would even have time to respond much less reply on a Sunday night that she would look into a scholarship but that the foundation did not want me to use the grant to attend CrossRoads.
Instead Kate and her team responded by offering me a scholarship to attend and speak on a panel. Me? Speak on a panel? What did I have to offer this amazing group of individuals? It was through this invitation that I met 3 amazing individuals who I would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.
I haven't even gotten to Day 1 of CrossRoads 2023.....
So I will start with Fall of 2022. Teaching has and continues to become more challenging. I moved back into the classroom in 2020 after many years as an Educational Technology Coach at the K-5 level with two schools. I was fortunate as a coach to be able to work with some really dedicated teachers as we integrated different technology tools into units of teaching. Sometimes learning experiences were spectacular and sometimes we as a team would go back to the drawing board. I really enjoyed working with the students and teachers but mostly the students. I love the moments when a maker meets his/her/their medium be it 3D printing, video game design, coding, or more.
The transition to Middle School has had its highs and lows. Being in the classroom is a challenging mix of planning, pivots, and patience. This past summer I did four different virtual PDs through Pathfinders to better equip my classroom and myself. I started with Micro:Bit and CodeJoy and absolutely fell in love with Kelsey and Matt. I then started Chibitronics but struggled with the format more. At the same time, I did Hummingbird with CodeJoy and really became excited about Micro:Bits and Hummingbirds in my classroom. Lastly I was fortunate enough to convince Colleen Graves to let me in her Makey Makey course. This summer PD really impacted my hopes and plans for the new school year.
Starting the new school year with Micro:Bits and a renewed understanding of circuits and block based coding, I reworked my curriculum to integrate these amazing new tools. I had grandiose plans of mentoring our elementary school students with our InfyMakers Grant for the Glowforge and all of the tools that I had received through Pathfinders. But reality quickly set in, with class sizes of 22-30, and students who didn't always want to try new things and possibly fail, I was reminded that sometimes the journey is longer than you anticipate.
I know some people read this blog and for the most part I try to highlight what is working and what didn't work but hope is a premium right now in this profession. I entered the school year with a lot of hopes and dreams but by October, I started to seriously question the 25 years that I had spent working in the public educational system. After a panic attack induced by student behavior, I realized that I might not have what it takes anymore. In a system that is understaffed and over expected to do what the students need, we fail to realize that we are burning our most dedicated people out.
It was during this very dark moment that I received an email for CrossRoads 2023 from the Infosys Foundation. For some odd reason, they wanted me to participate in an opportunity to connect with industry leaders, professors, makers, and educators around Computer Science and Making. I held on to that invitation with all of my being. It was the lifeline that I needed as my family and friends struggled to keep me afloat.
Should they have really invited me? What did I have to contribute? Could I even go? Would I have to use my own personal time and money? Where could this lead? Was this the light that I needed?
So without asking anyone, I registered before they realized that they were making a mistake by inviting me.
My journey started in the summer but because Birdbrain has a robust PD video support program, I quickly relearned what I really didn't remember. I recognized that I wasn't going to be as dynamic as Kelsey and Matt on my first go around, so I leaned heavily on what they created and continue to provide throughCodeJoy. I am still learning too.
Week 1: Introduction and LEDs
This is only Week 1 and you will see that I used the PD curriculum that CodeJoy created. I illegally screen captured Kelsey and Matt's amazing videos so that I could tweek them in Edpuzzle and add stopping points and clarifying questions. I tried to use the Robotic handout as a PDF for the reflections but quickly switched to creating Google Slides where my designers could capture both their thinking and add pictures of their code. |
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BirdBrain PD (My Edpuzzle Hack)
Notes from Week 1:
I do realize that a kit per two people is what I need for my classroom. I had three designers to a kit but it really allowed one of the designers to not be engaged and that is not what I want to see happening. More fundraising on the way.....
Our Flip Hummingbird Designs Mixtape
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