Dec.9-15 is Computer Science Education Week. Celebrate by participating in the Hour of Code! It’s free and easy!
Category: STEM
Presenting the Oak Grove Digital Archive
The teachers at Oak Grove Elementary decided, during a faculty book study meeting, to create a digital archive on their school website to display all the wonderful projects there students were creating for STEM, PBL, and 21st Century Learning. They wanted a way for parents and students to have “copies” of the three dimensional group projects the students were creating. Also, they wanted to showcase digital projects that their students were creating with iPads and other devices. Take a look here:
The newest step in this adventure is to also post QR codes around the school. Parents can scan the QR codes to see the virtual projects or read more about the things their children have been creating in class. It is a physical way to display work in the hall with a digital link. Take look at some of the teachers’ displays:
I’m really excited about the ways teachers are taking technology to the next level at Oak Grove. Stop by their site and see what you think!
STEM in Virginia Studies at Oak Grove
Mrs. Mulvaney’s class participated in a STEM activity for Virginia Studies! Check it out below:
Virginia Regions STEM Activity from Tina Coffey on Vimeo.
STEM in 4th Grade Virginia Studies at Clearbrook
Students at Clearbrook in Mrs. Schlosser’s class participated in a STEM project to learn more about the Regions of Virginia. Students were divided into groups and given boxes and various art supplies (paper, Q-tips, playdough, puff balls, yard, beads, and a few other supplies). Using the materials they had and research materials (textbooks and various websites), their task was to create a Mystery box full of clues about the region of Virginia their group was assigned.
They needed to have at least 14 clues, including clues about products, industries, land forms, water features, animals, renewable and non-renewable resources. At least four of the items had to be 3-dimensional, and one clue could be a written word.
At the very end, students created a QR code to place on their box with the answer to the “Mystery Region.” Other students can now use the clues in the box to guess what region the box represents, and then check their answer by scanning the QR code. They also wrote each day in their journals to describe what they had learned during their work that day.
Not only did students learn about the Regions of Virginia with this project, they used the 21st Century Skills of Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Problem Solving.
I can’t take credit for writing this activity. It was written by a group of us during a STEM committee meeting. Here are the handouts if you want a look!
Math Class Needs a Makeover
I absolutely love this guy, Dan Meyer, and his push to develop “patient problem solvers.” He suggests that math teachers should:
1. Use Multimedia.
2. Encourage student intuition.
3. Ask the shortest question you can.
4. Let students build the problem.
5. Be less helpful.
Here’s his TED Talk. Love it!
http://embed.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html
Take a look at his blog too! http://blog.mrmeyer.com/
Teaching with Technology 