BVSD Mobile Maker Kits - Reflection

So I was one of the BETA-testers for the Mobile Maker Kits.  There were many opportunities for learning provided by these kits--including a chance to try out new and different components--yet one of my key findings was the leveraging the power of the classroom teacher for increasing student access.

The Challenge

Upon my first introduction of Maker Kits to the school--I started a Maker Club and held open maker times in the library during lunch.  This brought in interested students, yet I was underwhelmed with total numbers.  I connected with rough forty to fifty students during those initial months and only had twelve to fifteen consistently attending the Makers Club.  A good start but not as large a group as I had initially hoped.

First Steps with the New Components

 I started by just putting out some of the Maker Kits on a table that was viewable from the checkout desk.  Curious students started expirementing with KEVA planks or trying out the Ozobots with no prompting.  This captured a few students.

The Big Question

Then I had a key learning:  In order to capture more students, I had to involve teachers.  The question remained though: How do I engage teachers who already feel stretched in their classroom duties to involve them in making?   

Curiosity drives us to learn.  Curiosity sparks new ideas.  Curiosity is the gateway to trying something new. 

I sparked curiosity by setting out a few OSMO stations before a faculty meeting and had a few teachers try them out.  Then during a Teacher Share Fair organized by our professional development committee.  This was a rotation of teacher led activities or lessons that teachers could attend.  I put out a number of stations for teachers to try.  Minimal instructions and just had teachers explore and play.  Teachers immediately were engaged and started asking questions about the kits and how they could use them.

SCIENCE SUCCESS!!

From this event, I enlisted two 6th grade science teachers that rotated the kits through their roughly 200 students.  After seeing this success I approached 7th Grade Science teachers to see if they would want a day of Makerspace rotation.  I was then able to enlist one day for the entire seventh grade--check another 150 students.  

It was exciting to see the students' faces light up when they walked into their science classes and saw all of the kits spread out for them to try out.  Some students had some experience with some of the kits but at least every one found one they had not seen or used.

The key was this wasn't difficult for myself nor the teachers.  I just had to make sure I had enough stations for students to rotate through--seven or eight and also make sure the components were charged.  I actually brought in a charging strip so I could charge on the fly and also had four ipads ready for the Osmo station--so we could switch them out when they ran out battery life.

I would highly encourage this strategy to any teachers/librarians who would like to get the kits into students' hands.

Maker Kits Part 2: Promoting the Kits

So originally I believed, Build it and they will come!"  So if I assemble the kits, make them easy to check out and then teachers will be clambering to check them out...well not so much.  What I did discover is if I promoted the kits, then word would spread.

So here are some of the techniques I used.

#1 Create Design Challenges and Invite Classes & Promote the Kits

I used the marshmallow challenge (link to slide presentation), yet there are a number of low-tech challenges that can incorporate collaboration and easily can be fit into a class period.  My lesson before has been to show off some of the kits and then have the students work through a design challenge as a class.  This also gives you time to talk to the teachers about possibles uses and check out procedures.

#2 Seek out Teachers to Schedule Classes  

For flexible scheduling libraries such as mine, teachers will sign out times for research, yet will be unaware of the available kits.  As my grant targeted Emerging Bilinguals and students in Academic Support Classes, I sought out those classes to schedule days to try out the kits.  Initially, I held a rotation of duct tape crafts--where we made flower pens, K'Nex building, LEGOS and Ozobots.  This gave students the opportunity to explore the different kits and the teacher to see how they could use them.  Afterwards, I found teachers were more likely to check out kits for classroom use.

#3  Share at Faculty Meetings or Organize A "Share Fair"

Schedule time during a faculty meeting or just pull out some of your kits, either formally or informally, and have teachers explore.  Also, being a part of our school's Professional Development Committee, I helped organized a teacher share fair.  This was a choose your own adventure PD where teachers gave short (10-15 min.) presentations on something other teachers could use in their classroom. Teachers singed up and then rotated through presentations of their choosing.  I gave two short presentations on the kits and let teachers explore them.  This led to the two science classes signing up to use the kits for multiple days (see below)

#4  Organize a Station Rotation in Classrooms

I collaborated with a science teacher to do a rotation during her 6th grade Science classes of a mix of the district kits and some of the mobile kits I’d set up from my grant.

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Kits/Stations

#1 OSMO Station

--Two Osmo set ups with i-pads

#2 Ozobot Station

--three ozobots

--bowling challenge

#3  2 Little Bits Music Station and headphones-in five way splitters

#4  Lego Station #1 w/ challenge cards

#5  K’Nex Renewable Energy w/ Motors

#6  Cubelets & Moss Robotics

#7 Lego Station #2 w/ challenge cards

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I used an old library cart to move the kits down to the classroom as the library was booked for another class.

It was great to watch the kids walking in and their eyes lit up as they saw all the kits spread around the lab tables.  I then oriented students to the different kits and then they were turned loose. “They were so engaged from the beginning.  This is really cool,” noted Mrs. Scherer, the teacher.  

As I circulated the first part of each period that I oriented, I noted students working on different kits--collaborating and problem solving.  The students were respectful in sharing ideas and thoughts.  “I liked that we didn’t have many directions.  We had to figure it out for ourselves,” noted one student. Another student excitedly showed off her cubelet robot she had constructed and her partner excitedly asked, “How did you do that? Can you show me?”

Across the hall, the other science class was using the Keva Planks to construct different challenges.  “You can tell the students who are really into design and engineering really take to it,” noted Mr. Johnson, the science teacher.  I watched as students worked together and proudly displayed some of their challenges, such as making a ping-pong ball connect using a right angle.  Of a classroom full of roughly twenty seven students, I only noticed a sparse few that were not engaged.  

The other advantage of this was that once I oriented teachers to the kits, they were able to take over and I didn’t even have to visit the classroom anymore after that.  

Overall this was a great success in student choice and having the students explore the kits without much teacher-led direction.