Week 10- Makerspace

This week we read all about Makerspaces in the classroom. There is no one way to create a makerspace, so many different combinations of materials and activities can go into developing a makerspace for students. A Makerspace, in general, is an area that sparks various hands-on and creative learning experiences for the students. They could involve the use of computers, or they could not. All makerspaces are different. The important similarity they all have is hands-on, creative-thinking, problem-solving aspects. Makerspaces also evolve over time as you determine which materials and projects work best in the classroom. It is good to start small and add projects over time. Many makerspaces include 3D printers, coding on computers, circuitry, and microbots (like Sphero). All of these and many others give students unique hands-on learning experiences and help them better understand and operate the technology of the 21st century while also learning the curriculum. Additionally, having makerspace activities engages students more and makes the learning process more fun, increasing their participation and interest. 

Many schools are incorporating some form of makerspace. Some dedicate an entire room of different stations of projects (my mom's school has this). Some have a few things just to use in the classroom. Some have a rolly cart that transfers between classrooms (kind of like a Chromebook cart). Makerspaces can come in all varieties, and there is no right or wrong way to create one. It depends on what works best for the class depending on what they are learning and what is made available. 

Where my mom teaches, one of the older classrooms was remodeled into a Makerspace room. In the room, they have 3D printers, 3D pens (which were really fun to use), vinyl making, various microbots to use, Lego sets, circuitry toys, and animation makers. This entire room was dedicated to hands-on activities and can be reserved by any teacher in the building for their students to use. The room is mainly used as a way for the students and even the teacher to break away from traditional classroom learning and get the kids more engaged and more willing to actively participate. When I was helping my mom on the day they reserved the makerspace, she had her kids in small groups, each table with a different project, and she had them rotate every 15 minutes. That way everyone got a chance to use all the projects for a little while. One group had circuitry toys, one had Legos, and one had a thing to create your own video game (and they would have been able to scan it to play it, but she didn't have them use that part). I thought it was really neat for her school to incorporate that and have many means of activities in the room. I noticed that the class was definitely enjoying their time there (and they immediately asked when they could come back).

When I start teaching, I will definitely integrate some level of a makerspace for my class. Whether that be one the school already has set up or projects that I would buy. It even mentioned that projects such as building a tower with toothpicks and marshmallows can count as a makerspace project, so even if I started off with something like that and expanded more into the realm of microbots or 3D printing. Honestly, these kinds of things would be fun for me to do along with the kids if I could. Depending on what is released when I start teaching elementary, I will definitely consider these projects and activities.

I think the idea of a Makerspace will continue to expand, and more activities that integrate more modern technology will be produced and utilized as time goes on. Right now, we are in the era of coding and 3D printers, but who knows what kinds of things will be made in the future. In a world of expanding technology, this is bound to happen. It amazes me even to see everything they have now as compared to when I was in early elementary school and all we had was the computer lab. Now they have 3D pens and printers, and advanced coding programs, and robots. Definitely something that will continue to expand for generations to come.

Week 9- Gamifying the Classroom

  

    With the growing of technology in this day and age comes the growth of video games and other online game platforms. With this comes the growth of its integration in schools. Many classrooms turn to online games to be integrated into everyday school in order to present the curriculum in a more engaging and entertaining way. There are many ways in which online games can be made more educational and there are many websites and apps that allow for this. For one thing, making online quizzes makes review more entertaining. Websites such as Kahoot or GimKit allow one to either create or find an already created quiz to allow their students to play on. Some games even review math or language arts curriculum lessons. Prodigy is a game that has math questions for all of the elementary grade levels, and the game allows students to battle and play with their friends, all while having them answer math questions (and there is even a language arts version as well). Another game called Blooket allows for another quiz review but with more gameplay variety (as in different modes to play and answer the questions). All of these websites are great ways to integrate games in an educational way. Kids are more likely to participate and enjoy being in class more if the learning is made fun, and these games do just that.

    Aside from educational quiz-style games, other console and computer games that may not seem educational at face-value actually help develop important life skills. Minecraft is one example. Though it may not seem very educational, it actually has a strong creativity element to it, and when you play with friends it helps to develop communication skills. Problem-solving is another skill that this game helps with. Though these are not curriculum-based skills, they are important life skills. I think it would be useful to have these kinds of games in the classroom at a more limited amount than educational games such as Prodigy, but they can still be used. Everything in moderation.

    Another ongoing trend in this day and age that has made its way up to become scholarship opportunities for some colleges is eSports. eSports are video games played on with peers that improve skills needed for the future job field and overall, just for life in general. eSports has been getting gradually more popular as time goes on, and many sports networks have a separate eSports category because of its popularity. The thing with eSports is that they usually incorporate multiplayer, and lots of people stream them on sites like Twitch. eSports streams have also become increasingly popular, and some people have that as their occupation because of the number of viewers they get and the amount of revenue they get for advertising and sponsoring products. Many universities have also allowed to eSports scholarships. Since eSports help to develop communication, problem-solving, cooperation, and other life-needed skills, scholarships are occasionally offered at some schools to students who want to pursue this. As showcased, eSports have some similar benefits to traditional sports, like cooperation and communication, and the perseverance to keep going forward. 

    I found it very interesting, and even a bit surprising, that some universities award scholarships to those who concentrate in eSports. But I think it's a good idea. As the article I read has said, these kinds of scholarships are for those who do not do as well on SAT or ACT tests. Just like people get scholarships for playing football, track, volleyball, and other physical sports, students can receive scholarships for gaining real-world-needed skills while participating in eSports. I like how this accounts for the diversity of student interests and incorporates video games as a pathway to succeed in life if that's really your passion. 

Week 8- Social Media in Education

Social Media is taking over the 21st Century, and it's evident. Almost everyone is on some form of social media outlet, whether that be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. When thinking of these platforms, at face value they don't seem to possess many educational qualities. Especially since a large component is interacting with others online, it seems that there isn't much educational value in them. However, they can be integrated into education programs to help adapt to the changing times. In addition, since many kids are already largely familiar with social media, integrating them appropriately, it would be easy for kids to operate them. The 21st century has seen much rise in technology, devices, and social media, and they are worldwide things that everyone uses for a variety of reasons every single day. Why not fit them into school? The kids would find it more entertaining because it's a platform they enjoy and are used to, it could help with classroom connections amongst students, and it would overall be more modern. I've read from a few articles that some teachers have started up some classroom Twitter accounts to share classroom stories on. They post about what's going on in the classroom so other faulty and parents can stay in the loop. Many other classes use some sort of Blog website where kids can create blog posts that can be read and shared by others of the class. Some schools even have their own Instagram page where users can follow along with campus events. Sometimes setting up group chats with classmates on Messages or even Snapchat can be effective means of communication for group projects. Since the kids are already using those services, they'd be more likely to interact with each other for school means on those platforms. A lot of employers look at LinkedIn profiles of applicants. Or as we use in my Power-Up class, on websites generated by Wix or through conferences on Handshake. Even those are considered social media and are being used for school and beyond purposes.

With the integration of social media in the classroom comes much more to consider. Integrating social media, in my opinion, would not be as beneficial in some grades as it would be in others. For preschool, I do not see much benefit from having the kids use some sort of "social media" for learning. At that age I think they are too young. Even for elementary school it would be hard. I think that having the kids create blogs on a kid-friendly site would be a good idea, but you can't really tell them all to make an Instagram. For middle and high school aged kids I think this would work the best. Many of those students already have Instagram, TikTok, and maybe even Facebook, so as for them to be able to follow along with their school on social media would be beneficial. Or even having all the students have a "book talk" or something along those lines on a social media platform would be a pretty neat integration for those upper grade levels as well. For any social media integration, however, you have to be careful. Review Privacy rules and facts and make sure the kids as well as the teacher are using the platforms wisely and are not putting themselves in danger. Advocate for strong passwords so they don't get hacked and arouse panic. Make sure they are using the platform for school purposes only when in school and that they are using it responsibly. Social media can be a beautiful thing, but if abused could go very wrong, so it's important to be mindful when using it for anything.

Another thing worth mentioning is the benefit that social media integration in school can have on parents. Even for parents of elementary aged children, if the school has a Facebook or something, the parents can get updates and follow along from their device. Having some sort of messaging system (like Class Dojo, which I suppose the messaging feature would kind of be considered social media), parents can communicate with the teacher for matters about their child. Even Zoom can be considered social media, and teachers can set up video conferences with parents (or even with students). This makes distant communication much easier (or if the person is sick and cannot meet in person). 

Overall, social media is not always a bad thing, if used appropriately. Many benefits can come out of using some form of social media or online communication in the classroom. Kids already use it all the time, so why not use it in school too to enhance learning? Kids would probably enjoy it better having it be on platforms they already enjoy, or even just being able to communicate with classroom friends. With the constant changing and improvements of technology it was bound to make its way into the education system, and it has, and social media has done just the same.