1. Diversity and Collaboration

This week I worked on documenting a basic electronics projects.

Lamp Project

This week I documented an edge light acrylic lamp. I made the “box” using makercase.com and added extra slots for the acrylic to fit through in the top. I added 3 extra pieces to stablize the acrylic directly over the non-addressable LED strip. I soldered the battery case to the LED strip with a rocker switch between to turn it on and off.

Gallery

Reflection

1. What are the challenges of using electronics in your space? How can you design an activity using electronics that takes into accounts your children age and cultural backgrounds?

We start teaching basic electronics in a 3-week 9th grade Tech-Time rotation. Students learn simple series circuits and how to solder. Challenges include having opportunities for students to revisit the skills they learn in 9th grade so they don’t forget how to solder, etc. In this activity (from my example), we give students the opportunity to make a lamp that is personally relevant and creative. We do an activity that guides them through free association drawing with music to help them identify images that fit particular moods. Then we ask them to design their acrylic lamp to create a mood for thier person space at home. Do they want it to be calming if they have anxiety, or energetic if they are feeling apathetic, etc? While this may not relate to their cultural heritage, it does align with a “teenager culture” of creating personal space and feeling of belonging.

2. Explain one successful educational activity in which you collaborated with other educators. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with other educators? What are the main aspects to take into account to prepare an education activity among 2 or more educators?

My job is to secifically collaborate with content teachers to create maker PBLs. Since 2017, I do it all the time. The advantages are that projects are richer and deeper learning experiences for kids when more than one mind is working on the development. The teacher who is an expert at the standards and the lab teacher who is an expert on what can be made in the lab can be more creative together. The hard part is time - finding time to collaborate and planning ahead so the learning is happening during the project, not just before the project. Coordinating a schedule that works for both teachers can be challenging too.

3. How could you integrate both culturally reflective learning and digital fabrication in your environment? Could you come up with some project ideas using digital fabrication in which cultural diversity of students is highlighted?

Students should be given the opportunity to make projects that are personally relevant and allow them to express their cultural heritage. Most projects we design for our lab are open ended enough that students have lots of design autonomy. I think it is necessary to help students brainstorm (like the music/drawing activity) in a meaningful way so they can think deeply about what they want to express.