1. Week 01 - Micro:Bit¶
This week I created a volume sensor using a Micro:Bit.
Documentation Process¶
Luckily, this is one of the only tasks I have real experience with! Last year, in grade 5, we explored with Micro:Bits. We had students programming different small activities, games, and using the different sensors with the Bits. We connected it to the unit on plants as well by using them as a temperature and light sensor that was logging data to ensure that the plants were growing in an optimal environment. So, I turned on the old Micro:Bit, turned the temperature sensor into a volume sensor, and quickly sent it through bluetooth.
To check out the code, please click here!
Photo and Video¶
I tried to upload photos here, but they did not work.
Reflection Questions¶
Q: Did you bring several disciplines together in your own teaching? Do you collaborate with teachers in other disciplines? What are the opportunities and challenges.
As a STEM teacher, I feel like my class is naturally bringing several disciplines together by nature. Also, as a IB PYP school, we are consistantly collaborating with other teachers. Instead of having a weekly history, georgraphy, or social studies class, the students have 6 UOI classes a week, in which they explore a broad theme. Often this theme relates to STEM, and we collaborate with the homeroom teachers to try to get as much of a holistic learning experience as possible. The challenge is always timing. It is hard to find classes to meet and plan with homeroom teachers from G1-G5, as often when I am teaching, they have breaks, and vise versa. Also, often new teachers are unclear of their units and what they actually want the students to accomplish throughout the unit. Backwards planning is key in IB and when a summative assessment is decided at the start of the unit, it helps us specialty teachers to plan what skills we can help them learn to make that end of unit project special.
Q: How do you envision a makerspace in your school? How does it look like? If you have one already, how would you modify it.
Our school is only a few years old, but we already have two dedicated rooms that are Fab Labs/Makerspaces. One is for the older students with high chairs and desks, and the other is for the younger students, which still has chairs and desks that are too high. Since I am teaching primary school, we are using the ones with the room with slightly less high tables and chairs. There are 5 large wooden tables that are used for cutting and crafts, and probably specifically designed for wood working. Along the wall, by the window, are many wood cutting saws and sanding machines. There are two separate rooms on each side, one goes to the big machines such as the 3D printers, laser cutter, and vinyl machine. The other is an office that has many tools on the walls for wood working. In the front of the room is a smart board that we use regularly to teach the students new material before they start their activity. I would love to have a space that is more designed for kids, with tables that are at their waist when they stand up, with edges so they can make things inside of it without the materials falling out, like a Lego table. I would also get rid of all the wood working material because it’s too dangerous for a primary student to use. I’d also love to have a few computers inside that students can use to design, as now we are doing everything on their iPad. Also, since it would be designed for primary, I’d have colorful tables and chairs that cannot go up and down, since the students play with that button all the time which puts them like 1.5 meters off the ground which is unsafe.
After the definiton of computational thinking? Are you somehow using computational thinking in your teaching? How? Do you think you can take advantage of computational thinking? How?
I do not think I am using much of computational thinking in my classroom. I do not have many big problems to solve so making them into smaller pieces is not one of my main concerns. The biggest problems we have are usually solvable by differentiation, translation, assistance, or begging the budget person to buy the things for us. I would like to think that all humans kind of do this regularly. I think the best use of this would be to teach the skill to our students who might see smaller problems as bigger ones. Especially for big projects, such as the PYP exhibition.