The Digital Literacy Center project was geared to increasing digital literacy skills for a primarily adult audience of traditionally under-served community members, including senior citizens, homeless, and low income residents. Here are some highlights and findings from this work:

• We conducted 24 classes, as well as 37 individualized “drop in” tech help sessions, four school sessions, and seven train-the-trainer classes.
• The program was enthusiastically received with 98.9% of participants reporting learning something by participating in the program. 94.3% said they were more likely to participate in a similar library activity in the future.
• The audience served was very diverse, ranging from those with very basic technology skills to those with more advanced proficiencies. The most popular classes were those related to smart phones and small business marketing.
• The audience for the help sessions varied, but tended toward those with lower levels of technology proficiency. The most requested help topics were in using smartphones and recovering and managing passwords.
• There is a big demand for both formal tech classes and informal tech help. The range of skill levels and types of questions along with the high degree of variability in individual device configurations requires flexible and experienced staff to meet these needs.
• Through professional development that was offered (both formally and informally), the library staff not only gained new skills, but began to see themselves in a role to provide technical support and other non-traditional services. This was a huge move forward for the library and its patrons.
• The curriculum developed for this program will be used in other parts of the county in 2019-20.

The expansion of the Creativity in a Box work allowed us to put these boxes in more locations around the county, to conduct 15 creativity-oriented workshops (primarily but not exclusively for youth), and to create new “Workshop in a Box” kits.

As we increased the reach of the program, implementation fidelity varied. Not surprisingly, the closer we were to the implementation (e.g. facilitating events vs. supplying resources and materials to others to implement), the more successful the results were. (This is a reminder that “train the trainers” type models are challenging.) At times, it was difficult to get information back from larger libraries that were not under county management. Staff changes were also a challenge. In addition, larger libraries seemed to struggle more with non-traditional resources like these. More professional development and support could help with this.

One of the most successful kits was the “Photo Challenge” kit, which includes 10 digital cameras, instructions, and photo challenges for kids to complete. This workshop is super-easy to conduct and is one of the most popular with participants, who have ranged from ages 2 to teenagers and even parents. Another very popular workshop is tie dyeing.

Overall, the project was a success with over 600 people participating, and 84.5% reporting that they learned something by participating. Importantly, there are a large number of resources (including 24 “Creativity in a Box” kits, four “Workshop in a Box” kits, and refills of consumables for all of this) that will be available to the nine participating libraries for years to come.

Sustainability is always a big consideration in the grants we administer. It is important to us that the work that is put into a grant be able to continue on after the grant funding concludes. (For example, our Free Book Box project is still going strong a couple years after the initial funding cycle.)

For 2019-20, we have on tap a Mobile Technology Lab project that will make a mobile lab of laptops available to smaller rural branches and will also expand our offering of tech literacy classes and individual help sessions. We are also going to be doing another oral history project. The first work we did in this area was in Portal. This new work will be more extensive and involves another local community.

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The marshmallow activity involved building towers with mini-marshmallows and toothpicks. Before beginning, we talked about the design process and how real-world engineers begin  by planning and designing. We also brainstormed what might make for a good tower (strong base) and different shapes we might make (with triangles being one of the strongest structures).

Both designing and working in groups while building proved to be good learning processes for students. While some groups followed their designs relatively closely, one student proclaimed “This doesn’t look anything like what we drew!”

The digital photo challenge is always a favorite, and this group took some amazing photos.

In the afternoon, grade 3-5 students made Rube Goldberg-style contraptions incorporating simple machines.

Again, we emphasized the design process with planning, building, and iterating. Students began by working in small groups to design what they planned to build by drawing it.

Working on a design challenge in a group was also a learning experience for these students. Figuring out which person would do which task and how the different parts would fit together were real word tasks which will benefit these students later on. Some groups worked well together, while others didn’t.

In the building phase, students were given a set of materials which included a piece of posterboard, Play Doh, tongue depressors, popsicle sticks, dominoes, marbles, a bell, paper cups, cardboard tubes, cardboard, string, pipe cleaners,tape, and glue. With these materials, they were to build a chain reaction style contraption (think Mouse Trap) that incorporated simple machines, such as inclined planes, pulleys, levers, and  wheels.

The chain reactions were to start with the drop of a marble with the end goal of ringing a bell. Students could not touch anything in between, and the goal was to have at least five steps in the process.

About midway through the process, students were given the opportunity to present their work and to reflect on what they were most proud of, what their biggest challenge was, and what work they still needed to do. Other students gave input and suggestions.

Some of my take-aways from the day:

• Children, even very young ones, are incredibly capable.
• Working with a group of 15 students was much more productive (for them and for us) than with all 30. (For the morning group, a limited number of cameras prompted us to divide into two groups and switch between that and making cards.)
• If I did the contraption activity again, I might rethink it a little and/or provide more examples. Students didn’t entirely understand the chain reaction idea and fitting in simple machines (other than the inclined plane) was a little contrived.
• Don’t use Play Doh on carpet (even if students are working on tables).
• I need more work on managing group dynamics. (We had several groups that couldn’t/wouldn’t work together, even though they chose their own groups. For a few, I ended up just letting them regroup or work alone.)
• The random variations of the day can make a big difference.
• Modeling different kinds of activities like these can be valuable professional development for teachers.

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We’ll see what kids come up with at this Thursday’s Kids Maker Day!

It’s fun to design an activity that has no “right answer.” In fact, I don’t even know how I’d go about this!

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The first two kits, Windowsill Garden/Microgreens and Paper Crafts, have been released.

And the next three kits, Audio Storytelling, Digital Photography and Digital Movie Making, will be released soon.

These kits have been well received, and I’m pleased with the ability to use them without necessarily having attended a workshop. Living in a place where access to services such as workshops or even libraries is limited and working with rural policy and issues of access, this is valuable.

I’m currently thinking about ways that this work could be spread to a larger audience. If you see an application of kits like this in your area, let me know.

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The post Maker day – game jam appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

We worked with 30 grade K-2 students in the morning and another 30 grade 3-5 students in the afternoon.

In the morning, we started with the Marshmallow Challenge. No matter how many times I do this, I always have fun and learn new things. This was a young group and had the highest “completion” rate of any group I’ve facilitated yet — 7 of 8 groups had a tower standing at the end. One of my favorite parts was when we debriefed afterward, and I shared the fact that kids usually do better at this than well-educated adults. When I asked the kids why they thought this might be, one supposed it was because adults had larger hands that made it more difficult.

After this, we had the kids make puppets and do puppet shows as a storytelling exercise. I was a little worried about this activity, because I thought the kids might be too shy to do it. I was completely wrong — the kids jumped right in and were amazing. We provided very little structure or suggestions, which worked well. Kids worked with what they were comfortable with. Some used supplied images to make their puppets; others drew their own pictures. They self grouped and were eager to do puppet shows. I had allotted an hour for this, and we could have gone twice that long.

The last morning activity was to make books. We started with pre-folded booklets made with these instructions. (I had wondered if this size might be too small for lower elementary, but they were just fine.) Then the kids wrote their books. Some students chose to use mainly pictures, while others included words. After their books were done, covers were attached, and students decorated those as well. Again, students were excited about this activity and worked well with little direction.

In the afternoon with the older students, we did a game jam (the second one I’ve done). This time we started with a discussion of what the students favorite games were and then moved on to talk about what makes a game (space, components, mechanics, constraints, a goal, and FUN).

The students were asked to form teams and make their own games using the following supplied materials:

• Poster board
• 2 dice
• 2 golf balls
• 2 cups
• Misc pieces
• Misc cards

Other art supplies were also available. They were also given this handout to complete.

They jumped right into it and made some pretty amazing games. Highlights were a game that used cards based on math problems and some very thoughtful work of thinking through and writing down rules and other guidelines. And it’s always a thrill to me when kids ask if they can take their work home and then are so excited to do so!

After they made their games, we had each group show their game to the rest of the classes and then give feedback using the following prompts:

• I like…
• I wonder…
• I might suggest…

The students were really thoughtful about this, and it worked very well. We actually had to rush it a little because of time constraints. There was a little time for students to play each other’s games, but not enough time to iterate. This was discussed though as a part feedback. In the future, I might give less time to game design and creation and more time to critique and iteration.

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Our local kids events have some interesting challenges, not the least of which is that we never know how many kids (and adults) will come, nor the ages of those kids. As such, the agenda is very flexible. Yesterday, we had the additional challenge of a new facility, which turned out not to work very well, especially because we had a record turnout of 28 folks (which was both good and bad). Next year we’ll need to find a new place to hold this event.

Here was the planned agenda:

9:00   Welcome and introductions, playing game. What’s your favorite game? What makes a game?
10:15  SNACK BREAK
10:45  Game jam challenge  (designing a game with supplied materials and constraints)
NOON  LUNCH
1:00   Design a game (You choose from options of computer games, board games, card games, outside games, or something else.)
2:00   SNACK BREAK
2:15   Design a game (cont.)
3:30  Share our games
3:45   Wrap up

Beginning with playing games was great. It’s always hard to get kids going on stuff, especially with a mix of ages and kids who don’t know each other. Having a variety of games laid out on the tables was a good way to begin and also provided a foundation for the discussion of “what makes a game?” The favorite games were Pictionary Junior and Battleship. There was also one kid who spent much of the day refining his chess game with Brad as a partner. It was also fun to watch kids make up their own variations on these games, especially adapting for different age levels.

This was also a good example of the “shared purpose” value in Connected Learning. Kids had the shared purpose of figuring out how to play a game, and this provided an opportunity to make new friends, get comfortable, and accomplish something together. From that, the whole day flowed.

Next we talked about what makes a game. This worked well as a guided discussion, and everyone participated. I wrote the components of a game up on the board and saw later that one child had dutifully copied down the same. Something that one kid insisted on for every question I asked was that games had to be “FUN!” Good point to remember.

After that, I’d planned to do a “hack tic-tac-toe” activity, but because of time and the challenge of having some very young kids that didn’t know tic-tac-toe, I decided to skip that activity. (Interestingly, later when I found the kids outside playing a spontaneous game of duck-duck-goose, we “hacked” that instead.)

Then we moved on to the best activity of the day, in which kids got into groups and designed their own games using a set of supplied materials. We supplied: two dice, four marbles, a piece of string, four paper cups, a bunch of cork “game pieces” of varying sizes, colored paper cards, round colored stickers, and a piece of posterboard. In addition, kids could use any of the crayons, colored pencils, markers, tape, glue, scissors, etc. that were there.

Kids were very creative with this activity. Some made board games with themes of natural disasters and buildings (a very rough take-off on Monopoly, but unrecognizably so). One group made a game that involved rolling marbles down a crack in the patio. Another designed a game that involved guessing which cup had a marble under it. Not all the games were finished due to facility issues, but the design process was successful, and lots of iteration happened.

In the afternoon, we had fewer kids; some had been there in the morning, and others were new. For the first time at this event, we had brought computers and had planned to do Minecraft, Flappy Bird at Code.org, and a few other things. There was one older kid who knew Minecraft so he worked with some others on that.

The others had a choice of playing more games, working on the game they were designing, working on one of the other computers, or finding something else to do.

What went especially well this year was marketing (we reached several new families including several who didn’t attend the accompanying adult event), the game jam in general, and the use of computers.

In terms of what I would do differently next time, I would like to have seen more of kids playing each other’s games followed by more iteration. (Logistical challenges made this difficult.)

I’m also thinking that next year we might do separate morning and afternoon sessions with the same activities. That way kids who only came to one half of the other would still have the opportunity to do the “best” activities. And kids who stay the whole day could either extend what they were doing or do other optional activities.

The post Game jam success! appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

I’m in the midst of writing a grant for a new project that I’m really excited about. It’s for a local, cross-generational maker project based at our library.

Here’s a brief description:

Let’s Make: Creativity in a Box!

The goal of this project is to develop a series of “maker” activities and events that empower learners to be at the center of their own learning and to develop critical thinking, collaboration, communication, design thinking, self-direction, and academic mindset skills.

Funds will be used to develop a series of maker activities; to purchase maker supplies; to host a series of maker day events with partners; to develop maker activity boxes that can be checked out; and to create and host an online collection of maker activities on a community collaboration site.

Community members will benefit through the application of these skills to a variety of academic and professional pursuits, as well as the fostering of a cross-generational learning community.

I couldn’t be more excited. A few things I really love about this project are that it is local (a goal of mine has been to do some work like this in my own area, instead of having to fly somewhere to do it); it invites folks of all ages to participate; and I think it is sustainable.

At the core of this project are a series of “creativity in a box” maker kits that can be checked out from the library. These could include things like paper circuitry, windowsill gardens, digital movie making, brush bots, and more — with all the materials included.

This will be supplemented by a series of face-to-face workshops, some at schools and others at the library and with other community partners. The project will also have an online community component that anyone can participate in free of charge.

I hope this project will be a launching pad for other similar work. I’ll share more as it develops.

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We had kids from ages 2 to 80 participate. (A couple adults said that building planes seemed like more fun that listening to lectures in the adult portion of the program.

We started the day with building paper airplanes. Most kids started with designs they were already familiar with and then drifted into the books and printouts that we’d laid around the tables for more exotic designs. After making their planes, we went outside for flight tests, which led to testing, redesign, iteration, and more testing. We had contests for the longest distance flight, the longest time in the air, the smallest plane, and the most visually attractive.

After that, we went on to make balsa wood gliders. This was a favorite activity of many of when we were young, and the kids really loved it.

After that, we shifted gears to build marble mazes. The kids really liked last year’s cardboard challenge, and this was a variation on that. I had deliberated beforehand whether to make this a contest of sorts, but ultimately left it more open-ended.

The kids wanted to form their own groups to do this and surprised us by dividing into just two groups — boys and girls. It was interesting to watch how the two groups worked with the boys ultimately splintering into several groups (and a few working by themselves) and the girls really bonding as a team and coming up with something quite complicated. Several of the kids were so absorbed in the work that they went right through lunch.

After lunch came the favorite activity of the day — stomp rockets. These were built with 2-liter pop bottles, a length of bicycle tubing, a piece of PVC tubing, and a paper rocket. One of the highlights was when a couple girls launched their rocket, not once but twice, onto the roof of the building. It was also a revelation that stomping harder wasn’t necessarily better after a couple adults stomped so hard that they broke the bottles.

The day ended with a kid-suggested cooking activity. We made chocolate and caramel sauces and dipped fruit in them. (With the addition of this and a surprise visit from Smokey the Bear, we dropped the planned activities of hovercrafts, which were underwhelming in our pre-event testing, and kites, which we’ll save for another day.)

I’m already thinking about what we’ll do next year. Textiles? Cooking? Painting? There are so many choices.

The post Kids Maker Day 2015 appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

It’s that time of year again, the confluence of CLMOOC with my planning for our annual kids maker day. (Our maker day is all-ages — we’ve had 2 year olds to adults — and has no technology involved.)

This year’s maker day is centered on flight. A tentative agenda is below.

There is one diversion from flight though, which is a marble challenge (though I do expect we’ll see some marbles in flight as well). This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and we’ve had great fun (as well as design thinking and amazing learning) in past years with the Marshmallow Challenge and the Cardboard Challenge.

This week in CLMOOC, we’re designing games, and so I’ve been thinking about the marble challenge in this context. I have several ideas, and this is really a work in process, so I’d welcome suggestions. My general thought is to have some kind of specific timed challenge and then to move towards something more open-ended.

My general thought is to have students build some kind of cardboard pathway (maze? roller coaster? Rube Goldberg contraption?) under specific constraints and with a goal in mind.

Possible constraints: Fixed time to design and build; Set materials; Must fit within a given area (e.g. 4′ x 4′).

Possible goals: Get the marble to land in a designated area (4″ square); Cover the longest track possible (with no touching of the marble after the initial release); Stay in motion for the longest time (with no touching of the marble after the initial release).

My experience is that after going through a design challenge like this, youth learn a lot, and then immediately want to do it again, but with their own rules/constraints/goals. That’s the open-ended part of the activity.

I’d love to hear your ideas for other constraints, goals, etc.

As it relates to CLMOOC, is this a “game?” I think it is. Here are some ways I’ve thought about game elements for this:

Rules – Playing within the constraints of this challenge are the rules. (And these will be tinkered with and changed in stage 2.)

Actions – Players will build, test, and iterate.

Win – The goals will set up the “win” conditions. And again these will evolve in stage 2

The marble challenge also supports several Connected Learning principles: peer-supported (this will be done in small groups and debrief will be with the whole group), production-centered, and shared purpose. I think it also supports the values of equity, social connection, and full participation. The cross-age participation of the project also amplifies connected learning.

I’m excited to try this out and am appreciative for any suggestions you have!

Tentative Agenda

Theme: “Taking Flight!”

8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
9:00 Paper airplanes (60 min.)
10:00 BREAK – with families
10:30 Tabletop hover crafts (30 min.)
11:00 Marble challenge (60 min.)
12:00 BUFFET LUNCH ON SITE – with families
1:00 Stomp rockets (60 min.)
2:00 BREAK – with families
2:30 Kites – weather permitting (60 min.)
3:30  Wrap-Up

Marble challenge links

(Send any more you have, and I’ll add to the list.)

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2013/04/girls-explore-engineering-marble-run-challenge.php

http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/2013/04/marble-track-instant-challenge-logic-for-kids/

http://www.centexeweek.org/activities/marble-rollercoaster

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