New Job, New Blog

After enjoying four years as the teacher-librarian at Curtis Elementary, I have moved into a new position in my district. I will be working with teachers & librarians as the Future Ready Learning Coordinator. This blog will be left up, but I will begin reflecting at ShawnaFord.blogspot.com.  I hope these posts will continue to be helpful and that you will also visit me at my new blog. 

Happy learning!

Shawna

Summer Learning Opportunities for our Curtis Students

Curtis Makers Present at Region 11

Throughout this year, some of our Curtis students have met on Wednesdays in the library for maker club activities. These activities have changed throughout the year, based on student feedback. Sometimes we were creating with Legos & LittleBits, sometimes programming our Speros & Ollies. Sometimes we were working on green screen creations, and sometimes we were coding in the computer lab, using Scratch and Code.org. 

We have had visitors drop by to see us, one of them being Mrs. Erin Griffith from Region 11 Education Service Center (ESC). She was very impressed with what our students were doing with coding and robotics and asked if we would share our experiences with adult learners.  The group we were presenting to were education leaders from all over Region 11. Mrs. Griffith wanted them to see the way our students were taking charge of their learning and the after school maker club.  Curtis Makers were more than willing to share!  What a wonderful opportunity to tell our story and give our students a voice. The hardest part was narrowing down our presenters because they ALL wanted to share!

Students selected to travel to Region 11 divided up into teams and chose what they wanted to present. They chose to present about the green screen, Spheros, coding, LittleBits & Makey-Makey. The students decided on the things they needed to bring and how they would present. They were completely responsible for their items and their presentation. It was great to see them take charge of this!

When we arrived, our Curtis Makers got busy setting up their stations. The students took great pride in creating a display that would showcase their maker item. Before our presentations began, we enjoyed a catered lunch in the dining area. We were even able to check out their cool Collaboration Station with some moving chairs we are sure we need at Curtis!

Our students presented to two different groups. I shared a little about our journey with a short presentation. As I would get to different parts of our journey, one of our students would come up and share. It was so wonderful to hear their confidence as they told the attendees about what they had learned and accomplished.





The students answered questions as the adult learners came around and talked with them about what they were presenting. They did a great job of sharing their knowledge of what they had brought to present.

I have to say, this was one of those days that affirmed that there is so much right about education today and this generation of learners! These students were well-spoken and clearly able to explain all of the great things they have been doing this year during our after school maker club! They told our story well, and I was so very proud of them!

Here is a look at our day...

Rocket Launch-Take 2

This past week, the Makers (Coding & Robotics club) finally launched their rockets that they had designed with the Tarleton State Aeronautics team! It was a beautiful spring day, albeit a little breezy, and we were very excited to get outside and see how our rockets performed!

Before we headed outside, we made some last minute adjustments to our rockets. The students listened carefully as Michael and Andrew explained what we were going to do.

Michael & Andrew, from the TSU Rocket Team, arranged three launch sites, positioned on the hill behind our school. This made for a wonderful viewing area. The students lined up to watch the rockets blast off.

Most times, the rockets would go off without a hitch, but every so often adjustments would have to be made before the rocket would launch.

The students were thrilled when their rocket would go off, and then would race to the landing site to collect it. Here are most of the launches, including the rocket launch from the week before. It is so fun to listen to their squeals of excitement!




Curtis Elementary students loved having this experience and truly appreciate all of the time and effort Michael and Andrew put into this project. We also appreciate Dr. Keith Emmert who connected us with the Tarleton State University Aeronautics program. This has been a great learning experience for all of us!

Rocket Launch- Take 1

Curtis students have been very fortunate to be able to participate in an education outreach project of Tarleton State University Aeronautics team. 5th and 6th grade students, as well as our after school maker club have all Skyped with the team in preparation for their visit. You can read more about our Skype here.

After an unexpected weather delay, the day had finally arrived for Michael & Andrew's visit to Curtis. The weather was a little cool and damp, but it wasn't raining, so it looked like the launch was on!

We started with a presentation with our 5th & 6th graders, where students were able to learn and ask questions about rockets and the competitions, as well as get a look at the 3D printer they had brought.

The 3D printer was great for the students and teachers to see since we will be writing a grant for one for our campus. As teachers watched the printing process, their minds began spinning with all types of curriculum tie-ins! 

We headed outside then to watch Michael and Andrew launch the rocket they brought. The students lined the perimeter of the field and waited patiently for the rocket to launch.

Unfortunately, the video of the launch isn't great, but you get an idea of how exciting it was to see it launch.

After school, the maker club came to the cafeteria for their presentation and to get their rockets ready for launch. They had designed their rockets, and Michael & Andrew had printed the rocket components. The students had to pack the parachute and assemble the rockets before launching. 

 Just as in real life, sometimes technical difficulties delay a launch. The team from Tarleton was just as disappointed as the students, but due to launch issues, they could not guarantee the rockets could launch safely. They shared this with the students and promised to come back the next week! 

We will be ready to launch next week! The students are learning so much through this experience, not only about rockets & aeronautics, but also patience! :)

Looking for Spring with Kindergarten

In my lesson plans for today we were going to compare fiction and nonfiction books. Well, today was a beautiful day, and sometimes plans have to change! I had just unpacked a box of books and found Finding Spring by Carin Berger.

I couldn't imagine reading this book to my kindergarten friends inside the library! Our library is upstairs and overlooks a courtyard area that was begging us to come read in it. So we headed outside today, armed with this book and a couple of iPads. Recently I read that teachers should equip the students to document the learning, so I handed iPads to a couple of students & even gave one my phone. As we went outside, students were instructed to find signs of spring and take pictures. 

We gathered at a bench and read all about Maurice, a baby bear, who is anxious to experience his first spring. Unfortunately, it is winter and Mama Bear is already for hibernation. Maurice decides to go out and try to find spring. This book gave us a good opportunity to talk about seasons, animal habits, and even evaporation. 

It was so much fun watching these students eagerly search for signs of spring and then call for friends to come take a picture. Here are some of their great shots! Happy Spring!

Actually, It Is Rocket Science!

This week, some of our students Skyped with members of the Tarleton State Aeronautical Team, or Rocket Team as we are calling them. 

Dr. Keith Emmert, our parent volunteer who helps lead our maker club, is a math professor at Tarleton State University, and he helped arrange this partnership. The plan is for the rocket team to Skype with our 5th and 6th graders, as well as our after school maker club. Then the team will visit Curtis in March, bringing their 3D printer and rockets. Fifth and Sixth grade students will be able to watch the team launch one of their rockets, after learning more about rockets and seeing their 3D printer up close.

On Tuesday, our 5th graders Skyped with the team. Michael Daigrepont and Andrew Olbrich, explained about the competitions they participate in, shared the process of building their rockets, and answered questions from the group. 

The students were very interested in how high the rockets could go and how much it costs to build the rockets! They were also able to see video footage from a competition and footage shot from inside the rocket! It was interesting to learn what all is involved in a competition, including how they track their rockets.

The rocket team, now including Suleima Rangel, repeated their presentation with our after school maker club. 

The maker club was excited to learn that they would be able to work with a partner to design their own rocket to launch. The Tarleton rocket team will use their 3D printer to print these pieces and bring them with them for our rocket day! 

The rocket team explained how their 3D printer works, and showed students some of the things that they have printed. Dr. Keith brought rocket parts that had been printed so students understood what they were selecting for their own rockets.

For our the last Skype for the week, our 6th graders listened intently as Michael explained all about their competitions, 3D printing, and what would take place during their visit on March 4th. 

During this Skype, we had approximately 20 visitors come in from the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Leadership group.  We were happy to have them see the great things that are happening in Weatherford ISD and in education in general!

To say we are excited about the visit from the Tarleton Rocket team is an understatement! Stay tuned for news of our rocket launch! More information about the Tarleton Rocket team can be found at www.tsuaeronautics.org and on Twitter at TSUAeronautics.

TCEA15- Learning, Growing, Connecting

Last week I attended the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Annual Conference. As educators, we should model life-long learning and attending conferences is one way to do that. The week was full of learning & connecting, so much so that it would require a quite lengthy post to cover everything. Here are my major take-aways for the week:

Kristen Swanson, the founder of the Edcamp movement, started our first day with a reminder that "learning is fundamentally different in a connected world." When educators are connected, they can learn anywhere, from anyone, at anytime! It becomes personalized, which is exactly what we are striving for for our students. A big take-away was "when we change the learning for adults, they will change the learning for their students!" YES! This, as well as another session, helped me rethink the way I share information with teachers on our campus. 

The first day ended with a nice honor. I was recognized as a finalist for TCEA Library Media Specialist of the Year. There to support me were my biggest cheerleaders: Nancy Jo Lambert, Tina Berumen, Erin Griffith, and Racheal Rife! 

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to present with some pretty AMAZING people! The first presentation was with my principal, Racheal Rife, and friend/mentor, Erin Griffith. Racheal encourages and supports innovation on our campus and inspires me to rethink how I look at our education system. Erin Griffith, worked in our district last year, and was a huge reason we hosted our first Edcamp Parker County! We presented on Collaborative Learning Spaces and how to create these spaces on a budget, with limited space, AND with student involvement. We shared spaces we created with our students, and talked about the WHY. It was wonderful to hear others in the audience share about their spaces. Attendees added pictures and links to the presentation's Google Slides which we hope will be a resource for others. A highlight of this session was discovering that Carl Hooker had created sketchnotes of the session and shared them!

The sessions were back to back, so I ran to the next room to present #Makerspaces with my #TLBFF, Nancy Jo Lambert! This was the first time Nancy Jo and I had presented together, and it was a lot of fun! She is such an incredible librarian and so willing to share with others! 

Makerspaces are a great addition to a school, whether it be in a library, classroom, or another part of the building. They are also easy to personalize, and there is no right or wrong in makerspaces. The purpose is to create a space where students are able to collaborate & innovate! We shared some of the items that we have in our makerspaces.

There was a full house in this session, with many of them being librarians. This seems like a good indicator that librarians are ready to be key players in creating innovative spaces for their students!

At a conference of this size, another great part is being able to connect with friends and members of your PLN. There are many people who inspire me that I am only able to see face to face at conferences. There were also many new people that I added to my PLN during and after TCEA. 

There were many sessions and learning opportunities throughout the week, and the last session we attended was an inspiring way to end this conference. A new addition to my PLN, Matthew Arend, mentioned that George Couros was presenting on Thursday. My principal and I made it to his first session, Your Digital Footprint, at 8:00 AM. I honestly would have gone to all three of his sessions that day if I could have, he is that good! There are many great resources on his blog, which I will be checking regularly! He reinforced my belief that being a connected educator is important. 

By watching the hashtag #TCEA15Couros, you could see how everyone was connecting with Couros! In fact, I went back and read tweets from the other two sessions to see what I missed. Like this question:

Right away, I was able to implement some of what I learned in Couros's session with my 6th graders on Friday as we talked about our Digital Footprint. 

This slide was all over Twitter on Thursday and is such a good visual for what we should be aiming for:

So I take back to my campus great ideas to share and the reminder that the most important thing is still RELATIONSHIPS! Technology is a wonderful addition, but forming relationships with people, whether it be our students, the teachers on our campus, or connecting with members of our PLN in person, that is where we really make a difference.