Makerspace May Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of Makerspace May!  The theme of this week is circuits.  We have 2 short informative videos about using circuits this week.  Watch Linda Spence talk about her English Circuit project above or click here (less than 4 minutes) and you can learn more about paper circuitry and 21st century notebooking here (less than 2 minutes).  Lastly, please come to Spark and complete a short and easy circuit challenge (15 minutes).  The bridge building challenge from last week will also be available.  Come on your own, bring a partner or work with your team and learn about the possibilities of our makerspace.

See below for more circuitry teaching resources:
21st Century Notebooking
How To Wire Multiple LED’s in a Parallel Circuit
Circuit Teacher Resources

Makerspace May Week 1

Welcome to week 1 of Makerspace May!  The theme of this week is building.  Watch the video above, or click here (about 5 minutes) and if you have a chance visit Spark to complete a bridge building challenge (15 minutes) at any point this week.  Can you build a bridge with limited materials?  Come on your own, bring a partner or work with your team and find out.

Many thanks to all the faculty and students who contributed to the video!

Enjoy and don’t forget to take a selfie with your bridge!

-The Tech Department

#makerspacemay @PikeSchool

Makerspace May

We are excited to announce that the Tech Department has declared next month Makerspace May. Each week we will share a short video with some information about the benefits of using our Makerspace.  In conjunction with the video, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to come to Spark and experience an activity related to the video at any point during the week.  We are hoping that everyone at Pike will have a fun time making this May, and that it might spark some cool ideas for next year!  Be on the lookout for our first video on Monday May 2.

Time Saving Tip #5

Welcome to Day 5 of our 5 Ways to Save Time Tech Opportunity

Today you will learn how Lastpass Password Manager can save you time.  Follow this link to go directly to the Lastpass Password Manager information in our course on Schoology (See post from Monday on how to create an account and join our course).   Also, we have added a discussion thread inside each topic folder.  It would be great to hear your thoughts and experience on each topic.

This wraps up our 5 Ways to save Time Tech Opportunity.  Thank you for participating! We will be sending an evaluation form on Monday.  Your feedback will be invaluable as we evaluate and plan for future professional learning opportunities.

Thank you for joining this new Tech Initiative.

-The Tech Dept.

Time Saving Tip #4

Welcome to Day 4 of our 5 Ways to Save Time Tech Opportunity

Today you will learn how QR codes can save you time.  Follow this link to go directly to the QR code information in our course on Schoology.  It would be great to hear your thoughts and experience on each topic.  We have added a discussion thread inside each topic folder.

You will need a Schoology account to join our course in order to access the information.  See post from Monday on how to create an account and join our course.

Time Saving Tip #3

Welcome to Day 3 of our 5 Ways to Save Time Tech Opportunity

Today you will learn how your browser’s bookmark toolbar can save you time. Follow this link to go directly to the bookmark toolbar information in our course on Schoology. There are 4 videos to watch, but the total time for all the videos is 5 minutes. Also, it would be great to hear your thoughts and experience on each topic.  We have added a discussion thread inside each topic folder.  

You will need a Schoology account to join our course in order to access the information.  See post from Monday on how to create an account and join our course.

Time Saving Tech Opportunity

5 ways to save time in 5 minutes a day

We are excited to announce our first of many (hopefully) professional learning opportunities. Starting Monday March 28th, each day for 5 days, we will share a 5 minute video with a technology related time saving tip. We know you’re busy so each video is short and sweet and we feel will really save you time. Either way it is only 5 minutes out of your day.   Faculty have received joining information via email, but if you aren’t faculty you can watch this space for the videos next week.  The first video will be published on March 28th. We hope that you will consider joining us!

Marshmallow Challenge

During opening meetings the faculty and staff took part in a Marshmallow Challenge activity after a presentation about our new makerspace, Spark.  Small groups embraced the difficult task and worked together to turn spaghetti, tape and string into a tall structure strong enough to support a marshmallow at the top.    Nice work everyone!  We look forward to many more collaborative activities in our makerspace in the future.