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Maker space: A resource to begin STEM in School

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What is a Maker Space? According to Makerspace.com, “A makerspace is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools.” (2020). A maker space is a physical space in a school, typically in a library, where students can process, design, and develop things. There are all kinds of maker spaces, but schools usually include low tech materials like cardboard and recycled materials, as well as mid-tech materials like iPads and laptops. What does an effective Maker Space look like?               With the variety of materials in a maker space and the encouraging open-ended nature of the space, there is plenty of opportunity for a maker space to be successful. However, simply filling a space with materials does not ensure the maker space will be effective. Since there are many avenues a school can take with de...

Technology in the Classroom

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Technology is used for more than social networking. Teachers can use technology to help organize files, analyze data, and simplify teaching. Teachers need to keep track of data, using it to modify instruction. This is a major proportion of teaching and can become difficult to keep track of. Thankfully, with tools like Google Sheets and Classroom teachers can stay on top of their data and keep their teaching life organized. Google Sheets allows teachers to collect data, convert the data into visual charts, and share the data with colleagues. Teachers can use Google Sheets to organize test scores and keep track of student attendance among other things. Teachers can use Google Classroom to organize a course load. The teacher can create a Classroom and upload assignments, quizzes, and due dates for the entire course. The teacher can then use Google Classroom to keep track of which students are completing assignments and which students need extra help. There are many technological res...

Google Books: More Than Just for English Teachers

Google Books is more than a library. Google Books is a free database Google created where people can search for digital copies of books. Users can simply search for a book through Google Books and Google will provide results for any number of the thousands of books on file. Once users search for a book, there are many features for them to browse. When a person searches for a book in Google Books, the search takes them to a list of search results. From here, the viewer can select the result that matches their search. This takes them to the Google Books book page. The first page is the ‘Overview’. This page is long list of all the features available on Google Books. Viewers can read a promotion for the book, learn about the author, create a citation, find a place to purchase the book, discover a library near them where they can check the book out, read reviews, find other editions, discover other books in the publisher’s collection, find other books in the series, and find other books ...

Blogs in the Classroom: Helpful or Hindering

There are many opportunities for teachers to use blogs in the classroom. Blogs are essentially longer posts people can make to describe ideas, events, or objectives. However, blogs are more versatile than a typical written essay. Teachers can assign students to write a blog as a follow-up to a project. For example, I am a science teacher and I can have my students write a blog post to reflect on and summarize any lab they completed in class. My students can reflect on each lab they complete. Then, the blog app will keep a record of all the labs students complete. This is helpful for students to remember what labs they completed. Writing a blog reflecting on labs also allows students to read and compare their experience with other classmates. Teachers can also have students write a blog to teach classmates a skill. As a STEM teacher, my students complete hands-on projects. I have a unit where my students have to use the Engineering Design Process to develop a project. When students ...