Tinkering Space Interview: Megan Schiller Today I’m joined by Megan Schiller of The Art Pantry, as part of our ongoing series of inspiring conversations that center on how to set up creativity hubs, or tinkerspaces. If you’re scratching your head because you can’t figure out where to put your child’s art materials, want to turn your laundry room into an art zone, or tend to shift furniture to make room for creative supplies, these interviews are sure to give you food for thought. Megan Schiller is a creative parent with an impressive background in art education, who now runs an amazing online kid-friendly art store called The Art Pantry where she also consults families on how to set up their very own Art Pantry (check out her very generous giveaway at the end of this post). Can you tell us about your family? I am so grateful to have such a loving family! How would you describe your space? Our art space is located in our sunroom, just off the living room. What’s the inspiration for your creative space? Great question!
Tracking Raindrops We all rely on the water cycle, but how does it actually work? Scientists at UC Berkeley are embarking on a new project to understand how global warming is affecting our fresh water supply. And they're doing it by tracking individual raindrops in Mendocino and north of Lake Tahoe. Explore: climate change, cycle, global warming, hydrology, kqed, pbs, QUEST, redwoods, UC Berkeley, water, Weather Category: Chemistry, Climate, Television, Water About the Author (Author Archive) Amy Miller is the Supervising Producer and Partner at Spine Films, a boutique independent production company specializing in hard science factual television.
Autodesk Launches Tinkerplay App, Making 3D Modeling & Printing Easy & Fun We all know how important 3D modeling and printing will be in the years to come. If I had children, I would be teaching them at the earliest age possible how to model with CAD software, and ultimately how to use a 3D printer, as the world our children will be entering as adults will likely be foreign to what we are all familiar with today. Autodesk realizes the importance of 3D modeling and printing on future generations, and how important it is to get younger generations using their products and services at an early age. The best way to teach children, and even adults, about a new concept or how to use a new technology is by creating a learning experience which is fun, exciting, and rewarding. That’s just what Autodesk aims to accomplish with the release of their new Tinkerplay application. Tinkerplay is based on the Modio app which Autodesk acquired last year.
Home - Watershed Dynamics How to Use the “4 C’s” Rubrics This excerpt appears in the Buck Institute for Education's book, "PBL for 21st Century Success: Teaching Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity." Rubrics for each of the "4 C's" are in the book, and we offer guidance below on how to use them in a PBL context. They are also available to download on BIE's website at the following links: What these rubrics assess These rubrics describe what good critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity & innovation look like in the context of Project Based Learning. What these rubrics do NOT assess: “content” These rubrics are designed to assess only the 4 C’s, not subject-area knowledge in, say, math, history, or science. How these rubrics align with Common Core State Standards In these rubrics, note that: Specific ELA standards are cited in the “At Standard” column only, but their intent is reflected in the “Approaching” and “Below” columns too. How to use these rubrics How these rubrics are organized
ARKive - Discover the world's most endangered species Wildscreen's Arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the world's biggest encyclopaedia of life on Earth. With the help of over 7,000 of the world’s best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, Arkive.org featured multi-media fact-files for more than 16,000 endangered species. Freely accessible to everyone, over half a million people every month, from over 200 countries, used Arkive to learn and discover the wonders of the natural world. Since 2013 Wildscreen was unable to raise sufficient funds from trusts, foundations, corporates and individual donors to support the year-round costs of keeping Arkive online. As a small conservation charity, Wildscreen eventually reached the point where it could no longer financially sustain the ongoing costs of keeping Arkive free and online or invest in its much needed development. Therefore, a very hard decision was made to take the www.arkive.org website offline in February 2019.
A Librarian's Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources "There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015." What is a makerspace? You’ve no doubt been hearing that word more than a few times over the past several years. Makerspaces, also called hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs, are collaborative spaces where people gather to get creative with DIY projects, invent new ones, and share ideas. Since the first official makerspace convened six years ago in a library in upstate New York, libraries have remained an ideal setting for makerspace events across the country. Many offer community resources like 3D printers, software, electronics, craft and hardware supplies, and more. There were more than 135 million adult makers, more than half of the total adult population in America, in 2015. Articles & Blog Posts on Makerspaces 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) 12.) Maker Faire Makerspaces Directories 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Revitalizing Community Spaces
NOAA Habitat Conservation Episodes | Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! S4E1 Mini S3E1 Mini S2E8 Mini S2E7 Mini S2E6 Mini S2E5 Mini S2E4 Mini S2E3 Mini S2E2 Mini S2E1 Mini S1E4 Full S1E7 Mini S1E6 Mini S1E5 Mini S1E4 Mini S1E3 Full S1E3 Mini S1E2 Mini S1E1 Mini S1E2 Full S1E1 Full Earth Science | The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen (N) is an essential component of DNA, RNA, and proteins, the building blocks of life. All organisms require nitrogen to live and grow. Although the majority of the air we breathe is N2, most of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is unavailable for use by organisms. Nitrogen is an incredibly versatile element, existing in both inorganic and organic forms as well as many different oxidation states. Figure 1: The nitrogen cycle. to top Processes in the nitrogen cycle Five main processes cycle nitrogen through the biosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere: nitrogen fixation, nitrogen uptake through organismal growth, nitrogen mineralization through decay, nitrification, and denitrification. Comprehension Checkpoint Processes within the nitrogen cycle progress at a _______ rate than geological processes like plate motion. Nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is the process wherein N2 is converted to ammonium, or NH4+. Nitrogen uptake Organic N Nitrogen mineralization Nitrification Denitrification
Learning Pathways: Descriptive or Prescriptive? A few months ago, in a post entitled Scaffolding Web Literacy Through Learning Pathways, I differentiated between training pathways ("a series of steps that lead to the individual being able to reproduce knowledge or action") and learning pathways ("experiences lead[ing] to the re-shaping of... future behaviour"). Descriptive/Prescriptive In this post, I want to dive deeper into learning pathways, dividing these types of pathways into broadly two groups. Descriptive pathways approaches seek to acknowledge the ways that people willfully choose to earn badges. Given the "pluses and minuses" of each, it's worth exploring how a combination of these approaches could work in practice. Re-evaluation As human beings we are constantly re-evaluating our place in the world. Sense-making often occurs after an experience: that doesn’t render the process any less meaningful, even if that process has seemed peculiarly arbitrary and idiosyncratic. Conclusion Banner image credit: Jared Tarbell
Discover Your New Career Opportunities at BOCES - Macroinvertebrates ID Cards High school students in career and technical education programs at the Harrold Campus of DCMO BOCES collected, identified, photographed, and designed digital identification cards of stream insects and aquatic macroinvertebrates (animals that you can see without magnification that do not have backbones). A grant from the Catskill Watershed Corporation aimed at water conservation education allowed the purchase of cameras, and other materials to carry out this project. Students in the Conservation and Equipment Technology, and Security and Law Enforcement programs collected and identified the stream organisms from Trout Creek. Students in the Visual Communications program photographed the animals, and used the Photoshop program to edit the images. The cards were then designed by the students using the InDesign graphics program. The cards will be helpful to schools, individuals, and groups that monitor stream health by collecting and identifying stream macroinvertebrates.
27 Ways to Inspire Students to Innovate (Infographic) via MindShift Educator Mia MacMeekin made this infographic about ways to inspire students to think more deeply about how innovation applies to them. It’s a helpful way to begin a conversation about what it means to innovate, a word that sometimes seems to belong in the adult domain of business and is estranged from how students think about living their lives. This article appeared on Mindshift on November 29 2013 and was written by Katrina Schwartz. The infographic was produced by Mia MacMeekin. Like what you see? Related What the Future of Learning Might Look Like via MindShift Education and learning could look radically different in the next few years. In "Assessment" 27 Teacher Actions That Help Promote Valid Assessment Data There is often talk about assessment–its forms, frequency, and the integration of gleaned data to revise planned instruction.