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INTERACTIVE MOBILE STEAM AND LITERACY KITS

2/23/2020

8 Comments

 

"If you build it, they will come." - Field of Dreams

You've designed a nurturing learning environment, and have developed a dynamic library program, but you still haven't been able to connect with some of your colleagues.  Most likely you've been told that these teachers don't have the time, but it could be that they aren't ready to leave their comfort zone.  When I was a middle school librarian, I was fortunate that our school had study hall periods, and most 6th graders had study halls built into their schedules.  This gave me the opportunity to work with students who wanted to visit the library on their own time.  With a flexible middle school schedule, library visitations were with by student choice or scheduled by classroom teachers.

Our library already had a makerspace that I was proud of, but how could I get those students and teachers interested in it if they had never visited it before?  Just because I built it didn't mean that everyone would come.

So I decided to create STEAM makerspace kits that teachers could borrow for their classrooms.  The kits were low tech (KEVA planks, Legos, sewing, coloring) and a few electronics (Snap Circuits and 3Doodler).  Each kit also included a related book to promote literacy.  For example, a kit would include a K'nex Levers and Pulleys set with Archimedes: The Man Who Invented the Death Ray.​


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Each kit included a Flipgrid QR code so the students could record their reflections while using the hands-on activity and/or reading the book.  In this way, many more students and their teachers learned about the library program and the other activities we had to offer.  Here are some suggestions for creating your own interactive mobile STEAM and literacy kits:

1.   Funding - Reach out to your school's parent association. Write a grant through DonorsChoose.org, PledgeCents, or AdoptAClassroom.org.  I was able to use Scholastic Book Fair rewards points to purchase book and makerspace items from their catalog.
2.  Advertising - Create a list of kits and share through your website, emails, and brochures.

3.   Circulating - Catalog these items if you decide to circulate them through your computer system, or create a way to track usage.
4.   Managing - Recruit student assistants or "techsperts" to advise you about what to purchase, to help you organize the kits, and to deliver them to the classrooms.
5.  Extending - Consider circulating these kits for home use, to develop connections with families.  These kits may be the only opportunity that your students have for participating in hands-on activities.

Remember...if you build it, they might not come.  So, go out to them! 

​How have you used mobile makerspace kits in your library or classroom? I'd love to hear YOUR story!

8 Comments

FLIPGRID QR CODE MEDICAL ALERTS AND MISSING PEOPLE IDENTIFICATIONS

12/22/2019

3 Comments

 

My grandmother passed away from Alzheimer's. Years ago, she left home and was lost for hours before a policeman found her. She didn't understand English. Please record a video about your loved one using Flipgrid,and create a QR code bracelet for them. It could make a difference.

This could also be useful for small children on vacations and field trips, medical alerts, people with autism, and nonverbal people.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to https://info.flipgrid.com/ and create an account.

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​2. Create a grid and a topic for your loved one.  By creating a topic, you will be able to record and upload multiple videos.  You can hide old videos and update as often as you need to.

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3. Allow topic guest access so anyone with the guest code can view videos in the topic.  Turn off the "Allow Recording" option.

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4. Download the Topic Guest QR code and use this code to create jewelry, zipper pulls, and labels to locate your loved one.  You can also share the QR code and the link through email, social media, posters, and flyers.

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5. When someone finds your loved one they scan your QR code and will have access to your grid, the topic, and all of the video responses.

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PURCHASE QR CODE MEDICAL ALERTS AND MISSING PEOPLE IDENTIFICATIONS.  

​From Artsonia you can purchase...

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Print Avery iron-on labels for clothing...

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At Zazzle you can design...

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Purchase tyvek wristbands in bulk through Wristbands.com...

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Purchase silicon wristbands in bulk through Silicon-Wristband.com...

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Flipgrid QR Code jewelry also makes wonderful birthday, anniversary, retirement, and graduation gifts.

3 Comments

MEMES

9/22/2019

149 Comments

 

Memes are a creative way of promoting literacy with visuals and text. You can create them digitally with Canva, Buncee, and Google Slides. Or you can go "old school" with pictures cut from magazines and writing.  There are many ways to do this:
* You provide the content, and your students find an image.
* Your students apply the content to your image.
* Your students choose the content and the image.
* Your students choose the content and create the image.
* Your students create the content and the image.
* You provide the content and a variety of images, and your students match them.

Create video memes with Flipgrid by adding text and images while recording.

Sites for Royalty-Free Images:
https://pixabay.com
https://morguefile.com
https://avopix.com
https://www.pexels.com
https://www.publicdomainarchive.com
https://unsplash.com
https://www.stockvault.com
https://nos.twnsnd.co
https://gratisography.com
https://picjumbo.com

*Please use your discretion when recommending sites to your students.

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149 Comments

A TWIST ON THE LICENSE PLATE GAME

9/3/2019

3 Comments

 

A trip to my local Target Bullseye's Playground Bargain Spot inspired this license plate game Fliphunt! It's perfect for family road trips & field trips. You can play too at https://flipgrid.com/4334b927 before a Mystery Skype session.  Your students can also design license plates about themselves, famous people throughout history, and fictional characters/settings.

3 Comments

ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO WEAR THAT APRON?

7/25/2019

0 Comments

 

As a matter of fact, yes.  Yes, I'm going to wear that apron in the library and here's why...
1. Making is messy.
2. Here's to the end of calling myself from the library phone to find my cell phone.
3. Who needs to see the sauce spot on my shirt from my lunch?
4. A granola bar is just what a teacher needs to wolf down on between classes.
5. It's always handy to have a pen and post-it notes to jot more things down on the endless "To Do" list.
6. Librarians are always "cooking up" something, especially during book tastings.
7.  Pockets are perfect for holding change for kids who forgot their lunch money.
8. Students can scan the QR code on my apron to access their Flipgrid of book recommendations.
9. If students are already late to their next class, don't waste time by finding a hall pass.
10. Book fairs can be busy, and an apron can help you be organized.

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I just love this photo of my co-author Stony Evans and his co-librarian during a book tasting.

Here's a cool hack:
Use Wakelet, Buncee, or Flipgrid create a digital cookbook. Then print the generated QR code on an
 apron. You will have access to a wonderful collection of recipes whenever you scan a QR code.  What a wonderful gift for a teacher if each child submitted a recipe from their culture.

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0 Comments

USE FLIPGRID TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS

7/25/2019

0 Comments

 

​Turn the tables on the first day of school. Instead of discussing supplies and syllabi, build relationships. Ask your students to record Flipgrid videos about themselves, with their preferred names and pronunciations. Then YOU go home and study!

​Here's a video of one of my graduating 8th graders watching a video of himself when he first entered the middle school.

0 Comments

Two Truths and a Lie

7/7/2019

0 Comments

 

Sometimes a post pops up into your twitter feed that inspires you to create something.  This is what happened with Heather Lister posted about a website called the Breaking News Generator, and suggested to use it to create fake news posts.  I immediately thought about the "Two Truths and a Lie" game where participants have to determine which two statements are true and which statement is a lie.  It also reminded me of the books by Laurie Ann Thompson and Ammi-Joan Paquette, as well as my Amazing Makerspace True Books.

Make your own #fakenews "Break Your Own News - The Breaking News Generator" https://t.co/BtTXm1QaEI #tlchat #futurereadylibs #istelib #edtechchat #palibchat pic.twitter.com/GGB0OOQoK3

— Heather Lister □ (@heathermlister) July 7, 2019
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So I set out to create a Flipgrid topic using these "Breaking News" posts as the prompts.  Take a look at the finished product.

There are several ways to transform images into videos, but this is how I did it. Follow the steps to create your own.  
1. Decide on a topic to establish prior knowledge or to review content. Research the topic and write three statements that seem plausible, yet only two are actually true.
2. Use http://www.breakyourownnews.com to create three posts with appropriate headlines, tickers, and images.

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3. Since Flipgrid only always video submissions in .MOV. .MP4, and .WEBM format you must create a video file.  First I take my image and use https://giphy.com to create a GIF.  I like doing this because I can add stickers, text, and drawings to my images.  This animation really gets students' attention. If you create a free account you, you will be able to save and access your GIF's online. 

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Here is my finished GIF.

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4. Now go to https://ezgif.com/gif-to-mp4 to convert your GIF's to MP4 files so that you can upload them to Flipgrid.

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5. Create a grid called "Two Truths and a Lie," and then create separate topics for each activity.  Upload your videos to responses to the prompt.  You can either provide links to resources and databases, or require that your students locate their own as evidence.  Share the link to the topic that you would like your students to focus on.  After your students research the statements, they will determine which two of the three statements are true and which is a lie.  Then they will record their reply to your response giving their opinion with evidence and citing their sources.  Empower your students and encourage them to create their own "Two Truths and a Lie" Flipgrid activities.

BREAKING NEWS - FLIPGRID UPDATE
You'll be excited to learn that soon you can bypass the above hacks and just import your own images as stickers.  Check it out!

0 Comments

BAN boring pd!  CREATE AN epic Breakout edu + wakelet + flipgrid appsmash CHALLENGE

7/3/2019

0 Comments

 

Put your teachers in the driver's seat.  Create a Breakout EDU (physical or digital), create Wakelet collections of apps, web tools, articles, or teaching strategies for them to discover.  When they document their learning with Flipgrid they can earn their next clue.  Try this at your next faculty meeting or conference day. Check out the "Epic Breakout EDU Appsmash Challenge" that Melissa Bazner and I created for ISTE 2019:
https://conference.iste.org/2019/program/search/detail_session.php?id=112201625

0 Comments

DIGITAL BOOK BENTOS

7/1/2019

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

FLIPPING OVER FLIPGRID QR CODES

6/27/2019

0 Comments

 

One day after school in my library as I was cleaning up and getting ready to leave, I discovered that the pen that had been left at the circulation counter for students to sign in with had been misplaced again.  Pens were a commodity since they had a habit of rolling off the counter, or being indefinitely "borrowed."  I remembered seeing pens with feathers attached to the top of them in my colleague's classroom to prevent pens from being misplaced.  I had the solution! I quickly ran to my computer and printed out a few copies of the QR code for our library book recommendations Flipgrid, laminated them, and attached them to the tops of some pens.  I didn't need to replace the pens until the ink ran out, and the QR code was a reminder to share their favorite books with one another.

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And I snuck a few reminders into new books when I processed them too...

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So excited to speak about QR codes at the Flipgrid booth in the ISTE 2019 Expo hall...

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With the new Flipgrid AR (augmented reality) your videos will come alive!

Create a MixTape for each of your students, combining their responses from various topics during the school year.

Kick it Old School with MixTapes □

□You pick what goes on your MixTape (any video Response from any of your Grids).□You set the order you want Responses to play.□MixTapes are view-only and can be shared anywhere.□Your community can Follow your MixTapes and receive an email when new videos are added. Ready to get rocking?

MixTape CoPilots are coming!  This will make it even easier for teachers to create digital portfolios for their students.

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Password protect those MixTapes so only friends and family can view them.

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Create student ID badges.

Scan Student ID Badges with QR Codes for Easy Access

If your students don't have Microsoft or Google accounts, Flipgrid makes it easy to secure your Grid using Student IDs! Educators can add or edit their Student ID List at anytime and print out the...

Save time, and download multiple QR response codes at once.

From □ QA Jeff to □ QR Jeff to □ QUIT JEFF!@jeffgmpls was excited to share his latest release...

□ BULK QR Response Codes □

...his enthusiasm didn’t stop there but @mg0stisha □ swooped in before Jeff revealed the BIG #FlipgridLIVE □ QR update...□#FlipgridFever □ pic.twitter.com/Hk76ggeJVW

— Flipgrid (@Flipgrid) May 22, 2019
0 Comments
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    Kristina A. Holzweiss

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  • HOME
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    • PRESENTATIONS
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