MADISON-ONEIDA DAY OF MAKING

ON THE ROAD...

I love to travel.  Meeting people and seeing new places is always exciting, but when it also includes a Day of Making then I get REALLY energized!  After 5 hours in my car soaking in the beautiful upstate NY scenery followed by a delicious dinner with Diana Wendell, SLS Director & CIS Coordinator of Madison-Oneida BOCES, and her wonderful colleagues I was ready for a full day of collaborating, sharing, and learning!

AN ARTICLE BY MADISON-ONEIDA BOCES...

I enjoy connecting with other teachers and librarians across New York State.  I find that our situations and goals are more similar than different, and it gives me a good perspective on what is going on in libraries and classrooms off Long Island.

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CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR VIDEOS...

From these videos you can see what great sports these librarians and teachers were.  I am confident that their students are in good hands, by seeing how creative and open-minded these educators are.  They really know what it means to have fun learning again!

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ROLLING OUT A NEW BRAG TAG PROGRAM...

We all have those teachable moments in our lives, and this was one of them for me.  But it was also a learning moment.  During this workshop I was able to beta test my new "brag tags" program.  Combining ideas from Brad Flickinger's Reward Learning With Badges: Spark Student Achievement, a discussion with my new friend Wanda Terral at Edcamp USA last month, and a request by Diana to incorporate standards into our workshop.....tada....I now know how to document learning during my Genius Hour program!  Not only did I give brag tags during activities, but the participants gave them to one another and even themselves.  Now, that's empowered learning!

Here are my Brag Tags for AASL and ISTE Standards.  You can add Common Core Standards, if you like.

BLING YOUR BADGE...

"Bling Your Badge" is an introductory activity that combines low tech creativity and simple circuits.  With paint markers, clear badges, lanyards, LED's, coin batteries, and tape participants created badges that showcased their personalities.  This simple activity has so much learning "bang for your buck"!

MARBLE RUN...

So Dollar Tree was already out of pool noodles, but on a quick stop to Home Depot I was able to pick up some pipe insulation.  It may have been more expensive, but the foam was SO much easier to cut and manipulate.  This group were my guinea pigs, and such troopers!  I had never done this with a group of educators during a workshop, but I plan to always make this an activity. Through collaborating, communicating, and critical thinking magic truly happened as individuals formed pairs, then teams, and then worked together as a full group.  The dynamics that I witnessed during this activity truly made my heart sing. :)

"JUNK IN A BAG" CHALLENGE...

When my little sister used to come home from birthday parties, my mom would ask her how the party went.  After sharing details about the games and the cake, my sister would inevitably rummage through her goody bag.  Or as she would call it..."$%&^* in a bag."  So, I've modified this challenge for schools and call it "Junk in a Bag."  What are the rules?  

1. You may use as many of the 5 items as you need to for the particular challenge.  In this case, the participants could use an unlimited amount of tongue depressors, craft foam, coffee filters, rubber bands, and pipe cleaners.
2. Adhesives (glue, duct tape, scotch tape), tools (scissors, box cutters, glue guns), and decoratives (markers, crayons, and stickers) are freebies.
3. You are allowed to use ONE more additional item that DOES NOT cost more than $5.  Since I had so many goodies in my bag, bonus choices included pieces of soda cans, glow sticks, clothespins, pony beads, and paint chips.

This challenge can be modified in many ways.  Participants can be given a particular problem to solve, can only use a number of supplies, or even recycled materials.  There are enough constraints to make this a challenge, with opportunities for creativity and innovation.

BLOXELS VIDEO GAME DESIGNER...

When my little sister used to come home from birthday parties, my mom would ask her how the party went.  After sharing details about the games and the cake, my sister would inevitably rummage through her goody bag.  Or as she would call it..."$%&^* in a bag."  So, I've modified this challenge for schools and call it "Junk in a Bag."  What are the rules?  

1. You may use as many of the 5 items as you need to for the particular challenge.  In this case, the participants could use an unlimited amount of tongue depressors, craft foam, coffee filters, rubber bands, and pipe cleaners.
2. Adhesives (glue, duct tape, scotch tape), tools (scissors, box cutters, glue guns), and decoratives (markers, crayons, and stickers) are freebies.
3. You are allowed to use ONE more additional item that DOES NOT cost more than $5.  Since I had so many goodies in my bag, bonus choices included pieces of soda cans, glow sticks, clothespins, pony beads, and paint chips.

This challenge can be modified in many ways.  Participants can be given a particular problem to solve, can only use a number of supplies, or even recycled materials.  There are enough constraints to make this a challenge, with opportunities for creativity and innovation.

BREAKOUT EDU...