Colleen Graves's Blog, page 5
April 3, 2018
Cardboard Automata – Simple Machines and Storytelling
Third grade spent about three weeks last month creating their own cardboard automata! It was a powerful combination of literacy and making. As the students were already studying procedural texts and simple machines, I thought it would be the perfect time to teach them how to make their own cardboard automata. Prep Work I printed … Continue reading Cardboard Automata – Simple Machines and Storytelling
March 28, 2018
Robotics, Makerspaces, and Mixed Reality Webcast Wrap up!
Another great webinar is in the books! Thanks so much to School Library Journal for asking me to share some of my favorite robotics, mixed reality, and makerspace tools for this free webcast! Don’t worry if you missed it, if you registered, you should be able to view the webcast in a couple of days. … Continue reading Robotics, Makerspaces, and Mixed Reality Webcast Wrap up!
March 26, 2018
#Bigmakerbook Giveaway from Qubits!
The folks over at Qubits are hosting an Amazon giveaway of the #bigmakerbook ! So click on over, watch their Shark Tank video, and enter the giveaway. Have the book already? Try to win the giveaway for a friend! Aaron and I loved creating these projects and writing this book. We also love seeing what … Continue reading #Bigmakerbook Giveaway from Qubits!
March 23, 2018
Handmade Stamps and Eric Carle’s Mixed Up Chameleon – Making and Literacy
Feeling Mixed-Up As an elementary librarian, I’m always looking for ways that books can inspire making. I love the artwork of Eric Carle and I thought it would be really fun to have students invent their own animal based on the book, The Mixed-Up Chameleon. My initial idea was to make an animal in the … Continue reading Handmade Stamps and Eric Carle’s Mixed Up Chameleon – Making and Literacy
March 15, 2018
Mark Your Calendar- Free Presentation on Maker Tools!
In a few short weeks, I’ll be presenting some of my favorite tools for a free presentation from School Library Journal. Register for the event here. I’m focusing my 15 minutes on entry level coding for making games or VR/AR experiences, sites for tinkering with code (aka computational tinkering), and then talking about some … Continue reading Mark Your Calendar- Free Presentation on Maker Tools!
March 3, 2018
Where I’ll Be – SXSWedu 2018
I love SXSWedu! It’s one of my all-time favorite edtech conferences. I attended and spoke in 2015 and met so many great educators that have become great friends of mine. Every experience at SXSWedu transforms my teaching practices. Last year, I led a core conversation with my buddy, Jay Silver on Invention Literacy, and attended … Continue reading Where I’ll Be – SXSWedu 2018
February 22, 2018
Makey Makey and Scratch Interactive Word Wall for Elemakers!
Inspiration A couple of weeks ago, I started creating a sound word game with one of my favorite Piggie and Gerald books, Pigs Make Me Sneeze. Around the same time, I saw a post from Tom Heck in the Makey Makey Educator group where participants in his workshop created an invention that helps young students … Continue reading Makey Makey and Scratch Interactive Word Wall for Elemakers!
February 20, 2018
Maker Intro to Rosie Revere, flying things, and a wind tube!
Three summers ago, Aaron made our kids a wind tunnel so we could play and tinker with flying things during the heat of Texas summer. We’d seen a few huge versions at places like the Perot museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and Austin’s The Thinkery. I believe Aaron began building the wind … Continue reading Maker Intro to Rosie Revere, flying things, and a wind tube!
February 6, 2018
Physical Computing with Makey Makey and Scratch at TCEA
Aaron Graves and I drove down to Austin today to present two of our favorite maker ideas mashed together (Scratch and Makey Makey )at our state conference TCEA! We had so much fun sharing our real live inventions from our #evilmakeybook and sharing lots of cool ideas from others about how to combine this microcontroller and visual … Continue reading Physical Computing with Makey Makey and Scratch at TCEA
January 16, 2018
Makerspace Storage Solutions
I’ve had a lot of questions about storage for maker tools, so I wanted to compile a list of maker storage solutions I’ve tried over the years. Microcontroller Storage Solutions Arduinos, Micro:bit, and Makey Makey are awesome tools, but they don’t come in user or library friendly storage containers. Lately, I’ve been buying photo storage … Continue reading Makerspace Storage Solutions
