Sylvia Libow Martinez's Blog, page 14

ISTE 2015: Ready for Making?

ISTE 2015 will be June 27-July 1 in Philadelphia, PA. This is an annual “big event” for technology loving educators, with upwards of 15,000 attendeesand a huge vendor floor for new edu-gizmos and gadgets.

Two years ago, the word “maker” was barely found on the ISTE program. I believe that my session and Gary Stager’s were the only ones! But in recent years, more and more educators have found that the mindset of the “maker movement” resonates with them. New materials can invigorate project-ba...

The answer to “will it scale?” is agency and empowerment

When people question progressive, student-centered education reform with “Yes, but will it scale?” – the implication is usually, “I can’t see this working if you make everyone do it like robot cogs in a giant edu-factory.”

The realanswerto “will it scale” is — yes, but what we mustscale is empowerment and agency, not rigid process.

Example:How Paul Weertz helped stabilize the tiny Detroit neighborhood you almost never hear about

So Paul Weertz (a beloved educator, not surprisingly) resurrecte...

What does making in the classroom look like?

The 2014/2015 FabLearn Fellows cohort is adiverse group of 18 educators and makers. They represent eight states and five countries, and work with a wide range of ages at schools, museums, universities and non-profits. Throughout the course of the year, they will develop curriculum and resources, as well as contribute to current research projects. Their blogs represent their diverse experience and interests in creating better educational oportunities for all. I’ve been privileged to mentor th...

Making for All: How to Build an Inclusive Makerspace – EdSurge article

The Maker Movement has crept into the consciousness of schools in the past few years. For some, it’s a wake up call that over-tested, over-scheduled young people are not going to become the creative, enthusiastic learners we all hope to nurture. For others, it’s a personal reconnection to our collective, deeply-felt human impulses to create, invent, and shape the world. Makerspaces, genius hour, design thinking, and other frameworks can help make these ideas come to life in classrooms, librar...

The Internet of Things Comes to the Classroom: Freedom or Surveillance

The spaceship is coming to get us

This year was declared the year of “The Internet of Things” at the Consumer Electronics Show this January in Las Vegas. This showcase of thenewest gadgets and gizmos to make our lives easier featured printers that order their own ink, fitness trackers, toothbrushes that report to your dentist, and cars that schedule their own maintenace.

It won’t be long until we start hearing that the “Internet of Things” is coming to the classroom. Here’s one:Connecting the...

What does “Where’s the research?” really mean?

Often when I talk to educators, they tell me about some exciting, wonderful sounding program they’ve started in their classroom. Unfortunately, the next sentence goes something like, “But my principal/superintendent saw the kids working happily away, buzzing with excitement and constructive collaboration. I got called in and told to stop it. I tried to defend it, but he/she said – where’s the research that shows it’s effective?”

Ah yes, the death knell for anything that looks fun in the class...

Capturing the Culture of Making: FabLearn Fellow blog posts

The 2014/2015 FabLearn Fellows cohort is adiverse group of 18 educators and makers. They represent eight states and five countries, and work with a wide range of ages at schools, museums, universities and non-profits. Throughout the course of the year, they will develop curriculum and resources, as well as contribute to current research projects. Their blogs represent their diverse experience and interests in creating better educational oportunities for all.

I’ve been privileged to mentor thi...

Is “Design Thinking” the new liberal arts?

Is ‘Design Thinking’ the New Liberal Arts?(Chronicle of Higher Education)

Short answer: NO

Long answer: First, I hate the fact that this article is not available publicly, because it might be interesting to actually read. And it’s totally not fair for me to critique it based simply on the headline. That out of the way, let me expand on the short answer. No, “design thinking” isn’t the new liberal arts.

How about this headline, “Is this Harvardcourse on Jane Austen the new liberal arts?” or “R...

I’m starting a maker program…. questions and answers

I recently got an email from a Chicago Public Schoolteacher. She asked:

I recently read a book you co-authored, “Invent to Learn”. I am a Chicago Public School teacher. Until this year, I worked as a special education teacher, but I lobbied hard to create a STEM program at my school and this year I am the STEM teacher. The program is truly mine to build and I would really love the chance to pick your brain about your experiences. I am working to build a school Makerspace and the students are a...

FabLearn Fellows – maker teachers making it work

This past year I’ve had the immenseprivilegeof working as a mentor to the FabLearn Fellows, an NSF funded programin association with the Transformative Learning Technologies Lab at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education.

The 2014/2015 FabLearn Fellows cohort is adiverse group of 18 educators and makers. They represent eight states and five countries, and work with a wide range of ages at schools, museums, universities and non-profits. Throughout the course of the year, they will develop curri...