A very good day in the zSpace

This morning one of my colleagues and I looked at each other, sighed, and said, "It took all year".

We were standing in our brand new zSpace lab at the time, watching a class of English students tour the Globe Theater using our new augmented reality computers.

VR heart dissection

It's May. If you ask any educator how she or he feels in May, the response is usually tired. Testing season is wrapping up, grades are due, students and faculty are looking to next year. This year is no exception, but this, the augmented reality lab, gives me energy to keep going. To keep pushing. Yep, it took all year to get this lab up and running.

Was it worth it?

Absolutely.

Last June my principal brought in a representative from zSpace for a demonstration and our staff was immediately blown away, we knew we had to get the program for our students. This technology is being used in college and university classes to teach students medical procedures, engineering, and much more. Giving our students an opportunity to experience it as 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students would give them such a head start.

Me at the teacher training

Students testing out the zSpace

And head starts are imperative in education. For the last couple of years, educators have been talking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how to prepare students for jobs that haven't been created yet. This is the way we do it. We allow them space and time to experience the technology available now and explore. We do it early. We do it now.

Bringing this lab to our school was not easy. There were road blocks, red tape, unanswered e-mails, red tape, and more red tape. Our luck changed last fall when LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner came to visit our school site. We shared our vision and his office was instrumental in getting the approval we needed for the lab.

VR glasses & styluses

The next hurdle was that the laptop lab we wished to purchase is brand new technology and we had to be patient with the company. Once the technology arrived at our school site the room had to be prepped, furniture installed, and training done with faculty members. Did you know someone has to unwrap every pair of VR glasses? Did you know someone has to figure out the extension cord situation for 40 laptops and separate auxiliary chargers?

My colleagues and I have been working 30 minutes and here there getting everything ready in the midst of our day to day responsibilities and today, just today, we finally invited our first class into the space.

Students in the zSpace TODAY!

One of my English teachers, Ms. Hargrove, is the first teacher to use the lab and her students spent time touring and learning about theaters. The 3-D aspect allows them to go into the space and explore while learning. The students just finished reading Romeo and Juliet so seeing the Globe Theater was a great tie-in to their current curriculum.

As I walked around the zSpace this morning and watched the students take to the technology like fish to water I couldn't be happier. The long days, the frustrations, and the set backs are all worth it for days like this. When students are engaged and don't want to stop learning to go to their next class, we know we're on to something. We know we're making a difference.

Students in the zSpace TODAY!

Other teachers out there know that 100% engagement is not something that happens very often. It's something we all dream about though. And today I saw it.

Every single student learning, answering questions, engaging in academic conversation.

Today was a good day. A very good day indeed.

Our First Lego League Qualifying Tournament

The John Burroughs Middle School All Girls Robotics Team made their mark at the First Lego League qualifier. The girls did not win or move on to the next round of competition but they were the only team made up of all girls and did they did finish in the top 10. 

This was my first robotics competition and I had no idea what to expect. It was nail biting, exciting, and dramatic! Our teams and our coaches learned so much the experience. When something went wrong during a round, the girls immediately got together to discuss what happened and how the problem would be fixed. While they were waiting, the girls practiced on the floors of the school, working up until the moment they had to get into position.

At the end of the competition, before the awards were given out, music was turned on and a huge dance party broke out. This event is designed for kids to learn, build, and code. It is also a way for students to celebrate accomplishments and to have fun. And it did just that. Watching our girls at the end of what was an incredibly intense and exciting and stressful day for them break out into dance was just joyous. It was a day filled with exactly what education should be filled with. 

And our JB team cannot wait for next year!

Toilet Paper Rolls and the Community

Who knew toilet paper rolls could build a bridge from school to community. Not an actual bridge mind you (that might not be structurally sound!) but a way for community members to connect with our students in a way that doesn't cost any money.

When I started the Makerspace at Burroughs, we needed supplies. I researched online and discovered that many of the items needed were other peoples recyclables. I put out a call to parents and staff for items and quite a bit were donated.

Fast forward two years later and on any given day you will find random bags of paper towel and toilet paper rolls in my office, waiting at my door when I get to work or handed to me at a party by a friend who's heard I'm collecting. Because people are still donating. Every week. I haven't asked anyone for them in months. Yet they still end up here. Along with egg cartons, old muffin tins, anything that people thing might be useful in a Makerspace.

People who don't have children, people who are low income, friends, and parents are continuing to use this project as a way to make a difference. And it does make a difference. And all of these items are useful.

Next month one of our sixth grade history classes will be building the civilizations that they have designed. This is a Problem Based Learning project that is weeks in the making. They have studied ancient civilizations during the year and are using pieces from all of the places to design their own civilization complete with government, buildings, and people. They will go into the Makerspace and build these places they have dreamed up with, yep, toilet paper rolls.

I've realized throughout this STEAM and Makerspace adventure that simply talking about the ideas and theories behind these projects isn't enough. We have to create the space, we have to collect the supplies, and we have to help these kids engage. By encouraging the community to engage with the students we all to reap the benefits, and see the amazing results.

Scrimmage Success!

On Saturday, October 26th, our All Girls Robotics Club went on the road. They traveled to Elysian Park Elementary School to compete in a practice competition for First Lego League. If I am being honest, we almost didn't go. Our coaches were feeling unprepared. This is the first year that we are competing and it has been a bit overwhelming. 

But the girls have been working hard before and after school to prepare for the upcoming November 10th competition and we thought it would be good for them to experience what the actual competition would look like. So we registered for the practice. 

I was not able to attend the event and was nervous all day thinking about the girls and the coaches. I was so excited when I got the results. The girls had not only shown up, they had shown what they were capable of!

Our two teams received 1st place in robot design and 1st place in project, as well as 2nd and 3rd place for total overall points. 

At the next after school practice, I asked the girls how they were feeling. Were they confident about the upcoming November competition? The responses from the girls was great, although they are still nervous. They feel like they have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. 

However, I encouraged them to be in the moment and celebrate the work they have done so far and then get to work! The future is BRIGHT! 

Yesterday I unveiled our new Robotics Club shirt design on social media and thanked the people who have donated money to make this design a reality. I was so happy to receive donations from several more people yesterday, including a former student and a complete stranger!

While I am working on raising the money and getting the shirts made, our teams are busy prepping for the competition. I love seeing them figure out challenges and smile when the robots move the way they intended.

I also want to mention that many other great things are happening on campus this week. Our theatre classes, led by Ms. Heath,  are working in the Makerspace to create newscasts with the green screen wall. Mr. Daniel Sanchez is prepping to start our mixed gender Vex Robotics Club that will meet in the morning. And, all of our students are having their vision checked by Vision to Learn because our students need to be taken care of to do the amazing things they are accomplishing!

Here We Go!

1 team to 2 teams to 3 teams!

Our All Girls Robotics club is off and running! When we started last year, as the All Girls STEAM Club, we had about 40 girls who participated during second semester. Our teacher mentors, Ms. Natalie Prystaloski and Mr. Victor Sanchez, have worked hard to make the program even stronger this year. As a result, the girls were able to sign-up and start practice with the LEGO Mindstorm robots this past week.

A lot of work has been done in the robotics lab and the girls are working on their t-shirt design for the competitions. The first competition is October 27, 2018.

One of the challenges we have faced this year is the amount of girls who are excited for this opportunity. Over 80 of our girls want to be a robotics coder and we love that! We are working out schedules for them all to participate.

As we start organizing the girls for competition teams we have increased from one team to two teams and are now considering adding a third team!

Keep checking back for updates as we continue on our exciting journey!

Not just STEAM Girls, Entrepreneur STEAM Girls!

Over the weekend, I read the book “Venture Girls” by Cristal Glangchai, PhD. Glangchai is who I want to be when I grow up. She has found a way to get girls interested in STEAM but she takes it a step further.

I have spent the last two years working to expose my female students to STEAM activities in the hopes that it will stick to some of them, and they will pursue careers in the male-dominated professions of math and engineering. Glangchai points out that hoping it sticks is not the best way to go about this. She writes about taking girls' interest in science, math, and engineering and turning them into entrepreneurs. 

Her organization, Venture Labs, takes girls as young as five and helps them to create business plans and products that solve real world problems that they see. The book gives so many examples of how girls have so much to contribute to society but are constantly being told they are not good enough. Teaching them to be entrepreneurs gives them the option to make a way for themselves instead of waiting for the world to catch up. Here's to something new for the next two years...