Makey Makey - new VP for Education Initiatives seeks your advice

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Tom Heck, VP for Edu. Initiatives at Makey Makey

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Jan 30, 2016, 1:08:05 PM1/30/16
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Greetings all! 

I'm the new (and first) VP for Education Initiatives at Makey Makey (www.makeymakey.com). I joined the Makey Makey team in November 2015.

I've posted to this group previously but this is my first time doing so under the banner of Makey Makey.

My first goal is to design a one-day (5 hour) teacher certification workshop that will provide 0.5 Continuing Education Units/Credits. The goal of the workshop is to help prepare educators to teach Invention Literacy, Making, and Design Thinking. The workshop will lean heavily on the Makey Makey but we'll introduce educators to the broader Maker community and resources.

Ultimately we plan to offer train-the-trainer workshops so that K12 education communities can train and support their own teachers. 

Although our initial focus is on K12 schools, we're also eager to train and support afterschool programs such as the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc.

We will eventually post the training design and resources (incl. best practices) for all to access and use. The goal will be to help you facilitate your own workshops.

I'd love your help and guidance. What do you think this one-day workshop should included? 

What are the Makey Makey best practices regarding training educators?

Do you know of a school system that would like to receive training?

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

Please feel free to contact me outside of this group.

Tom Heck
VP for Education Initiatives
Makey Makey
Asheville, NC

PS  A little background on me: positions I've held include...
program director of Purdue University's EPICS K12 program (https://engineering.purdue.edu/EPICS)
classroom teacher
YMCA senior director
juvenile corrections officer

PS Jay Silver, CEO of Makey Makey, speaking about Invention Literacy:


Kevin Jarrett

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Jan 31, 2016, 8:37:05 AM1/31/16
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TOM!!! HOLY COW!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Would love to be on your list of schools to pilot some training - we've got the space, equipment, and people!

Congrats on the new gig! I think about your videoconference with my students often!

-kj-

-----
Kevin Jarrett
Middle School STEAM Teacher
Northfield Community Middle School

"Life ​changes when you trust kids.​" - ​Ira Socol

Aaron Maurer

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Jan 31, 2016, 9:03:50 AM1/31/16
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I am brand new to this group, but would love to help with this in anyway possible. I am currently doing several makerspace workshops where I work to show educators how to infuse the maker mindset and culture into the classroom. This type of training would be very helpful.

Amber Kraver

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Jan 31, 2016, 10:12:35 AM1/31/16
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I am a HUGE Makey Makey fan! Even though I'm on the West Coast I'd love to know if there's a way I can be involved. 

I'm at a small school - but am part of the county education's STEAM TOSA community. I would love to learn how to train the trainer & take it to that group.

Congratulations on your new role,
Amber

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Colleen Hoban

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Jan 31, 2016, 11:47:47 AM1/31/16
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Hi Tom,

Welcome!

My school is just getting started with Makey Makey.  We would love some guidance and training.
We are interested in exploring all of the different ways to incorporate Makey Makey into the curriculum.

Thanks for your generous offer!

Warm regards,
Collen

Colleen Hoban
Lower School Technology
The Tatnall School
1501 Barley Mill Road | Wilmington, DE 19807
302-998-2292 | collee...@tatnall.org 
Tatnall logo
“Tatnall is not just a school. It’s a way of life.” – Frances D.S. Tatnall



LordeVoldemort

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Jan 31, 2016, 12:17:16 PM1/31/16
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This is an awesome initiative! Thank you guys so much.

I work at a public library system where we provide free workshops to the community by bringing laptops, raspis, paper circuits, 3D printers etc to schools, other libraries, and community centers. I love using the MakeyMakey as a demo at my local hackerspace, and I'm currently working on bringing MakeyMakey workshops to the library's repertoire.

I come from a makerspace background, so I'm not formally trained as a teacher. One thing I noticed is that it's often difficult or counterintuitive for educators to simply let kids make mistakes and do the wrong thing, especially if the educator has a traditional teaching background. I would like to see in the workshop and resources on how to be better facilitator for learning, i.e. staying away from technobabble when talking, asking students lots questions, and making a safe environment for students where there are no stupid questions, and just letting everyone explore. 

I also backed the classroom kit for MakeyMakey Gos, and I would like to see more educator resources on how to run a class or a workshop with them. 

Warmly,

Wanjun Zhang

Laura Hollis

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Jan 31, 2016, 3:55:27 PM1/31/16
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Hi Tom,
We have several Makey Makeys as well as the Makey Makey Little Bits. I've used them in after school classes with 1-6th grades as well as in our new IDEAS lab (Innovation, Design, Engineering, Art & Science) curriculum but would love some new ideas for integrations.
I'd be happy to participate and host training at our school!
Thanks so much for reaching out!

Laura Hollis

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Tami Brass

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Jan 31, 2016, 8:42:39 PM1/31/16
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Wonderful! We've been using Makey Makeys since they first became available, and they're incredibly popular with our students! We'd love to be a test site. Currently, we're using them in our grades 3-5, but I'd love to get more science/engineering applications for middle school.

When I've done PD around making with educators, I always hype Makey Makey because they're so accessible and flexible for learners of all ages. They're a cost effective way to start digital making in the classroom. I can't wait to see where this leads! I hope you offer trainings either virtually or in Minnesota!

Tami Brass
Director of Instructional Technology
St. Paul Academy and Summit School

Tim Cooper

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Feb 1, 2016, 10:37:14 AM2/1/16
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I see the Makey Makey is a gateway drug to making and programming (both kids and teachers). I have used both the classic and the Little Bit one with my students young and less young. It is so easy to make connections to everyday life and affect computers and Scratch or other programs in fun yet education powerful ways. I would love to see it used as a tool to get new and newly interested teachers involved in design thinking, making and STEM/STEAM.  I love the term "Invention literacy" that you used. I have some colleagues in Toronto who also have used them and am sure we could gather a gaggle of teachers for a workshop(s). I will gathering some ideas for your questions on content.

Take care,
Tim Cooper
The York School
Toronto, ON

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Mark Loundy

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Feb 1, 2016, 12:02:22 PM2/1/16
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Tom,

I'm definitely interested. We need to progress beyond the banana piano phase.

Mark Loundy

Instructional Technology Specialist
Google Certified Educator
De Vargas Elementary School
Cupertino (Calif.) Union School District

Susan Kendall

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Feb 1, 2016, 12:12:57 PM2/1/16
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Hi Tom,

Please add me as well. It sounds wonderful.

Thank you,
Susan Kendall



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Leo Burd

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Feb 1, 2016, 1:20:38 PM2/1/16
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Dear Tom,

Congratulations on the new gig! It's exciting to see how Makey Makey is growing and spreading invention literacy all over the place!

I am currently doing a lot of work with creative learning initiatives in Brazil.  Overall, Brazilians seem to love Makey Makey and its ideals. Unfortunately, importing Makey Makeys is very expensive and there is a tendency to use the board with other devices and materials that either complement it or replace it. Language is also a barrier, as most don't speak English.

Is Latin America beyond the scope of your work? If not, it would be awesome to brainstorm strategies to bring MakeyMakey outside US and Canada. Let me know if I can help in any way, ok?

Cheers,

Leo
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Lindsay Johnson

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Feb 1, 2016, 2:05:04 PM2/1/16
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Hi Tom,

Please include River Forest District 90 as a school system that would love to receive training. A few teachers in my district, myself included, have dabbled individually with MakeyMakeys while at conferences, but never collectively as a try easy projects, would encourage my teachers to use this product with students more.

-Lindsay Johnson

Tech Integration Specialist
Roosevelt Middle School
River Forest, IL
Twitter: @ChiLindsay

Tatian Greenleaf

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Feb 2, 2016, 5:50:49 PM2/2/16
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Tom,

I work at a K-8 independent school near San Francisco.  We've been using Makey Makeys in informal settings -- after school classes and possibly a summer camp this summer.  I'd like to get more familiar with possible projects and things like Arduino integration.  I'd certainly be interested in a workshop for teachers or a 
train-the-trainer opportunity.

Tatian



Tatian Greenleaf
Associate Director of Technology
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Sylvia

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Feb 3, 2016, 12:03:47 PM2/3/16
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Congrats, Tom! They are lucky to have you. Be sure to keep us posted on these initiatives!
Sylvia Martinez

Melissa Roper

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Feb 3, 2016, 1:36:45 PM2/3/16
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Hi Tom,

Congratulations - what a cool gig!

Please let me know how we might help. We are game! Grades K-8

Thanks,

Melissa Roper

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Parker Thomas

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Feb 4, 2016, 12:21:10 PM2/4/16
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Tom (and all), 

Aaron V at Lighthouse and I just completed a four-month Maker Fellow Program for Oakland Unified teachers, many of whom are submitting proposals to the Next Generation Learning Challenge grants.   the goal of the program sounds very similar to yours-two help them develop a maker mindset, understand the relevance of these types of skills, understand some of the technologies that make it a particularly exciting time to be a maker and understand how to use some of these projects in the classroom.

Several highlights: teachers also had to complete a project on their own in an area about which they were curious. Final projects include Arduino noise sensors for the classroom, a bike powered blender for smoothies, handmade gears on a Rube Goldberg machine and many others.   Also, to understand the relevance of these types of skills, we took a field trip out to three innovative companies and spoke with hiring managers there. It felt like there was a big mismatch between what they are looking for and what we are preparing for.

Here's an article about the expedition (can't think of a better word for it). And here is the syllabus that we created if that might be of help. it sounds like our goals were very similar to what you mentioned.

Hope all of this helps. Good luck on your journey.

Parker

tim.m...@charlottecountryday.org

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Feb 5, 2016, 10:23:16 AM2/5/16
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Tom, 
First off, congratulations! 
I am the Lower School Ed Tech at Charlotte Country Day and I would love to be a part of any PD you are considering. We are just starting to get things off the ground and starting in the Lower School (JK-4). I think what you're doing is really exciting and I hope that we can be a part of it. 

Sincerely,
Tim Moxley
Charlotte Country Day School
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