Last night was our latest Makerspace Evening Event, and it was focused on game design and construction using LittleBits, LEGOs, and whatever combination of materials could be found around our Labrary. Here’s how it went down: Last month, I attended a Make + Munch event hosted by the LittleBits team…

A few years ago, when I was still teaching fifth grade, I was asked to change classrooms in order to make room for an additional fourth grade section. …

I’ve been using LittleBits in our library makerspace for the past 16 months or so. In that time, students and I have created some really fun and functional projects. With the addition of the CloudBit, Smart Home Kit, Arduino Coding Kit, and HDK, however, their potential for uses beyond the…

A few weeks ago, Jon Corippo was a guest on the TechEducator podcast to talk about the amazing CUE RockStar Camp program and the Apple Distinguished Educator community. True to form, he was full of contagious good humor and incisive commentary. In speaking about ADE, he mentioned that the application…

Two weeks and several inclement weather events after it was originally scheduled, we finally held our January MakerSpace Evening Event in the Upper School Library. The focus this month was Imagination + Invention using Makey Makey from Joy Labs. …

Coding is everywhere and can be taught anywhere. This past week, five teachers and I taught over 20 kids (and a few parents!) to code while sitting on the floor of the library during our Hour of Code evening event. Our monthly library evening events run 6–8PM and are open…

Thanksgiving is traditionally associated with Family, Football, and Turkey. But what if we added one more item to that venerable list this year? Coding. The Hour of Code is quickly approaching, and teachers around the world are working hard to find the time and support necessary to bring coding into…

When I transitioned from classroom teacher to library media specialist a few years back, one of the first things I did was to lobby for the creation of a makerspace. With the enthusiastic (and much appreciated!) support of my administration, I worked with the technology department to research and purchase…

Part One of Some Number of Personal Reflections on Google Teacher Academy — I had never been so anxious to receive a text before in my life. My GTA video and written application had been submitted weeks before, and the invitations were expected any day. Unwilling to wait for my IMAP and POP email servers to stay current, I also created an IFTTT recipe to forward any incoming emails that contained the words gteachers@gmail.com, Google Teacher Academy…