Makerspace

Blackout Poetry

- librariantiff 7 Comments

This week during 8th grade library visits, students created blackout poems. They are just kicking off their poetry units, and the awesome ELA teachers and I thought this would be a fun activity for them. One of the teachers suggested we try this as she’d seen some examples on Pinterest. I immediately knew what she was talking about and was excited to give it a try!

I took some of our weeded books, cut out the pages, and gave students markers and pens for to create and design their poems. I created a looping slideshow to project on the screen with some examples to inspire them. Here are some of the favorites that were created this week:

I’m going to pull some of these together to create a fun display in the hall outside the library, but until then I wanted to share their awesome work here!

Follett Challenge 2015

- librariantiff Leave a comment

Okay dear readers, I need your help and support! The Central Middle School library has once again entered the Follett Challenge, and we need you to VOTE! Please follow this link to view our video entry and cast a vote for our submission.

VoteforCMSqr

As I know is true with all of the 114 entries into this year’s Follett Challenge, we put a lot of work into this entry and really want to see it win! This was an especially reflective process for me, because we entered the Follett Challenge in 2011. Thinking back to that entry 4 years ago and comparing it to this year’s entry, I realize how much our library program has grown! Our reading promotion, genrefication, self check-out, and makerspace have really transformed our library, and I’m so proud of how far we’ve come. So help us celebrate our progress by voting for our entry in the Follett Challenge!

Makerspace: Crafting Supplies

- librariantiff Leave a comment

One of my goals with our library makerspace is to draw in as many students as possible through a wide range of creative activities. Making a selection of crafting supplies available is a great way to do this. I’ve always had some materials available for students to create, such as a variety of types of paper, poster, stickers, glue, scissors, etc. Now, with our active makerspace, I want to take our crafting opportunities to the next level.

With the holidays approaching, I’m planning to offer an opportunity for students to come in to make ornaments in the library during their lunch break. I’m using pages from discarded books, ball ornaments, and Mod Podge to have students make these ornaments:

Photo Dec 04, 9 10 15 AM

I found this idea on Pinterest and followed the instructions that are posted here. I practiced on a smaller pink ornament ball that I already had on our tree. I’ve ordered shatterproof white ornament balls for students to use for the project. I’m thinking about hitting them with some glitter spray…because who doesn’t love a sparkly ornament?!

 

I’m also using DonorsChoose again to acquire some new crafting supplies. My current DonorsChoose project includes Rexlace for making keychains, Rainbow Loom kits, Duck Tape, a starter kit for felting, knitting needles, and scissors. I would like to have lunchtime craft projects offered regularly, in addition to having these materials available for students upon request. These are the types of crafts that I can introduce students to in the makerspace, and it can potentially become a hobby they love.

Makey Makey

- librariantiff Leave a comment

When the boxes started coming in for my first Makerspace DonorsChoose grant, I was so excited to unpack the three Makey Makey kits that we received! In anticipation of these supplies coming in, I showed some of my students this introductory video to the Makey Makey. They were so excited to get their hands on it and give it a try!

I have one particular student in my Advisory class that is very tech savvy, and he dove right in to getting the Makey Makey going with his laptop. The idea that he could create a controller using Play-Doh to play Minecraft just about blew his mind. On his way to his next class, he told one of the other teachers, “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my LIFE!”

Photo Nov 14, 12 01 58 PM

We still have a lot of potential to unlock with the Makey Makey. I was really inspired by this video on hand felting a banana with conductive fibers. It’s so exciting to think of all of the possibilities of things that my students can create!

LEGO Wall

- librariantiff 6 Comments

Creating a LEGO Wall in our library was one of the things that I was most excited about when planning our library makerspace. I knew this would be the centerpiece of our space and that it would be a big draw for my students. All of my inspiration for this LEGO Wall came from Diana Rendina and her photos, video, and blog posts about her own Epic LEGO Wall.

Diana has written an awesome how-to post that I followed in the construction of our LEGO Wall. You can find all of the information you need on her blog — I followed her instructions exactly and everything came out perfectly. I also love that she made a timelapse video of the wall’s installation. When I was trying to “sell” the idea of the wall to my administrator, this video really helped me explain what this was all about.

With the help of my awesome parents, it took us less than two hours to put up the LEGO Wall. I would recommend assembling the wall on a Friday afternoon so that things can dry over the weekend. We put the wall together on a Sunday afternoon and it was tough keeping the students away from it on Monday so the glue could set!

Photo Oct 19, 12 34 27 PM

We’re still working out how time can be made for students to use the makerspace and create on the LEGO wall. Each day we have a 20 minute Advisory/Intervention time, and my group is able to access the things in our makerspace to create, tinker, and play.

Photo Oct 21, 8 55 11 AM Photo Oct 21, 8 55 04 AM

They also helped me organize and sort out our LEGOs:

Photo Nov 05, 10 22 21 AM

I love seeing what our students create! Our school is in a somewhat rural/country area, so I was not at all surprised to see the word “deer” and a pin with a cow in it within the first 24 hours of the LEGO Wall being open for students:

Photo Oct 22, 5 09 16 PM

And I was really excited to see that during a slow time on our parent-teacher conference day, our band and choir teachers stopped in to do a little making of their own:

Photo Oct 31, 11 59 31 AM Photo Oct 31, 11 59 38 AM

So many students, teachers, and parents have shared their excitement about our new LEGO Wall. It’s such a great place for students (and teachers!) to express their creativity and just have a little fun!

CMS Makerspace: The Beginning

- librariantiff 8 Comments

I was so excited and honored to be invited to give the opening keynote at the Florida Association for Media in Education‘s annual conference in Orlando last week. It was a great conference — I was able to connect with and learn from some AWESOME Florida librarians! All of my presentation slides, links, and resources can be found on my presentation wiki.

The ideas that had me ready to get back to school and working on a new project came from my friend Diana Rendina‘s session on Makerspaces & Libraries. She’s doing some AWESOME things in her library, and she made the idea of a makerspace something I could wrap my head around. I had been intrigued but intimidated by the idea; she made it seem attainable and fun. So now we’re going for it!!!

I had organized and gathered some crafting supplies in the library over the summer as my first attempt at making something makerspace-ish, but I really didn’t advertise it with the students too much. I’ve had a collection of board games and puzzles for years, so I think the makerspace will fit in nicely with those things that are already in place. What drew me in the most about Diana’s space, and what I know my students will go CRAZY over, is her LEGO wall. So the first thing I talked to my principal about when I returned on Monday morning was the idea of adding a LEGO wall in our library at CMS. He was on board (because he’s the best), and we will be installing our wall VERY soon (I can’t wait to post about it!).

I also wanted to be able to try some of the other cool tools that Diana talked about in her presentation, so I decided to create my first ever Donors Choose project. I was absolutely amazed that my project was fully funded in just a few hours…and it’s because I’m surrounded by wonderful people who support our library. I’m tearing up just writing about it! Donations from my family, friends, coworkers, community members, members of my PLN, and even a school board member came in quickly to make this project happen. Most of the materials should arrive on Monday and I cannot WAIT! MaKey MaKeys, a Sphero, a set of Snap Circuits, LEGOs, LEGO books, and two sets of drawers on wheels for organizing materials are on their way. I’ll definitely be posting more soon as our makerspace becomes a reality. Until then, check out these videos for some of the cool tools that will be part of our new space:

Makey Makey:

Sphero:

Snap Circuits: