Metro #2 Overview

Metro Service Project #2 was a successful event that allowed us to provide a group of students with an engaging lesson that incorporated both hands-on and technology to facilitate learning. It had the feel of an actual classroom experience that I would encounter in my clinical teaching. I think this is especially beneficial for my classmates that may not be at that point of their degree yet. 

The technology we used in this lesson was Canva, Nearpod, QR code and an external drawing website. I used Canva to create a digital e-book for our AI Hero Story and then imported into Nearpod as the container for the actual lesson so I could add in slides that had direct links to the drawing website in case some students didn't have their phones to use the QR codes. 

Canva slides

Nearpod Lesson

We integrated this technology with a hands-on activity to investigate, describe and identify which environmental conditions are more favorable than others to garden plants. Not only did we get to have a mini lesson on environmental conditions, but we discussed how we created the stickers they used in the iCreate lab at the University where they can go with their parents to create their own. 

One of the things we learned from this experience is that incorporating technology into lessons is beneficial, but there could be circumstances where you need a backup plan if the technology fails for unknown reasons. Luckily, I grabbed a stack of paper and markers at the last minute just in case we had issues. This came in handy because the drawing website only worked for half of the devices and the WiFi would occasionally turn off on the Chromebooks. Even though some of them had to draw their image on paper, we were still able to upload to our Nearpod board for assessment.

Towards the last five minutes the students participated in the exit ticket created by the Read members of our group. They did an excellent job developing age-appropriate questions that related to the actual Hero Story and what they learned.

Finally, the students moved to the Kinesiology portion of the event where they participated in some exercises, a game and some stretches. This portion did not require much from us besides making sure our group stayed where they were supposed to be. I think having hands-on, technology, reading, and kinesiology aspects to the event created an engaging experience for students and educators.

• Our Team Meet #3 went smoothly due to all of our members looking over the pre-meet links and tasks. We discussed our thoughts and reflections on how we felt our lesson at Metro went. We each had very similar thoughts on the strengths of the event and we each gave some personal growth thoughts and goals for future instruction. Personally, my main goal was to maintain and be aware of time management in future lessons. Overall, the collaboration and participation in our group was a success. The members in our group that were from another class felt this event didn't require as much work from them as it did us, so they allowed us to take the lead and simply took direction from us. Meet #3 Video
• Team Scrumboard
• Doodle Poll screenshot:

Individual Pre-meet Work

This post contains 2 artifacts that are individual reflection work done prior to Team Meet #3 for Hero Journey Metro Project and notes taken from the screencast Dr. Elwood and Dr. Bippert provided for the agenda of Team Meet #3.

Here is a preview to the lesson we did at Metro:

Nearpod Lesson Preview

In reflecting on teaching third grade students for our metro project there are various aspects of personal growth, civic engagement, and academic enhancement that I learned and implemented in regard to teaching practices. I created one chart to display learning expectations and goals based on the DEAL Framework and an individual survey we reflected on. Followed by a chart that distinguishes my understanding and future goals for TAMU-CC Teacher Educator Professional Expectations Policy.

By continually learning and incorporating these aspects into my teaching practice, I'll be better equipped to foster personal growth, civic engagement, and academic enhancement in teaching students. Additionally, staying open to ongoing professional development ensures that I remain a dynamic and effective educator.

Metro Service project #2 Garden Hero

Our group "The Super Star Heroes" will utilize technology and a hero story to teach the students in our group about how environmental changes have an impact on the growth of plants. As a team our two separate activities incorporate TEKS from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade in a range from science, reading, and kinesiology.

I plan to exemplify learner responses by making our AI story relatable to our students. Our story talks about creating a garden in a space that may not be ideal for a garden, such as an urban setting. Using my knowledge of gardening I will elicit responses by asking questions that relate to the conditions in our area that might not be ideal for all plants. Extreme heat in the summers isn’t ideal for growing a lot of tomato varieties. Also, I could talk about how a lot of people in our area live in either houses with a small yard or an apartment complex, so how they might be able to create a suitable space for plants in our area. I want to engage the student responses by asking open ended questions. 

            Our project will be digitally creative by incorporating different aspects of technology through our presentation of the activity and the activity itself. We are creating a digital presentation for our AI story that will include a slide for each step of our Hero story. When we get to the step that will lead us into our activity, we will use a QR code that we created to take the students to a drawing site to create their own digital art. After they have completed their digital art, we will instruct them to upload their work to a Nearpod collaboration board where the students can discuss their work. Then, we will show them the QR code that will direct them to the CCISD Multimedia Fair examples for digital art and explain how there are different technology events they could participate in including art just like they created. 

Our AI Hero Story: "The Gardener's Quest"

Step 1: The Ordinary World

Meet our young hero, Lily, a 3rd-grade student living in an urban neighborhood with limited green spaces. She's passionate about plants and loves reading about gardening.

Step 2: The Call to Adventure

One day, Lily's teacher announces a school gardening competition. The winner will have the opportunity to transform an empty space into a lush community garden, promoting environmental responsibility.

Step 3: Refusal of the Call

Lily first hesitates, doubting her abilities to create a successful garden. She questions if the urban environment is acceptable for gardening.

Step 4: Meeting the Mentor

She meets Mrs. Green, a local botanist and gardening expert, who introduces her to the world of gardening and provides guidance on using technology for research and adaptation to urban conditions.

Step 5: Crossing the First Threshold (Go into Technology lesson after this step)

Lily accepts the challenge and begins researching different types of plants, urban gardening techniques, and environmental conditions online, using technology to gather valuable information.

Step 6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies

Throughout her journey, Lily faces challenges like limited space, poor soil quality, and pollution. She finds friends in her online gardening community who share their experiences and solutions.

Step 7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

The vacant lot is the most troubling of challenges and Lily must turn the barren, empty land where plants cannot grow, into a flourishing garden. She also learns about the potential impact of urban gardening on the environment.

Step 8: Ordeal

Lily also faces the challenge of dealing with a city-wide drought and pollution. Using technology and her knowledge about how much sunlight, water, and correct soil type to use, she designs an efficient irrigation system, a man-made water system made of tubes, pumps, and sprays.

Step 9: Reward (Seizing the Bloom)

Lily's garden not only thrives but attracts pollinators, improving air quality. She wins the gardening competition and receives the opportunity to transform the vacant lot into a community garden.

Step 10: The Road Back

With the lessons learned and her commitment to environmentally-friendly practices, Lily documents her journey online. She shares her experience and knowledge of what plants need to survive, such as the correct amount of sunlight, water , and soil, inspiring others to take up urban gardening and environmental responsibility.

Step 11: Resurrection

Later that night a storm threatens to destroy her garden, but Lily immediately uses her device and looks up ways to protect her garden and she takes action. She emerges as a hero who can adapt and thrive in urban gardening conditions.

Step 12: Return with the Elixir

Lily returns to her city with a vibrant community garden, transforming an ignored empty space into a green paradise. She's not just a gardener but a Guardian of the Urban Green, inspiring others to embrace gardening and technology for environmental stewardship.

**(READ Activity lesson will be done when the story is over)

In this Hero's Journey, Lily's gardening adventure aligns with the grade & content level TEKS, technology standards, and hero personality characteristics. It promotes the development of intellect, environmental stewardship, inclusivity, and technology proficiency in students while fostering a love for gardening and a sense of community.

            Some questions I plan to ask to facilitate growth mindset is:

·       “What challenging moment did you face while creating digital art? How did you overcome it and what did you learn?”

·       “In what way was creating digital art different or similar than how you might usually create art?”

·       “How did our discussions about gardens to influence the digital art you created today?”

Here is a link to my Portfolio that associates ISTE standards with this activity.

 

Digital Makerspace

The TEK I will be working with for my Digital Makerspace is Math 2.9D determine the length of an object to the nearest marked unit using rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, or measuring tapes. This relates to the gardening TEK Metro E wanted focus on "Use measurement to accurately measure plant growth and amount(s) of soil, plant food, etc." I will utilize the Digital Presentation category from the multimedia fair. The student work I viewed utilized Google Slides, Google Docs and YouTube. I plan to create a lesson through Google Slides or Canva and then upload it to Nearpod to create an interactive lesson that will include online games and engaging activities on their device. I plan to incorporate this measurement content into the theme of gardens and outdoors. We will have games that require measuring in a garden and promote deeper thinking through questions. Discussion will also be had about how else CT skills could be used in a real garden, such as measuring a space and creating a digital model to organize or plan a garden. I have found two games so far and I would like to find an app to allow students to create their own digital garden model based on certain dimensions. 

Gnome Garden Measuring game

This game has students measure different things as the gnome strolls through a garden.

Woodcutting Measurement game

This game has students mark the correct measurements on a log for the woodcutter to chop. This could be related to garden theme because, just like my personal garden, wood can be used to build a raised garden bed.

Here is an example of students who created a digital presentation from the multimedia fair:

Habits Around the World

Educational Arcade

The ISTE standards I plan to focus on for my activity is-

• 1d: Develop resilience and perseverance when approaching CS and CT learning experiences, build comfort with ambiguity and open-ended problems, and see failure as an opportunity to learn and innovate.

-By having students build their own digital garden model using specific measurements will likely create a trial-and-error situation which will promote students to see when failure happens, they can persevere through it to find a solution. This can also be related to the theme of gardening. When you garden problems can constantly present themselves. Whether it is needing fertilizer, battling pesky garden bugs, or combating unfavorable weather.

• 4d: Create CS and CT learning environments that value and encourage varied viewpoints, student agency, creativity, engagement, joy and fun.

-Providing a learning environment that is digital based in a tech driven world will provide students with an engaging lesson that they will motivate them to practice their knowledge in a fun way.

• 5a: Evaluate and use CS and CT curricula, resources, and tools that account for learner variability to meet the needs of all students.

 -The digital presentation I plan to make and coordinate with my activity will allow for differentiation based on the student's needs. It will be easy to add engaging web-based activities for students to work on based on their own individual skill levels. 

• 3c: Plan collaboratively with other educators to create learning activities that cross disciplines to strengthen student understanding of CT and CS concepts and transfer application of knowledge in new contexts.

-Because we will be working in pairs and also working with individuals from another class, I think 3C is an appropriate standard that will be utilized for this activity. We will have to collaborate in our meetings about what we plan to do and with our paired partner to decide on how to facilitate our activities and lessons.

After meeting in the iCreate lab there are a couple of stations that could be utilized for our MakerSpace activity. We saw a few stations such as a sticker maker, a cricut, and a 3D printer. I could see using the cricut to create foldable planter out of card stock that students could measure that would align with the math measurement TEK I chose. I could also design a decorative ruler to show students, as something that might motivate them to visit the iCreate lab themselves.

In the iCreate lab on 10/17 we decided on a Cricut template to make flowerpots to demonstrate the impact of various environmental conditions that are both favorable and unfavorable. We will also use stickers that were created in the lab to label the appropriate plant growth. We will create plants in different growth conditions and the students will put the sticker to the appropriate plant growth based on the condition.

Our flowerpot cut-outs and stickers:

Metro Reflection

 

    The drone and Lego activity at Metro Elementary was a great experience and a great way to allow students to see the complexity of technology. Teaching students about computational thinking skills is incredibly important in the current digital age. They were able to practice problem solving and an understanding of computer language. These activities foster CT and CS skills at an early age which gives students confidence and encourage creativity and their ability to problem solve in a technology driven world. It was interesting to watch them experiment with coding with only the brief google slides we discussed for vocabulary purposes. The students picked up on it much quicker than we anticipated. They were eager to practice coding on the drone simulator after experiencing the drone fly with a simple directed command that we came up with as a group. The simulator was a great tool to provide students with an experience they could manipulate without adult interference. I think the free range was a little frustrating at first for them, but after some support and encouragement that they could just reset the mission, they immediately became enthusiastic to attempt as many coded missions as possible.

    Some of the things I specifically enjoyed with this field experience was having the opportunity to work with students to relate these educational activities to real-world situations. I liked that we chose the rover as our Lego robot because it correlates with the drone in terms of how people might use these different types of robots for different careers or situations. We were able to discuss how we have had real rovers on Mars and then in the simulator they did an air mission with the drone on Mars. So different robots can be used in real life situations or events that are not realistic or ideal for humans to encounter for safety reasons. I think being able to relate the knowledge they are presented with for a real purpose is important in fueling their curiosity and encouraging interest for these fields of study.

Google Slide Team Teach:

WeDo2.0 Lego Activity:

Drone Coding Activity:

Standards Reflection-

Designer:

4d: Create CS and CT learning environments that value and encourage varied viewpoints, student agency, creativity, engagement, joy and fun.

Having differing viewpoints from a group of students allowed my partner and I to create an engaging environment for both the Lego and drone activity. We had two boys and one girl in our student group. The boys provided energetic over-the-top ideas for both the Lego rover and the drone. Whereas the girl student was calmer and more structured with her thoughts on how to go about both activities. The differing engagement provided a fun and interesting take on how to go about practicing coding.

Leader:

2a: Nurture a confident, competent, and positive identity around computing for every student.

Because both of our activities utilized a hands-on approach and inquiry based learned environment, I found my partner and I constantly reassuring students with affirmations. Trial and error learning can be frustrating for some students because they don’t like to be wrong and take failure harder than others. But encouraging them to continue trying and that failure is just another way to learn and grow it built their confidence to eventually come up with a code that established the command they were attempting to accomplish.

 

Facilitator:

5c: Use a variety of instructional approaches to help students frame problems in ways that can be represented as computational steps or algorithms to be performed by a computer.

By utilizing two different types of technology to teach coding it provided them opportunities to see coding in two different ways. One was a quickly built rover from Legos that could be instructed to travel on wheels with limited variability but was still mobile. The drone provided a more complex perspective of coding that allowed more difficult maneuvers and could tackle commands by air. We were able to discuss the different problems students might face that would be more beneficial for a rover on land or a drone in air.

Metro E Team Teach

For the drone coding activity, we are creating a quick slide presentation to go over the different terms they might see when exploring the drone simulator and to get them familiar with what to expect. We want to create an inquiry-based learning where they are asking questions and experiencing the lesson first-hand.

Drone Coding Activity

1.       We will begin by getting to know the students' background knowledge of drones. 

2.       We will ask questions to get them motivated about how this activity could be useful to society and potential careers. Whether it is for science, military or even something creative like videography.

3.       We will introduce the students to the Drone simulator and introduce code vocabulary they will see in the simulator.

4.       Next, we will show the students our drone video, and the code we used.

5.       If students have computers, they can start their own coding using the drone simulator. We want to immerse them in the experience by trial and error.

6.       Once students understand the drone simulator, and know what it means to create a code, we can create a code using the Drone Block app. to experience with a real drone.

7.       The students can collaborate to come up with ideas for different maneuvers and what blocks they need to use to establish that command in order to create a usable code for the Tello Drone. 

For the Lego activity we plan to print the visual building guide so it will be easier for students to collaborate with the building process of Milo. Similar to the drone activity we want students to experience trial and error with coding Milo. We will be there to support the students and answer questions, but we want to facilitate the lesson in a way where they are learning through experience and questions instead of direct instruction.

Milo the Lego Rover Activity

1.       We will begin by discussing what the students know about rovers. What is a rover? How might having a rover be beneficial to scientists? 

2.       Next the students will be shown a picture of what Milo the Rover should look like by the time they are finished with the activity. Then, they will work together when given building instructions to assemble the rover. The building instructions are visual only, which should provide a challenge that is engaging and promotes discussion throughout the build. 

3.       Once the motor is connected to the Smart hub and the hub can connect to the device, the students can begin exploring the program to code milo for actions. 

4.       The students will be instructed to use the first initial code to start the motor at power 8, go in one direction for 2 seconds and then stop.

5.       After students have successfully coded Milo for his simple task of moving, they will then be given the opportunity to change the parameters of the code to see what else they can code Milo to do.

 

Tello DroneBlocks Test

 Today we experimented with Tello Drones. First, my partner and I created a drone code simulation so we could demonstrate that we knew how to create a command for a real drone. After creating a drone command, we were given a real drone to connect to our device. To connect to the device, we simply connected our device to our drone through Wi-Fi. It took a couple tries to get the drone to connect but after a few errors we were finally able to connect. After connection we were able to have the drone take off from a table and fly in the shape of a square, get back to the take-off location, do a flip and land at the beginning location.

DroneBlocks Simulator Lab

For this week’s lab assignment, we worked with DroneBlocks app to learn about the coding of flying Tello drones. By working through various introduction videos to coding and drone simulation we were provided with knowledge on how to create commands for the drone through the app. The DroneBlocks simulator gave us the opportunity to work with different beginner codes to practice flying without utilizing a real drone. I could see this being very productive in teaching students how to utilize different codes with a drone.

            If the videos that I watched for DroneBlocks were used in a classroom or group setting I could see potential for confusion. These concepts are not exactly the easiest to understand and even as an adult I had to watch them multiple times and reread the instructions for the lab multiple times to understand how to work it. I think to utilize this for younger students there would have to be some videos or guidance in person to further explain and assist in teaching them the concepts of these codes or DroneBlocks simulator.

·       Which specific simulation tutorials were the most interesting to you? How did you try to alter the lines of code for what effects? What can you imagine for an engaging 5–10-minute simulator experience that encourages experimentation with lines of code?

The ability to group codes together as loops and create variables is interesting. I altered the line codes by combining different commands together such as the flips and navigation. I can imagine allowing students to experiment with the coding without any real direct instruction to see if they are able to figure out commands by trial and error. This could create motivation to find long commands that work.

ISTE Standard

5.3.c Plan collaboratively with other educators to create learning activities that cross disciplines to strengthen student understanding of CT and CS concepts and transfer application of knowledge in new contexts.

            I could see this activity working better if it is done collaboratively with a partner. Because coding isn’t the easiest to learn, I imagine having a partner or group together to troubleshoot any problems or confusion would be helpful. Especially after working on this activity asynchronously without a partner or professor in person to guide I had to rely on the internet to help me understand how to understand these concepts.

Screencast of drone simulation:

Mars Mission

Practicing code sequences:

Activity Guide for WeDo2.0 Lego Build- Milo the Rover

Students will be participating in Lego WeDo 2.0 learning activity. The purpose of utilizing these motorized Lego models is to build an interest in learning through science and engineering. This activity will also introduce them to simple beginner coding concepts to motivate them to expand their knowledge in coding technology. The Lego WeDo 2.0 activity encourages inquiry-based learning to encourage students to ask questions and collaborate with their peers through computational thinking and science. 

1.) We will begin by discussing what the students know about rovers. What is a rover? How might having a rover be beneficial to scientists? 

2.) Next the students will be shown a picture of what Milo the Rover should look like by the time they are finished with the activity. Then, they will work together when given building instructions to assemble the rover. The building instructions are visual only that should provide a challenge that is engaging and promotes discussion throughout the build. 

3.) Once the motor is connected to the Smart hub and the hub can connect to the device, the students can begin exploring the program to code milo for actions. 

4.) The students will be instructed to use the first initial code to start the motor at power 8, go in one direction for 2 seconds and then stop.

5.) After students have successfully coded Milo for his simple task of moving, they will then be given the opportunity to change the parameters of the code to see what else they can code Milo to do.

Meet Milo the Science Rover: 

Lego Lab WeDo2.0

Today my partner Reese and I created a Lego rover named Milo that can be given a function code to move forward. The instructions were fairly easy to follow even though they were pictures only. The great thing about Milo the rover is he has add-on motion sensors than be utilized after the initial build. Although he has two other features that can be added on to so other functions, my partner and I decided we would focus on the initial build because it could be time consuming for kids. I think I will learn how to do the other two add-ons in case we do have time to experiment with it further.

 In doing this activity students will be exploring how they can create a rover using Legos and practice their coding skills by making maneuvers the rover can demonstrate. The Lego rover is built using a picture guide and an app is downloaded to input codes to link to the rover. The function code is used to allow the rover to move at a speed of 8 for two seconds before stopping. The code can be altered to move longer or a different speed. Students are able to use the ISTE standard 5.3.b: Apply effective teaching strategies to support student collaboration around computing, including pair programming, working in varying team roles, equitable workload distribution and project management.

See Milo in action:

Milo Rover