Thursday, March 2, 2017

MakeyMakey: Not just about the Tool BUT a whole lot of Fun!

Really, it wasn’t about the tool but it sure was a whole lot of fun!

 The MakeyMakey Certification course did not disappoint!
MakeyMakey a starter project by two MIT students Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum that provides endless opportunities to turn ordinary objects into a touch pad/surface. It does this by conducting electricity into the device to controls your computer keyboard. Yes, for a Grade 6 teacher, there are so many curriculum connections right across the Electricity Unit as we discussed open and closed circuits, series and parallel circuits, creating switches, lighting up LED’s BUT it doesn’t stop there.

 Now, combine this tool with the creative control of coding in Scratch under the guidance/inspiration of Mitch Resnick’s MIT Media Lab. This takes your from controlling your keyboard to include visuals, sounds and even more elaborate interactive fun where YOU have the ability/opportunity to be the creators of your own content.

Consider the innovative application my students created when they were guided through the Design Thinking process with an Empathy for User Needs approach and came up with their ‘How might we…” statement: How might we engage our Deaf & Hard of Hearing students with interactive games to share our message about Global Citizenship? Students designed, prototyped and constructed three interactive mini-putt lanes wired with MakeyMakey. There were switches throughout the lanes; when the golf ball hit the switch, a bright light would flash across a laptop at the end of the lane, drawing the attention of the player, followed by a ‘Did you know..’ statement. And, yes, it was glow-in-the-dark too.



This was all great but there was one hitch. I, myself, did not know much about MakeyMakey other than providing students with the opportunity to explore, plan flow-charts and create storyboards. Both my students and I were truly fortunate to have TDSB teacher David Hann mentor students via Google Hangouts by providing tips and tricks while promoting further testing of their ideas.

 That is why the MakeyMakey Certification course was so important for me to attend. I want to further build upon my own understanding of STEM and Coding pedagogy to enhance opportunities for curiosity and student engagement. I want my students to see themselves as problem solvers who can leverage technology to make positive changes in our world.

 Lisaanne Floyd and Brian Aspinall from FairChance Learning who is a MakeyMakey Ambassador (the only Canadian) highlighted features of Mathematical Thinking and Computational Thinking with an emphasis on the ‘Sweet Spot’: Problem Solving, Modelling, Analyzing, Interpreting and Statistics and Data. Why? According to Brian, “If you can learn to code, you can code to learn” thus building upon Seymour Papert’s constructivist theory approach, and Mitch Resnick who is the developer of Scratch programming brought together to inspire “creative learning experiences”.

 That is why the MakeyMakey Certification course was so important for me to attend. Refining teaching practices to effectively integrate global skills and competencies with the use of inquiry-based learning, information and communications technology, cooperative group learning and a problem solving skill set. I want to further build upon my own understanding of STEM and Coding pedagogy to enhance opportunities for curiosity and student engagement to see themselves as problem solvers who can leverage technology to make positive changes in our world.
Time to keep playing and coding!




Check out Brian’s blog to learn more


If you would like to see some classroom examples, check out http://www.hourofcuriosity.com/makey-makey/

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