9/25/2018. In the iNEST maker club today, the girls were asked to play back the FlipGrid videos recorded last week (MakeDo storage challenge) and comment on one another's designs with alternative ideas for applying other teams' storage designs. After their snack and commenting period, students moved on to today's project--copper foil circuits. Several templates were provided for the girls to integrate light-up LEDs into cards displaying lighthouses, space ships, Halloween characters, and more. At the end of the class, students were again asked to record a FlipGrid video, reflecting on challenges and successes in today's work. Attendance was down a bit this week with 34 club members signing in. It seems all 9th grade members skipped the club meeting to work on a pending essay assignment.
9/18/2018. In today's maker club meeting, a record 53 girls finished up their storage solutions with MakeDo kits, learning about fabrication. We were very impressed with their original ideas for storing cell phones, shoes, bathroom supplies, food, water, and more. The images below illustrate some of the design elements the girls integrated into their storage solutions, including: shelving brackets, hinges, doors, latches, and more. The club finished up with the girls recording their FlipGrid videos to show and reflect on their work. We will return to MakeDo challenges later this year, but are moving on to paper circuit projects next week for a little variety. Behind the scenes, club mentors are researching field trip options for the coming year, drawing on the many resources of the NC STEM Center.
9/11/2018. Today we rolled out the new MakeDo kits for physical fabrication with cardboard. The kits are relatively simple with plastic screws and screwdrivers, but support a lot of creativity in building different objects. We challenged the girls in small teams to identify a needed storage solution which they sketched before getting started building their designs. We will probably work with MakeDo for a few more weeks and give the girls different challenges to tackle. As you can see in the photos and videos below, this project generated a lot of interest and excitement. As an aside, we had 46 girls sign into the club today! Wow, a new one-day record! We need a bigger space!
9/4/2018 This week the I-NEST maker club held its first meeting of the new school year with a record 44 students in attendance. The new club mentors introduced themselves (i.e., new media specialist Laura Ferguson, and continuing teacher mentors Nikki Crumley, Vanessa Wilkes, and Spencer Williams), along with continuing NC State mentors Dr. Kevin Oliver, doctoral student Jennifer Houchins, and new undergraduate assistant from the College of Engineering, Manishka Mathur. Students worked on a SpinBot for their first project this week involving simple circuitry with wired motors and fabricated propellers. In coming weeks, we will be working with new materials acquired for 2018-19 in MakeDo kits and MicroBit controllers.
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Purpose:Dr. Oliver's weekly update of activities in the iNEST Maker Club. Archives
April 2019
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