Creative Communicator: Unpacking ISTE Standard for Students #6

Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. (ISTE Standard for Students)

So this may seem like a hard standard to pull off in a non-techie classroom but bear with me. This one is important! Some of the other standards are much more technical and forward thinking but the basic skill of communication is one that so many people face with emotional struggle. Adults often choose the wrong platform or format to share our grievances or we don't take advantage of the potential audiences we have for the worthy things we want to share. Or worse yet, we don't have the verbalization skills to share the great work that is being done. In this case, I'm talking about adults but it definitely transfers over to our students seven-fold!

I know we have already discussed digital citizenship in a prior blog post in this series but I believe communication is one of the most critical parts of being a good steward in the world of technology. I also believe that in today's society, we are losing our ability to have face to face conversations that are hard. (I'm preaching to myself here.) I hate conflict and would much rather broach a hard subject via email and then follow up face to face. Technology can make us lazy communicators and sadly it can also give us courage that we shouldn't always take advantage of.  

My husband makes fun of my girls and me because we will read a text and say, "Oh, she's mad!" He will then say, "How do you know? Did she tell you she was mad?" and my answer might be "Because she wrote in ALL CAPS" or "I can just tell." or "She used the angry face emoji." It drives him crazy. Communicating through technology often loses the nuances that face to face communication brings. That being said, to say we should strive to equip our students to be creative communicators is a vital skill for their future. There is not a single job I can think of in today's mainstream society that doesn't require the ability to communicate with others. So cheer up non-techie friends, even though you might not have the technology to support this, you will be aiding your students' ability to function in a face to face world even better if you make this standard a priority. 

• So what does a low tech or unplugged version of "creative communicator" look like? This year, one of our Bible teachers challenged his students to create memes after they finished the unit of the life of St. Paul. He told them to think of it like creating an Instagram post, but since social media is closed to students at our school, they created their posts using a slide deck. Their captions were full of written nuances that they gleaned from their studying. How brilliant was this lesson? He took a platform that students use every day and assessed their learning based on a current fad in society- memes. I love this idea! Did it have to be done on a slide deck? No. They could have done it with markers and papers just as easily. Or what if they had taken an actual photo and put the words right on top of it. Guys, that would be no different than app-smashing on an iPad (combining one or more platforms to create an original work).
• Remember oral reports? Hands sweaty, waiting for your name to be called so you can do your at least 3-minute speech on some topic. Sometimes you have a posterboard sitting next to you as a visual when you talk, sometimes you don't. Next time this opportunity arises in your classroom, stretch your students a bit. Tell them they have 3 minutes to be creative communicators instead of 3 minutes to give a book report. See what happens! Encourage them to build models, have visuals, and think about their intended audience. Open the door to increased connectivity and creativity. Give them a bigger audience than just you and their classmates. Ask in other classes, parents, or any visitor that would make the moment more special. Spend time beforehand teaching them skills of voice control, inflection, eye contact, and body language. You might not be teaching them digital skills but you sure will be teaching them the importance of being a creative communicator. Talk to them about what subject matters might benefit most from certain types of visuals. One day when they have the opportunity to use technology to enhance their already amazing communication skills, think about what they might do! Last week I had the honor of attending the Chattanooga Fab Institute and the keynote speaker for the first day was Shinjini Das, CEO and founder of Das Media Group (see her story here). Her charisma and ability to engage with the crowd is unique for a 27-year-old engineer. She has the face to face communication skills that don't necessarily fit with the stereotypical STEM field. She's a unicorn in her industry and we need to develop more unicorns in the STEM field. There is value in growing students that can not only DO but also SAY!
• Own it! Yeah, you the teacher. Your students may not have access to social media but you do. Find out your school district's stance on sharing student information/faces online and make sure you follow those guidelines. Then start using social media to show students when and how it can be a good platform for communication. Create a class blog and share the things happening in your classroom. Contact the author of a book with questions your students have curated while they read the author's book and send them to the author. Have your students create "how to" videos to relate to your curriculum and add to them yourself. Create a website using Google Sites templates and add poetry, photos, or well-written work. Seem like too much work? You don't have to retype everything they have turned in, take a photo and upload it! It is true, it does become a bit of extra work for you as a whole but you are modeling for your students how to be a creative communicator and adding value to the hard work they do in your classroom by showcasing to a broader audience. You are also showing your students how to add value to the digital world they live in. So much of digital citizenship focuses on a list of dangers and safeguards to be aware of but as a citizen, we also want to bring value to that world. Sharing learning and creating pathways for others to learn from our students does just that. 
• Be a trailblazer. Show students the value of communicating with new tools. Adopt the concept of using voice speakers in the classroom or for communicating with students and families. Create communication means meeting needs in effective ways. Why not choose the fastest growing platform since the iPhone to show students what it means to stay on the edge of learning? 

More ideas for no tech, low tech, and high tech teaching of this standard:

Check out the previous blog posts from the "Unpacking ISTE Standards for Students Techknowledge Gee" here:

• Standard #1 Empowered Learner

• Standard #2 Digital Citizen

• Standard #3 Knowledge Constructor

• Standard #4 Innovative Designer

• Standard #5 Computational Thinker

What's In Your Elementary STEM Lab?

Often when people come to visit our lower school STEM lab they ask "how did you know what to put it in?" The truth is, we didn't, but we learned along the way. The first thing I would suggest to a school system wanting to create a STEM lab is not to try to buy everything in the beginning. Don't let the tools dictate the learning. Buy as you see needs and desires. I wish we had done this a bit more in the beginning.

This is what we currently have in our lab now that we are 3 years into the program:

• Wonder Workshop Dash and Dot Robots. These are our "go to" robotics for elementary students. They work with 4 different apps- Wonder, Blockly, Go, Path...the various apps meet different levels of coding ability. Their durability is amazing.
• Wonder Workshop Cue Robots. These robots even allow students to toggle between block coding a javascript.
• Sphero Robots. Sturdy for use by young children and can even get them wet. 
• Ozobots Evo and Bit. Start with color coding and move to block-based coding. 
• Makey Makey. Inventor kit that allows students to turn everyday objects into keyboards using the concept of electric circuitry.  
• Cube-lets. Small cubes that connect magnetically to create a larger simple robot. 
• Merge Cubes. Hologram enabled Augmented/Virtual reality ability.
• Legos. Great for engineering lessons. 
• Magnetic building sets. Great for engineering lessons for younger children. 
• Little Bits STEAM Student Sets. Tools needed for invention ideas in the student inventor book.  Each set can engage 3-4 students at one time. 
• Little Bits. Circuits that snap together. 
• LEGO Mindstorm EV3Robotics. Allows students to build, program and command these LEGO based robots.
• LEGO Education WeDo kits. Curriculum, software and STEM, discovery-based project kits.
• Makerbot 3D Printer. Ways to make 3D designs. 
• 5 Lenovo Laptops. 
• 5 iPads.
• Class Set of Chromebooks.
• Microscopes
• Safety Goggles
• Beakers
• Extra large "LEGO" like building blocks. Large enough to set up different areas in the room by creating walls for separation
• Markers
• Glue Sticks
• Glue
• Glue guns
• Tubs
• Scissors
• Aluminum Pans
• Containers
• Duct Tape
• Construction Paper
• Yarn
• String
• Paint
• Other craft type supplies

At the beginning of the year we added one item on each grade level supply list for the lab:

Pre-K -1 pack of popsicle sticks

Kindergarten -1 package of sticky notes

First- 1 pack sandwich baggies

Second- 1 package drinking straws

Third- 1 package toothpicks

Fourth- 1 roll masking tape

Fifth- 1 roll scotch tape

Some of our tools are "go to" items. The robotics and coding platforms are used across the curriculum to teach in classroom concepts regardless of the subject matter. Our students code robots to show learning in everything from language arts, bible, science, math, and geography. The time our students spend in the STEM lab directly supports the integrated units in our lower school. It is taking science, technology, engineering and math and making it actionable.

School Designation: Process > End Results

In September of this school year I became aware that the state of Tennessee had a STEM School Designation Process. Being a little over a year into implementing a STEAM curriculum at Chattanooga Christian Lower School, I decided to look at the criteria to discern what my state felt was "best practice" in regards to STEM education. There are 18 sub areas under the headings of Infastructure, Curriculum and Instruction, Professional Development, Achievement, and Community and Post Secondary Partnerships that are critiqued.

As I looked over what was deemed "best practice," I was fairly excited to learn that we were either hitting all of them hard or were in a process of doing so. I met with our STEAM leadership team and we decided to go ahead and apply for the designation based on our self- evaluation. Two weeks ago I received the news that the committee felt we needed to make some growth in 4 of those 18 sub areas. Honestly, I believe that much of the issue is less that we need to make growth and more that I did not do a great job at documentation in those areas. That being said, our STEAM leadership team has already looked at the feedback and we have made a plan to move forward for next year. The hard part is behind us, it's now just being intentional about updating our sub area folders as needed.

That being said, I was more than a little disappointed that we did not receive the designation this year. We had some unexpected circumstances during the time that the Designation Review Team needed more documentation. I wasn't able to give them the information needed but I also know that we did need to do some improvement in the amount of PD opportunities we give our teachers in regards to STEAM. So here is where I am at...

The process of gathering information for the state of Tennessee for the STEM Designated School process has grown our program more than any assigned "you made it!" stamp could ever do. Being mindful about what is being requested and questioning the WHY of what is deemed important has helped me to add more robustness in areas that we currently might have been lacking in.

This process also has opened the door for me to say "This is best practice, we have to give the teachers the scaffolding they need in STEAM if we expect implementation to go well." It gives me documentation to stand on but furthermore it gives me preset goals that are aligned with what the world (or at least my state) thinks is "best practice." For me, it is never going to look just like what the state desires because we are a private Christian School that wants to definitely strive to holistically teach our students...humanities are just as important to us for a well rounded student BUT if we are doing the things deemed best practice in STEM why not share that?

One of our teachers asked, "Why do we want to be a STEM Designated School?" The answer for me is easy, it gives us solid framework that the outside world is already familiar with and that studies show parents want for their students. But as a leader of the STEAM program, it gives me solid goals in the form of a rubric that can help our school navigate the growth of this program. I don't have to spend my time defining what best practice is, I can spend my time creating opportunities for best practice to happen. Watch out next year, Tennessee...we got this.

Connecting Computer Science to Today's World

In the globally connected world that we are currently in and the ease at which people from all over the world can be hired in a brief moment to do jobs that in the past could not be outsourced easily, it's time to rethink computer science in our schools.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with a STEM district leader and heard concerns about teaching both more and higher level computer science classes in their district. I think it is fair to say that many school systems are looking deeply at the scope and sequence of computer science for our students.

In the state of Tennessee, Computer Science falls under the category of CTE (Career and Technical Training)- this was what was known as vocational education a few years back.  As a former business education certified teacher, I would be considered qualified to teach Computer Science classes because our state does not currently have a computer science endorsement (and I can tell you I do not have the skill set for what that means today). In my opinion, this is a travesty to today's students and the future workforce of our state and country.  In a world where we are tracking students into college ready or CTE we have segmented both the availability of these classes away from students that might truly be interested in this as a college career. STEM jobs are the fastest growing need in our country today but so many states need to step up to create more fluid opportunities for this to happen.

Some school systems have adopted a curriculum called "Project Lead the Way" that embeds coding skills into the science curriculum. This is an attempt to give students both the experience of coding and to create pathways for interested college-bound students to move in that direction. While I believe in embedded and integrated technology, I am somewhat concerned that this process isn't truly creating the path that is rigorous enough for the future.

At Chattanooga Christian School we happen to have a faculty member, Cathy Smith, with a robust programming background. But the truth of the matter is, most schools aren't this fortunate and therefore they can't afford to hire the level of knowledge base needed on a school budget. When speaking to my STEM friend I could see how she was trying to bridge the issues that she sees in computer science and our state. You see, someone with high level computer science skills can walk into IT opportunities all over the country that would allow them to double or triple what they can make in any school system. How do we tap into this? Adjunct faculty? CCS is blessed by Cathy Smith. We are one of only a handful of school's that even offers any AP Computer Science classes. According to code.org, "Tennessee had only 625 computer science graduates in 2015; only 18% were female. Only 934 exams were taken in AP Computer Science by high school students in Tennessee in 2017." Folks, nationally only 10 percent of schools teach AP Computer Science classes. I'm thankful we are one of them...but these statistics have to change. 

I am thankful to work in a school system that has a remarkable faculty that understands the math scaffolding needed to develop an understanding of programming. This is an area that causes struggles for many school systems in that the required logic, math, and scientific scaffolding isn't happening for most of the students that are on a CTE track and the lack of wiggle room in elective choices creates some disconnect for college bound students being able to choose this CTE track option.

It's time for state education systems to re-evaluate Computer Science in the realms of availability, quality instructors, and how it integrates into the educational climate as a whole. Just because a student has "done HTML" or "coded in Scratch" does not mean that they have a skill set that will help them critically create something of worth in the future.  It's time for us all to get intentional about computer science and it's scope and sequence starting in pre-K. I am a firm believer that even the youngest child has the ability to start thinking in the sequential manner needed to be future coders. Edtech companies are on board trying to create stepping stone opportunities for this to happen through such things as drag and drop block coding, and kid friendly robotics like Wonder Workshop's Dash and Dot. These resources are what make intentional computer science options available for students and there are ways to embed these skills into our daily curriculum. We are doing just that in our elementary school, in an introductory level.

Research shows that by age 12 most students have a mindset for or against all things STEM and what they want to do with their future. It is imperative that we start creating those experiences and opportunities in intentional ways for our future workforce.

Authentic Embedded Professional Development? It's possible.

Professional development- Before you start throwing me shade and rolling your eyes and immediately go into "it's a waste of my planning time" hear me out. There are other ways to do it. Lately, I realized that not all of our teachers are familiar with the design thinking process. Inservice days are few and far between and teachers often need those days to prepare for the new semester. At our school we basically have them at the beginning of the school year, beginning of second semester, and at the end of the school year. All these times are terribly busy for educators. I'll be honest, I actually asked if I could use a 1/2 day in January for a Design Thinking Professional Development leader to come in and share with our teachers. Thankfully, our Lower School head of schools and our curriculum coordinator wanted to protect that time so the teachers could work in their classroom. I say thankfully because it caused me to have to become creative with how to do this.

So, we are starting a 5 week all school design thinking challenge. Each week the teachers will work through one of the 5 steps of design thinking  (this is a great link put together by one of our STEAM Business Partner's Bridge Innovate) with their students. I will send an email out to the teachers to explain the step and they will take their students to the following display on a prominent wall in the school and work on that week's step:

 I can't wait to get this design thinking opportunity underway. I hope that it proves to be beneficial to our students, teachers and possibly even our entire school as we reimagine our school and how to improve it! This challenge will create opportunities for our teachers to hit the ISTE Standards for Educators that include: Learner, Designer, and Facilitator. It will allow the students to tap into the ISTE Standards for Students that include: Global Collaborator and Innovative Designer. This challenge will also support the goals and professional development needed for our STEAM program to continue to grow forward. Stay tuned for more details. Below is an example of the email I sent out today to our teachers to explain the process and the WHY. I am striving this year to always start with the WHY.

Teachers,

Have you seen the "Designing CCS" display by the front office wall? So first of all we all owe a BIG thank you to Shonda and Myra for protecting our time to work so much in the classroom for the last two days. I know it is always helpful to start back with time to plan. That being said, Shonda and Myra didn't want to burden you with professional development learning during that time. We do desire for our school to have an understanding of the design thinking process that Jessica Yandell is utilizing during STEAM though. So what better way to learn about it than have an "all school" Design Thinking Challenge? 

Starting on Monday we are asking you to stop by the display sometime during the week with your class and come up with one area that relates to the CHALLENGE phase. Once your class comes to an agreement on what area you would like to see improvement, add your sticky note observation to the white page. It's ok if different classes pick the same thing. It's also ok to dream big. So your job is for your class to choose one photo and make observations about how to improve CCS. On your sticky note finish the following statement:

We can improve the CCS community by...

Each week we will go on to the next step and I will send an email out to you so you can see what the expectations are for that week. So while this is a learning process for your students, it is also a professional development opportunity for you. Win/win. 

Thank you for all you do to support STEAM at CCS and for the way you accept both Jessica and myself in this endeavor. Let's design CCS!

Christmas Tech Toy List

 It is the time of year where children are targeted by every toy commercial that comes on. Children start adding toy after toy to their list only because they are being bombarded with messages against your will. But fear not, there are so many choices that parents and grandparents can make that are considered a TOY as well as EDUCATIONAL. Below is a list of potential gifts from my realm of education - STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math). Toys can be fun and educational at the same time. 

Ozobots - Yes! Teach your child how to code a robot. Ozobots are a cost effective way to introduce coding to the physical world. While you don't have to have a device with BIT to make them work having an android or iOS device to download the app takes your opportunities with EVO to the next level. Check out Ozobots for children of any age! 



Dash and Dot - Wonder Workshop makes robotics durable and cost effective for even the youngest child. You will need a device to code with these cute little robots but the 3 app choices gives you opportunities for all age groups to have a little fun with robotics.  

Rocketbook - It's going to seem magical, you are going to say "no way!" but Rocketbooks are a way to digitally store your handwriting and artwork in a reusable notebook. Buy the Rocketbook Wave and when it is full, clear it by putting it in the microwave with a cup of water. Wipe down the Rocketbook Color. The options are endless and the front of your refrigerator will be free of clutter as you keep your keepsakes online!  

Legos - Yes Legos! Nothing new here but the opportunities are endless! Do you have a future architect or a budding engineer, buy that kid some Legos and let the creativity abound. Do you have girls, buy her LOTS of Legos- we need more women in STEAM jobs. Google "Lego Challenges", print off the cards and stand back!

Sign Up for Coding Accounts - There are so many options to teach your child more about coding. What's coding? You might know it as computer programming. The nice thing about this option is that you can use the computer you already have at your house and just create accounts for your child- many options are absolutely free! Check out Scratch, the coding website written by two MIT students. Let them work in code.org and see what they enjoy. Invest in what peeks their interest. There future is computer science. Prep your child now for their future!

Virtual Reality Headset What is virtual reality? VR allows personalized virtual reality opportunities from games to field trips as if you are there in what feels like a total immersive experience. The opportunities are growing every day. Let your child dissect a frog or look at a 3D heart model using something like the Merge Cube below. You can use a phone with the lower cost VR headsets like as Google Cardboard but there are also stand alone VR Headsets like Occulus Rift.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Zt3JZejbg

Merge Cube - This is a virtual reality experience you can hold in your hand. It works with both android and iOS phones and gives you a very cost friendly virtual reality option. Play games or view 3D anatomy images. It is a soft spongey cube that won't break easily but gives insight into the future of learning. 

Kanu Computer Kit - Have a future IT person on your hands or an engineer? Let them put a computer together! Learn about the inner workings of a computer and create one by themselves. Is your child a tinker/builder? This is like Legos on steroids for that type of kid. Not only are they building but they are learning how computers work at the same time.

Snap Circuits Jr. - A wonderful cost effective way for children to learn about electricity and the basic properties of electronics. Snap Circuits Junior allows children to create while teaching them the concepts of circuits and how they are a part of things we use every day. 

Arduino Circuitry Kit - Take circuitry to the next level with older children and invest in Arduino kits. These kits include components they can manipulate to create models of all sorts of things. Your future electrical engineer will thank you for this gift!

As you consider the various gifts above, click on the names and it will take you to a link where they are available to be bought. I am not endorsing the companies I've linked to, just trying to give you an option to see costs and availability. What I love about each of these options is that it is more than just a toy. Some of them are training your child how to think logically, some of them will require a design thinking mindset, and some will just cause them to go "hmmm" and then question what they currently know and consider their futures.

As I have mentioned, some require the use of  computer or mobile device to make them work. Please hear me say that research shows that the best learning during computer gaming happens when parents participate with their children. Take 15-20 minutes out of your day a couple days a week and grow your students STEM skills for the future they are going to be living in. Learn with them! I certainly don't know how to do all the things listed here, and that is the beauty of these gift ideas...the possibilities are endless! 

The crowd, the community, the connection

The Crowd. As parents and educators we talk a lot about hanging with the wrong crowd. How many times have I said "Well if Jim jumped off a bridge would you do it too?" in a moment of frustration when students aren't making good choices? Usually when we think of going along with the crowd we think of negativity but this week I have been truly smacked in the face with seeing students from the positive side of following the crowd. 

The Community. We, as humans, are all part of communities. For our students a community could be the school itself, their friend groups, their interests, their families. Most of us are in several different communities and our level of interaction within them varies based on our desires to be in association with others. 

The Connection. This past week was one of the busiest weeks I remember in a long time. I had various "big things" all come to a conclusion this week. First of all 6 fifth grade girls that have been working on a "Play to Learn" Playground STEM design attended the awards ceremony. At the ceremony we also learned that two of our high school girls had joined the high school competition to design a future school/learning space. Both teams came away with wins and the older girls pretty much ruled the competition they were in.

 As I drove home that evening I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that both groups spent a lot of time thinking about their designs from an empathetic heart. Our fifth grade girls designed a playground that would include people of all ages and abilities. Our high school girls imagined a repurposing of a warehouse our school has to bring private and public school students together to learn authentically while tapping into local community resources for learning opportunities. Our school is surrounded by a low income area and these girls had a desire to create cutting edge spaces not just for themselves and our school but they were also mission minded in their goals. I was blown away with the underlying empathy that just naturally flowed from both groups.  

On Thursday, I spent the day preparing for Chattanooga's first ever social event to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation...One Night for JDRF. As we planned all week for this event we realized we needed some volunteers to help it go smoothly. After contacting our community service director in our high school (Karen happens to be a Type 1 diabetic too), she found some girls to volunteer. There was nothing glorious about their jobs that night. They picked up garbage off tables and they walked back and forth endlessly to the silent auction table to help with the closing of the auction.
Another sweet girl took photos all night for us. They didn't have to do this. There was no gain for them except that they either have Type 1 diabetes or they are best friends with someone with Type 1. These girls were mission minded, empathetic souls that wanted to make a difference and support their friends. 

Saturday night the AP and Honors Art Students from our high school had an opening night of their spring collection of artwork that took place at a local art studio. These students took on the publicizing of this event (which is a whole other blog post) and the room was packed when I walked in. What I found amazingly wonderful was it wasn't just family there supporting their artistic family members, it was athletes supporting their artistic friends (just like those artists do when they attend sporting events.) Their was a sense of community in that crowded gallery that made my heart swell with pride. Our students have a great sense of supporting within their community. All week long I kept thinking, I'm so glad my own children have been part of this crowd! 

We hear a lot these days about the soft skills that will be needed for the future workforce. Those skills include but aren't limited to collaboration, communication, initiative, and social skills. I saw all these and more being modeled in our students this week and I am so thankful and proud of the community of CCS and the students we have. Bravo! 

Family STEAM Night Cardboard Challenge

Recently, Chattanooga Christian Lower School hosted our second "Family STEAM Night." This evening was a cardboard arcade challenge that was inspired by Caine's Arcade Global Challenge . We started the evening off with all family members watching the video about Caine and his arcade and the movement that it created (see right). We then told the families they had 30-40 minutes to create an arcade game and that we would play each other's games for the rest of the time. The parents were given this document as the movie was playing.

The setup for this event was easy...cardboard, lots and lots of cardboard. We also had packing tape, glue, hot glue guns, scissors, ping pong balls, sponge balls, dowels, string, markers, streamers, balloons, pipe cleaners and anything else we had crafty that we thought might spur the imagination of others. And in a story I couldn't have scripted any better myself parents supported their students creativity, got out of their way when need be, listened to their innovations, and helped their children engineer arcade games. It was a thing of beauty!

As the evening progressed I noted three main things:

1. After being at this school for 13 years I see a level of heightened creativity in our students across the board. Our students don't wait around, they dig in. I know this can't all be attributed to our new STEAM program but creativity and innovation is blossoming as CCS due to the culture of acceptance of trying new things that is also growing. I was amazed at the different games that appeared but not just that, the differences within the games themselves. For instance, there were 3 different skee ball games but each were uniquely different from each other. The design processes varied tremendously. That was exciting to me...to see each family interpret and create based on their own thoughts. 
2. We are blessed by supportive administrators and teachers that see the value of STEAM at our school. We had all worked full days that day and I had said it was not mandatory for the teachers to participate but I stand amazed at those that have taken part in our STEAM Nights because they see it as a priority for our school.
3. Children are creative by nature and when supported possibilities are endless. Very few parameters were placed on them for this event and they thrived. To have a multi-generational experience where the parents helped them critically think about the engineering dynamics was a beautiful thing to watch. To see parents help their children create a prototype of the images in their head was a lovely lesson of collaboration. To see parents follow the lead of their child to help them learn in the process shifted the parent/child paradigm in a unique way that evening that was a joy to experience. My favorite quote by a parent that evening that I overheard was "I'm not really sure what it is we are making yet but tell me where you want something glued and I can do that."

The video below is a simple compilation I created from the evening. It makes my heart happy to hear the students explain their creations. Enjoy and I encourage you to have your own cardboard challenge! Thank you to Conversant Group of Chattanooga, TN for sponsoring this night for our students.