2020 Learning Innovation Showcase

Young people today are deeply concerned about the state of the environment. They feel personally driven to protect the world’s land, water, and air. Their passion carries over into the classroom. For example, (poly)ethylene terephthalate (PET) is a plastic used in disposable water bottles. Because it does not naturally degrade, PET accumulates in oceans around the world, causing pollution and significant environmental damage. In this LIS project, students designed a genetically engineered, salt-loving strain of bacteria that breaks down PET in the presence of ocean water. The bacteria are placed between a full-length label and a PET bottle. Once the bottle reaches the ocean, the bacteria activate and break down the bottle into two environmentally friendly compounds, providing carbon sources that will assist ocean life and help eliminate plastic from our oceans.

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Like most of us, students learn new content in a deeper and more lasting manner when they are personally involved in the learning experience. In this LIS project, students demonstrate their hands-on experiences in exploring the principles of science related to heat transfer. By applying the tool of infrared camera technology, students show how they can better understand and report their findings on rich phenomena quickly, creatively, and collaboratively. This project-based activity is one of several that Arlington High School is piloting to leverage the potential of infrared cameras, all with the goal of engaging students by personalizing the process of learning.

Dale Street School’s fifth graders are avid readers, but they found that traditional book reports limited their joy and creativity in sharing those books with others. They wanted the opportunity to be innovative in expressing their personal thoughts about the books they read, so they turned to technology for help. Join these students on their journey as they explain how they learned to grow their thinking through the use of various edtech tools and resources. Students will share and discuss their book-based projects created with the help of MakerSpace, Think Splats, Google Drawings, Booksnaps, Autodrawings, and original Breakouts. This innovative project will illustrate how students’ deep engagement in these activities enhanced their critical thinking and analytical skills.

Are you curious about what it takes to produce a television talk show? Then this LIS project is for you! See Dartmouth students produce a live broadcast using a variety of hands-on technologies, including a computer video switcher, audio mixer, video cameras, lighting, and microphones. Watch the students gravitate toward the tools and roles that best match their individual skills and interests, learning to collaborate to reach a common goal. Accept the students’ invitation to be interviewed live and share your thoughts about the Learning Innovation Showcase. Observe students as they work together to produce program segments that reveal their own personal learning experiences.

How will we power the future? What steps can we take today to increase the likelihood of safe and effective energy sources tomorrow? Today’s students are keenly aware that the responses to these queries will affect their own lives. For them, it’s personal. Students in the GLTS STEAM Innovation Program explored possible answers to these questions as they designed and constructed a solar-powered photobioreactor to produce biodiesel fuel from algae. While learning how to cultivate algae in the lab, students explored how to grow algae in a photobioreactor. Using hand tools, power tools, and an array of building materials, students developed their prototypes, adjusting designs as they encountered challenges along the way. Students explored important issues of sustainability as they experimented with green alternatives to hexane oil extraction to generate biofuel precursors. This project was installed as a full-scale bioreactor in the GLTS courtyard last summer, and it is still up and running today!

Four years ago, Tansey converted its library into a makerspace focused on using the engineering design process to inspire student ingenuity. Incorporating both low-tech and high-tech tools, the makerspace has gradually evolved.  Today it is the heart of our learning communitya place where students design, create, and solve problems through collaboration. This year, fifth-grade students took over the operation of the makerspace to lead special engineering projects with younger students. These fifth-graders will discuss the benefits and challenges of the student-led makerspace approach. They will also demonstrate some of the learning activities they designed for use with their younger peers.

This innovative project practically guarantees that every student will be totally engaged in the kind of STEM learning that is increasingly relevant in the jobs of today and tomorrow. The secret lies in amplifying the typical process of teaching coding by introducing the excitement of drones! Students develop computational thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, spatial awareness, prediction and measurement skills while learning how to code a DJI drone to fly autonomous missions. Students work collaboratively and assume responsibility for various roles within the team. Each group begins by analyzing the mission and then coding the drone to complete it. This project easily lends itself to other curriculum connections, including art, math, and writing, enabling the students to further individualize their approach to the STEM curriculum.

Virtual reality is a fascinating way to share with students a variety of places and sights that they might not otherwise encounter. But whetting their appetite is not enough. This project demonstrates how to help students transition from merely being passive consumers of virtual reality to becoming creators of virtual reality content. Students at Longsjo Middle School created customized virtual reality tours by taking their own 360° pictures of trips and models and then sharing their VR products with peers. This student-driven learning process can leverage virtual reality as a tool to expand many areas of the curriculum.

A hole in one! Mashpee students from the elementary and high school levels teamed up to design and then build a mini golf course. First-graders created the original course layout, and then the high school engineering students used design software, tools and machines to draft the mini-course. Next, students programmed robots to play mini golf and try to overcome the obstacles. LIS attendees are invited to use an iPad tablet to explore one of the mini golf holes created in virtual reality using Maya and Oculus Rift goggles. Mashpee’s latest golf course now resides at the KCC Elementary School where it is used in physical education classes, technology classes for programming robots, and during recess.

In this project, seventh-grade math students follow a sequence of lessons in Turtle Art as they learn the commands and the interface of the computer program. From that point, they progress to designing their own ceramic tile, adhering to established parameters within the grading rubric. The design consists of three layers. The layers must rotate and start/finish in the same place. The image and the code are presented before students use the ceramics room to build their tile.

How can educators use the design thinking process to teach important mechanical and programming principles? One avenue is through the world of gaming, which has captivated the imagination of many youth—and adults. Another effective tool is robotics, which is increasingly focused on ways to complete a wide variety of everyday tasks. Students at North Reading High School have opportunities to apply both of these methods as they confront challenges and iterate towards design solutions. Students will demonstrate the robot they programmed to climb stairs, as well as some of their favorite games created with the help of the Unity Game Engine.

What does it mean to be a global citizen? How can a person learn to communicate effectively, contribute responsibly, and think critically? The Norwood High School Global Citizenship Program (GCP) aims to help students do just that. Students use Google Hangouts to meet other teens around the world and engage with them as individuals. They also collaborate with students in the U.S. and other countries to support United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By participating in these virtual activities, they are motivated to think “glocally.”

At Swampscott High School, students apply to participate in the Technology Help Desk Course and become skilled Tech Ninjas. Tech Ninjas maintain the tech databases, deploy equipment, and troubleshoot repairs. They are reliable resources about technology-related issues for teachers and peers and work with teachers to incorporate new tech like Virtual Reality. They also provide weekly help desk hours at the senior center, where they assist this population by answering their technology-related questions. This approach helps to personalize technology because it is performed on a person-to-person basis rather than on a technician-to-technology basis. Students learn that the goal is not simply to make the device work correctly but to help the individual learn a new tip or skill and boost the individual’s positivity relative to the use of technology.