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Monday, December 11, 2017

Guest Blogger - Loran Latters






Invention Literacy with Makey Makey


Loran Lattes, Teacher Librarian | Whittier International Elementary 









I was lucky to attend a full day Makey Makey educational seminar run by CU Science Discovery this past August. We were given a 30ish minute overview and Scratch introduction and then were set free to explore, collaborate ,and create. They have a website full of useful links and advice at Invention Literacy with Makey Makey and Scratch and offer a class set of Makey Makey devices twelve (12) available for a two (2) week check out. No charge even when we broke a couple of the alligator clips.

I sent out an email plea to our families asking for specific supplies. I then purchased play dough and foil and we were ready to go.

In the Library & Classrooms

I see each class for about an hour each week on a set schedule with two 2 hour blocks each week for pushing into classrooms. The projects were going to be a one class exploration for 2nd and 3rd graders and a two class design thinking project for 4th and 5th grades. The projects were such a hit with students and teachers that we created time for a third session in their classrooms.


The excitement. The engagement. The learning... 

The class leadership opportunities. The perseverance. Our exploration of Makey Makey was such a success on many levels. We were holding an after school parent/child coding program for our ELD families at the time and they had been using Makey Makey. Our ELD students, therefore, became the class experts and really embraced leadership roles. It was very insightful to see students strengths and weaknesses in this different learning environment. We were able to follow a simple design cycle process and brainstorm ideas for using this model for other projects in and out of school. 

Smitten 

We were so smitten with Makey Makey that our 5th grade team is pooling money to buy a class set. Students are helping to design a project for their health unit this Spring using Makey Makey and other information sharing tools. I, for one, can’t wait to see what they create.

Choose Your Own Adventure Storytelling


Mad Libs

Game creation in Scratch


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