February 14, 2017

invite | School Maker Faire - Calgary and Area

School Maker Faire - Calgary and Area



We are proud to announce the first Calgary & Area School Maker Faire: an opportunity for your student makers to display a project they have designed and created. The School Maker Faire will take place on May 10th, 2017 from 5:30 – 8:30 at Telus Spark.  

The School Maker Faire is a gathering of K-12 tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, and students. All of these makers come to School Maker Faire to show what they have made, or are making, and share what they have learned. It’s a chance for students to show others an area they are really interested in. It can be anything from art to robots, from exploding volcanoes to doll dresses. If you can make it with your hands and it’s something original, then it fits in School Maker Faire.

We invite you to come and get more information at the Makerspace at Teachers Convention, located in the atrium just outside the exhibits at the Telus Convention Centre. You can pick up a 'golden ticket’ that you can give to one special student who you think would be perfect for the School Maker Faire. 

More information can also be found at http://school.makerfairecalgary.com

February 07, 2017

The Teacher Training Commons is a Centre of Excellence for Instructor Safety Training and CTF Professional Development, housed at Sherwood School.

Program offerings 2017




A.  Foods
February 24th, 2017 - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: CTF Foods Task design/ Planning
In this CTF Learning by Design challenge we will explore the question “How might we identify skills and areas of engagement at each level so that CTF challenges can be built out to embody these skills?
March 24th, 2017 - 9:00 pm - 12:00 pm - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: ELL/Foods working session
ELL Strategists will facilitate a conversation with teachers to help bridge the language gap for English Language Learners (ELLs) within a multilingual Foods Lab. During this session, teachers will co-design resources (e.g., Word Walls, Graphic Organizers, and Visual Representation, etc.) and they will gain a deeper understanding of how to better support their ELLs.

April 17th, 2017 - 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: Iron Chef Challenge
In this CTF Learning by Design challenge we will explore the question “How might we create a healthy snack with a limited amount of food items and time?”

May 19th, 2017 - 8:30 am - 12:00 pm  &  12:30- 3:30 - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: Outdoor culinary techniques with kids /Recipes and Modification/Time Management
Come join us in building, preparing and cooking pizzas in and outdoor setting using innovative cooking technique. Collaborate with other foods teacher by share recipes, talking about modifying recipes for dietary restrictions and discussing time management. 

May 19th, 2017 -12:30- 3:30 - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: Culinary Site Visit
Join us for hands on exposure to a culinary kitchen through our on-site visit to Cococo Chocolatiers Inc.

June 23th, 2017 - 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm - CTF & CTS | Foods Studies: Elements of Safety and sanitation
Come participate in a session for year-end procedures for closing down a lab for the summer. Register

B.  Emerging Technologies
Feb 10, 2017 1 - 3:30 pm - CTF & CTC Applied Tech | Arduino Unpack and Play/Task Design & Assessment

New to Ardruino or a seasoned veteran? Come join Mitchell Way as we unpack and play with the Grove System. Plenty of time to learn and play. Time will be set-aside for those who would like to design tasks and assessment practices.

A bit about Mitchell Way: It all began with a SumoBot; bought as a gift to myself after graduating with an Ed degree. A mass of servos and microcontrollers that led me down the path of electronics and Robotics. Over the first summer it was built, programmed, reprogrammed and rebuilt. A few years later, that passion became a job. That was a few years and a couple hundred Robotics students ago. Since then I have been working to educate students on how the core pieces of their technology functions. My favorite platform is the open-source Arduino system, and it's snap in Grove companions. As a CTS LL at Nelson Mandela High School, I am proud to be building and teaching through a brand new electronics lab focusing on electronics, programming, Robotics and Pre-Engineering.     


Mar 10, 2017 1:00 - 3:30 pm | CTF & CTS – Applied Tech| Lego Mindstorms Unpack and Play/Task Design & Assessment
         
New to Lego Mindstorms Robotics or a seasoned veteran? Come and join Eva Jones as we explore the world of an EV3 robot. There will be plenty of time for free exploration of what one can do with an EV3/NXT robot, ideas on where you can go and the chance to be creative. Time will be set-aside for those who would like to design cross curricular tasks and assessment tools.

A bit about Eva Jones: Curiosity, the love of the unknown, and yes being asked to help grade 4’s explore what one could do with NXT robots began my journey into robotics. Through the past 8 years, trial and error helped my students and I develop our problem solving skills. With my grade 7 students we explored and found ways to program our robots to deal with the “what if we could do this with a robot!” or “if we took them back in time they could be used to do this!”. And, yes my family gave me an EV3 as a Christmas present to help push me into the next generation of Mindstorm robots.

April 17, 2017 8:30 am – 3:30 pm Professional Learning Teacher Training Commons | CTF/CTS | Introduction to PiranhFX CNC Designing with Vectrics
Would you like to learn more about the new Piranha FX machine? The Piranha FX is a full functioning mini-CNC and 3D printer. This machine is new to our CTF and CTS programs. Join us as we explore the Vectrics software. During the day we will design projects to be completed on the Piranha FX CNC mill. We will go through the process from design, setup, to finished product. If time permits we will also look at 3D printing and laser cutting projects.
 May 19th, 2017 8:30 - 3:30 - CTF & CTS | Set Design Multi-discipline Collaboration | Community of Practice Topics
Whether you are a CTS/CTF, construction, drama, or/and art teacher or just have an interest in set design or theatre production, come join us for a collaborative day in world of set designing. The morning will consist of both discussions and hands-on activities/projects that you can take back to your school. We will then take our learning to an industry setting, F&D Scenes, where you will see how the different disciplines live together.
Space is limited and selection will be given to school teams of 2 or more. Please contact Tom Wong at ttwong@cbe.ab.ca, Julie Barton at JUBarton@cbe.ab.ca, or Stephan Wiebe at sjwiebe@cbe.ab.ca.


November 10, 2016

ScratchEdYYC Meetup



It is Scratch Meetup Time! 

Our Scratch Meetup groups explore how the programming language Scratch can be used to support learning in our classrooms.  Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) is a free web based programming environment developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT.  Scratch is an easy programming language to learn and everyone experiences success right away, but it also has a very high ceiling and can be used to create complex projects!

Whether you are new to coding in the classroom or are very experienced with Scratch and looking to challenge and extend your understanding, we definitely want you at our meetup!  Let's learn and grow together as we help our students learn computational thinking and coding in our schools using Scratch!  Our group works with anyone who is interested in Scratch, from Kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers exploring Scratch Jr. to people who want to write their own extensions in Java with High School students and important them into Scratch as an extension . . . and everything in between!

Check out the meeting information and sign up link below!  We hope to see you there!
Steve Martin and Loralee Martin - Founders of ScratchEdYYC!

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Here are some possible topics that you may be interested in that we can look at during the meet-up. However, meetups are driven by the participants so if there is something you want to share or something you want to learn about, let us know!

Introduction to Scratch through the HOUR OF CODE  (Beginners)
Thinking of using a programming language in your classroom as part of Hour of Code and Computer Science Week (December 5th - 11th)? Come to our ScratchED YYC Meetup and we will walk you through using Scratch in your classroom and the Hour of Code resources!

WeDo and Machines . . . The CHAIN REACTION (Intermediate)
Our grade 8 Design and Computer Science class has created a WeDo chain reaction!  Bouncy balls will travel from station to station in our Learning Commons, each ball launched into the real world by a Scratch program.  This will be a great demonstration of Scratch with huge opportunities to integrate with Grade 4 and Grade 8 machine science units!
The Unofficial Scratch Extensions (Intermediate)
Looking to take your Scratch skills to the next level?  Learn about Scratch X . . the secret extensions to Scratch that can run Arduinos, track the International Space Station . . . follow Twitter Hashtags . . . create games where Scratch tracks movements through the Microsoft Kinnect and so much more!



Meetup
ScratchED YYC -Meetup Group for Scratch Educators
Invite a friend
Simply forward this invite to a friend and have them join the Meetup.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
at 4:30 PM
Captain Nichola Goddard School Learning Commons
405 Panatella Blvd NW
Calgary, AB