CREATE Lab Satellite Network

From Carlow's Campus School:

What teacher wouldn’t love to have a class of students who could employ the habits of mind to notice, wonder and persist in their daily learning?

The faculty of The Campus School adopted Angela Duckworth’s Grit as this year’s discussion book. They have read and explored methods for extending focus on building persistence into experiences for intermediate and middle-level students. A compelling example of this new teaching model was developed by The Campus School’s primary department.

In kindergarten through second grade, students of The Campus School develop the productive habits to notice, wonder and persist while building circuits to learn about electricity. Their lessons encourage them to step through the process of close examination of materials along with trial and error testing to build complete circuits. In later lessons, they employ and build switches to control the flow of electricity. Second graders then apply their learning to construct an electrified city, combining their knowledge of circuitry with engineering and construction skills. 

If you haven't heard already, the Satellite Network has expanded beyond the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia region to include CREATE Lab Satellites in Atlanta and Utah.

With great support from the Infosys Foundation USA, CREATE Lab has established partners in both areas to provide educators with tools and training to help their students learn about technology and adapt it to their individual and community needs.

The new satellites made their first visit this summer to begin exploring technology and develop ways of implementation.

The visit went great! Just ask our new partners...

Alisa Petersen of Southern Utah University - "I felt honored to visit the CREATE Lab. My visit gave me a much clearer understanding of the Lab and its purpose. Seeing how Satellite partners at multiple universities are using the CREATE technologies in diverse ways within their K-12 networks helped me understand how well this project will fit into SUU's existing programs and partnerships. I am looking forward to sharing these technologies with educators and children here in Utah."

Tamara Pearson of Georgia Tech's CEISMC - "I truly enjoyed learning more about the vision and possibilities that exist within the satellite network.  Meeting the other partners, hearing about the exciting tools, and engaging in rich and meaningful discussions left me inspired to develop ways to engage youth in Atlanta in technology for social good."

Lizanne Destefano of Georgia Tech and CEISMC - "Wonderful to recognize that we are part of a vibrant, diverse network."

Ray Whittier of Cedar North Elementary in Utah - "We enjoyed two inspiring days at CMU that helped us to see the possibilities of what we can do with CREATE Lab products. We flew home with confidence and creativity--ready to implement!"

Tami Goetz of Utah STEM Action Center - "The ability to see the projects in action, in the schools with kids and teachers, was fantastic! Talking to the CREATE Lab team helped me to not only see how we can implement their projects in Utah, but I see numerous other opportunities to collaborate with them."

Bill Heyborne of SUU Center for STEM Teaching and Learning - "What a great experience getting to meet the CREATE Lab Network team! At a time when there seems to be so much wrong with education in this country, uniting with this group to talk about something so fun, fresh and engaging, gave me renewed hope for finding solutions to some of our toughest educational problems."

Carlow’s Outdoor Classroom, located on the campus grounds, is adjacent to the school bus drop off lanes. Members of the community have wondered about the effects on air quality of idling cars, buses, trucks and taxis waiting to pick up students and residents and to deliver produce and other supplies.

As the CREATE Lab Satellite Network celebrates 5 years of developing, validating, and sharing creative technology best practices in education, the network gets a shiny new website to match. 

Check it out now --> satellite.cmucreatelab.org

The new site is a venue for the Satellite Network to showcase their projects, broad impact, and reach as a mean to better tell our story.

To get the most out of the site watch the filtering tool tutorial below: 

Traditionally, the Finch robot has been predominantly used by older students. That is until our new Stellite in Utah gets their hands on them...

In coordination with The Utah STEM Action Center and Infosys Foundation USA, Southern Utah University is establishing themselves as a CREATE Lab Satellite. One of their major projects will utilize Finch Robots which allow children as young as kindergarten to program and operate a fun and simple robot. Souther Utah will be one of few organizations using this technology for a younger audience. 

Souther Utah will also be using Arts & Bots and GigaPan. 

Carnegie Mellon University's CREATE Lab has received a grant from Infosys Foundation USA to expand the CREATE Lab Satellite Network. The CREATE Lab explores socially meaningful innovation to empower a technologically fluent generation and everyday citizens.

“We are thankful for Infosys Foundation USA’s support,” said CREATE Lab Director of Outreach, Dror Yaron. “Collaborating with them and their extended community enables us to work with like-minded groups who share our passion to enable people from all walks of life to create socially meaningful innovation.”

CREATE Lab and Infosys Foundation USA have identified Salt Lake City and Atlanta as initial locations for the Satellite labs.

Together with key partners CREATE Lab has identified the Washington cluster of Atlanta Public Schools as an area of great need and opportunity. The initial Satellite development and efforts will start there with a new K-8 STEM Academy, scheduled to open in Washington this fall.  This will be the centerpiece and demonstration site in Atlanta. Key partners in Atlanta are Georgia State, Georgia Tech, CEISMC, Atlanta Public Schools, and the Blank Foundation.

In Utah, the Lab and Infosys Foundation USA are working with Tamara Goetz, director of Utah’s STEM Action Center. The STEM Action Center prioritizes STEM education, which works to develop Utah’s workforce of the future. The program drives research and implementation of STEM education best practices across Utah.

Vandana Sikka, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation USA, said, “The Carnegie Mellon CREATE Lab is a wonderful combination of innovative hands-on technology programs and local community action.  By combining these powerful forces we can empower the next generation of students with the creative confidence to be successful.”

About Infosys Foundation USA

Infosys Foundation USA is focused on bridging the digital divide in America by supporting high quality computer science education and coding skills with a particular focus on under-represented communities. It aims to give children and young adults the skills they need to become creators, not just consumers, of technology.  In pursuit of this mission, in 2015 alone, the Foundation has partnered with many internationally acclaimed non-profits and institutions like Code.org, New York Academy of Sciences, DonorsChoose.org, and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Infosys Foundation USA recently committed a million dollars to the Infy Maker Awards to inspire makers across the U.S. to demonstrate creative excellence in making projects with genuine impact.

Learn more at infosys.org/USA and follow on Twitter @InfyFoundation or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InfosysFoundationUSA

The imagination of a child is said to be limitless. Great thinkers, from Albert Einstein to Dr. Seuss, sang praises of the power of imagination and its effect on learning and success. This summer, ASSET STEM Education™ put students’ imaginations to the test during its inaugural Engineer Your Summer Fun summer camp—and saw glowing results. One program in particular, Arts & Bots, developed by ASSET STEM Education in association with Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab (CREATE Lab) at Carnegie Mellon University, prompted summer campers to combine craft materials, robotic components, programming tools and a healthy dose of imagination to build and animate robotic creations. Campers used recycled materials and CREATE Lab’s Visual Programmer software to build and program their own robot. This course, typically provided as professional development to educators, is a true multidisciplinary course, combining art and technology to fashion moving, talking, one-of-a-kind creations.

ASSET camp educators provided materials like cereal boxes, construction paper and cardboard boxes and hands-on, concrete opportunities for campers to learn about coding and programming before designing and creating their robot. Special attention was given to the components of the Hummingbird Duo™ kit, the hardware used in conjunction with Visual Programmer software, and how these components attached to the controller and worked alongside one another. Campers then used what they learned—along with their own imagination and innovation—to produce their robotic creations.

To browse other hands-on, minds-on out-of-school learning opportunities for your students, like Arts & Bots, visit ASSET’s site.

At North Elementary School, we have 34 outdoor raised garden beds plus a pumpkin patch and pollinator garden areas. We utilize these beds plus EarthBoxes and grow-carts in the classroom to teach science, mathematics, English language arts, and other disciplines.

For the last 2 years, we also have integrated GigaPan into our garden-based learning projects.  This summer (2015), we have started to transfer what we have learned to other elementary schools in West Virginia.  This has involved preservice teachers who have learned the GigaPan technology and designed learning cycle units that embed GigaPan images of gardens and nature.

Goldfinch awaiting breakfast:  He’ll need to wait until the sunflower seed head matures! (Full image at http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/174487 )

Check out the lesson plans here.

This past summer - graduate students at Carlow University programmed hummingbird kits using visual programmer for an Arts & Bots project in a course entitled Developing Logic and Mathematics in Early Childhood Education. This was the first attempt at computer programming for these students.  The students explored how this type of project connects science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics and how integrated projects can fulfill multiple Next Generation Science Standards and address practices, crosscutting concepts, and core disciplinary ideas in creative and innovative ways.