Student Projects

Chrissy Rainville

BYOD – A Practical Example was researched and written for EDTECH 501. The assignment was to explore and research emerging technologies. I chose to look into how to make my school’s existing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy useful in my own teaching practice. Using an online quiz tool called Kahoot!, I demonstrated an effective way to increase engagement and performance in a classroom. The tool turns quiz type activities into a competitive game. My high school students actually cheer when I tell them we are doing a Kahoot! As if that isn’t good enough, the tool also provides the data for each quiz you deliver so you can quickly assess understanding. Chrissy’s work for the course can be viewed here.

Brendan Lea

Brendan has been following the push for coding in schools for several years. Working in elementary schools, he had heard of Scratch but had not explored it in depth. Through EDTECH 597 he was able to develop his knowledge of Scratch and coding in general. The course design allowed him to start with what little knowledge he had and build upon it through the weekly assignments. Brendan is now a confident Scratcher and has plans to introduce it as an elective at his school. Brendan’s work for the course can be viewed here.

Rubin Adams

Among the many STEM related devices is the simple but very powerful tool called the Makey Makey. The Makey Makey interfaces with a computer via a USB port and creates keyboard keypresses when contact closures are made on the Makey Makey.
Scratch is a graphic (or block based) programming environment that is intuitive enough to be used with elementary age students but versatile enough to be used to extract, in this case, motion data from a fixture outside the computer. These are the foundation concept for my use of the Makey Makey and Scratch Programming.
This activity uses a metal ball that is in contact with an aluminum track (one contact of a switch) that is inclined as shown in pictures and diagrams on the web page. As the ball rolls through a measured length of the track it makes contact with a start counter switch contact and a stop counter switch contact. The counter action is carried out by a routine in Scratch.
The time along with the known distance traveled is processed through a mathematical function (r = d/t) to demonstrate rate is affected by distance and time.
Leaving out the cost of the Makey Makey this activity may be put together for under 20 USD. View Rubin’s Project.

Amy Eko Morgan

I was all signed up for my Fall 2015 classes when the addition of EDTECH 597-Maker Tech was announced. It took me about 10 seconds to change my schedule. Why? To be honest it just seemed like it would be a fun class. I had been reading a lot about the maker movement, and had also wanted to learn more about using Scratch and devices like the Makey Makey, so it seemed like a great opportunity. I also took this class because I thought it would be fun to teach these skills to my two sons. It has taken me 4 years to complete my MET degree—half of my youngest son’s lifetime—so to finally be able to share and involved my sons in what I was learning in one of my classes was a nice bonus for me.

My final project for this class was an instructional unit that teaches students how to program using Scratch and the Makey Makey. The unit has a robotics theme because my intention is to use this unit with our local 4-H Robotics Club. There are three projects in the unit, each one building on the previous, that incorporate progressively more complex programming concepts. Students start by drawing a picture of a robot and then converting that picture into a controller using the Makey Makey. At first the picture is used with their Scratch program simply to make sounds when different parts of the robot are touched. The second project has students create a program that allows their robot to dance. The final project has students create a game similar to Dance, Dance Revolution. They can either use the same robot controller they have been using throughout the unit, or they can create a floor-sized controller to make it more like an arcade game. View a short clip of the game in action.

Wade Tapp

From Wade Tapp, current MET student: Dr. Patrick Lowenthal is my EdTech 502 “Internet for Educators” professor, and I’ve really appreciated his guidance in the course thus far! The work that we do is an excellent foundation for understanding how the internet works and how to leverage it for use in various real-life settings. This page is my first attempt at using the CSS and HTML that we’ve been learning about in class! (The photographs are from Edward Fisher with his permission):
View Wade’s Project.

Kerianne Gritt

“Just the Math Facts” App. Want to help your students learn math facts in an engaging way? The “Just the Math Facts” app is developed by Kerianne Gritt in in EDTECH 534 this summer. Check out the highlight, screenshots, and the QR code for getting this app on your Android device!: View Kerianne’s Project.

Doug Urban

The “Capitals-US” App. This app/game is designed to help students identify the correct capital city name for each state. Students can choose from two skill levels in this fun game. It is developed by Doug Urban in EDTECH 534 this summer. Can you handle the pace and fun of this learning game? Check out the description, screenshots, and QR code below: View Doug’s Project.

Lee Ung

The “KAMPOS” (sea monster) App. “KAMPOS is an interactive, audio message storage app designed for elementary and middle school students.” This app is developed by Lee Ung in EDTECH 534 this summer. Students can set up memos, do mini story telling, or use it as study aids! Learn more about it and download the app here: View Lee’s Project.

Nicolas Hernandez

The “Kids Learn” App. This is a fun app “to teach children basic information about animals, colors, and shapes”. “The Kids Learn” app is developed by Nicolas Hernandez in EDTECH 534 this summer. You are welcome to check out the description, screenshots, and best of all–download it to your Android device(s) to play/test it for yourself.
Ready to scan the QR code? View Nicolas’ Project.

Nicole Holten Baird

As a culinary arts instructor, I am always looking for additional activities and projects that the students can engage in and improve their knowledge. Makerspaces, hackerspaces or make-to-learn initiatives provide a fascinating opportunity to increase ways of actively learning outside of the classroom. Even though the Culinary Arts curriculum provides a high, hands-on learning experience, students (and faculty!) would benefit greatly from this new educational trend. In this presentation, I make a case for Culinary Makerspaces!

Donna Ledford

Here is a 2 min video of a flipped prof. dev. for teachers in technology that I led in my school district. Approximately 250 teachers were taught by about 100 students on technology tools they find engaging. Super fun! View Project here.

Tabielle Holsinger

This is a short webcast demonstrating how online teachers can use Geocaching as a teaching tool. I had never heard of Geocaching until I visited an old friend in Portland Oregon last year. He is a preschool teacher and told me that he liked to use it with his students. I instantly started thinking about ways that I could use it for online teaching in Educational Technology. Last semester I took Online Teaching for Adult Learners. We were assigned to make a presentation on a learning tool. I remembered Geocaching and decided I could learn more about how to use it for educational purposes. Then I did this presentation to show others how they can use it too.

Byron Heath

I’m not currently running a classroom, but last year I used game-based learning to motivate my students in a blended unit. The link below has a very brief summary. Let me know if you’d like more information. Have a great day! View Byron’s Project.