Professional Development: How we got started
Our team was first inspired by our trip to Tufts University in Boston where we attended a Lego Engineering Symposium. We attended sessions taught by some of the greatest minds in both engineering and education. We attended lectures on a wide range of topics including global warming and how to build and program a solar powered robot.
Some of the topics that most inspired us were:
• global warming
• women and STEM
• alternative energy and robotics
• Stop Motion Animation (SAM)
• engaging students in the 21st century
A highlight for us was learning how to make stop-action movies with the software, SAM Animation. We think it is a powerful tool for students to showcase their learning. Not only is it wildly fun, but it requires the students to explore scientific topics from many angles. Unlike reading and writing, making movies allows students to show how things change over time. This allows a teacher to evaluate a student’s learning on a deeper level.
Following is a movie about alternative energy (wind) that was made with SAM animation at the conference we went to in Boston. We were able to include our new understanding of wind energy with our learning of the SAM animation program.
