Believe In You

by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 23, 2014 | Reflect

A new chapter. Everyday I get emails from people asking how to print posters. Many have struggled with Flickr downloading and the dreaded resizing that occurs when a photo is made to print as 12×18 and you’d rather have an 8×10. I truly enjoy sharing these images and want it to be as easy as possible for you, if you see something that makes you think, something you want your students to think about, or something that brightens a dark day, to print it, hang it, and be reminded that we’re all on this journey of learning together.

I’ve researched options and don’t want ordering a print to be more expensive than I feel ordering a print should be. But, I also want to continue to share. I hope that this new format will make it easier for you, if you’d like a poster to use in a blog post, presentation, or background on a device, download the digital version. Want an 8.5 x11 Size to hang up? Open the PDF file and print it. I will always keep these posters free. I took this photo around the corner from my house in Texas, and these flowers reminded me of our need to be ourselves. These little red bursts of color, speckled in a sea of yellow sunflowers.

I believe in sharing and please ask, if you download, pay it forward to another educator in some small way. Because I truly believe that the small positive parts of our day add up and we all need to be a part of that.

And lastly, if you’d like a print, MagCloud will offer a 12×18 on UV Coated Cover Stock delivered right to your door.

I hope this helps. And I especially hope this doesn’t sound like one of those cheesy informercials on at midnight… I mean, these posters won’t remove impossible stains from the carpet or keep you warm in a blanket with arms. But, they just might brighten your day. And that? It’s worth more than anything in the world to me.

Want to print this poster?

• Digital Format (Low Resolution) Great for putting in a presentation or using as a background on your computer or other device.
• 8.5 x 11 PDF Perfect for printing on your home printer.
• NEW!  Order a 12×18 Poster Print from MagCloud delivered right to you!

Education Needs More Wildflowers

by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 21, 2014 | Reflect

The longer I blog, the more I realize something. It’s really not about trying to say something. In fact it’s not about trying at all. It’s not even about crafting a powerful message. It’s just about sharing. Whatever is in your mind, on your heart, and running through the veins of your soul. That which drives you to keep going. Because when you reach thatpoint, that is who you are. When we share that with each other? That’s when messages grow into ideas. Thoughts become actions. Connections are authentic. Passions run deep. It’s as real as reality can get.

Blog. Not because you have to. Not because it’s one more thing to do. But because who you are is more of what education needs. We encourage kids with messages like “Be Yourself” and “Dream Big.” We then settle ourselves for the voice of others that rings in our head. We get uncomfortable sharing because we fail to believe in ourselves, our ideas, and our message. We tell ourselves that sharing who we are isn’t necessary, because we don’t have something to offer. But we’d never look at a child and think that. We see promise. Hope. Pathways to new ideas. Dreams.

We may grow up, but we don’t outgrow that hope. It’s in us all. When our students look at us? They see it, too. So maybe it’s time we all see that within ourselves. It’s there. On the good days and the bad days.

Dream a little bigger. Blog a little more. No holding back for fear of saying the wrong thing or fear of not having anything to say. Because what the world needs is you. Your voice. It won’t be one person who will change education. It will be a collaboration. Us. You. Me. Them. A field built on uniqueness, reaching for the sky, joining together to show the world that what the world needs is us.

Do What You Love & Say Thank You

by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 17, 2014 | Reflect

A huge thank you to Scholastic’s Instructor Magazine for including this little blog in their big summer issue.  It’s a huge honor to be included with some of my eduheroes, Matt Gomez and Erin Klein.    Since I started this blog, I’ve always shared what’s on my mind about learning.  Sometimes it comes out in words, sometimes as a poster, but always from the heart.   Every day I am reminded of the power of sharing, through an email that arrives in my inbox, a tweet that I read, or someone I run into in person around Houston or when travelling at a conference.  It’s not that we have to share everything we think or do in education, but we all need to share something.  Collaborating and connecting takes us all to a higher level and it’s what our colleagues and our students deserve. Our very best.   Thanks to Scholastic, and YOU, who is taking a moment to read this post, and for making my day.

More Than A “Little Bit” Inspired

by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 12, 2014 | Reflect

The Maker Movement makes me happy. To me, it’s the culmination of everything learning is about. And when this little package arrived on our doorstep?  The possibilities of what we could make were endless. I would like to say that this was my project, but my daughter, and 11 year old maker in training, was the mastermind behind our collaboration.  We started off our fun with Little Bits by opening the Base Kit package.  I will warn you, I was more than a “Little Bit” inspired…

Literally, in 30 seconds you can power up something that does something.  It’s about thinking beyond the basics.  I can remember I used to ask my students to doodle a circuit diagram on paper to learn about how circuits work.  It’s all I knew.  I needed a grade. They needed to know the terms.  But, looking back, it wasn’t learning.  I bet many of them, right now, have completely forgotten that lesson.  But this?  It’s something that would stick.  The kind of learning that means something.

I loved that it was all ready to go, simply open the box and there is a “30 second Quick Start Guide.”   Proof that innovation in the classroom doesn’t have to take time.  30 seconds.  That’s faster than a trip to the copier or than reading a textbook chapter. 

I initially thought, Little Bits are great for young learners, such as 3rd or 4th graders, because they snap together with magnets.  No soldering, no glue, just snap it in place.  This is perfect because kids can try it themselves… one of the most powerful parts of inquiry.  You can encourage them to play, explore, and make to their hearts content.  While they are discovering, they’ll also get a lesson in the north and south poles of magnets, repelling and attraction, completing currents… and that’s just the science of it.

They’ll also get a lesson in cause and effect.  “What happens if…?” is a powerful question that peaks their curiosity and makes them want to know more.  Best of all? It’s authentic.    I’m going to admit it, I couldn’t wait to power something up, so I used the diagram.  But my daughter was eager to play and manipulate the pieces, and dove right in. These would be amazing for differentiation in the classroom, too.  A photo diagram that you snap with your camera could support struggling learners and allow practice for building and following a model.  A simple question about “What if…” could inspire advanced learners.

But, I also thought about older students. Students with no experience in building circuits. Students who enjoy creating.  I realizing the product just doesn’t have an age and that’s exactly why the box says “Ages 8 to infinity.”

We used the blue power module, the pink button module, an orange wire module to extend our reach, and a green rotation module.  “What can we make that spins?” I asked my daughter. She’s ten and her ideas are always better than mine, so I felt it was best for me to step aside.  She decided on a flower. A work of art that spins.  That’s right… we’re playing with circuits and doing an art project.

She drew the flower on heavy duty cardstock.

She painted the background on a piece of sturdy scrap cardboard.

We cut out the flower and all the pieces and added a plastic cap so we’d have a sturdy piece to push through the back of the artwork and hold the flower in place as it spun. A little hole punched in it and it slide right on the green module.  The ladybug was created to cover the button.

Once we had our modules in place with magnets, we taped it to the back of the cardboard. Our masking tape worked fine and was easy to remove afterward.  I was wishing I had that blue painters tape, because it removes even easier, but in making, you use what you have. It worked fine.

Afterward, my daughter wanted to know if the dimmer module would change the speed of the flower…  and then she asked if we could replace the button module with the the light sensor so that our flower would only spin in the bright sun.  Questions.  Thinking. Critical thinking. Problem solving. Dreaming. And? Doing.

She was already thinking up our next project.  We removed the Little Bits, put them back in the box, and I started thinking of just HOW great this would be in the classroom…. and this is just the base kit.

Five Ways to Use Little Bits

1.) Create a work of art about a book that you read. Make it do something. A Willy Wonka with a spinning cane?  A doorbell to the chocolate factory that actually buzzes?  [Reading, Science, Art]

2.) In a small team, create three different module combinations that each do something different.  What patterns do you notice? [Math, Science]

3.) Struggling with the concept of circuits?  Build one with the LED light.  Explore what happens when you remove one connection.  What happens when you replace that connection? [Science, Non-fiction Writing]

4.) Here’s a pile of recycled materials.  Interview the school principal about a problem that she has with something in her office.  Using only the recycled materials and Little Bits, design something to help her.  Take it to her office and test it out.

5.) Build something with clay that has a light.  A monster with an eye. A car with a headlight.  A flashlight model. Anything your imagination can dream up.  Use the light sensor module so that the light turns on when the lights in the room are turned off.  Think About: In what ways are light sensors used in the world around us?   [Art, Science, Reading]

Perhaps my favorite part of all?  This product is reusable, again and again.  In new ways.  No two projects will be the same.  Which is just like our students. Learning. Their way. What will your students dream up?  Or, should I say, because I know you’ll play with it first, what will YOU dream up?  It’s about you, because I hope you’re inspired, too.  Because that’s exactly what our students need.  Inspired learning. The kind that has no limits and anything is possible. And Little Bits can bring that into your classroom.

Krissy Venosdale is a maker, innovator, educator, creative spirit, and lifelong learner. She works every single day toward making a world where all kids have the opportunities to pursue their greatest passions and are inspired to dream big. She shares her heart and soul of learning on her blog at  venspired.com.