High Interest Day = High Empowerment Day

My practice the last few years has been collaborations with classrooms outside of my building. It's something that I always looked forward to. You can read about some of these amazing collaborations between high school and elementary school kids in these older posts:

• Fury Road
• Harmonious Instruction

Last week, I was invited to be part of one of our elementary school's high interest day in which students are able to attend a wide variety of sessions that allow them to explore a range of topics. I decided to see if any of my high school students wanted to be a part of sharing the physics of sound and electricity with the elementary students. I was lucky enough to have 5 amazing students answer the call!

I won't go into too much depth about what we did. But we designed two different activities to engage in. The first was using Makey Makey Kits to use as music inputs and video game controllers. The second was using LittleBits Synth Kits to allow students to explore the different components that allow for the creation of a modern synthesizer.
A Makey Makey allows the user to create their own controller to function as an input device. Think about this as a way of mapping keyboard controls onto something else. Basically, it can be hooked up to anything that conducts electricity. So rather than touching keys on a keyboard. We can use other things as buttons. Things like aluminum foil, Play-Doh, water, gummy candies, even other people.
Here's a basic into video if you are unfamiliar with this amazing tool.

After a brief introduction to the tool, students were able to experiment with the high schoolers guiding the exploration process. I curated a number of different programs that students could use as their Makey Makey for. 

If we had more time, students could have designed their own in Scratch. But with sessions of only 50 minutes. We wanted to provide a variety of experiences.

Using Play-Doh to create a Wack a Mole Game.

Creating our Own Dance Dance Revolution Controller

One of the most special experiences was using the Makey Makey to help get a student with visual impairment involved in the play. 

The ability to use the Makey Makey to create expereince for all learners was amazing. Even more amazing was the work of the high schoolers who realized that relationships are at the heart of all instruction. They did a wonderful job of introducing themselves to each group of learners who came into the classroom. Making them feel welcome from the start. It was amazing to see these guys in action. These elementary students were going to be asked to take an active role in the classroom. The fact that they were all welcomed so warmly let them know this would be a safe place to be curious and take some risks for everyone.

With the Synthesizer Kits, the high school students modeled how they worked explaining the different components.  I love this rainbow mat area to get students out fo their seats and close for modeling of processes.

The high schoolers then challenged students to make their own instruments and amaze them with their creations. LittleBits are magnetic circuit kits. They are easy to build and take apart. Students can easily put components together and rearrange instantly to see what happens. 

The work the high school students demonstrated is everything I am looking to achieve as an educator and these guys were able to do it instinctively. There is a lot I could learn from the learners in my own classroom!

At the end of one of the sessions, the student with the visual impairment asked me a question. He asked me if we would be back next year because he wanted to play some more. I had to hold back the tears in that moment. Not only because of the opportunity that this student had. It was also because it was a group of my students who had created the experience for him.