Vermont Fest 2015

Starting the 15/16 school year we are using a new (free) training program for students and teachers, to teach them the Google Apps suite of tools (http://www.ninjaprogram.com/). Come to this session and I will go through one of the mini courses, and start you on your way to becoming a Google Ninja. Attendees, will need access to a Chromebook or laptops. Tablets won't work.

In this electrifying hands-on session, you’ll practice Notebook Hacking, a production-centered approach to literacy through the exploratory integration of coding, electronics, writing, drawing, and making. Come experiment and play to discover how paper circuitry一in combination with the writing process一may be used as a tool for brainstorming and communicating ideas, with the added spark of Circuit Stickers, surface-mounted LEDs, and programmable microprocessors. (Prerequisite: Participants should bring a device already loaded with the latest version of the Arduino IDE to this workshop. Additionally, a working knowledge of basic circuits is helpful but not required.) This session will include a Chibitronics Starter Pack, a Chibitronics Sensor Pack, sewable battery holder, jump wire, tape, and more.

Why learn to code? Well, for one thing, it’s fun! And really useful for solving problems. Google Scripts is a language that works with Google Apps. If you’ve ever wanted to automate a task in Google Apps or wondered how Add-ons do what they do, come give it a try. We’ll cover the basics and then you’ll dive into a project of your choice. We’ll also see examples of projects students have done. No prior coding experience is required.

Can't find time for STEM/Maker activities in your over-crowded curriculum? Use a few minutes of time each month in order to provide great STEM experiences. You can also use STEM activities to help students develop skills such as collaboration, listening, and technical reading.

Perhaps you feel that including a Maker Experience for students requires a room with 3D printers, laser cutters, expensive robots, and the like. Nothing could be further from the truth! While those things are certainly nice to have, there’s tremendous value in working with your hands and making outside of the digital realm.
Electrify your MAKER SPIRIT! Get hands-on experience building electromagnets, super simple motors, galvanometers, telegraphs, and solenoids -- all with simple materials. Experience how the incredible scientist Michael Faraday, in the early 1800s, made our modern world possible and how you might progress to Tesla Tuesdays or Toricelli Thursdays in the future! You'll get directions and some tips on writing successful grant applications to purchase batteries and other tools and materials. In addition, you’ll receive a starter kit with enough materials for your Tech Club or classroom.

Join Elizabeth McCarthy for a fun and informative session on creating with Chromebooks. Receive a new Chromebook, spend a brief time getting started, then begin to explore and create with the many free multimedia apps and tools available. We will play around with everything from; making web banners and newsletters, exploring photo editing tools, creating memes and animations, data visualizations & infographics to digital storytelling. You’ll see that the creative possibilities with a Chromebook for learning are endless. Get a new Chromebook or bring your own.

Workshop Presentation Material 

The personalized learning envisioned in Act 77 pushes educators to embrace multiple avenues of assessing student work. Join us in a hands-on exploration of how students can use iPads to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in rich and meaningful ways. Personal reflection is a powerful component of sense-making by students. Using iPads, students make thinking visible by reflecting on multimedia evidence. We will explore apps for collecting, curating, creating and sharing compelling evidence of learning. Participants may get a new iPad or bring their own.

Turn your Chromebook into a Video Production studio. Add green screen and you have a fun-tastic tool for that can transport your students anywhere, anytime, in the past or the future.
Come MAKE a Movie together. WeVideo’s collaboration features allows you to co-produce your movie and it’s green screen feature allows you to shoot your movie in any location you can dream of. Bring your Chromebook or get a new one! You will get a Green Cloth and Clamps. Participants can sign up for a FREE We Video Basic license on site and will give given the opportunity to upgrade to an EDU license if they want