Lewis and Clark Learns

This is our first year using Bloxels.  We acquired 15 sets through a LSDF grant that involves sharing materials between 3 elementary buildings.  I LOVE what Bloxels have done for my kiddos.  We have worked through our design thinking framework and the thinking is so evident!  I have had to learn right along with and beside the kids.  My kids are planning, problem-solving the basics necessary to create a game (saving, building, failing, fixing), helping one another, watching tutorials to learn, consulting kids who have mastered the game,  learning more at home, redesigning where necessary and having fun in the process!  What a great way to end the school year. Watching a tutorial for the second time. Mastering the Bloxel app. Collaboration! Teamwork! Watched tutorials, consulted the pamphlets, plan in front of her, and now ready to begin learning more at home, redesigning where necessary and having fun in the process!  What ...

Working our way through the Design Thinking LAUNCH Cycle to build Rube Goldberg Machines. L ook, Listen, and Learn: Read about the man and the machines.  Watch many, many examples.  A sk Questions:   Ask and answer questions through the inquiry process U nderstand:  Looking at our Rube Goldberg guidelines, requirements, and task. N avigate Ideas:   Begin planning and designing our machines. C reate a Prototype:   Begin constructing based on our ideas. H ighlight and Fix: Fix what is not working. Launch To The World! Rube Goldberg:  A complicated a machine that  completes a simple task.   The photos below show my students in the Navigating stage of the LAUNCH Cycle.  Each group plans a little differently.  Some got right to work drawing and sketching ideas, others started listing step-by-step descriptions of what would happen in their machine, some simply talked things out and had nothing on their paper, o...