the needle returns to the start of the song...
This is the time when teachers are keenly aware of time. First, they are seeing the changes in daylight and weather affecting student’s interest in the subject matter. Second, the end of school becomes a countdown. Third, the stress levels rise because of “testing season.”
All of this impacts learning and should be recognized as such.
I quoted the lyrics this month from the Scottish alternative band Del Amitri, because the song Nothing Ever Happens, has summarized my vacillating feelings regarding Harrisburg. (Song Lyric Reference = https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/151152/)
This originates back to my days at Cumberland Valley HS, when I broke free of this place in 1993, which was kicked off by a move to Long Island. While this song can be interpreted as a pretty bleak picture, I see it as stark reminder of the dullness of an unwell lived life and the necessity to make the most of life. It is a reminder to jump out of the "cyclical apathy" that can sometimes surround us. This happens every year and sometimes relates to seasons. Thankfully spring is around the corner as I see new life spring from softer ground.
... and speaking of starts... here's an update of the school STEAM Projects.
STEAM Making @ John Harris Campus High School
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, MATHEMATICS:
Library Makerspace (Mrs. Brown)
Mrs. Brown is still developing the Makerspace at the John Harris Library. She has been working to connect teachers and students to help setup the types of projects that they would like to have offered.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, MATHEMATICS:
Smart Lab (Mrs. Cureton)
In the middle of the month, Ms. Ari Cureton wanted students to work on creating 3D models that could be printed on the Dremel 3D40. She had students following the Learning Launcher module about Sketchup. Students had issues with printing because of cliffs/overhangs and had difficulties working in Sketchup.
I recommended that students become more familiar with TinkerCAD. I always explain that the problem with Sketchup is that it was build before the growth of 3D printing and focused more on digital design. It is all about surfaces and lines and not a solid modeler. That is different than TinkerCAD, where one builds objects with 3D solids.
STEAM Making @SciTech Campus High School
TECHNOLOGY:
Esports (Mrs. Worful, Mr. Group, Mr. Green)
During the 2nd week of March we had a great discussion about Esports with SciTech’s Principal, Dr. Sieta Achampong. We’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately within the Foundry because we see the importance of following technology / social trends and link them to is happening in the lives of students. As I’ve discussed in a previous September 2018 blog, the essence of humanity, there are so any learning opportunities to connect with Esports.
ENGINEERING:
Edventures Discovery Drones (Mr. Group)
In late April, Mr. Group will be starting this project with 10-12 students. This will consist of group and individual work to build operable Discovery Drones quadcopter kits (colloquially called "drones") and learn to fly them in a computer simulator. He hopes to have 1 field trip out to have students test out there skills in a local R/C airfield.
STEAM Making around the State
ASHLAND, PA:
On Saturday, March 23, myself and 3 other Fellows (Heather, Rebecca and Meg) drove to North Schuylkill Elementary School to provide a STEAM Saturday event for their Intermediate Unit. We had a great time focusing in on space and it was a coincidence that the school’s cafeteria had a mural of space, including a memorial to the Space Shuttle Challenger and the disaster that occurred on January 28, 1986.
ERIE, PA
I highly cherish something that started back in the spring of 2015. It was when I first met my dear friend Justin Williams. I was working at the Neighborhood Center for 2 years and he stopped in to visit. I originally met him back in 2010 when I was teaching at HACC. For the Professional Practice class that I was teaching, I decided to use the Neighborhood Center for a fictitious "feasibility study and pre-design" project. Students were tasked with interviewing all the staff and admin to determine the needs of everyone who used the center.
Justin was the TECH Coordinator during this time and he would move on from that position later in 2012. During the interview, he left a huge impression of a idea for a music making lab that was unique beyond anything I had heard of in my design experience. Later in 2012, I would have seen the links between a makerspace and this type of media lab in a holistic learning environment. It could be argued that this was the genesis of LifeThruTech.
So in 2012, Corey Cook and Justin Williams founded the nonprofit LifeInPA to address the lack of music education within Erie public schools. In 2015 was when Justin had returned to Harrisburg and shared this idea of LifeThruMusic. At the time I was in Justin's former position and working with students to repair computers and cell phones. Justin saw my work and my ideas of a make shift tech lab and LifeThruTech was born. We both saw the potential to build project based experiential learning in a non traditional environment.
We launched LifeThruTech and started to do STEAM summer camps with Marshall Middle School. This expanded with a Week Long Inspire Life Summer Camp in Asbury Park in 2016 and trips to Erie, PA for an annual Life Conference around Labor Day weekend.
On Tuesday March 26th we had the opportunity to present at PSU Behrend's Digifest 2019. Corey, Justin and myself, along with Darrell Cook presented our work with LifeInPA. The presentation was solid and we had some great questions and followup conversations about our process. Sadly, as in many of our travels, it is all well received, but our hometown of Harrisburg is never as enthusiastic about what all of us does for local music and technology education.
This was a big year for LifeInPA as Corey came out of the holiday season with some major publicity through Good Morning American the week of Thanksgiving. Corey and Elijah Lyons traveled to NYC and received a $10,000 check for the YMCA. Elijah performed his original song to the globe. This single program piece has impacted the other lives of teens through inspiration.
Continued congratulations to Corey, Justin and Darrell!
Nothing Ever Happens
Del Amitri
Post office clerks put up signs saying "position closed" And secretaries turn off typewriters and put on their coats And janitors padlock the gates for security guards to patrol And bachelors phone up their friends for a drink While the married ones turn on a chat show And they'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow
Gentlemen, time please, you know we can't serve anymore Now the traffic lights change to stop, when there's nothing to go And by five o'clock everything's dead And every third car is a cab And ignorant people sleep in their beds Like the doped white mice in the college lab
And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all The needle returns to the start of the song And we all sing along like before And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow
Telephone exchanges click while there's nobody there The Martians could land in the car park and no one would care Close-circuit cameras in department stores shoot the same movie every day And the stars of these films neither die nor get killed Just survive constant action replay
And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all The needle returns to the start of the song And we all sing along like before And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow
And bill holdings advertise products that nobody needs
While angry from Manchester writes to complain about All the repeats on T.V. And computer terminals report some gains On the values of copper and tin While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs For the price of a hospital wing
And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all The needle returns to the start of the song And we all sing along like before
And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
They'll burn down the synagogues at six o'clock And we'll all go along like before And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow