Alas, it was over before it even started. As I was planning the big, exciting public launch of ArduinoMom, I caught myself in many tongue-tied conversations about what Arduino is and what I hoped to do on this blog. Like many innovators, it seemed I was a bit ahead of my time, so I moved over to The Maker Mom.
If nothing else, The Maker Mom is easier for the uninitiated to spell.
The big, exciting launch is still a few weeks away, but the site is already live, so check it out!
6/15/12
Just add water
After my husband complained that our boys were lazing about too much this summer, I decided to mix things up with a project I'd found on Pinterest, The Water Blob. My tween and I literally had hours of fun with this and the wizened teen even joined in eventually.
To make a water blob of your own find a strong piece of plastic sheeting fold it in half and seal up the sides with duct tape then fill it with water. Trial and error taught us that a contractor bag, heavy duty plastic with three sides already factory sealed, worked better than the plastic sheeting we found in our basement. However, the bag did make for a smaller blob.
Even when my boys were in preschool they had a knack for turning the simplest craft project into performance art. You can see in the video how this project evolved. (Or devolved, depending on your point of view. The watermelon was eaten, by the way.)
Mostly, we just had a lot of laughs.
To make a water blob of your own find a strong piece of plastic sheeting fold it in half and seal up the sides with duct tape then fill it with water. Trial and error taught us that a contractor bag, heavy duty plastic with three sides already factory sealed, worked better than the plastic sheeting we found in our basement. However, the bag did make for a smaller blob.
Even when my boys were in preschool they had a knack for turning the simplest craft project into performance art. You can see in the video how this project evolved. (Or devolved, depending on your point of view. The watermelon was eaten, by the way.)
Mostly, we just had a lot of laughs.
6/12/12
Lytro Camera
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| Photo snipped from Lytro.com. |
I thought the camera was a bit pricey for him.
Also, the first iteration of a breakthrough product is the most expensive, but not necessarily the best.
And most importantly, to download and manipulate the Lytro's Living Pictures, you need a Mac and our family is all PC.
But the Lytro folks are working on the PC software and say it's just matter of months before it's available.
So my son, flush with cash from his this year's 8th grade graduation and last year's bar mitzvah, purchased a Lytro.
It's unlike any camera I've ever seen, both in look, user interface and function. My son had fun exploring it its functions. As is his way, within a few minutes, he seemed to figure out how to use it as well as how to manipulate the various bells and whistles.
We have an understanding in our house that I've drilled into my boys since their pre-school days: any special item that is taken out of the house (to school, camp, the playground, etc.) is done so with the understanding that the special item might get lost, damaged or stolen.
So when the camera was just a week old and my son took it to the Farmer's Market and returned home without its lens cap, I tried to bite my tongue. I figured he was paying the price for his carelessness. That is, until I went online to order a replacement and realized that Lytro lens cap loss is a very common problem.
You see, the lens cover is attached the the camera's body magnetically. It makes for a sleek, aesthetically pleasing design, but also one that doesn't hold up well.
Thanks to the Lytro user community, his camera currently looks like this when it's not in use.
I'll be back with an update on the camera functions once the PC software is available or we convince one of our Mac friends to let my boy download the software and take over their computer for a few hours.
For now, click over to Lytro.com and play around with the light field technology. It's pretty cool!
6/11/12
Clinton Global Initiative America
Last week I was a fly on the wall during a STEM working group session at CGI America. You can read about my experience here. In general, the conversation was stimulating, with much discussion geared toward STEM for all, or more generally, opportunity for all. That was all fine and good, but the more I reflect on my day at CGI America, the more disturbed I am about the lack of discussion about gifted and talented students.
Opportunity for all is code for helping disadvantaged children from low socioeconomic backgrounds graduate from high school and find jobs or go to college. It doesn't mean helping white, middle class kids (boys!) like mine and challenging them to develop strong study skills and sound work habits that will lead to success in higher academics and in life. (Not that I'm against the former; please don't think I am.)
One of my commenters hit the nail on the head when s/he wrote: So many parents of high ability kids hear "STEM" and think their prayers have been answered. The sad thing thing is that blended learning and STEM do provide great opportunities for self-paced or independent learning and deeply diving into subjects of interest- but will our schools embrace these opportunities for high ability students or simply continue to use them to provide assistance to other students? I hate that I even have to ask the question.
My boys' school uses a science curriculum that would leave many of the folks in that STEM discussion drooling with envy--it's inquiry-based and it allows for active discovery, yet it's not challenging or academically rigorous. Supposedly the curriculum has the ability to flex to meet the needs of various learners, but I don't think it served my older boy well and I've heard a similar reaction from other parents of high-ability kids.
The STEM working group was sizable and there were many discussions going on simultaneously, so maybe somewhere, someone in the room talked as much about raising the ceiling as everyone else did about raising the floor. I can only hope.
******
On a related note, there's an important national education vote coming up tomorrow. There are many important items on the chopping block. Not gifted ed, though.
Why not?
The budget can't go any lower than it's current level of $0.
At any rate, check this out and starting calling your senators.
Opportunity for all is code for helping disadvantaged children from low socioeconomic backgrounds graduate from high school and find jobs or go to college. It doesn't mean helping white, middle class kids (boys!) like mine and challenging them to develop strong study skills and sound work habits that will lead to success in higher academics and in life. (Not that I'm against the former; please don't think I am.)
One of my commenters hit the nail on the head when s/he wrote: So many parents of high ability kids hear "STEM" and think their prayers have been answered. The sad thing thing is that blended learning and STEM do provide great opportunities for self-paced or independent learning and deeply diving into subjects of interest- but will our schools embrace these opportunities for high ability students or simply continue to use them to provide assistance to other students? I hate that I even have to ask the question.
My boys' school uses a science curriculum that would leave many of the folks in that STEM discussion drooling with envy--it's inquiry-based and it allows for active discovery, yet it's not challenging or academically rigorous. Supposedly the curriculum has the ability to flex to meet the needs of various learners, but I don't think it served my older boy well and I've heard a similar reaction from other parents of high-ability kids.
The STEM working group was sizable and there were many discussions going on simultaneously, so maybe somewhere, someone in the room talked as much about raising the ceiling as everyone else did about raising the floor. I can only hope.
******
On a related note, there's an important national education vote coming up tomorrow. There are many important items on the chopping block. Not gifted ed, though.
Why not?
The budget can't go any lower than it's current level of $0.
At any rate, check this out and starting calling your senators.
6/4/12
Roominate: The "It" Kickstarter Project of the Week
I saw bits about Roominate passing through my Facebook news feed the other day. Given that many of my FB friends are hard core social media moms, it's no surprise they were buzzing about Kickstarter, a crowdsource funding platform for creative projects. And it's no surprise that even my fellow MOBsters (Moms Of Boys) were jazzed about the girl-friendly Roominate. In fact, as of this posting, Roominate has collected nearly $70,000 in pledge funds, almost three times their goal.
Developed by three young women* with serious academic cred, Roominate allows girls (or boys!) to be an artist, architect, engineer and visionary. I didn't quite understand just how Roominate accomplishes all of that until I watched this video.
Be sure to click through to read the backstory.
I hope they can scale this safely and effectively. I like the inventors' idea about providing young girls with STEM toys. Still, I think nature weighs pretty heavily in the nature vs. nurture debate.
Much to my surprise, my boys demonstrated many stereotypical "boy" behaviors and preferences, including an inborn need to test the laws of physics by moving objects through space whenever possible (i.e. throwing rocks, sticks, balls or pretty much anything else), a shocking love of weapons and explosions and an affinity for STEM toys like Legos and K'Nex.
Whether STEM toys like Roominate produce the long-term benefits for girls as the founders are hoping remains to be seen, but this looks like a fun and engaging project for girls nonetheless.
* They are college grads; too old to be called girls, right? And yet I feel like I've turned into my mother by calling them young women.
Developed by three young women* with serious academic cred, Roominate allows girls (or boys!) to be an artist, architect, engineer and visionary. I didn't quite understand just how Roominate accomplishes all of that until I watched this video.
Be sure to click through to read the backstory.
I hope they can scale this safely and effectively. I like the inventors' idea about providing young girls with STEM toys. Still, I think nature weighs pretty heavily in the nature vs. nurture debate.
Much to my surprise, my boys demonstrated many stereotypical "boy" behaviors and preferences, including an inborn need to test the laws of physics by moving objects through space whenever possible (i.e. throwing rocks, sticks, balls or pretty much anything else), a shocking love of weapons and explosions and an affinity for STEM toys like Legos and K'Nex.
Whether STEM toys like Roominate produce the long-term benefits for girls as the founders are hoping remains to be seen, but this looks like a fun and engaging project for girls nonetheless.
* They are college grads; too old to be called girls, right? And yet I feel like I've turned into my mother by calling them young women.
5/30/12
Robot Teachers Gain Attention
Alas, even our simple Drawdio project is going to have to wait until school ends. Luckily, it will be over soon. The waning weeks of school are filled with distractions- picnics, parties, field trips, locker and desk inspections. I'm not sure there's a whole lot of learning going on. Maybe it's a good thing that these robot teachers aren't on the job just yet.
5/25/12
The Arduino Adventure Begins
This new adventure started when I was offered the chance to review The Arduino Cookbook. Though the book promised to be a good guide for beginners, I was overwhelmed. I haven't taken a computer, physics or math class in more than two decades. The part of my brain that stored related information is mired in mental cobwebs.
I don't know my capacitors from those connector thingies marked with the colored stripes that apparently have some special meaning. But I'm going to learn and share the process here.
I'd love to connect with other moms and kids who like to build gadgets as much as they like to play with them. Sound like you? Leave me a comment!
{crickets}
Yeah, I haven't actually told anyone about this blog yet. And it is the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day weekend.
Anyhoo, my first project is actually not an Arduino, it's the Drawdio. More about that soon. The important thing is that our kit was missing a piece and when I went to pick up a replacement at Radio Shack I saw this book:
Low on text and high on illustrations, this seems like a better starting point for me.
Also, I need fill my prescription for bifocal lenses or I won't be able to tell those connector thingies with the stripes apart.
Off I go!
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