It’s time to introduce our educator community to another creative and committed educator! In our newest Eduporium Featured Educator interview, we hear from April Leonard, who serves the students of the Mississippi Heights Elementary school in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District. She does a lot with coding, including using the Dash and Dot and LEGO WeDo with goals of welcoming 1,000 students to a common makerspace in the future.
April Leonard
Innovation Teacher, Sauk Rapids-Rice (MN) Public Schools
Q&A
Please share any innovative EdTech project(s) you've completed with your students or plan to complete.
Some of the most successful and innovative EdTech projects I’ve done with my students since becoming more of a tech-focused educator include coding using Code.org or Scratch. We also do engineering challenges, including one in which students must create a zip line and designing their own robots. We’ve used both the LEGO WeDo kits and the Dash and Dot Robots in the past and seeing how students engage and interact with them has made me want to create a functional makerspace. I hope to open it in my classroom and accommodate up to 1,000 students using it within a 7-day rotation. I always look for ways to redesign my classroom to encourage more creativity and collaboration!
What is a challenge you faced or are facing with your EdTech use as an educator? What resources did you use or are in need of?
One major challenge I have with EdTech in my classroom is with regular access to devices for my students. This usually means that I cannot teach programming in the K-2 grades—or at least do so in a hands-on way. I would really like to get enough devices so that I had one per two students. They'd be able to pair them with different STEAM tools so they could learn coding with Bluetooth-enabled devices.
What are some real-world skills you've seen your students develop through regular EdTech use in your time as an educator?
Among the real-world skills I see my students developing when they’re able to use technology are clearer communication, working as a team, small-group collaboration, working towards a common goal, being creative when designing and engineering solutions, and using critical thinking skills to help solve problems.
As a STEM educator, interests you most about Eduporium?
I really enjoy the information they provide to educators and inspiration I receive through their newsletters and social media profiles!
We thank April for sharing her thoughts and experiences with us and for always providing innovative learning opportunities for students. We hope her efforts can inspire other educators to try some new things as well! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates on the great things educators are doing with EdTech. Also, if you’d like to apply to be highlighted on our blog and social media channels as an Eduporium Featured Educator, we’d love to have you fill out the application!