We’re excited to introduce our education community to another "Eduporium Featured Educator.” As we do at the beginning of every month, we’re highlighting the work of an innovative educator who has consistently used EdTech to empower his or her students with enhanced learning experiences. We love being able to share their stories and their work with you and hope this series continues to give all educators encouragement to try new things in the classroom! This month, we’re featuring Laura Luker, a teacher from Massachusetts, who was one of the educators to receive our EdTech grant in the past year. She has been running coding programs for her elementary school students with great success! Keep reading to learn more about Laura!
Laura Luker (@MsLuker)
K-12 Library Teacher, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, Hadley, MA
Q&A:
What have you done with the tech you received through our grant?
Since receiving our grant items, my students have used them in many ways. For example, one of my eighth grade groups working on a Sustainable Development Goals project used the Padcaster Verse kit to film themselves making soccer tutorial videos to share with younger students. This project was in support of Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, which addresses all aspects of healthcare, including the epidemic of childhood obesity. In addition, students have used the green screen in multiple projects since I've received it, but some of my favorites were for their Chinese language classes.
High school students also produced wonderful short fiction films entirely in Chinese! Finally, I sponsor an after-school technology club for girls. Two seventh grade girls used the LED sewing kits to learn about the basics of electronic sewing and their plan is to use that as practice for upcycling garments into electronic wearables as their eighth grade SDG project next year.
What advice would you give educators who are just starting out with implementing EdTech?
Don't be afraid to learn along with your students! When we started with the electronic sewing kits, I had no experience with wearables, just a curiosity that my girls' technology group shared. We started with a kit so the learning curve would be manageable, but now we're ready to progress to more advanced projects. We failed a few times, but we practiced perseverance and, eventually, all the circuits were operational. When we lit up all the LEDs, it was quite an exciting moment!
What interests you most about Eduporium?
I like the variety of products and projects available and that the selection includes items like video-production equipment and sewing kits. Technology and makerspace learning don't have to be only about 3D printing and robots. One of the most used items in my makerspace is an old sewing machine! I like that Eduporium recognizes that makers have different interests. Incidentally, I'd love to see more electronic sewing kits made available. It's become quite the trend on my campus.
We thank Laura for speaking with us! If you know of an educator who is doing exciting things with EdTech, feel free to recommend them (or yourself!) for us to feature next by emailing us (hello@eduporium.com) with a short blurb about how you’ve used tech tools to empower your students! You can also fill out our Eduporium Featured Educator application. Find out more about how Eduporium can help revamp your classroom, library, or makerspace by exploring our site and sign up as an educator to start saving with your discount!