We've awarded our EdTech grant for March to Andrew Nikola from the Wappingers Central School District in New York! Andrew works with students throughout K-12 and serves as one of the district's innovation leaders. The Wappingers CSD is a large district, covering over 130 square miles and serving over 10,000 students. They've adopted a district-wide approach to preparing all students for future careers. Among those experiences are makerspace learning and projects with local businesses. We're excited to work with Andrew as he continues to prepare his students for the fourth Industrial Revolution!
One of the main challenges for Andrew has been securing a space for STEAM experiences. There are a few throughout the district and, so far, the educators have seen some pretty good results in terms of students discovering new passions and trying design thinking. Though it will take several years to implement a makerspace in each of their school buildings, Andrew isn't letting that keep him from his goal of providing completely equitable opportunities for maker learning. Whether it's in a formal session or mixed into classroom instruction, students regularly have the chance to try MakerEd and PBL and will continue to do so after receiving their grant award.
Within the Wappingers CSD, students often work with each other on truly collaborative projects—even getting the chance to work with students from different grades. Some elementary students recently worked with high school technology students, for example, on the development of a multi-sensory playground. Even before receiving our grant, Andrew tried to create as many community partnerships as possible to give students access to real-world opportunities. These partnerships include community organizations, daycares, libraries, and even national parks! Ultimately, Andrew wants to continue developing these partnerships and sees the addition of a district maker bus as a great vehicle (no pun intended) for doing so.
Andrew truly believes in the power of community partnerships and in the design thinking process. Design thinking can be applied in so many areas and he helps his students think in this way regularly. Many of their projects involve designing, deconstructing, defining, fabricating, prototyping, and testing, which are all crucial 21st century skills to have. This helps students recognize needs and empowers them to become creative problem solvers. The community element also helps them learn about the importance of authenticity, innovation, and a civic-minded approach.
The maker-focused nature of these learning experiences is something that's promoted throughout the district. Student-centered learning is another huge component. Andrew knows hands-on learning is a great way to build student agency and that STEAM and maker tools can go a long way in helping them do that. As part of the grant, we will be sending Andrew some Sphero Mini robots and maybe some other smaller technologies. Since they're very much portable, the Sphero Mini's will be a great addition to the district's makerspaces. They may eventually even find a home in their traveling maker bus. Above all, they'll help advance the district-wide mission of empowering students and giving them the confidence to challenge themselves.
Makerspace experiences and community partnerships continue to be a large part of the student readiness plan in the Wappingers CSD. As always, we're excited to be able to contribute and help create some more maker opportunities. Also, Andrew stated in his grant application that he knows the importance of equitable access in education. The students he works with are very diverse, including in their socioeconomic status and race. By creating inclusive programs, Andrew and the rest of the educators in the district are doing what they can to shrink the gaps among students. Like in so many other cases, these gaps have become much more prominent in the wake of the pandemic. As normalcy starts to return, advancing equity through maker learning is taking center stage—something we can certainly get behind!
We thank Andrew for applying for our grant and for all he does with his students. We can't wait to see how they use their new Sphero robots and the learning experiences students create. If you would like to apply for our next grant, the application for April is open now. You can apply here or forward it on to other members of your school district. For more EdTech news and updates, be sure to follow Eduporium on Twitter and Instagram.