Picasso says, “every child is an artist” and at Douglasdale school we honour this truth every day.  This year we have an ACAD Studio Artist working in our school and the excitement and curiosity towards the life of an artist has been palpable. Students are reflecting on how her paintings look 3D and are asking her to teach them how to “add light” to their own paintings. They are asking her what inspires her to paint and are sharing their own inspirations. A recent conversation between Miss. Sarah and some grade one students further highlighted the fact that we can’t underestimate the influence an artist can have on a child’s sense of self or on a child’s ability to critically analyze their own work.

“I don’t know how to draw noses. I want to know how to make my nose push off my face.” (F. in Gr. 1)


“I drew my mouth and it was tipped over like a teeter totter. I want to learn how to draw my mouth so that it is straight and I want to know how to sign my art like an artist.” (J. in Gr. 1)

A quick walk to the Learning Commons for a peek at Miss. Sarah’s own self portrait and a mini lesson on noses and mouths gave them the confidence to persevere with their own creations, just as Picasso says, “to live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.” 

Jennifer George (@firgeorge) is an Assistant Principal at Douglasdale School with a passion for early literacy and curriculum that inspires. 

I just want to start by saying that nothing is more empowering than bringing together a series of ideas and watching them work exactly how you thought they should.

This is why I teach Robotics with a mind towards avoiding the “Black Box Effect.” This effect, as coined by Ernest Manning’s David Eady, is where the machines in your lab resemble black boxes and when you plug them in they work...just like magic, or fairy-dust, or the infinite improbability drive.

Another problem I’ve run into is a large number of people saying, “I can’t do that in my school.” This is usually reserved for technology and Maker type activities that are perceived to be either too difficult to implement or too dangerous to do. I won’t speak to the activities that are too dangerous, but too difficult is a terrible excuse.

What if I told you that it would only take a bit of research and a basic mind for Science to bring electronics into your classroom?

What if I told you that it would involve no $400 black boxes (I’m talking about you LEGO NXT)?

Welcome to the world of open source hardware. My lab focuses on the Arduino system, but many things are being released for free under the Creative Commons Licensing system.

The Arduino is an open source hardware platform that can be bought for around $20CAN with electronic kits going for $60-$100CAN. The system itself is quite easy to use and has a strong online community. The programming software is, likewise, free and has great online sample code and tutorials.

Becoming an expert is as easy as floating around one of the fantastic Creative Commons tutorials sites put on by Sparkfun and Adafruit. In fact, this is how I would recommend getting your start. Pick an easy tutorial, grab some parts and start hacking.

Trust me, very rarely will someone tell you, “you can’t do that,” if they see that you built the technology yourself.

Black boxes need not apply.

Mitchell Way (@mway888)is an enthusiast for making scratch-made technology fun. He teaches Robotics and Medical Studies at James Fowler High School.
Website: wiresbloodrobots.blogspot.com

On the eve of the first day back to school, all the teachers at Simons Valley School were busy, Busy, BUSY! I was organizing, designing learning spaces and co-planning with my learning team. I had more than the usual jitters a teacher experiences. I knew there would be a buzz of excitement because there was graffiti writing on the window and I knew they would ALL be asking the question, “Who is the graffiti kid?”

Increasing nervousness and more questions came: Would they be interested? Would they figure out our planned activity quickly? Would they balk at the fact that the learning task was centered on a fabricated crime scene?    

You see, our team planning centered around engaging students in learning the many, Many, MANY curricular outcomes. As we sat and discussed our long-range plans and possible projects, we recounted an article we worked through the previous year, “Individual Reflection: Task and Assessment” (2015, Galileo Education Network, Werklund School of Education). In starting to design and create work worthwhile of our student’s time, we thought about student competencies including thinking critically, identifying and solving problems, managing information, communicating clearly and collaborating with others.

It would be through questioning, learning (and applying) evidence & investigation skills and crafting inferences supported by evidence as to what happened that would ultimately lead to the arrest of a suspect.

When provided with a ‘hook,’ students are engaged, and they were. The writing was on the wall.

Starting Over

Another school year has begun. This year has brought a lot of changes. I work with some very special students and I often get to work with them for more than one year. Last year, I had a group of more experienced students who all knew school routines and expectations very well – and I already knew a lot about their strengths and interests. Most of those students have now moved on to new programs. This year, I have a totally different group of students most of whom are new to full day school.

Last year, my students were able to integrate into a wide variety of activities around the school from the very first day. We explored our local community and had great discussions about life in other places. We got right to work.

This year, it feels like starting over – a whole new adventure. My students, staff and I are working together to find our rhythm together. We are also working on finding our place in the wider school community.

Every September is a reminder that I am also a learner as I work to learn the needs, interests, strengths and motivations of my new students. This year more than most.  

John Kershaw (@jmkershaw) teaches students with autism. He has a strong belief in helping all students find their place in the community.

I think my brain fell out of my head this afternoon. No, really: right into the middle of my kitchen floor.

I had been talking to my oldest daughter about her second day in kindergarten. She is very excited about school and already loves her class, fellow learners and teacher. This is a great place for her, and us, to be in.

We started off asking about what she had done at school that day and how things had made her feel. We got snippets of story time, talk about other kids, shadows of things that they had done during the morning. I didn’t understand half of it. I think they read a story about a camel. Maybe a cat. Somebody had trouble getting their shoes on and I had packed a yummy snack that day. She’s not quite five years old. I get that, but it got me really thinking about how some of my parents must feel when they talk to their children about the work we do in our class. We do some crazy, big work! Are these kids better at communicating some of the powerful learning that happens within our classroom? Or are those parents left feeling as baffled and confused as I just was? I know that there would have been some great work that happened in that kindergarten class today.

It made me realize the vital importance of communication with our families and has left me with several questions: How do we best communicate with our families? Is there one ideal format or does it take a varied approach using multiple platforms?

How can we connect and share the depth and vibrancy of the work we are doing?

Is it possible to communicate in such a way that our parents are as connected to the work as the students are? How do we ensure that parents get a true glimpse into their daily student lives?

How do we convey and communicate what it feels like to work with our students to help them achieve the successes that they do, all while being inspired by them on a daily basis? I sometimes wonder if they even realize how amazing they are. And how desperately we want their stories to be heard.

Today made me realize that much of the work we do goes on behind closed doors. It must our jobs to break these doors down and make the learning visible. It doesn’t take much. Write a blog post. Add a picture. Tweet it. Share it. Celebrate it.


Sarah Simmons (@sesimmons01) currently teaches Grade Six at Olympic Heights School. She is passionate about being a mom, wife, teacher, Shift Labber, and DIY’er in any matter of things.

I think of myself as the world's worst maker. I've got ideas for things I want or need. I get inspiration from events like the Calgary Mini Maker Faire. 

I sketch, I research, I dream.

And then I do nothing.

Caught in an endless cycle of Googling, these ideas end up fizzling out and nothing is brought to life.

Until I make for others. Making for others, I have learned, creates a profound sense of joy that I've never experienced. It's what I thrive on. It's why I'm a teacher, I've realized.

So what has this realization brought me? Well...

It's the start of a new school year. A time for community building and getting to know each other. A time for sharing who you are as a learner with those around you.

All too often, I have asked my students to take time to share themselves through writing, conversation, and other means as a way for me to quickly know some of the things they identify as important in their lives. While this can serve a purpose and identify many nuances it may have taken weeks to figure out, I felt like it was time to do something different. After all, if we want to spend the rest of year thinking about others, why would we start by only thinking of ourselves?

It became important, then, to create a simple design challenge that made a couple of things clear: we believe in working for and with each other AND we believe in the power of creating with our hands. In taking abstract concepts and turning them into tangible product. In MAKING as a way of learning about the world around us.

It doesn't matter what the task was, really, because in the end it became all about the lessons learned by engaging in the process. That for every problem, you need to gain a deeper understanding before developing a meaningful solution. Or that asking "Why?" can be such a simple way of encouraging in depth answers. And that seeing a smile on your partner's face tells you that you really 'nailed' your goal.

That's what the maker movement is all about. While the problems faced by makers can come from personal interest, they often evolve into something more; something that impacts the lives of a great many people that have often wondered about finding a solution to the very same challenge. It's what makes it a community.

There is no greater time to be a part of this community than the Calgary Mini Maker Faire (September 12 and 13, 2015). This event is a massive source of inspiration, both personally and professionally (to the point I volunteered to be on the production crew), and I encourage you to try attending this year. The passion of the makers is infectious - soon you will find yourself dreaming about designing new objects to help out those most important to you. And then you'll make them happen and change lives. Perhaps it is may only be a small change in the big scheme of thing to one person (and likely far more) that small change means the world. 

Brian (@bw_simmons) believes life is better when your hands are dirty. He's a pretty quiet guy until you ask him about something he loves. Maker Education is just one of those things.

Last week I was lucky enough to work alongside close to 50 teachers at Design the Shift Summer Institute, a three-day professional learning opportunity. What set this professional learning opportunity apart from others was the deliberate time that was set aside to learn about one another.

As teachers we know that learning is largely relational, students need to feel welcome, safe and to a certain degree a willingness to be vulnerable and acknowledge what they don't already know. Developing such an atmosphere can take time and as teachers we all know that time can often be a luxury. However, as we all sat in a circle and each teacher spoke to an artifact that they brought that defined them as an individual, a teacher or in some cases both,I was struck by how the stories ranged from deeply personal to very humorous, but they all provided insight into who that person was. This exercise took time (close to an hour) and you could sense at the start of the activity a great deal of apprehension as they wanted to get on with planning their task or building on their ideas. At the end of this hour though, I found the group to be more connected, more committed to each other's success and a willingness to share ideas with one another.

I couldn't help but think of how often I had sacrificed depth for coverage in my teaching and that it is by stepping back, taking the time to get to know our students that we personalize learning. Personalizing learning is not done by an app or a program, but through the connections we make with each and every one of our students, there are no shortcuts and the work is not always easy work, but the exercise at the summer institute with a group of teachers giving up three days of their summer vacation taught me that it is work worth doing.