Thrift Shopping for MaKey MaKey Ideas

This past week in CEP 811, we studied and examined the TPACK (Teaching Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) framework. We watched a presentation on thinking creatively and teachers designing the lessons to utilize technology for meaningful lessons. The video can be viewed HERE. The presentation is done by Punya Mishra and Matt Koehler and does a great job in broadening the view of “Educational Technology”.

In studying this concept we read “Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: Crayons are the Future”. In this article, Mishra discusses some misguided views of “Educational technology”. He criticizes the approach that glorifies using the newest gadgets and planning lessons around the latest technology. He argues that we need to have content and creativity in mind when planning and to use technology that best works for the learning objective. “It is the interaction between knowing a technology knowing about pedagogy, and understanding a subject matter that makes for effective teaching with technology (Mishra and Koehler, 2008, p. 14). This sums up the fact that it is the teacher as the creator of using the tools (technology) and the content together to design effective instruction.

The concept of “repurposing” was reintroduced to me this week. In my previous educational technology classes we looked at this concept and focused on TPACK (as you can see in “Cooking with TPACK”). This week we were pushed to focus on repurposing tools again.

As we examined the “Makers Movement” last week, we were asked to purchase a Makers Kit. I bought a MaKey MaKey kit. The MaKey MaKey is an invention kit that allows you to manipulate your computer screen using everyday objects. Essentially you connect your board to your computer (USB port), connect an alligator clip to the “earth”, and you are ready to start inventing. Your computer will think you have a new keyboard. The sky is the limit from here. It allows you to hook up anything that is “conductive” and repurpose that object to use as a keyboard. The introduction video can be seen at the website or by clicking HERE. This week we had to familiarize ourselves with our Makers Kit. Well enough that we could explain to someone how it worked and demonstrate. The first task the MaKey MaKey site suggested to familiarize yourself with the kit was to make “banana bongos”. I demonstrated in this video:

Our task this week, was to visit a thrift shop and find objects that we could use with our makers kit for a classroom activity in our teaching. As I imagined and brainstormed ideas, I found myself having a tough time getting creative. I was stuck on how I could use this in high school economics or government class. I teach seniors in social studies, not elementary science. I decided to go to the thrift shop and snap some photos to hope I’d get inspired.

Thrift Shop

I knew that the massive amounts of clothing would not be conductive. So I went to the back near the games, sporting goods, nicknacks, kitchen utensils, appliances, etc. section. I found golf clubs and snapped a photo.

The candle holder caught my attention and I wondered how you could use the different holders for arrows on a game or notes a keyboard. 

 

I’m not really sure what this is, but if there was an “insulator” in the center and each of the hanger-things could work independently, you might have a cool inventors tool on your hand. 

 

 

And of course, crutches would make a great tool. The alligator clips could be hooked to the holes on the bottom and you could make an extremely long space bar. 

My IDEA for my Economics class:

I came home and looked at my photos and thought long and hard about how I could repurpose these tools and, even more so, how I could repurpose the activity to fit 12th grade economics. The idea I came up with was to use the “inventor’s mindset” that the MaKey MaKey inspires. In economics we study the concept of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are those who combine the 3 factors of production (land, labor, capital) and create a good or service for sale. I also wanted to bring in the concept of sales and advertising. How businesses have to market and advertise their product to “create a demand”. My activity is a project for my students. The project will allow them to be the entrepreneur, invent a product, and demonstrate it’s use (in an advertisement that creates a demand).

Here is the Lesson Instructions

Objectives: 

• Students will explore the concept of entrepreneurship and creativity in an interactive project. Students will create a prototype of an invention: explain materials, costs, and purpose for their invention. Students will then collect materials from home or a local thrift shop to make their invention. Students will list what the factors of production is in this process. (Who is the Entrepreneur? What is the Land? Labor? & Capital?) Students will use the MaKey MaKey kit to make their invention. Lastly, students will market and advertise their product using sales techniques to create a demand.

HSCEs: 

1.1.2 Entrepreneurship – Identify the risks, returns and other characteristics of entrepreneurship that bear on its attractiveness as a career.

1.2.3 Investment, Productivity and Growth – Analyze the role investments

1.3.3 Price, Role of Supply, Consumer influences in the market

Materials:

• Laptops (Class set – Carts)
• 6 MaKey MaKey kits
• Product materials – (student choices)
• Project outline
• MaKey MaKey videos (for ideas)
• Video Flip Cameras (for commercial or advertisement)

Time Needed:

3-5 class periods

Procedure:

Prior knowledge: Students should know about the four factors of production, the role of the entrepreneur, scarcity and choice, sales & advertising, law of supply and law of demand, cost/benefit analysis, and profit analysis. (project would be completed in the middle or end of the semester)

1. Students break students into 6 groups
2. Explain project outline
3. Show students the MaKey MaKey introduction video and website
   • http://www.makeymakey.com 
4. give students time to brainstorm
5. students must present idea and clear the idea with teacher by beginning of day 2
6. students will draw a prototype and explain the purpose of product
7. students create product
8. students will then create a commercial and demonstration to “sell the product” and create a demand
9. students will present their projects in class on the 5th day of project

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on their understanding of entrepreneurship, factors of production, and advertising. Students will be graded on content knowledge, creativity, and presentation of the product.

This project would put much of the creating and power in the students hands. It would be a comprehensive project that would show mastery of the economic content and allow for creativity in using a new tool: MaKey MaKey. The students would be repurposing the objects and collaborating with their peers to create a new product and experience the sensation of being a “maker” and an Entrepreneur in the same project.

References:

Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: Crayons are the Future. TechTrends, 56(5), 13-16.

Mishra, P. & Koehler, Matt. Teaching Creatively: Teachers as Designers of Technology, Content and Pedagogy from Punya Mishra on Vimeo.

MaKey MaKey video http://www.makeymakey.com 

Lindquist, Vincent. “Banana Bongos – MaKey MaKey kit”. (3-23-2014) retrieved from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqs_CIq_E8