Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match...

Little did I know I would see images of Fiddler on the Roof  lyrics in my head. However, that is exactly what has been happening. A chunk of my position as 21st Century Learning Coordinator is devoted to meeting with teachers individually to customize their tech integration experience. I find myself feeling more and more like a matchmaking service. It goes something like this:

Teacher: I'm interested in finding a tool that will allow my students to share their writing online, without taking away from the tactile process of writing, and that allows them to comment on their work.
Me: Let's take a look at Pixntell. You might like this app. It's free, easy to use, and shareable.
While not necessarily the same characteristics that one would look for in a mate, in a tech tool resource, these are some fine qualities. 

As a matchmaker, there is the responsibility of continuously searching, searching, searching for the holy grail of tech tools. What will be user friendly, fun to use, and easy to share with the wider world? Bonus points if the tech tool is a content creator. While I often feel like I have a strong handle on the current inventory, every now and then, a tech tool will appear before me and I'll wonder, "where have you been all my life?". 

Matchmaking is fun. Especially when a match results in creating a beautiful relationship that fosters comfort, confidence, excitement, and pride. All without the first date jitters.

Born out of a match between a 4th grade Science Teacher & PixNTell

When It All Works Out

The Davis Academy Arcade Banner

Today I had an "it worked" moment that got me excited! For weeks, 7th and 8th graders in the Technology elective have been working hard to create games, which ultimately would come together to create The Davis Academy Arcade. As the project evolved, there were several stages of "aha moments". The first was that while working in pairs, if one teammate was super serious about the tasks at hand, well then the other teammate best get with the program. The second realization was a reminder that often times, the students have much better ideas than the teacher. While I was busy focusing on the teaching and learning aspects of the project- the technology, the designs and the organization of the arcade, the students reminded me that thinking about the add-ons is just as important and sometimes, more important. One student suggested that we charge players to pay and then donate the proceeds to a charity. This led us to pick the Kids Code Free camp led by Tech Talent South. This idea led to another student building a coin slot into their design, which then inspired every team to do the same. Another student was then motivated to actively market the arcade to others to attract more customers. For them, this meant making signs and carrying them through the halls to encourage participation. The third big realization, one of which I know so well and yet really appreciated the reminder, is that hard work deserves an audience. Creating something that spills out beyond our core class and brings people together is so rewarding.

Some students used makey makeys to create mazes, while another team created a racing game in Scratch. They designed their own game controllers, which were in a constant state of revision. One team went through pencil drawn game controllers, to clay modeled game controllers to ultimately settle on a game controller made of play-doh. Two other teams used the Hummingbird robotics kits to create a rolling ball game with a twirling windmill (not so dissimilar from a putt putt hole) and another team created a ball toss game with moving propellers.  For some teams, the game objective proved tricky while other teams had more difficulty in perfecting their designs. Ultimately, however, it was not only a fun learning experience but it was a celebration of our efforts, a chance to invite others into our classroom, an opportunity to do a random act of kindness for a deserving organization, and a time to share our talents.

Figure 1: Evan and Eric's Soccer Xtreme

Figure 2: IT Coordinator & Winner of Amazing Pass

Figure 3 Crowds Waiting to Play Airplane Toss

Figure 4 Rabbi Micah Trying to Complete The Maze

Figure 6 6th Gr LA Teacher Playing the Maze

Figure 5 Middle School Counselor Winning Points at Rollie Pollie