#PLAYDATE14 Learning

I was so thrilled to have three solid hours this weekend to "play" with some tools that I was familiar with but had not had the chance to dig in and explore.  I am so grateful for my fabulous team of PLAYDATE organizers for putting on an event that allows educators to geek out, hang out and learn together.

Google Scripts
I was able to spend some time exploring more with Google scripts during my first session.  Although the scripts are complicated it is a great way to share Google documents with students or groups of students and also stay organized in a paperless classroom.  Andrew Stillman has created a wonderful site to learn about scripts at New Visions CloudLab.  I plan to use Doctopus to share documents for my research groups in the next few weeks.  Not only was I able to play with scripts more, people shared amazing uses of scripts during the playoff.  My favorite was a teacher using mood check ins with students and then create a FormMule to email her a reminder to discuss any issues with students who indicated a problem.  Easy to track, easy to remember and simple once installed.  Jennie Magiera shared some new and exciting features are coming from the genius team of script writers in the next few weeks!

MaKey Makey
I have been wanting to explore some of the hot "makers" items out there, but did not have access or the resources until PLAYDATE.  Bill Steinbach was extremely generous and brought a trove of makers materials from his own classroom and let teachers explore and play.  He truly made the session a makers space.  I was able to explore the Makey Makey tools with other educators and I am so excited to get them for my students.  The basics of a circuit, conductors, and electronics are all at work with these fun tools.  The front and back of the Makey Makey let students see a simplified version of the task and the "behind the scenes" version of it for more advanced understanding.

Educators
Beyond any tools or session was the learning that happened by working with others.  I was able to talk to educators in every session and share ideas, hear new ideas, learn, brainstorm, problem solve and laugh in every case.  We were able to celebrate our discoveries together and learn even more from those who shared on twitter and at the playoff. Just as that was one of the best parts of my day, I want to remember to give that gift to my students when they learn and explore.  Learning is playful, exciting, joyful, social and fun.