Bringing It All Together

After months of planning, experimenting, and exploration, we are finally ready to put all of our hard together into a final project. Last week we began work with our 6th-grade students to bring their laser cut project boards to life with the help of Bare Conductive Touch Boards.

We started the process by introducing our students to the touch boards, giving them time to look through the kits while we explained our vision for the final product. Next, we planned out where we would connect the boards using conductive paint. Each student traced their touch board on a central space within their design and penciled lines from each connection to the area they would like to highlight. This was helpful because they were able to notice areas where the lines overlapped and fix their work in pencil before the conductive paint was laid.

We decided to start small with 5 different touch points for each board. The boards allow for 12 but that is a large amount and we didn't want to overwhelm our students. With 5 connections we had the ability to skip sensors on the board so every other will be connected. We figured this might give us a little bit of wiggle room and make using the conductive paint less of a challenge. 

Included in each starter kit, along with the touch boards, was a set of stencils. We used the stencils paint connecting points to each sensor. Since we decided to try to connect the Touch Boards on the back, we set them aside to dry before tackling the paint on the front.

While the paint dried we got to work on creating sound clips. Our students have Chromebooks and have had experience using Voice Recorder Online. It isn't fancy but for our needs, it worked perfectly.

The hour we had with our students flew by! By the end of our work session, we were finally able to see their final projects taking shape. We are looking forward to getting the Touch Boards programmed and everything in place over the next month. Stay Tuned!

Printmaking meets Technology

One of my personal goals during the Ignite a Maker program, is to create a sketch, upload it to illustrator and figure out how to raster engrave it into a piece of wood, ultimately creating a wood cut print for printmaking. That is just what I started to do last weekend. Carrie and I went to the Generator, and after discussing it with Caty and the volunteer at the front desk, we easily used the laser cutter to engrave my sketch into first cardboard, then wood. Instead of using color mapping, we simply used layers on illustrator and sent it to the laser cutter twice (hiding layers that we didn't need). We couldn't believe how quickly and effortlessly the whole process was. Forget color mapping. Layering is the way to go!

We ran out of time, but we know for next time you can engrave the image multiple times for a deeper and deeper cut without it getting smokey. 

Now that I know how to make my own block prints, stay tuned for some new prints. Printmaking meets Technology! 

Have You Checked These Three Things?

Laser cutting is never as simple as hitting the print button. After spending hours creating a design and preparing it to cut, it can be frustrating when a cut doesn't work out as planned. Last week Jenny and I spent some time cutting boards for our 6th-grade students' passion projects. We started with what we thought would be our easiest project but were soon scratching our heads, unable to get it cut.

Lucky for us, Brian, our studio neighbor, was available and able to troubleshoot with us. There are many variables in laser cutting but Brian suggested checking these three things first:

1) Is the line size correct?
2) Has vector or raster been checked in the print setup screen?
3) If using color mapping, has the button which saves the information been hit?

This simple but effective list of questions fixed our issue and got us back on track. Thank you, Brian!

This board is cut!
Next step- A Bare Conductive Touch Board will be coded
and added to create an interactive experience.

'Tis the Season...for Laser Cutting!

Inspired by the holidays I designed and created ornaments using Adobe Illustrator and the laser cutter.

This was the first project I created on my own!

Throughout the creation of these ornaments, I learned many things about the design process and the various ways in which it is possible to cut projects out with the laser. I received help from several people who each had a unique way of creating their files and preparing them to cut. Some prefer to use color mapping, a process which uses colors to tell the machine to cut or engrave using different settings in the same job. Others use the layer feature on Illustrator to engrave a layer on one job and then cut a layer on a second job. It was interesting to see how the techniques used varied by the individual.

Printing preferences menu showing the settings for a cut using coloring mapping.

While I was happy with my final products, each of the batches of ornaments I created was slightly different. I played around with the speed, power, and frequency settings on the print menu while working but I wasn't sure which factors were causing changes in my work.

This week Jenny, our colleague, Christine, and I played around with the speed setting by doing a few test cuts. We started out with a lower speed of 10. While the flames were minimal and the print came out clear, it looked a little charred (see the letter M below). We tried again with the letter C increasing the speed to 20. The result was similar. The final time we cranked up the speed to 60 and while the lettering wasn't as dark, it also didn't look burnt. Success!

Test cuts with different speeds. The S was engraved using the highest speed.

One thing is for sure, three hours on the laser printer flies by!

Connecting Educators with The Generator.

Yesterday, Carrie and I invited three local educators to join us at the Generator. We introduced them to the space and shared our current projects with them. We also connected them with other Generator members. 

Christine DePatie, 6th Grade Educator from Swanton Central School, discussing flute making and STEAM education with Brian Merrill.

Carrie and Christine problem solving an issue with the laser cutter. Check out Carrie's upcoming blogpost on Speed!

From Back to Front, Lisa Bresler (K-5 Art Educator, Shelburne Community School), Christine DePatie (6th Grade & STEM Educator, Swanton Central School), Carrie Speranza (Librarian at Swanton School), and Me (Jenny Jacobson, Art Educator K-6, Swanton School). Not in Photo, Evelyn Stenroos (6th Grade Educator, Colchester Middle School).

A Little Help from our Friends: Laser Cutting at the Generator

Last week, Carrie and I committed a few hours to using the laser cutter at the Generator. We both had taken the certification class and had some experience using one before, however we had never operated one alone!

After referencing our notes, I uploaded my design and we were ready to go! Right away, I had a couple of design flaws. I sought out the help of one of the only people at the Generator in the morning, Brian Merrill. He is a Generator member and creates incredible laser cut/hand cut flutes! Brian stopped everything and spent over an hour with us. Thanks to him, by the end we were using the laser cutter more confidently and "perfected" our cuts!

Laser Cutter at the Generator

Reusing the pieces we cut out! Art Stars!

Test Cut with Cardboard caught on fire.

We decided to test the second cut on board. No fire this time!

The Final Product! One of our sixth grade student's passion project on the "life cycle of a star". She used inkscape to create her design. I uploaded to illustrator and cut it out for her. Next step, she'll create a circuit and let her stars shine away!  

Creating Vinyl Stickers with the Silhouette Cameo

During our prep period, Carrie and I decided to dive into the Silhouette Cameo. Just like the Touch Board, we instantly found some complications. Carrie created circle patterns to cut out for an upcoming project. At first only half of the circles on the vinyl sheet cut out. After some tinkering (and help from Google), we realized that we had to manually adjust the blade. Easy fix. After that, it consistently cut out the circles. Though the stickers are hard to remove!

Overall, we found the machine relatively easy to use and more importantly useful. We ordered cutting fabric for one of our sixth grade projects and excited to try out a new material.

Check out some of our photos from this tinkering session. We were joined by some thirds graders who were learning besides us! The best type of learning!

Partnering with Generator

Fabulous news!  The Generator Educator in Residence program has adopted our  Fall 2017 IGNITE a MAKERS.  The support that Jenny and Carrie will receive from Generator as part of this partnership is going to help them develop and implement their goals of creating an interactive mural that can be used to display student work. 


Jenny, Carrie,  met with  Ignite a Mentor, Caty Wolfe and Generator director, Chris Thompson to set goals for the next few months. 


Both Carrie and Jen have completed the laser certification and are signed up for the CNC tools training in order to gain the skills and access needed to complete this project!


They have been experimenting with Lucie's  Silhouette Vinyl cutter  and have plans to use in some projects with their students inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama 

Here's a quick update from Carrie and Jen

Remember that you can also  follow these maker educators on Instagram

Jenny's art room Instagram

Carrie's Library Instagram

Touch Board Take 1

One of the projects Jenny and I will be focusing on creating is an interactive mural board. This device will help some of our 6th grade students present their passion projects in an innovative and creative way.

Today we played around with a Bare Conductive Touch Board. This board will be the heart of the project allowing our students to record short segments about their projects which will be played at the touch of a button. The device is similar to a Makey Makey but is programmed using a mini SD card and works with conductive paint. 

We were easily able to get the board plugged into a computer but were unable to get the alligator clips to work when plugged into the electrode holes. After a lot of troubleshooting, we Googled the problem. The solution? Make sure the board is clean and the holes are clear from any previous conductive paint residue. One light wash with water and we were in business!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Follow us on Instagram!

Hello fellow Makers! Since we are in visual fields, Carrie and I use instagram on a regular basis! You can follow our Maker Journey on our school accounts.

 

Meet our new 2017 IGNITE A Maker team

I'd like to welcome a new team to IGNITE a MAKER  for November/December 2017.   During the next two months Jenny Jacobson and Carrie Speranza will our Maker-Educators.  We look forward to seeing how Jenny and Carrie experience a two month membership at  Generator- Burlington's Maker space in the Create Make Learn studio

Weeding Vinyl

With several new classes learning to vinyl cut, I have been teaching them all how to "weed" their designs.  We did a little time lapse video of the process today.

Developing Maker potential in High Schools

A belated "Hello" from Mount Mansfield High School! As a long-time computer & technology teacher in both middle and High Schools I am constantly exploring ways to leverage our investments in technology to improve teaching and learning. Preparing our students with the skills to move into the 21st century workplace and the flexibility to adapt as technologies evolve is an important part of our mission. Sadly and despite our investments in equipment and infrastructure, my observation is that a large percentage of technology "use" in schools has simply replaced books, pen and paper with word processors and the Internet, and students are still most often reading and writing which is not always engaging. That is not to say that there are not benefits to a digital workflow even if the content and products are more traditional, but as I collaborate with teachers to develop instruction my goal is to find the "value added" that will not only engage students but allow them to explore and demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

As a former outdoor educator and Science teacher I have always valued an open ended, project-based approach to learning that allows students to DO things, make connections between content and "real life" and exercise their creativity. When I began to explore the Maker world a couple of years ago it seemed the perfect venue to combine my educational ideals with the opportunity to create more tangible and durable products with our tech tools. It is also a perfect fit for my "inner tinkerer," nurtured through years of bicycle & auto repair, woodworking, DIY home improvement and tendency to fix things before throwing them away. Last year I began to create a Maker Space at our school, bringing in the 3D printers that had been lurking and in limited use in our Science Department as well as a new Shapeoko CNC, a fair supply of Arduino components and misc tech bits including some older computers and other electronic oddities like this beauty.

The space has slowly taken shape over the last year, enough to draw the attention of students and teachers such that we have now integrated 3D printing and Arduino as options in a number of projects and the CNC machine has recently been in use in the wood shop. I know the latter seems like a no-brainer, but integrating new tools into established programs can be a slow process. More than anything else, the visibility of the MakerSpace has brought a collection of like-minded souls who enjoy spending their available moments designing, inventing, exploring and sometimes just BS-ing about geeky stuff. The core students are also members of our rookie FIRST-FTC Robotics Team.

The opportunity to join the Generator community and explore the available tools and resources is tremendous. My initial goals involve pushing myself forward with automation and kinetic sculpture using Arduino and possibly RaspPi, but I am also appreciating access to the laser cutter (on our shopping list for next year) and CNC. Lowering the learning curve by identifying a straightforward workflow for each tool and process is an important part of the support I provide to our teachers and students, and I am also always looking for ideas on how these tools can be applied. Seeing the dynamic and creative culture that has evolved around Generator has already given me much inspiration, and I look forward to continued exploration. Onward!

Going Through the Looking Glass

Hello folks, this is Kevin Laverty, a teacher from Christ the King School embarking on the Ignite a Maker experience. I'm keeping this blog to record my thoughts on the making, my experiences, and (hopefully) my progress. 

So, I’m at the Generator right now and I’m thinking about

Me at Generator working on designs

what sort of projects that I’ll get myself into.

I just went to the orientation on Wednesday and I felt like kid left alone in a roomful of little doors, each one with a sign on it marked “open me”. Which one do I open and what sort of rabbit hole will it lead me into?

I’ve been working on channeling that nervous excitement, and I think I’ve come up with something that will allow me to leverage the most out of my experience here. I’d like to design “stock car” kits cut on the laser cutter to produce for use at school and design a track to test the cars using three metrics: speed, distance, and power. With a little front loading, I’ll open a challenge up to the students to design a car using some provided parts (wheels, body specs) but allow them to vary the power source (sail, rubber band, mousetrap, etc, but no electric...maybe solar?) and then compete.

I’m hoping that going through the design and prototyping myself will give me valuable experiences to bring back to my students so that I can support them in the process. I’m nervous to step out of my own comfort zone, but that’s exactly what I ask students to do, so I'd better cowboy up!

Because I haven't been certified on the laser cutter yet, I think I’ll start on the track design. I’ve already found some resources for sensor triggered race car tracks.  There’s no turning back now, I’m going to have to jump into electronics with both feet. Wish me luck!

Welcome to our New Ignite a Maker Team

I'd like to welcome a new team to IGNITE a MAKER  for March and April.  During the next two months Kevin Laverty and Eric Hall will our Maker-Educator.  We also have the pleasure of having Chris Whitaker from ECHO as a community mentor.  I look forward to see how Kevin and Eric experience a two month membership at Burlington's Maker space.

March - April Maker/Educators
in Collaboration with Chris Whitaker (ECHO) as a Community Mentor

Kevin Laverty Christ the King School Technology Engineering Design Teacher		Eric Hall Mt. Mansfield Union High School Technology Integrator

I was just getting started...

 I've really wanted to make lamps, and here's a rough (very rough) draft. Glad this is cardboard, because the design needs a lot more editing.

It's funny, I tried to make a similar lamp using 3D printing. When I look at the 3D prints I made of a lamp and a stabile, I see I was printing lots of flat shapes and assembling them: that's a smarter job for a laser cutter.

Not sure how I'm going to keep going now that my time is drawing to an end. There are so many things I want to design and make using the laser cutter. Without this opportunity, though, I don't know if I would have ever gotten started.

I guess my options are to do some form of Generator membership...maybe as needed. It's a $25 / day fee to use the laser cutter with an affiliate membership, but I guess that could work. It'll be around $30/month to subscribe to Adobe Illustrator. In order to continue this design development, it's an investment I'll have to make.

Ironic? I hope not

When I hung up my art teaching beret & returned to school librarian, I inherited a collection that hadn't been weeded in 20-30 years. It was time for a haul-out. I started folding some book pages, and thinking about the discarded books as sculptural objects. I laser cut some letters I want to add to the books to make a read sign.

laser cut books

So I'm still learning Illustrator, and after doing a tutorial, I tried making some simple, stylized deer out of basic geometric shapes. This took me awhile. It would be a lot faster if I could import my drawings, and find the outlines. Seems pretty basic, but I'm not there yet. I'm going to start a month free trial of Lynda.com. And when my month-long trial of Illustrator runs out, I'll probably start paying to continue. Inkscape, while free, just doesn't compare. 

I was worried about the book smoldering or catching fire, but in fact, the book cover is far harder to cut than cardboard. It is pretty dense, after all.  So this is a quick experiment, but there's so much more I want to do with these. First I have to build my skills.

New Year, New Resolve

As the new year rolls in, we can not help but reflect on the past and look to the future.
I resolve to make more and procrastinate less.  That being the theme of my vacation this week, let me share what I have been percolating about and what I have started!

I finally, after years of dusty storage, hooked up the used kiln that has been haunting my laundry area in the basement.  My husband has been integral in jump starting my ceramics habit.  We had a successful bisque firing earlier this week, and are creeping up the temperature scale toward a cone 5 glaze firing today!

Loaded kiln after first bisque firing

My kiddos painting on glaze

The book garden idea my sister and I cooked up is starting to take shape as well, and will be next on the assembly list this weekend.  We thought that creating a fairy garden around a book theme that could be hung on a wall would be cool.  The first step is to assemble the laser etched pieces to create the book-like shape.  We picked Alice in Wonderland as our first story.

Sketches of ideas rumbling around my head

Laser etching the 'page' texture on the sides

Next, I am going to add in the garden bits.  Then, maybe add some LEDs and eventually a moisture sensor!  If I am really cool, which has been a subject of much debate, I will add in a bit that will alert me when it needs to be watered and control the LEDs to simulate daylight.  But that is a whole other level of geeky goodness.




The clock assembly is my last vacation project.  My husband wants a clock for our living room, so, of course, I decided to make one.  I etched the bits, am pretty pleased, but want it a bit bigger for the space.  Since I have the tools at my fingers (the laser cutter at the Generator!), I will see what I can do.  I was also thinking that it would be cool to cut it out and make a darker natural wood behind with a lighter natural wood as the design.  Hmmmm.....  It may take longer than the three days I have left.

Anyway, the new year brings with it all kids of possibilities, and as my mom used to say, the world is my oyster.  It's time to look for that pearl.  Happy New Year everyone!

Too Many Choices!

I have been testing the water and have decided that I just need to jump in with both feet.  I did the wood shop and rapid prototyping certifications so I could start making, and have managed to get mired in the swamp of possibilities!  This or that or maybe this other thing...  alas, I have little to show for my musings other than some sketches and a little bit of hope.

I did make some ornaments similar to my IaM fellow, Ellen, which was super fun!  I played around with different materials, using balsa wood, basswood, and acrylic.  I did learn that Lexan is not ok to laser.  It gives off toxic fumes.  The other thing to pay attention to is adhesives.  Anything with chlorine will give off toxic gas.

One of the things I am going to explore is the properties of different materials when cut and etched with different settings.  I have been talking with my forestry and building trades colleagues about the properties of different woods.  It is a fascinating science all on its own! They are going to keep slices from trees they cut down so I can etch them with a silhouette of that species and the name and maybe a leaf.  It could be a cool display.