Invention, Intellectual Property, and Income


Week of May 21, 2014
Goal - to develop a plan for dissemination of my final project.
1. The school-wide STEM Night I created last year morphed into STREAM Exhibit Night this year with the addition of literacy (hence the "R" in the acronym for Reading) as well as Art. Students were enchanted by one of the outside presenters - a retired engineer with a table full of Arduino-driven kinetic sculptures. In the coming years, I plan to have my students incorporate Fab Lab skills into all aspects of this event. I envision students will have their own Arduino devices on exhibit. Signage will incorporate the laser cutter and the vinyl cutter. Models will have components created by the 3-D printer. The ShopBot and the Modela will contribute and I expect the whole event to shift given our new technological literacy.
On May 3 and 4, Haystack hosted a Fab Lab for Island students and their teachers. Here are two of my students very successfully designing and building a castle using the laser cutter. 2. The first step in learning Fab Lab skills has been the enormously generous offer from Haystack to extend this opportunity to myself and my students. Therefore, I will continue to participate and continue to encourage and facilitate my students' attendance in every way possible.

3. I am a member of the Fourth Cohort of Maine Governor’s Academy for STEM Education Leadership. The Fourth Cohort is comprised of 26 teacher leaders from around the state. In June, our cohort will meet to review best practices which support STEM education in school settings. As part of my presentation, I will share my Fab Lab experience as the most innovative avenue to leverage STEM into the classroom.
4. I am also a participant in The Maine Physical Science Partnership (MPSP) which brings together 50 rural Maine schools with the University of Maine to target the teaching and learning of physical sciences in grades 6-9 and the preparation of science teachers at the University of Maine. I will be attending a Leadership Academy this July at which time I will share my knowledge of Fab Lab and its role in the STEM classroom.
5. Having published The Alchemy of Art - Transforming Student Artwork into Science Knowledge in the Classroom in The Science Teacher magazine, I will pursue publishing an article about the powerful alchemy of Fab Lab within the middle school classroom.


Deer Isle Stonington Elementary School, first day of school with traditional balloon arch		 6. Most importantly, I will continue to create with Fab Lab and I will continue to teach my students how to make their own Fab Lab creations. I have applied for a STEM Integration grant through the Technology and Engineering Educators Association of Maine to fund the planning of a 3-D cell project in Life Science in the 2014-2015 school year. The making of Makers is just beginning.



Mickie Flores Home