The Apple IIe Story

I am sure you all know the famous saying "One man waste, is another man's treasure." Well, in my case, I have found a treasure. What would you say if I told you that about a dozen years ago, I found an Apple IIe in the garbage. Well, to be honest with you that's exactly where I found the computer which is showcased in the link above. As a STEM educator, I am always looking for innovative approaches to teaching and learning. I have been immersing young learners in the process of learning science for over two decades. You can have no idea what it takes to show a kid the magic of science. Teaching is not for the faint of heart. I am going to share a story with you my dear reader that will melt your heart and make you realize that some educators go beyond the call of duty to educate learners all over the globe. I am one of those educators.

Here is the Story:

Yesterday, September the 4th 2019 was the second day of school for all educators in the New York City Board/Deparment of Education System-NYCB/DOE. As usual, it's clean up time. It's a day for us to get our learning environments ready for the learners who will commence school the following day. As I was setting up the "Alchemist Club Studios"(My Lab), I decided to move the Apple IIe from my desk to the "Tinker Center". The Tinker Center is a learning space in the lab where we have all the cutting edge learning hardware and software from VR/MR/AR//IoT/3D Printer ...etc. This is where the real magic happens in the lab. If you think about it, all the engineers at Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon MIT Media Lab .....etc are doing the same thing we are doing in the Alchemist Club Studios. The only difference is that this is happening in a real classroom learning environment in the Bronx (The Timothy Dwight Elementary School-P.S33X). Last time I checked an atom is an atom no matter what grade a teacher is teaching. The challenge is to help a preK understand what an atom truly is. That my dear Watson is what separate a master teacher from the rest. Anyway, let's carry on.

I was looking for a specific software which I will use as a scaffold to articulate a "Driving Question." This driving question will be used to help my 4th grade students take a "Quantum Leap" in science this year. Guest what!!! I have found the perfect software. As you will see when you peruse through the pictures, I found a software entitled "Electricity and Magnetism." Can you imagine the look on the face of the 4th graders this year when I introduce them to the science of "Electromagnetism" by having each kid use the Apple IIe to learn about magnet and electricity. This software 30 years old. It's older than most of the kids parents in this community hear in the South Bronx. Can you believe it! This old computer will be used to set up a catalytic reaction in learning that will change these young learners life forever. Wait till you hear the background story of how we got to this point.

Let me step back so you can understand the gravity of this learning experience. Last year in third grade, I introduced all the third grades to the science of magnet and electricity by using a hands-on inquiry-based learning approach to teaching and learning. All learners were immersed in working collaboratively in teams to build a set of six electromagnets using a specific number of coils. Following the construction of the electromagnets, they use batteries and paperclips to test the strength of each electromagnet and record all empirical data in their science journal. The experimental data was used to construct graphical representation(bar graph, line graph, double graph).

During the background research phase, they used the computer to learn about the history of electromagnet and record important facts and details in their science journal. Next, each team worked together to write a science report based on the findings and background research. Finally, they used all the information they have collected to create a poster presentation. Each team presented their final project to members of their classroom learning environment and other members of the community of learners. The best project won first place, follow by second place......you get the message.

Now that you have a better understanding of what we do here in the Alchemist Club Studios, I can continue my Apple IIe story. Last year, I informed that we are going to continue learning about magnet and electricity in order to develop a deeper understand of the mystery of magnet. For my fellow readers who are not scientists, I will put it to you this way. We are living on top of a giant magnet. Most people don't realize that the Earth is a giant magnet. It's quite easy to understand. Think of it this way, if the Earth was not a magnet, a compass would not work. Simple as that!!!! Think about it for a minute and you will realize what all third graders mastered last academic school year.

Anyway, this year, we are going to take take a journey through the Cosmos. The kids are going to build simple generators/motors using nothing more than a coil of magnet wire, a strong neodymium magnet, small LED, batteries. Just imagine elementary level kids building generators, motors, Google voice assistant-Google AIY Project (see our website below), code in Python, learning and using XR:AR/VR/MR/IoT, fixing their own hardware by themselves (cell phone, toys, game consoles). This is what I have been doing in the lab right here in the Bronx since 1999. I even reached out to Google so they can see the magic that's happening in a small school right here in the Bronx. Thus far, my calling and excitement has fallen on deaf ears. I am sure someone working at Google will forward this article to the right person. If you want to see see the magic that's really going on in the Alchemist Club Studios check our website:

https://www.alchemistclubstudios.com/

By the way, this is just the first snippet of what we are going to do this year and the approach I will use to plug the kids in MY WORLD of science. I am sure my readers will glean the gold from the shaft in this brave attempt to bring about a shift in STEM education. The education revolution has to take place in real classroom settings not the lofty castle of academia. Let's take a journey together this year. I am looking forward to read all my readers' constructive comments and suggestions as we proceed.

Ohhh, by the way, WELCOME TO THE BRAVE NEW WORLD!

September 9th 2019

Well, today is the beginning of the first full week of school. As usual, I didn't get to teach any classes last week Thursday which was the first day of school. I was busy helping the administrative team get things in order. Normally, the first day of school is total chaos in most schools in the NYCDOE system. I am sure it's practically the same in every school.

However, I was able to light a fire under the feet of three of my fourth grade classes: 3/4-204, 4-3ICT, 4-4B on last week Friday. Class 4-1 left the Alchemist Lab a few minutes ago. Since this is my prep, I decide to jot down a few lines before the next class get here. As I have stated last week during, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a picture which showcase the core of the learning activity.

Figure 1: How does a compass work?

Ladies and gentlemen, I had to walk the 4th graders through the science of magnetism by not only explain how a compass work, but by showing them the magic of how it actually works. Quite honestly, it's very sad to know that millions if not billions of people on this planet don't know or understand how a compass work and the fact that we are living on top of a giant Magnet (That's right! The Earth is a giant Magnet).

You should have seen the look on kids eyes. Only a teacher understand the deep meaning of that look. It's the look when the light-bulb turn on in their brain. That's when the teacher knows that the student truly understand the concept. That's exactly what I experienced just a few minutes ago in the Alchemist Club Studios.

Next time these kids go to boy or girl scout, they will be the one teaching the scout masters the science of compasses. This is the kind of learning which take place in the lab everyday here at P.S.33X. I am preparing the next generation of Citizen Scientist who will make this world a more peaceful and habitable place

Keep in mind that not every student fully comprehend the schematic diagram listed above. At least they have a working understanding of the relationship between a compass and the Earth. Now they have a better understanding of why a compass always point North. The veil has been removed; It's no longer shrouded in mystery.

The Dynamic Ecosystem Project

If you have read my book entitled (Fordham Road Stories From An Alchemist, you should be familiar with the Dynamic Ecosystems Project. I will take a minutes to explain how I came up with that idea.

It all goes back to a course I took at Pace University as part of my doctoral program. The Dynamic Ecosystems Project was my final project presentation. I had to create an online course to teach a concept in science using a nontraditional approach to teaching and learning.

For the first iteration of the course, I used Wikispaces which was a free portal educators could use to design a Wiki. The first course was designed in 2011. Here is the website although the site no longer exist https://www.wikispaces.com/?responseToken=0a45a40ed419ee02f2e91128d4fb6b68b. Here is a picture which showcase the website.

This is not the first time a learning portal has gone under. I am sure many of my readers know or have heard about Google+. If you are not familiar with Google+, you have missed a golden opportunity to use a phenomenal digital learning tool. The free version was closed a a few months ago. You can only get it if you pay for G SUITE. By the way, I heard through the grapevine that Alphabet Inc. is shutting down Google Hangouts. Quite honestly, this is a great mistake.

For example, I know many educators who are currently using Hangouts to novel STEM Learning portals. Now if Google shut these innovative learning spaces, they are only cutting down their own Oxygen supplies. Way back, I remembered when they closed Google Reader on July 1st 2013. I was shocked! The lamentation of Google Reader users could be heard around the globe. I was one of those poor souls who never recovered from this traumatic experience.

I am hoping someone higher up in the Alphabet Inc. food chain hear my cry and keep Hangout in the public domain. My upper middle school, high school and college level students are freaking out right now because they know that Hangouts days are numbered. Alas, another one will bite the dust.

Anyway, after Wikispaces site closed down, I downloaded all the learning artifacts and back them up both in the cloud and on a physical hard drive. I decided to move the project to Google Classroom.

Now that I have walked you through a quick review of the Dynamic Ecosystems Project, I want to share with you what I did today with 5-777. This is the only 5th grade class I am teaching this year. Although I have a tentative schedule right now, I am not sure if I will have any other fifth grade classes. Last year, I taught five fifth grade classes. I have given them a solid foundation in STEM learning. If they hearken to my words of wisdom, none of my children shall beg for bread in middle school and beyond.

To commence the lesson this morning, I showed them the picture below and said bluntly "the Earth is dying." They were totally shocked because they weren't expecting to hear such a bold statement from the humble Dr. Ronelus. We have to teach generation Alpha like Bob Marley said "The music hit you but you feel no pain." That's exactly what we have to do if we want to teach this generation the crises our planet is currently facing.

I told them the total truth. It's true. The Earth is dying because we human beings are killing the planet. No matter how we dice it and slice it, we have to accept the fact that our days are numbered on this planet if we don't change course.

Following the introduction, I walked them Brainpop and show them how to access the collection of learning artifacts on Ecosystems. They watched the first video on ecosystem and used their science journals to take notes and record important facts and details. I informed them to watch each video at least two times before they attempt the graded quiz. They must score at least 7/10 before they can move on to the next video in the collection. Next week, I am going to introduce them to the Google Classroom learning portal and show them how to post the facts and details they have collected via the Brainpop learning portal.

Now that Brainpop can be accessed via Google Classroom, it will be easier to integrate the two learning portals. I started this process last academic school year. The objective of the Dynamic Ecosystems Project is to help elementary school level learners develop at least a working understanding of causality. Causal relationships is one of the most challenging concept in environmental science. If a teacher can get a kid to understanding causal relationship using the concept of Dynamic Ecosystems, that kid will grow up as a Citizen Scientist who will respect nature and understand why it's important to protect our one and only planet Earth. This is and has been my overarching goal for the passed two decades.

Stay tune for the next session