-Right on time. Take your seats
and get your snorkels on,
because we're going
underwater this period.
Ankara and Jason are here
how to show how sharks swim
and how your students
can build affordable inquiry-
and project-based activities with Hacking STEM lessons
from Microsoft Education.
Strap on those fins,
and let's get started.
-Thanks, Adam, and welcome
back to Pier Three.
I'm Ankur Anand, and I'm from
the Hacking STEM team.
And I have my colleague
here with me.
-I'm Jason Ewert.
I'm a full-time STEM teacher
at Rose Hill Middle School
right here in Redmond, Washington.
-So, we've been Hacking STEM
for the last two years,
and our mission is to democratize
and modernize STEM education.
We are modernizing STEM education
by inserting four 21st-century technical skills.
And those four 21st-century
technical skills
are electrical engineering, mechanical engineering,
software engineering, and terra science.
We are democratizing STEM Education by using low-cost,
everyday materials like cardboard, straws,
and wooden spools that can be found everywhere
to build STEM projects.
Today, we are really excited
to share with you a recent lesson plan
that we developed
in partnership with BBC Oceans.
The lessons investigates the big
questions of how sharks swim.
-Yeah, that's right, Ankur.
And we've chosen to focus
on sharks for this lesson.
Sharks are really cool,
and surprisingly,
there's been a lot of cool technology
related to sharks
that's actually been incorporated
in some surprising things --
for example,
the Mako Shark Corvette.
They've mimicked shark technology
in antibacterial surfaces,
and a drag-resistant coating
that makes swimmers,
sailboats,
and airplanes move faster.
Now, engineers are actually
developing robotic fish
that can go through
an oceanic environment
and collect oceanic research
and data related to pollution
and other environmental factors.
-Wow. That's really cool.
-I know. And so in this lesson plan,
students take on
the authentic role of engineers
and scientists developing
the primary control system
for these robotic research sharks.
So, the lesson progresses
from an analog to digital experience
and is divided into two parts.
The first part introduces students
to the math and science
associated with movement
in three dimensions.
And then the second part
allows students to use the foundational understanding
from the first part
to control their shark joystick.
So, they begin by building --
we actually have some props for you here today --
they begin by building
this great analog model
that helps them to understand
movement in three dimensions.
This model is a little bit bigger
than the ones that my students have made.
This one was made by one
of our great makers, Maria,
back in the Hacking STEM workshop.
And what we see here right now
are our three coordinate planes,
and then we start to investigate
this three-axis rotation
associated with
three-dimensional movement.
So right over here, we have movement
and rotation along the z-axis.
We have movement on the y-axis.
So we have pitch,
and then the z-movement is yaw.
And then along the x-axis, we have
this rotation that represents roll.
And if you're familiar with aeronautics,
these are some pretty common terms to use,
that engineers use when they're describing
the movement of airplanes.
So understanding is reinforced
with this this really cool
Excel worksheet that digitally represents
some of the isometric and geometric transformations
related to these pitch,
yaw, and roll movements.
-Wow, is that Excel?
-Yeah, that is Excel.
And so, the Hacking STEM
data visualization specialists,
our Excel crew, has developed
these really cool workbooks
that go along in conjunction with the concepts
that students are learning.
So as you can see right here,
we have the xy-coordinate plane.
And then we have a polygon --
a triangle that's associated
with the dorsal fin of the shark.
And as you see here as Ankur moves
that clockwise and counterclockwise --
scooch back over to that other one there.
Yeah, there you go.
As Ankur moves that clockwise
and counterclockwise,
you see that rotational movement.
And then you can also see
what's happening with the coordinates
as it rotates
around a specific point.
And then, once students are familiar
with that 2D motion,
they can start to do
some more complex visualizations
and start to look at what happens
with that dorsal fin
as it is moving around and interacts with rotations
around those three axes.
-Very cool. The lesson
also includes resources
that helps bring three-dimensional
learning to life.
And there are tools like PowerPoint
and Paint 3D that dig deeper into the lesson concepts
and help students understand
on the oceanic world of sharks
and how they swim.
Let me take a look
at this 3D PowerPoint model.
-Yeah, that's great. So with all of these lessons,
all the lessons are free.
We have free resources,
and these resources are --
I'm going to put my demo here away.
These resources are wonderful resources
that help reinforce the science and math
learning behind what is going on.
So right here, we have this PowerPoint
that supports 3D learning.
And here is where students
will start to look at the morphology of the shark
with relationship to the different fins
that the shark has,
and how an oceanic whitetip shark
uses those fins to maneuver in 3D space.
So right here, we focused
on the dorsal fin
and how the dorsal fin helps it move,
the pectoral fins, and the caudal fin.
And then, as we progress
through this resource,
we see now that students can now look
at the biology of the shark in direct relation
to the mathematics
behind that movement.
So right here, we have our pitch.
And you can see this beautiful
rendering of a three-dimensional
oceanic whitetip shark
that is rotating along
the y-axis, representing pitch.
And then we move to yaw,
where these movements
are further reinforced.
So, now we have the really,
really cool rotational movement
around the z-axis
as the shark moves left and right.
And then finally, roll --
so, the shark is doing this rolling motion,
and then we also see
the mathematic representation
of the the rotation
along the x-axis.
-We also have some really
cool resources around Paint 3D.
And that allows students
to play with 3D models
and learn about this,
so let me open that application.
And there's a 3D library
on top of this 3D application
where you can go search.
And I've typed "shark" here.
And as I search, there are
a bunch of sharks that turn up.
-You think we have the oceanic whitetip in there?
-Let me look at it. Oh, there it is.
-There it is.
-Oceanic whitetip shark was the hero
of the BBC "Ocean" movie.
And here, students can insert
this oceanic whitetip shark
into the Paint 3D model and sort of look at it
in a multidimensional way.
-So now we can, again,
students can actually engage
with the oceanic whitetip shark
on a canvas,
which further reinforces their
understanding of this 3D motion
and really helps with their thinking
around how to move 3D objects.
So, we've now kind of gone
through the first part of the lesson.
In this first component of the lesson,
students have progressed along this journey
where they have built an analog model that helps them
understand movement in three dimensions.
And then, they've gone
into a digital experience
where they're starting to look
at some of the mathematics
behind three-dimensional movement.
And then, they have these resources
that enable them to then
look at the science
behind three-dimensional movement
related to the actual biology/morphology
of the shark and its fins,
and how it maneuvers
through the ocean.
And so, we are now going to move
into the second phase
where students are going to take
on the role of engineers
in designing the control system
for a robotic research shark.
-So, what is this joystick made out of?
-So, this is an example of a joystick
that a student might make
in this lesson.
And this joystick is made
from cardboard, copper tape.
It's got a wooden dowel and pin wire,
all very, very inexpensive materials.
You can build this thing
in at right at about $1.
So we're not having this super,
super expensive experience
where, you know, we have $800 worth of materials
at every table family in your classroom.
This is all made from materials
you can get from your recycle bin,
really cheap at the craft store,
and, you know, source online -- very, very inexpensive.
And so, this is set up with electronics
that then go through our Arduino Uno microcontroller.
And then, that microcontroller then
allows us to engage with live data in Excel.
And as any middle school science
and engineering teacher knows,
live data is with where it's at.
Ankur, do you want to talk to us a little bit
about how we're getting live data into it?
-Yeah. As you said, live data is where it's at.
So I want to take a moment and talk about data
streamers here for a little bit.
So, Excel has been a go-to tool
for analyzing historic data or static data.
And our team went ahead and developed
this data-streamer app in Excel.
It's an add-in that enables
realtime streaming of data in Excel.
So once students have built this shark
out of cardboard and copper tape
and some wooden dowels
and connected it to Arduino,
this Arduino can stream data
in realtime in Excel. Let's go in and do this demo.
-All right, let's check it out.
Show us how we get set up with this.
-So, on top of the Excel tab,
on the ribbon, you see data-streamer tab.
And when you click on it,
you see "Connect A Device."
And when I click on "Connect A Device,"
you see Arduino Uno.
This Uno is the same microcontroller
that is connected to the shark.
All I have to do is connect
and start data.
So now we are ready
to test the joystick.
-That's right. So now,
I can interact with my joystick.
And we should start to see some live data
being represented on our test environment.
And this is a really, really cool
worksheet within this workbook
that allows students to be able to,
as they build,
they can test the different components
of their model
and make sure that
it's working properly.
And that really helps them advance along
as they are building and designing.
So, let's go ahead and check out
the three types of motion. Let's try out roll.
-Mm-hmm.
-So we see over there on the cardboard side
with those white circles,
we're seeing that those
connections are being made.
And then we also see our virtual shark
mathematically represented over on the right.
Okay, let's check out pitch.
So now we are going to take it
and look at pitch.
So now we see the shark
moving up and down
on the mathematical model
there on the right.
We also see the connections being made
with the white circles on the left.
And then lastly,
let's try out yaw.
And again, everything looks functional.
We have all systems go.
-Cool. Seems it's time to scan
the marine environment and start exploring.
-Yes. So now that students
have developed their control system,
they are now going to take
on the role of an engineer
that is testing their control system
in a virtual environment.
Obviously, you don't want to deploy
your expensive robotic shark
into a hostile environment with a control system
that has not been tested.
So we need to make sure
this thing is functioning properly
before we engage it with
some obviously inherent risks.
As you can see right here,
again, this is Excel, okay?
This is just plain old Excel that has
a little bit of magic from our
Excel specialists on the team.
But this Excel worksheet allows
students to control their shark
in this virtual environment.
But then additionally,
Excel is also keeping track of the
different populations of organisms
it's coming in contact with,
and also tabulating how many
individuals in each population
that the shark sees --
very much like what a robotic research shark
or fish that is being engineered by scientists
would do in a real environment.
So, very authentic learning
going on here.
-All right.
-So, are we ready to go here?
-Yep, let's go.
-Okay.
So, as you can see, I'm demonstrating
that great yaw movement there.
Getting past the orca.
Okay. Pitch and roll allows me
to go up and down and side to side.
And then, I'm going to dive down
a little bit deeper here.
And let's see if we can go investigate
these organisms a little more closely.
So, if I get close to some organisms,
we see that Excel sends us a little message that say,
"Hey, it looks like you stopped to examine the crab
after seeing 26 other Marine creatures.
-That was amazing, Jason.
-I know. It's just --
it's really, this whole progression
of the maker-based activities,
and then being able to go into
the digital experience,
is such a fantastic experience
for middle school kids.
And again, very accessible
economically for classrooms
that can't afford all
the high-tech STEM systems.
And then, we're really
engaging students with this idea
of being excited about data and data science
which is very, very important right now.
-Right. So in addition to the lesson
plan on sharks and how sharks swim,
we have partnered
with the BBC Oceans team
and developed three more companion lessons
that explore how deep is the ocean,
how are ocean currents formed,
and how to craft coral reefs.
These resources are available
for free on our website.
And we will give you a quick --
So I'll run through our website
so that you can know
where these resources are at.
-Yeah, why don't you hop on the
Hacking STEM website there,
and let's check out
some of these resources.
-All right.
-So, these resources
were developed
in conjunction with --
you know, we have this great partnership
between full-time middle school teachers
and then these great Microsoft engineers
and data-visualization experts.
And so we've been focusing on what
industry feels is important for students,
but then also how to engage
students into the learning
learning behind some of these things
that we've been looking at.
So these resources are resources
that are developed by teachers
that teachers would like
to be able to have access to.
-So again, this website is at
www.aka.ms/hackingstem.
And this is one of
our recent lesson plans.
When I click on Explore Our Oceans,"
it takes you to the BBC lesson plan page.
And as I said,
there are four big questions here:
how do sharks swim,
how deep is the ocean,
how are ocean currents formed,
and how to craft a coral reef.
Do you want to give us a quick deep-dive
into the shark one and show us?
-Yeah, why don't we go ahead
and check out the shark lesson?
-All right, there we go.
-So when we click onto that link,
that takes us to an introductory video
that will summarize the lesson --
kind of an abstract for the lesson there.
And then as we progress along,
you can actually click on another link
that will allow you to go to the lesson.
So, Ankur's going to take us there now.
And now we have this Word document
that has an introduction, has a lesson overview.
We have access to the NGSS standards,
the math standards,
and the ISTE standards
that are associated with the lesson.
It's basically just
a full-on lesson plan
that a teacher could show their administrator
if they're getting evaluated.
-So, how do teachers get access or a student
gets access to the instructions
to build a shark
and the whole workbook and code?
-Well again, all the lesson resources are free.
They're on our website.
And we have instructions
for building the shark controller.
We have all of
the Arduino code available.
And you know, it's basically everything
a teacher would need in order to carry out the lesson.
We also have detailed
materials' lists with links,
so you can just click right on that link
and access the materials.
And so, it's just
a one-stop shopping experience there
so you're not wasting a bunch of time
figuring out what you need to get
and making sure
that you have the right thing.
-So please log on to our website
and hack our projects.
-Yeah.
-Wow. Okay, what an awesome period that was.
Thank you both so much
for taking us down in the ocean.
I'm so excited to see what more the BBC partnership
brings to the lessons or to the table --
to the ocean, whatever you want to say there.
Let's jump right in with some questions.
What ages are the Hacking STEM
lessons intended for?
-So, we've geared these lessons
for middle schoolers,
sixth through eighth graders, 11-
to 14-year-olds.
But we also have made sure that these lessons
have a lot of room for differentiation,
so you could easily take this lesson
and make it into a high school lesson.
You can take parts of these lessons
and make them applicable
to elementary school students, as well.
And again, they're very, very flexible.
We, you know, highly encourage teachers
to take any part of that lesson and just use that
to enhance their current curriculum.
-Totally. Brilliant, brilliant. Are the schematics
and code included in the lesson plan?
-Yeah. So, schematics and code
are on the lesson plan page.
So, the links to the workbook that you saw --
we don't expect teachers to build those
Excel workbooks -- and a link to a spreadsheet
that has all hyperlinks to the Amazon server website
where you can go
and order these parts and pieces.
-Fantastic. And speaking of parts and pieces,
how much do lesson materials cost? What are we talking?
-So our -- you know, one of the things
that we try to keep consistent with all of our lessons
is that we keep the cost
in at $2 or less per student.
And so some of the materials like
the Arduino microcontrollers are reusable.
And then beyond that, you know,
we're trying to keep it at that $2 range.
-Fabulous, fabulous.
And then, just on a personal level,
how can I learn to code?
-Well, there's lots of opportunities
to learn to code associated
with some of
our Microsoft partners.
Ankur, do you want to talk
a little bit about that?
-Yeah. We have a partner with Microsoft,
actually, project MakeCode,
that allows students and teachers
to introduce block coding into classrooms.
And that's a fantastic first step.
-And we're also starting to develop
some lessons that engage students in an experience
where they're using some of these
block editors in conjunction
can Excel and their physical devices
that they are working with.
-Wonderful. All right. Well, thank you both again.
Awesome. We've got so much more in store.
At the top of the hour, you may want
to keep those goggles, the snorkels.
We're heading to a whole new world,
but you'll have to see where that world will take us.
See you then.
-Hi, baby. Good morning.
It's our jobs as teachers to find the ways
and the tools for personalized learning.
We're unique, and we're different.
So we're not all going to learn the same way.
Personalized learning in my classroom
looks like everyone doing the same task,
but in a different way.
-Ms. Graves is amazing.
-She's the best reading teacher in the whole world.
-Ms. Graves is -- she's a great teacher.
She'll go above and beyond,
figuring out what she can do
and how she can tailor her instruction
for even just one kid.
-We really do our best to serve the whole child.
I know that teaching is my purpose.
It's why I was put on this Earth.
-There's so many different ways
the kids can learn things. There's no one right way.
-Absolutely. Finding that way for that kid,
and then it's off and running for them, you know?
I love Class Notebook.
I've often thought, where has this been
my whole entire teaching life?
Now put them together. Good job.
I love how you -- This tool is incredible.
It helps my children become more organized.
Everyone's engaged. Everyone feels successful.
And that's certainly what I want
for all of my children.
I'm so proud of you.
Good job, bud.
-The OneNote Class Notebook helped me
because if I don't know some words,
I can just go to Immersive Reader,
and it can say it for me.
-Oh, gosh. Immersive Reader has helped
the comprehension in my classroom.
I see better fluency. I see better engagement,
and the kids are taking more ownership.
People who serve tend
to forget about themselves,
but it's so important that we take care of ourselves
so that we can take of others.
OneNote has given me the time back
that I need for my own balance.
And most of all, what I see are students
who feel more confident in their own
learning.
