Brilliant Labs Magazine: Digital Hope by Brilliant Labs

Volume 4 Issue 1

REVUE

MAGAZINE

THE AU FAMILY IS LEARNING AT HOME

FEMI & LOCKDOWN

TAKE 5: Ben Kelly Welcome, Alisha Collins

Youth Insight: ALFRED BURGESSON

Volume 4 Issue 1

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

This Issue |Cette Édition

This Issue | Cette édition

Welcome. Bienvenue.

Welcome, Alisha Collins

Take: 5 With Ben Kelly

In Conversation With: Alfred Bugesson

It Takes A Village To Create A Community TV Show

Learning At Home: A family’s journey of learning-at-home

From In Class To Learning Success At Home

#MakerFun Daily Activies During Lockdown

Lonley to Leadership

Failure In The Time Of Lockdown

3D Printers Wanted

Thosands Of Experiences: Virtual Summer Camp Refleciton

Empathy At The Water’s Edge: Natural Maker Camp

Camps d'été Maker Naturel

We Appreciate Your Feedback

Thank You STEAM Camp Sponsors

Virtual Summer Learning Academy

Creativity In A Time Of Pandemic

MakerNews: Upcoming Events

Credits

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Welcome. Bienvenue.

Au cours des six derniers mois, nos jeunes et nos éducateurs ont fait preuve d'une incroyable résilience. Alors que les communautés et les JEFF WILLSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL écoles se sont fermées dans le monde entier. Nos routines quotidiennes ont été bouleversées et rapidement remplacées par des plateformes Over the past 6 months, our youth and educators have shown numériques qui nous ont permis d'établir des liens sociaux et nous ont incredible resilience. As communities and schools locked down donné l'espoir que la technologie puisse surmonter nos difficultés. Alors que les systèmes scolaires du monde entier expérimentaient diverses around the globe. Our daily routines were uprooted and quickly approches pour soutenir l'apprentissage à domicile, les Labos Créatifs substituted with digital platforms providing us with social ont fait de même. Notre modèle traditionnel de soutien en personne aux connection and a sense of hope that technology can overcome our élèves et aux enseignants a rapidement été remplacé par un programme challenges. As school systems around the world experimented with d'apprentissage pratique quotidien et un appel à l'action inspiré des a variety of approaches to support home learning, so too did objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations unies pour les Brilliant Labs. Our traditional model of in-person student/teacher familles/éducateurs. Il ne nous a pas fallu longtemps pour découvrir support was soon replaced with a daily hands-on learning schedule l'existence d'une division numérique. Alors que beaucoup avaient accès and call to action inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable à l'internet et à des appareils connectés, certaines familles étaient coupées du monde extérieur si les cartes d'appel prépayées étaient Development Goals (SDGs) for families/educators. It didn’t take épuisées dans leur magasin de quartier. Il s'agit là d'une lacune long for us to discover a digital divide existed. Where many had importante et, alors que nous nous préparons à une deuxième vague access to the internet, and connected devices, some families were potentielle, nous devons veiller à ce que l'accès aux appareils et à la cut off from the outside world if prepaid calling cards were sold out connectivité deviennent une partie intégrante de la solution à adopter at their local convenience store. This is a critical gap and as we dans notre région. Si les solutions extérieures à notre région sont brace for a potential second wave we need to ensure that access to inabordables ou inadaptées, nous avons collectivement les capacités de devices and connectivity becomes an integral part of a way forward concevoir les nôtres ! in our region. If solutions from outside our region are unaffordable Dans cette édition du magazine Labos Créatifs: L'espoir numérique, nous or unsuitable, collectively we have the capabilities to engineer our partageons des histoires de contraintes transformées en opportunités. own! Face à l'adversité, notre équipe de Labos Créatifs a travaillé sans relâche pour continuer à innover et à créer, et atteindre les jeunes dans le In this edition of Brilliant Labs Magazine: Digital Hope, we share monde entier en créant nos propres plateformes numériques, en stories of difficulty transformed to opportunity. In the face of exploitant des projets de source libre existants pour nous permettre de adversity our Brilliant Labs team worked tirelessly to continue to nous connecter avec les jeunes et les enseignants comme jamais auparavant grâce à la réalité virtuelle, la micro-accréditation, une innovate, create, and reach young people far a wide through plateforme d'apprentissage pour soutenir nos camps de vacances creating our own digital platforms, we welcomed a new team member in Alisha Collins, leveraged existing Open Source Projects virtuels, Labos Créatifs TV, un portail de partage de projets, un service de nuage de données amélioré, une nouvelle version améliorée de notre to allow us to connect with youth and teachers virtually like never b.Board, et bien plus encore. before through Virtual Reality, digital micro-accreditation, a learning platform to support our virtual summer camps, Brilliant Nous avons développé de nouveaux partenariats avec Rogers & EastLink afin de fournir aux jeunes n'ayant pas accès à Internet des programmes Labs TV, low tech, no tech, and offline projects, a project sharing portal, an improved data cloud service, a new and improved version de télévision communautaire pour encourager la créativité et l'apprentissage inspirés par nos activités FunCréatif. En filmant ces of our b.Board, and much more. épisodes, nous avons réalisé que nos chaînes de médias sociaux explosaient avec de nouveaux adeptes et des familles qui s'engagent We developed new partnerships with Rogers & EastLink to provide dans nos défis quotidiens de #FunCréatif. En particulier, la famille Au a youth with no internet access to Community TV programming to commencé à partager les projets de ses filles. Dans l'article de Krysta Au, foster creativity and learning inspired by our MakerFun activities. Learning At Home : Le parcours d'apprentissage d'une famille pendant le While filming these episodes, we realized our social media channels confinement, elle partage leur engagement à faire participer leurs filles, les jumelles Megan et Caitlin, 10 ans, et Lauryn, 13 ans, pendant les were exploding with new followers and families engaging in our premiers jours de la pandémie. Pour favoriser davantage l'apprentissage daily #MakerFun challenges. In this issue we share the Au Family à domicile, Sam Paterson, le professeur de Megan et Caitlin Au, s'est story as engaged with us online. We take a look at how teacher plongé dans la programmation virtuelle et a encouragé les expériences Sam Paterson, delved into virtual programming and encouraged non structurées pour ses élèves et l'apprentissage professionnel pour unstructured experiences for his students and professional lui-même. Rejoignez Sam Paterson pour partager son histoire "De la learning for himself. Throughout our digital journey, we discovered classe à la réussite de l'apprentissage à domicile". Tout au long de notre that social distancing and lockdown can be emotionally draining voyage numérique, nous avons découvert que la distanciation sociale et as Ben Kelly’s article Lonely To Leadership: With Minecraft le confinement peuvent être émotionnellement épuisants, comme le montre l'article de Ben Kelly intitulé Lonely To Leadership : Avec Education candidly describes the feelings of isolation for youth Minecraft Education décrit franchement les sentiments d'isolement during this uncertain time and how a digital communities can pour les jeunes pendant cette période incertaine. support youth. Le printemps s'est transformé en été et Labos Créatifs a déménagé dans As spring turned to summer, Brilliant Labs moved to a blend of des camps virtuels STIAM. Nous ne savions pas à quoi nous attendre, virtual, in person, and hybrid STEAM camps. The results of our mais comme vous le verrez, les participants et leurs familles ont été engagés et ont demandé plus d'apprentissages virtuels cet automne virtual summer camps led and delivered by exceptional young (restez branchés pour les programmes parascolaires virtuels cet Atlantic Canadians for children far exceeded our expectations and automne). Étonnamment, toutes les communautés n'ont pas été encouraged us to develop virtual after school programs which will complètement fermées, ce qui a permis d'organiser des camps d'été be announced soon. We were able to organize Natural Maker Camps physiques pour 15 jeunes ou moins. Cela nous a permis d'organiser des in the communities of Northwestern New Brunswick and Yarmouth camps de Création en Nature dans les communautés du nord-ouest du County, Nova Scotia, with great success all while respecting safety Nouveau-Brunswick et du comté de Yarmouth, en Nouvelle-Écosse, avec protocols and procedure. Learning during a pandemic is possible beaucoup de succès. Là où les connexions locales sont absolument when you get creative. Where local connections are absolutely importantes, il est tout aussi important de savoir comment les jeunes des autres pays se sont adaptés pendant cette période difficile. Nous important, so too is learning about how youth in other countries sommes heureux de partager l'histoire Failure In The Time Of Lockdown, adapted during this difficult time. We are happy to share the story écrite par Femi (alias Hackerfemo), 14 ans, qui décrit ses épreuves et ses Failure In The Time Of Lockdown, authored by Femi (A.K.A. aventures au Royaume-Uni. Hackerfemo), 14, who describes his trials and tribulations from the United Kingdom. Rejoignez-nous maintenant pour accueillir notre nouvelle coéquipière de Labos Créatifs, Alisha Collins, et explorer les nombreux environnements virtuels qui façonnent notre espoir numérique au sein de ce monde Please join us as we explore the Digital Hope shaping our present COVID-19 présent et futur. and future world. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Welcome, Alisha Collins

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Meet Alisha! Introduction by Jacob Lingley, Director of Instructional Design | Brilliant Labs

This past spring Brilliant Labs had the pleasure of welcoming Alisha Collins to our team as a Creative Catalyst to inspire teachers and youth to creatively explore teaching and learning. Alisha is an exceedingly talented educator and maker who captivated the attention of Brilliant Labs in 2017. During a trip to a conference in Boston, a few Brilliant Labs team members were moved by how Alisha was able to convey a sense of enthusiasm and accessibility for all maker materials. Over the past 4 years, Brilliant Labs has continued to collaborate with Alisha, including her work with teachers during a two day event in 2018. Needless to say, we are thrilled to have Alisha’s knowledge and experience join our team of educators here at Brilliant Labs. We had the pleasure of connecting with Alisha to learn more about how she became an educator and a creative force in education. Let’s Meet Alisha! Alisha grew up in India and studied at MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA U.S. and Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology, Bengaluru, India. You've been an educator for how long? I started twelve years ago and ever since then have been expanding my practice across a few countries in both formal and informal learning settings. In your lifetime has anyone inspired you to change your mind, for the better, to overcome an obstacle? After completing my undergraduate studies in Fashion and Textile Design, I joined a progressive multidisciplinary art Institute called Srishti for graduate studies. I had enrolled in an experimental program called 'Design in Education.' "Alisha, anything can be learned", Geetha Narayanan, the director of the college who later became my mentor, told Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

me when we first met. That is the first thing you are told at Srishti and then encourage you to experiment and engage in your personal goals. Well, I joined the college to become an educator, but strangely, everything I did at the beginning did not seem to be connected to education at all. Surprised, excited and a little confused, I went to my mentor again and asked, "What am I doing here? I came here to learn how to teach!" and she replied, "You are learning how to learn".

experimental ways of integrating storytelling, craft, wellness, play, and interactive technologies to create participatory learning practices. Tell us about your favourite project. It's hard to choose, but the 'Sensors and Vulnerabilities' project I did in 2010 remains my favourite. Through this project I explored the benefits of design-based pedagogy in education of poor urban communities to detect the well-being of their community in Bengaluru, India. Students between the ages of 12-15 were able to better comprehend the content of the high school physics curriculum, such as the wave spectrum, while simultaneously making connections to their environment in the context of

Since then, my focus has been on consciously exploring the art of learning to better understand: Who is the learner? What and why are they interested in learning? How do they learn? And most importantly, how can I s educators, we need to design tools and secure curiosity and wonder experiences to further their learning? I initially in students and empower started working with them to change their worlds. children from urban slum communities in - Alisha Colins, Creative Catalyst | Brilliant Labs Bengaluru, India. I would like to say that I taught those kids, but I think, in reality, they electromagnetic radiation. Using taught me. The experience broadened affordable materials, I introduced and my vision by providing insights into equipped the students with new learning and vulnerability including: technologies such as: physical what it means to be exploratory, what computing, spatial-augmented it means to be creative, what it means reality, and cartography. By making to be giving. Most of my learning has invisible aspects of electromagnetic come from engaging with children. By radiation visible through a 3D Map co-designing and co-creating with Installation youth experiences were them, I have explored kindling my own amplified and further inspired action curiosity in others. and community engagement. This project indeed allowed students to What is your passion? I am connect classroom learning to a passionate about empowering broader context. children to actively engage in experimenting, designing, making What goals do you have as you work and inventing things. I strive to with Brilliant Labs? Brilliant Labs is nurture children's creative confidence an outstanding organization that with new technologies and encourage focuses on young people's interests their involvement in creative acts and passions, supporting them to within their communities. In my gain creative confidence with new practice, I explore experiential and

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technologies. As a Creativity Catalyst, I aspire to further BL's vision by designing maker environments, tools and experiences to support novel modes of inquiry, passion, and expression with new technologies. I am working towards developing and implementing strategic initiatives that actively engage students, teachers, and families in creative learning experiences. In this fastpaced world, in which even current technologies are becoming obsolete in limited time, one can only thrive by adapting to new situations with innate curiosity and learning how to learn. I hope to continue cultivating engagement, design thinking, wonder, and serendipity within our organization's culture and spark meaningful collaboration. What challenge would you give youth and what advice would you give teachers who are interested in bringing making to the classroom or how would they inspire online learning? As a strong advocate of transformative project-based STEAM pedagogy, I believe learning is extremely personal. Any creative environment, physical or virtual, that values diversity, inclusion, and equity, can foster motivation, collaboration, a sense of identity and belonging; thereby transforming the creative self. With these insights, I navigate my own innovative learning experiences with compassion and curiosity. As educators, we need to secure curiosity and wonder in students and empower them to change their worlds. Students should have the creative freedom to pursue their interests and make projects driven by their own curiosities and passions. To support this, we also need to nurture our own passions and interests and share our creative process. When we voice our passions out loud, other people can Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

connect with us and understand what we care about working toward a common goal. Along with passions, we should also embrace our vulnerabilities as they help us to find our innate capacity for resilience to seek new knowledge. The crucial aspect is to engage with these experiences with all our senses and listen to our intuition. If you could recommend a good read for teachers, what would it be? Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play – by Mitchel Resnick The Having of Wonderful Ideas" and Other Essays on Teaching and Learningby Eleanor Duckworth Evocative Objects: Things We Think With– by Sherry Turkle

Feeling inspired? Connect with Alisha! Alisha Collins, Creative Catalyst ALISHA@BRILLIANTLABS.CA @CURIOUSALISHACO

Questions about Brilliant Labs and how we can help? Connect with us: info@brilliantlabs.ca

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Ben is a recipant of the Prime Minster’s Award For Teaching Excellence in STEM, a leader in sharing & organizing professional development opportunities for teachers, named Apple Distinguished Educator Advisory Board Member for the Americas, Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow, New Brunswick STEM Educator of the Year Award and an NB Innovator for his work with Minecraft Education. He is also the provincial leader in creating and piloting STEM and digital citizenship education resources, and was part of teams that created the New Brunswick’s STEM curriculum for grades six to ten. Most recently, Ben inspired youth accross Atlantic Canada during the COVID-19 lockdown as he worked with Brilliatn Labs to bring teamwork, connection, and innovation into homes through Minecraft.

TAKE 5

Take 5 is a regular feature of Brilliant Labs Magazine that focuses on a teacher that has been inspiring, innovative and has shown entrepreneurial spirit. In this issue, Digtial Hope, we are proud to interview Mr. Ben Kelly, teacher of sixteen years and is currently teaching at Caledonia Regional High School, Hillsborough, New Brunswick.

We are pleased to share Ben’s passion for education and welcome you to join us as we talk candidly about his journey and Take 5 inspiration tips for educators & community. Why did you become a teacher? Every teacher I had ever met seemed like a happy person. Sure they had personality quirks here and there, but genuinely, beneath it all, they seemed to be happy people. I wanted that. I don’t think you can or should be a teacher without at least an underlying optimism and happiness.

Finding balance. Teaching is a 24/7 job if your let it be. Set realistic goals and be kind to yourself at home by making healthy choices. The legendary Canadian comedian John Candy once said “The finest line a man/woman will walk is the one between success at work and success at home.”

In your lifetime has anyone inspired you to change your mind, for the better, to overcome an obstacle? Watching my son grow up has inspired me to prioritize my health in the way I’ve prioritized my career for decades. As I now search for balance it wouldn’t shock me if I swing further the other way, normalizing professionally until I reach my ideal health goals. The legendary Canadian comedian John Candy once said “The finest line a man/woman will walk is the one between success at work and success at home.” My health is part of my success at home and I’m going to try living on that side of the line for a while. Teaching is a 24/7 job if you let it be, which I have for a long long time.

What is the most memorable moment as a teacher? Throwing student-made Mars Landers, made from common cheap crafts, off of the highest roof of the school, in any weather. Grade 6 students below shriek with glee and run to discover if their precious egg cargo has survived planet entry. That was, and is the highlight of my years. It’s witnessing pure joy in making and learning. Other accomplishments line my walls but this one makes me smile every single time I reflect on it. The project is an exemplar for future-ready learning. 10

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Fostering fun in learning can be innovative and bolster the critical thinking process. It doesn’t always need to be in the form of a ‘high-tech’ project. Throwing student-made Mars Landers, created from common cheap crafts, off of the highest roof of the school, in any weather, is an exemplar for future-ready learning. Plus, it’s witnessing pure joy in making and learning.

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Listen to your students. They know how best to be inspired. Take risks in the classroom. You never know what the future holds for you or how you will empower students, colleagues or your community.

Has a student ever inspired you? If so, how has it changed your teaching methods? Several students persistently would tell me about the game Minecraft over and over again as I passively listened. They were relentless in asking if I could please bring the game, now the world’s most popular game, into our learning experiences. I consider myself a late adopter of Minecraft in education only because I knowingly dismissed their early pleas and only committed to the use of the game after months of their correct insistence. Now, years later, I helped bring Minecraft Education Edition to every student in New Brunswick! I’ve been named an official NB Innovator by our government for my work in Minecraft. In 2019, I went live in front of millions of people, talking about how I use Minecraft in the classroom and for 2020 I was 12

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knowingly dismissed [students’] early pleas and only committed to the use of the game after months of their correct

insistence. Now, years later, I helped bring Minecraft Education Edition to every student in New Brunswick! - Ben Kelly, Teacher & Innovator In Educaiton, Caledonia Regional High School, Hillsborough, New Brunswick.

named International Games and Simulations Excellence Award (ISTE) recipient. Minecraft is the most flexible and empowering teaching tool in the world. We are lucky in New Brunswick to have every student and teacher supplied with this tool for free!

Tell us about a project (or challenge) that helped students improve their learning experience? How did it make you feel? The Microsoft Hololens is revolutionary technology even today at 4 years old. It allows users to see hologram imagery in their actual

learning space and the holograms can detect and interact with that space. Brilliant Labs supported an incredible initiative which saw high school students at our school design houses and, using the Hololens, walk through those homes at full size within the classroom inspecting their builds from within. These students would later enter the school’s skilled trades program and build New Brunswick’s first ever K-12 tiny house for a real client. Mixed reality is what Microsoft calls the experience of holograms interacting with real-world while both are visible at the same time. This technology will be the future of education and we were lucky to have Brilliant Labs support us in this cutting-edge work.

Since March, we’ve seen incredible Teaching is exhilarating, fast-paced, changes in our rewarding and an essential role in society. It can also be world and its stressful, daunting and even scary at times. Consider effect on diving deep into Microsoft Teams, Minecraft and Flipgrid education. What is as those tools represent the future of learning and the your perspective solutions for many of today’s challenges. on virtual learning and how can we prepare for a possible return to “learning at learning can begin to thrive as a home”? Incredible solutions are real solution. It will never be the coming to boost internet speeds for ideal solution but sometimes life rural homes but they aren’t from throws curve-balls and we just have the traditional companies we know. to bat and take the single instead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX is launching the home-run. satellite internet in Canada very soon which promises to solve that problem for those who can afford it. Once rural internet connectivity is solved for New Brunswick, remote Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

What advice can you give to educators who are worried about teaching this coming school year? Teaching is exhilarating, fast-paced, rewarding and an essential role in society. It can also be stressful, daunting and even scary at times. Try to remain optimistic this year and trust that decision makers are working for everyone’s best interests. We can survive and thrive this year but only together as a united team. Consider diving deep into Microsoft Teams, Minecraft and Flipgrid as those tools represent the future of learning and the solutions for many of today’s challenges. Other closing thoughts? When I started teaching I was told “Don’t smile until Christmas and you’ll be fine” by a few colleagues. This was the suggested approach to managing a classroom filled with students. I had read Harry Wong’s First Days of School book which did little to contradict this despite being regarded as the holy grail of

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advice for young teachers. I think both my colleagues and Mr. Wong had minimized how important positive relationships are between educators and their students. My advice to younger teachers would be to employ your sense of humour, really listen to your students’ interests and try to fit your curriculum to those interests. It’s okay to do a project on horses while adding countless math outcomes and you don’t have to do a math project that just happens to talk about horses for example. Whatever you do, give it a realworld purpose and respectfully and humbly join your students in the learning.

Employ your sense of humour, apply real-world purpose to projects and respectfully & humbly join your students in the learning process. Don’t forget to listen! They will be more engaged if your curriculum fits their interests.

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John Wong | Director Fund Development | Brilliant Labs

IN CONVERSATION WITH ALFRED BURGESSON About the importance of creating opportunities and spaces for youth to co-create, innovate and lead during this period of uncertainty. At the age of seven, Alfred Burgesson and his family moved from Ghana to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to pursue a better quality of life. He is an alumni of Halifax Grammar School, where he continues to coach Junior High Boys Basketball there, and studied Political Science and Entrepreneurship at Saint Mary’s University. Alfred is the Project Lead at the Centre for Employment Innovation (CEI) in Nova Scotia and a member of the Prime Minister's Youth Council. As an active connector, leader and social entrepreneur in Halifax, Alfred is deeply passionate about youth issues, inclusion, equity and community well-being. He is a member of the Halifax Public Libraries Board of Directors, an 16

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advisory committee member of the African Nova Scotian Youth Employment Lab. Alfred is currently leading the Nova Scotia Young Leaders Initiative, which aims to create meaningful jobs for underrepresented youth, including Indigenous, African Nova Scotian, and youth with disabilities, as well as develop the leadership capacity of youth across the province of Nova Scotia. I had the pleasure of speaking to Alfred during this unprecedented time. Here is a snip-it of our conversation. For the full interview please listen to “LIVE & IN Conversation With: Alfred Burgesson”. Now, It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Alfred Burgesson. JW: Alfred Burgesson. Community

and Youth leader. A Member of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council as well as, involved in creating space for empowering young people to actively participate in their community and have an impact. Thank you again for joining us today. I’d like you, if you would please, share your family’s journey from Ghana to Nova Scotia. AB: Sure. First, thank you for having me. I’m really a fan of Brilliant Labs and I’ve been looking forward to having this conversation with you. I was born in Ghana as you alluded to and my family moved from Ghana to Nova Scotia when I was really young. We moved to Canada because my

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t’s a hard time, but this is also a time where young people are looking for opportunities to support each other… to support their community. I think COVID has shown that we are resilient… and, young people are actively looking for ways in which they can contribute to their community. While the times are really tough, I think we’re being resilient and putting our hand up and open to being part of the solution.” - Alfred Bugesson, Project Lead at the Centre for Employment Innovation (CEI) in Nova Scotia and a member of the Prime Minister's Youth Council.

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parents wanted to find a better quality of life for their kids. A place with more opportunities for us. Canada was the place they identified on the map and we all moved here in 2004. JW: Can you please share with us a couple of key experiences that have influenced you to be the person you are today?

you’ve taken that experience and building on that in university to currently what you’re doing right now. AB: My journey started when it comes to youth initiatives in high school… I joined a program called Junior Achievement (JA). That’s an extracurricular program where students start a company. In the first month of school and throughout the whole year students build the company. At the end of the year there’s sort of a pitch competition that allows students from all over Nova Scotia to come

AB: So, early on I think, when we moved from Ghana to Canada my parents were very clear that growing up as a black man in western society wasn’t going to be easy and we needed to sort of gain the respect of others. To rovide young people with the gain respect you need to opportunity to poke holes in respect others. From very early we were in a house your program...in your idea. where manners and treating Often times they will actually have ideas people equally was definitely something that that will make your program or your thing was appreciated. That you’re creating to help them[...]better.” definitely helped my development. Growing up, I was interested in young together in Halifax and to share people sort of coming together and their idea, share what the process working together. was like, what progress they made, what they learned, what successes I look back to my high school years. they had and what failures they had. I was coaching middle school and Junior Achievement and the junior high basketball and soccer company program was sort of my tams. After high school, when I got first intro into youth led initiative. into University and the broader community, I was always looking for AB: So after high school I joined ways to work with youth and rally Enactus. I was able to have that my peers together to do things. similar environment I had with JA, but with my university peers. I was always interested in working Through that experience I led a with my peers whether it was project and that was called through team sports or identifying Connect-Ed, which was essentially a community project. My goal was trying to share technology with to bring people together to discuss marginalized youth. Through that what can we do. From a very early project I was invited to a United age that's just something that I Nations conference in Ottawa. It gravitated towards. was called: The Active Citizen’s Summit. JW: I find it really interesting how

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JW: Did your exposure to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) inform your choices in education or your career path? AB: Absolutely, yeah. I think UN SDGs were new to me then. This was a few years ago and it was an opportunity to look at them with my peers and learn more about them and to say ok...how do each of our projects, we were working on at that time, connect to the SDGs? Like you know, a global sort of agenda. A global set of goals. It allowed me to take my local idea and look at it in a global context. A global framework. It was certainly useful then and I have found it useful since to look at initiatives that are happening in Canada and to say what SDG goals could they be making progress towards? Any time I enter a new project, or initiative, SDGs are definitely brought up in terms of how can this project, or how does, this project align with our global goals? JW: Any words of advice for organizations who are now looking at the opportunities to engage youth and to help them lead? AB: If an organization has an idea for a new program, if it’s affecting young people, the first step is to identify young people who you can bring together to present the idea to. To say… Here's what we’re thinking, here's where we're at, what do you think? And provide the young people the opportunity to poke holes in your program. Poke holes

in your idea. Often times they will actually have ideas that will make your program or your thing you’re creating to help them. They’ll make it better. I think it’s important that you centre young people’s experiences when designing programs for them. I think if you're already developing a program, create spaces where young people can provide their input. In terms of leading, there’s also something to

be said about not having a program created and just bringing young people together to say: What’s a priority for you? Where in our local community where do you want to see change? What opportunities do you see? What challenges do you see? What challenges do you want to address? I think there’s a lot of power in actually having young people think about the local context and what the challenges are and

then giving them the space to move forward and design, brainstorm and then coming up with a proposal with how they can potentially implement a solution. I think these are great questions that organizations are dealing with and for young people right now who may not have access to organizations like Brilliant Labs. Put your hand up and send your councillor, your MLA, MP notes to say… Are you Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

considering young people's voices during this time? Find out if your local community has a youth council. Find out if your municipal or provincial bodies have these councils and if they don't. Tell them you want to start one. There needs to be a greater intent to transfer knowledge between young people and the older generations and it’s not something that can happen in one meeting where you’re hearing young people's feedback but it needs to be an ongoing process and it needs to be intentional. JW: Great words of advice. Thank you very much. Well on behalf of Brilliant Labs, thank you once again for chatting with us today. Greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to give your thoughts and insights with us today. Many thanks again. AB: Thanks John.

YOUTH INSIGHT You don’t need a problem or reason to ask your community’s youth for insight!

There is a lot of power in actually having young people think about the local context and what the challenges are and then giving them the space to move forward, design and brainstorm. You’ll gain valuable insight by asking: • What’s a priority for you? • Where in our local community where do you want to see change?

IN CONVERSATION WITH is a regular Brilliant Labs Magazine segment authored by John Wong, Director of Fund Development. John’s goal is to highlight passionate community leaders who are inspiring and informing change. If you know an educator or change maker that is making a positive impact, email: John.Wong@brilliantlabs.ca | Subject: In Conversation With

• IN CONVERSATION WITH

ALFRED BURGESSON

LISTEN FULL INERVIEW

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• What opportunities do you see? • • What challenges do you see?

CREATE A YOUTH COUNCIL Put your hand up and send your councillor, your MLA, MP notes to say… Are you considering young people's voices during this time? Find out if your local community has a youth council. Find out if your municipal or provincial bodies have these councils and if they don't. Tell them you want to start one.

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Mary Webber | Creative Specialist | Brilliant Labs

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO CREATE A COMMUNITY TV SHOW Inspired by families wanting to learn at home during COVID-19 lockdown

Tapping into the world of television and continuing to promote our learning philosophy at home for kids has long been on the radar for Brilliant Labs. Who would have thought that the time to start would have been when everyone was working from home and not able to be in the same room? The day the world changed and kids were sent home, unprepared for the huge task of finishing the school year from their kitchen tables, the gap in at home technology and reliable internet coverage became glaringly evident. Brilliant Labs was buzzing with ideas, we had jumped into action with #MakerFun. These online project prompts are something that kids can do at home with minimal supervision, making something out of what they might find in an average kitchen 22

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junk drawer. These prompts are connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which also encouraged discussions and learning with an impactful context. These were well received by students, parents and teachers alike, which was great! High fives all around! But what about the hundreds of kids across the Atlantic provinces that did not have access to a device, reliable internet, or even an adult that had time to sit down with them to work on a project? These were the kids that we knew needed us the most, and we needed a way to reach them. After the initial weeks of working from home went by, we were all well acquainted with working as a team on online video platforms, constantly checking in with each other through video calls.

Community TV doesn’t need a strong internet signal or an adult to be on standby. This is something that just might be able to brighten a kids day with some simple follow along project ideas and countless meaningful learning opportunities! A small task force was formed and we were off to the races bouncing ideas off of each other, creating at home studios and doing some preliminary outreach to cable companies. The first episode of MakerFun was born, and thankfully did not resemble Wayne’s World or Bob and Doug Mackenzie, in fact…it was pretty darn good. Our community TV group has since grown, and includes teachers, students, parents, artists and other specialists, each one contributing many hours on and off

camera. Through all of this our team has grown closer and we have created our own creative and supportive community. This community shines through in our work, and we are so excited to share it with you.

Join Brilliant Labs’ Maker Fun on your Eastlink & Rogers local community channles. You can also find the MakerFun playlist: YouTube.com | Brilliant Labs. More recently, Brilliant Labs has created a one-stop viewing centre - Use any browser and check out: tv.brilliantlabs.ca/makerfun-community-tv Stay-Brilliant!

At the time of this article we have aired fourteen half hour episodes! We are currently found on Eastlink at 1:30pm Monday to Friday and on Rogers TV (check your local listing for times) across the Atlantic provinces. We have had interest from other cable companies and will have the opportunity to aired in other Canadian provinces in the future. You can also find all our episodes on YouTube and tv.brilliantlabs.ca/makerfuncommunity-tv/ Mary Webber is Brilliant Labs’ Creative Specialist & Artist In Residence. Need a tech art mix? Conenct with Mary! Email: Brilliant Labsmary@brilliantlabs.ca Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs 23

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATE AND NICOLE 24

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A FAMILY’S JOURNEY OF LEARNING-AT-HOME DURING LOCKDOWN BY KRYSTA AU

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On March 18, 2020 as the world started to shut down our little world shifted within our family. Fortunately that was the day I finished radiation treatment for breast cancer. My daily visits to the hospital were over and I would get a break from the Cancer Center for a while. I knew then that I would be likely spending the next little while homeschooling the kids, even if schools remained open I planned to keep my girls home for a while until I could judge the direction that the 26

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pandemic would take here in Newfoundland. As my family caught our breath from the toll that the past few months had taken we prepared to hunker down and get through another storm in our lives. Our girls, twins Megan and Caitlin aged 10 and Lauryn aged 13 my husband and I started coming up with ideas for learning at home. We made a list of family activities and individual passion projects. Our goal wasn’t to follow a set

curriculum or schedule but to make plans for each week based on topics of interest and subjects we were curious about. Our older daughter immersed herself with her music and continued to work on a school project over zoom with a school friend. She also did an online photography course and kept our counter stocked up with cookies and treats. I knew our younger girls were very interested in coding and

technology in general. I wanted to encourage them to expand on their coding skills. Their teacher, Mr. Sam Paterson was excellent in keeping them engaged and providing them with ideas for learning at home. We decided that maybe getting them to do some coding projects and put together some youtube videos would be fun. They would get really excited and engaged as we all worked together on a project. Sure we did some Math, Language Arts and Social Studies learning but the

technology learning was what kept them excited about learning. I found I just had to point them in the right direction and provide support, encouragement and troubleshooting. Mr. Paterson was always there to bounce our ideas off of and we all worked together on our hair brained ideas. I felt that our goal as a parent and teacher team was to encourage the girls to be excited and passionate about learning, keeping them engaged

and providing an environment of curiosity each day. My husband and I would have to admit we quite enjoyed our learning at home days. We are really hoping that the kids can stay in school safely this year but we will remember our home learning days fondly.

Brilliant Labs thanks the Au Family for their continued learning inatives & project contributions. Stay-tuned for news of Megan and Caitlin’s guest apparence in the upcoming first episode of “b.Brilliant” a Brilliant Labs production airing on Bell Fibe TV1 in the coming months. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

FROM IN CLASS

TO LEARNING SUCCESS AT HOME BY SAM PATERSON, TEACHER, BROOKSIDE INTERMEDIATE, NL

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When schools were closed down in mid-March, I was presented with a number of challenges. Even though my class was already highly engaged in online and digital spaces, I had to find a way to organize it and structure it in a way that would keep kids engaged and stimulate their imaginations and creativity. All of the research and information I could find suggested that giving them meaningful, engaging tasks and allowing them to provide feedback and express their creativity was a keystone to a successful remote learning experience. Brilliant Labs had been on my radar before, but they became an integral part of my preparation and delivery of lessons and other unstructured experiences during the COVID-19 shutdown. From the sustainable development goal Minecraft server, to the #makerfun challenges, to online Twitter thought exchanges on a variety of topics, Brilliant Labs was a great support to me as a teacher.

In one particular case, two of my students who were already capable and engaged makers and coders took the opportunity to get even more engaged in some specific challenges spearheaded by Brilliant Labs and other NGOs. With the technical and moral support of Brilliant Labs, they were able to produce great work for my class and provoke a large amount of discussion and creativity amongst their classmates as well. Their family became particularly engaged, and the delight they showed in creating innovative, complex solutions to a variety of puzzles and challenges was very inspiring to me as a teacher. Caitlin and Megan knew a few things that led to their success:

1. There was a safe and supportive space for them to share work and ideas with their classmates, teacher, and community 2. Brilliant Labs, an organization that they saw as a source of expertise and authentic learning, would listen to their feedback and provide them with frequent challenges; and most importantly 3. Their parents and older sibling were going to be patient, challenge them to do their best, and support them in any way they could.

The relationship that grew between myself, the Au family, and Brilliant Labs, helped to give me the confidence as a teacher to take some risks that I may not have otherwise, knowing that there was a safety net and a group of other likeminded individuals who were interested in pushing some boundaries and trying to make the absolute best of what could otherwise have been a challenging situation. This year Brilliant Labs is looking for those teachers who inspire others to be their best and who are taking chances to try new things to educate students. We're please to share Newfoundland & Labrador's "Inspiration Maker!: Mr. Sam Paterson, Brookside Intermediate. Thank you Sam for your work in and outside the classroom. You are an Insipration to youth and educators alike! Visit: Brilliantlabs.ca/subscribe to get our montly MakerNews & other Brilliant Labs stories or updates. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

On March 15, 2020, Brilliant Labs launched #MakerFun a series of daily project challenges to support families during the, then recently announced, COVID-19 shutdown. Brilliant Labs recognized the need for families to provide Learn-AtHome activies. These activies comprised of conversation starters at 9am (ADT) surrounding the United Nations Sustainability Goals (UNSDGs), a 10am hands-on challenge that supports curricular outcomes, while ensuring the materials used could be found within the home, and at 1pm a digital challenge using opensource or free software (like TinkerCad or Scratch to name only two). Finally, the Brilliant Labs Minecraft server was launched to support virtual socializaiton and in-session challenges. For example, Brilliant 30

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Labs hosted a volcano build that included a lesson on the science of volcanos and their different forms. To support SDG Life Underwater, the Minecraft team challenged youth to build a coral reef ecosystem, while they received virtual learning along the way.

Le 15 mars 2020, Brilliant Labs a lancé #MakerFun, une série de défis quotidiens pour soutenir les familles pendant la fermeture de COVID-19, alors récemment annoncée. Brilliant Labs a reconnu la nécessité pour les familles de fournir des activités d'apprentissage à domicile. Ces activités comprenaient un début de conversation à 9h (ADT) autour des objectifs de durabilité des Nations Unies (UNSDG), un défi pratique à

10h qui soutient les résultats du programme scolaire, tout en s'assurant que les matériaux utilisés peuvent être trouvés à la maison, et à 13h un défi numérique utilisant des logiciels libres ou open source (comme TinkerCad ou Scratch pour n'en citer que deux). Enfin, le serveur Minecraft de Brilliant Labs a été lancé pour soutenir la socialisation virtuelle et les défis en session. Par exemple, Brilliant Labs a hébergé une construction de volcan qui comprenait une leçon sur la science des volcans et de leurs différentes formes. Pour soutenir SDG Life Underwater, l'équipe Minecraft a mis les jeunes au défi de construire un écosystème de récif corallien, tout en leur permettant d'apprendre virtuellement en cours de route.

All #Makerfun daily challenges can be found on the new Brilliant Labs Project Portal. Here you can also find other projec ideas too for K-12 at any learning level (beginner, intermediate or advance). Visit the project portal today!

Tous les défis du jour de #FunCreative peuvent être trouvés sur le nouveau portail du projet Brilliant Labs. Vous y trouverez également d'autres idées de projets pour la maternelle à la 12e année, quel que soit le niveau d'apprentissage (débutant, intermédiaire ou avancé). Visitez le portail de projets dès aujourd'hui !

https://projects.brilliantlabs.ca/

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Visit/Visitez le site: projects.brilliantlabs.ca

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“Let’s start a Minecraft server for all of Atlantic Canada” said Brilliant Labs’ Jeff Willson just days after our school systems closed for the foreseeable future. Six weeks later I admit looking back that I was outwardly enthusiastic but inwardly panicking at the thought of an initiative that large. But Jeff had said the magic word “Minecraft” and I was hooked. The goal was to create an educational Minecraft server operating during the regular school hours, and for students of all ages in our Atlantic region of Canada consisting of four provinces. Brilliant Labs did the heavy lifting with server setup, choosing Minecraft Pocket Edition in the end for maximum engagement in students’ homes dominated by the tablet supported version of the game. My role was to establish an engaging, safe and educational 34

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world experience for the diverse students who would be joining us. Using a portal system at the point where players spawned into the world I was able to turn one world into many, essentially multiplying how impactful the Minecraft experience could be. Six zones were established thousands of blocks apart and included Sustainable Development Goal, Dream Home, Community of the Future, School of the Future and Free Play zones. Students would choose a zone, teleport out and teleport back to spawn in a super easy fashion for all ages. The stage was set for success but what happened next was extra special. Students started pouring into the server to check it out. What became apparent early on was that the students attracted to the server were mainly those who, while stuck at home, had lost their friends

network that school had once supported. In some cases, these were students who hadn’t established any real friendships. One morning while in the server a child contacted me in confidence saying privately “I don't have any friends!” After some dialogue I determined that the child meant in real life and not just in the game setting. I responded swiftly by saying “We’re all friends in here now!” The student came alive hearing that and grew from a lonely disengaged visitor into a thriving young leader with a solid friend network in just a few weeks! Now, six weeks in, this student receives cheers when entering the server and he now greets all who enter the server in polite and inviting fashion. Waiting at 9am daily for the server to open he is usually the first one in, and the last to leave. He’s organized incredible

events like fireworks shows for all in the server and invited others to trade and build together. He’s helped in spotting trouble makers and alerting us as managers, he’s helped so many other children by providing a peer group audience for their endeavours, and most importantly, he’s contributed to the success of the in-game community. This isn’t a blog about how educational Minecraft can be. This is a modern anecdotal account about how a game environment like Minecraft and a little empathy can radically transform a child’s life during a pandemic, and forever, for the better. There are no stats here, but to this one child it mattered. Brilliant Labs had the vision to create the atmosphere needed by so many children during this pandemic. I am glad that I could help make it engaging and educational but I’m grateful that I

was present that day to provide what that child needed most. Empathy and encouragement can go a long way! Perhaps the Community of the Future exists in games like Minecraft? The team at Brilliant Labs who are managing this space have truly built a community of which I'm glad to be a member!

This article LONELY TO LEADERSHIP MINECRAFT EDUCATION is a reprint found at http://www.bbtnb.com/blog/lonely-toleadership-minecraft-education with the permission of Mr. Ben Kelly. You will recognize Ben in this issue of Brilliant Labs Magazine: Digital Hope’s Take5, (a regular teacher spotlight). We are also pleased to recognize Ben in our montly MakerNews (e-newsletter) as one of New Brunswick’s “Inspiration Makers!”. Thank you Ben for supporting youth in class and virtually. You certianly are an Inspiration Maker to youth and educators alike. Visit: Brilliantlabs.ca/subscribe to get our montly MakerNews & other Brilliant Labs stories or updates. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

FAILURE IN THE TIME OF

LOCKDOWN

All too often when we post on Social Media or write blogs we only talk about our successes and the amazing things we experience but it is just as important to talk about the not so positive aspects too.

By Femi Owolade-Coombes | A.K.A. Hackerfemo (aged 14) Co-Founder Young Coders MeetUp | United Kingdom

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”Jedi Master Yoda In this article I want to write about some of the failures I’ve had over the lockdown period. This is partly to be more real about the ups and downs when working on projects and coding but also to reveal what valuable things I’ve learnt from them. Let’s start with “Lockdown has been a bit of a nightmare!” I know it has had a massive impact on people all around the world and I am lucky to be safe and well. However, so many awesome trips, activities and events that I was looking forward to were all cancelled in the space of a week. I’m an avid field hockey player practicing 6-7 days a week which just instantly stopped. My team missed out on hockey nationals and the team tour to South Africa was cancelled. I had just managed to arrange a meeting with a leading professor in the field of Computer Vision - Professor Bowden, from the University of Surrey to discuss the Sign2Word AI app I’ve been working on with Imran, one of our Deaf coders, but I wasn’t able to follow though. I also missed out on an amazing trip to Maritime Canada (making up the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island & Nova Scoita) with Brilliant Labs hoping to reach out and maybe set up a Canadian Young Coders MeetUp chapter - during the May half term.

“Everything cancelled!” PHOTO CREDIT: JEFFREY CZUM, BUFFALO, NY, Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

And I haven’t even got to the failures yet. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. I actually found remote schooling really handy because I could finish my work a lot more quickly, focus on my coding projects, and still manage to get good end of year grades. In fact, just before the lockdown the Young Coders MeetUp (YCM) managed to run a 2 day event at the Tate Modern (Tate Modern is an institution that houses, in a network of four art museums, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), exploring Machine Learning

and celebrating Women in Tech for International Women’s Day. Looking back we are really glad we did it as it was the last time we all met up socially before the lockdown (https:// youngcodersmeetup.wixsite.com/ ycm-uk/post/young-coders-curateai-event-tate-modern). FAILURES My first failure was the TeensInAI #YouthVsCOVID hackathon. Here I was part of one of three groups from our YCM that entered this competition. My group comprised of three other members: Thomas back end developer, Adonai and Amelie who worked on design, market research and developed the website. I was the team leader and just covered all the areas, but

mainly worked on front-end, AI components, surveys and user feedback. We came up with an AI app called CoWA (Coronavirus Wellbeing App - https:// youngcodersmeetup3.wixsite.com/ cowa) which aimed to help young people manage their physical and emotional wellbeing during lockdown using an integrated AI sentiment analysis feedback loop. Long story short, we failed to get in the top three, which to me was incredibly disappointing; three solid hackathon intensive weeks for nothing. I was not happy and to be honest I felt cheated - not necessarily true, but that's how you feel in that moment. The second failure came a month later, in June, after 6 months of working on a submission, based on

PHOTOS SUBMITTED: TATE-MODERN YCM EVENT

PHOTO SUBMITTED: AMELIE, FEMI, ADONAI,, THOMAS OF YCM, TEENSINAI #YOUTHVSCOVID HACKATHON.

PHOTO SUBMITTED: ADONAI, YCM, RUNNING SESSION

PHOTO SUBMITTED: FEMI, YCM, TEENSINAI #YOUTHVSCOVID HACKATHON.

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an app that I’ve been working on with one of our Deaf coders, Imran, (we want to show that the idea came from a Deaf person) - the Sign2Word AI app (https:// youngcodersmeetup3.wixsite.com/ website). The app aims to help young deaf learners improve their literacy skills and have a better experience in education. The user will be able to sign a word into their mobile camera and the app would translate it into written English. A team of 5 YCMers joined up to submit the idea to the Nesta Longitude Explorer prize. Nisha, Mutsa, Thomas and Malakia formed the team with us. Imran had to remain as our Product client as he was just over the age limit for the competition. This time we failed to even make the top 5 - to add insult to injury, there was a cash prize of

£25,000. You can imagine the indescribable failure I felt on this second one. I decided never to enter a competition ever, ever again. Now I’ve got the shame bit out of the way, let's talk about what I learnt because that actually far outweighs those negative experiences. And I am now a lot further along the journey to getting our Sign2Word app developed in a way that will benefit the Deaf community. Lessons Learnt Of course, all that effort hasn’t gone to waste. Firstly, the hackathon exposed me to some amazing AI speakers including Alejandro Saucedo (https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPoEsHJE6U), Gretchen Greene (https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=v09jG_ar2NI) and Dr Allison Gardner (https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Knva2te938E). Their talks were really enjoyable and informative, with a particular focus on ethics: Alejandro Saucedo talked about the Institute for Ethical AI’s ‘Eight Ethical Principles’ for all AI technology; Gretchen Greene focused in on the importance of transparency when collecting data and the dangers of a surveillance state; Dr Allison Gardener reinforced the significance of developing privacy by design apps, ensuring data is stored in decentralised locations, so users are able to give informed and meaningful consent and you only store necessary data. https://youngcodersmeetup3.wixsite.com/website

The Sign2Word AI app aims to help young Deaf learners improve their literacy skills and have a better experience in education. The user can sign a word and the app will translate it into written English.

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The hackathon also introduced me to the key elements of Human Centred Design for developing apps which incorporate Design Thinking and Business Models. Design Thinking is a process where you start with an idea, develop a prototype and continually improve the product based on feedback from users. For us, this meant sending out surveys, receiving feedback on a wireframe demo and consulting with our user communities. In terms of the Sign2Word app, it meant consulting with the Deaf community. It was the most important stage of development so far and involved incorporating British Sign Language into the surveys. The feedback helped to ensure that our app would be properly accessible. Importantly, the design of the app needs to be led by young Deaf students for whom it is designed. We got lots of encouragement from the Deaf community and National organisations who support the Deaf children. As a result, we hope to run some coding and AI sessions for the Deaf students at Imran’s former school so they can contribute to the development of the app and come up with their own Tech4Good ideas. We also want to set up a diverse and representative dataset of British Sign language words for Machine Learning. Over the course of the lockdown I really developed as a coder, learning how to build apps in Swift, Flutter and React Native, and how to incorporate AI features into them. I also learned a valuable lesson about source control (backing up your code online). Just before the final submission of the #YouthVsCOVID hackathon my code didn’t work, but because I’d backed it up to GitHub, all I had to do was restore my previous version of code 40

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and I was saved. I deepened my understanding around Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, following numerous tutorials, exploring Google’s Teachable Machine and delving into Tensorflow and PyTorch. A lot of this learning was facilitated by the brilliant mentors that supported us in the #YouthVsCOVID hackathon and the Nesta Longitude Explorer Prize. Another thing I learned was that it is challenging to be a team leader/ project manager; it’s really hard work. We had lots of pivot points during the design thinking process but communicating them to everyone and ensuring we were all on the same page, was far from easy. I had a very high level of commitment and ambition, but expecting that, continuously, from every member of the team was unrealistic, especially if over several months. Our YCM is big on gender equality but half way through the Nesta competition we had to re-evaluate our roles in the team, to really make sure that the female team members were equally involved in the coding. I was doing most of the AI and React Native work so this required me to take a step back and hand over the front end development role to them. Although this was quite hard for me to do at first, it was ultimately rewarding and opened up a conversation within the YCM community on how we can challenge these gender stereotypes in the tech industry. Everyone needs opportunities to build up their coding skills - it makes for a more rounded team. Reflection Ultimately, it's really important to

experience failures as you are developing skills and knowledge in relation to tech. It helps you realise what's missing and what the gaps in your knowledge are. Then, if you take failure as a lesson there are so many things you can learn from it. When you are part of a team and you fail to win competitions or achieve the results that you set for yourself, it's really nice to be able to learn how to manage disappointment together and know that it’s ok because that's how you build resilience. The lockdown gave us the opportunity to think a bit differently, like engaging via virtual platforms at a global level, and it pushed us to ideate and come up with ideas, but then follow through the whole Design Thinking process all the way through to pitching our idea to a panel of judges. It’s something we will never forget when we think about covid 19 and the lockdown we will always think of those virtual meetups, hackathons and the intensity of the competitions with a smile on our face. Already, Adonai has run a digital summer camp for younger YCMers over August and has received some fantastic feedback. We are happy that there were a lot of Black and Ethnic Minorities (BME) participants -doing our part for the #BlackLivesMatters campaign. We also ran virtual YCM coding tracks on a Friday evening for our more advanced YCM members on React Native and Javascript, which also went really well. We have a much deeper understanding of AI and how it can be incorporated into Tech4Good apps and we’ve grown closer, working in teams, and look forward to running some more Young Coders Meetups in the new year. Hopefully we can collaborate with Brilliant Labs so we can reach out to young coders in Canada in the new

Host a YCM & Create an International Connection Brilliant Labs is looking for intersted schools or community partners to initiate and host YCM groups here at home. Participating youth would work together to solve challenges using ICT and collaborate with other YCM chapters, nationally or internationally with the UK chapters. Youth will reguarly troubleshoot and share findings. If you are intersted in hosting a YCM at your school or community centre please contact us: info@brilliantlabs.ca | Subject: YCM FOLLOW & LEARN MORE ABOUT YCM UK Twitter: @YCM_UK |@hackerfemo Websites: https://hackerfemo.com youngcodersmeetup.wixsite.com/ycm-uk Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

3D Printers

WANTED Brilliant Labs Helps Start-Up Meet The Need For 3D Printed Medial Shields During COVID-19 Shutdown

By Wylie Butler | Program Specialist | Brilliant LabsoMeanwhile Down on the Farm . . . COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. As many have said, there will be a new normal. To some degree, we will work, shop, socialize, and travel differently. This virus and the practical knowledge to fight it is now very public in our immediately interconnected world. The supply chain of medical supplies needed to protect workers is incredibly strained. One very positive thing that has come out of this is that people around the world are putting their minds and tools together to find solutions to meet the supply shortages. From gowns to masks and shields, we see many a variety of designs that are being produced. The speed at which designs are made available, and being updated, and tweaked by others is mindblowing impressive. This is exciting! A worldwide team of sharp minds are coming together for the good of others. Money cannot buy this much brainpower!! 3D design and 3D printing have taken on a new life. It has been long considered that 3D printers were prototype tools only, since it is difficult to really make useful products with additive manufacturing. This notion is being largely disproven. For some time now, there has been a quiet, albeit slow, shift in how products are produced. Although there will likely always be a continued need for many of the traditional methods of mass production, 3D printing CAN and IS filling a gap in producing products for the mass market. A timely and perfect example of this is the production of face shields for the medical industry. Here In St. John’s, Newfoundland, there is a small start-up company called Polyunity, that has been largely focusing on the use of 3D design and 3D printing in the medical education field. With the need of face shields being urgent, Polyunity jumped into action. With support from Eastern Health, they 42

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started to develop a plan to quickly produce as many shields as possible. This company and the three young doctors who started it were quite aware of what Brilliant Labs was doing in Newfoundland and Labrador to promote maker education and coding. They approached us for the use of some 3D printers to get started and eventually the use of our laser cutter and vinyl cutter to prototype the actual shield. We provided what we could to assist (aid)them in their start-up process. Polyunity ordered new Ender 3 printers and, with the nine we provided, a small 3D printing farm was created. During my first two days at Polyunity, I built 10 of the first printers to arrive. As I had built over 50 of those already at Brilliant Labs, the setup did not take too long. After the printers were built, I asked Brilliant Labs if I could volunteer two days per week to help Polyunity to get started. Thanks to Brilliant Labs for allowing this to

happen! All of us found it difficult to work virtually for long periods of time. On a personal note, these two days really helped me by “getting me out of the house”. With approximately 25 printers running at once on the farm, my role each day was to maximize the production as much as possible. The frame of the mask is printed at the farm, while the shields where cut at another facility. My goal each day was to produce 600 frames in an 8-hour shift. Meeting the challenge of keeping all the printers going simultaneously was very rewarding. One of the most beneficial aspects of using 3D printing to produce parts is that changes in design can be implemented right away. All you have to do is tell the printer to print a new design. It fascinating to be part of the design and production process, and much was quickly learned as we went along. For example, tweaking printer speeds,

temps, and nozzle sizes enabled Polyunity to produce better designs and, at the same time, while increasing the daily yield. Most days I was asked for my feedback on the design and its processes, small changes were often made to ensure a better product. The frontline workers who used those shields then provided feedback that was used to tweak the designs. In an injection mold style of manufacturing, such modifications would be time consuming and expensive. A big thanks to Brilliant Labs for allowing me to be a part of this process, and also to Polyunity for valuing our input and efforts. Manufacturing with the use of (using) 3D printers is only just beginning. As printers get faster and more precise, along with the ability to use a variety of materials, we will see such technology assume a much greater role in the manufacturing industry. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

THOUSANDS OF EXPERIENCES By Brilliant Labs with contributions from Camp Mentors: Naya, Sadie, Nicholas, Judith | Camp Facilitaors /Organizers: Christine Long, Edmundston NB, Carron McCabe, PE, & John Barron, NL.

Following a school year like no other, where students were asked to learn online from home, Brilliant Labs’ summer STEAM camps have also gone virtual. In support of this effort, Brilliant Labs and the Saint John Human Development Council have partnered with the United Way Centraide to develop and deliver free, youth-focused, virtual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) camps. These camps are resources available online, through Community Television, and offline to help address social isolation and remote learning for children throughout Atlantic Canada. Funding includes the COVID-19 Emergency Community 44

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Support Fund (ECSF) administered by United Way Centraide agencies in Saint John and Moncton, NB, and St.John’s, NL on behalf of the Government of Canada. The purpose of the ECSF is to support charities and nonprofit organizations adapt and increase frontline services for vulnerable populations during COVID-19. Virtual STEAM camps are being led by student Tech Mentors and Supervisors hired through Canada Summer Jobs and provincial student wage subsidy programs. Camps consist of seven, weekly themed camps and special interest courses. Each virtual camp week included daily online sessions in

both official languages and were freely available to children for Grades 1 and up. The virtual camps opened July 6 ran until August 28th. Brilliant Labs also offered some physical camps with no more than 15 participants per pod. These outdoor STEAM camps were offered in St-John's Newfoundland & Labrador. Together, Brilliant Labs camps provided over 6,000 learning experiences this summer. All camps offered daily read alouds for younger participants, hands-on activities tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for children from all walks of life to have fun

learning to be artists, engineers, inventors and scientists but also help them learn about how to make the world a better, more equitable and sustainable place to live. Online activities were supported through live sessions for those with internet access and kits containing the required materials which were sent out to participants free of charge. For those without internet access, prerecorded material is available daily through Community TV episodes on EastLink and Rogers. There was also a completely offline version of the camps made available through the direct delivery of camp kits to participants.

These camps were made possible thanks to the generous support of the United Way Centraide and our partners. Brilliant Labs was able to offer our virtual, summer STEAM camps free to kids throughout the region. We offered weekly themed camps as well as special interest courses like a Founders’ Club if kids had inventions or entrepreneurial ideas they wanted to develop. They could also choose to learn how to create websites and make their own video games using Unity or Unreal Engine which is used to make games like Fortnite. We are also offered courses on Artificial Intelligence, how to make your own YouTube Channel, Cyber Security, Bio-Making, and

Engineering your own circuit boards. Our outdoor camps offered hands-on project opportunities that included Natural Makerspace concepts allowing participants to consider ways to solve problems using natural materials found all around them.” These virtual and physical summer camps were made possible thanks to our community partners across the region and the generous supporters of our funders, such as the Ted Rogers Community Fund, Dr. Oetker Community Fund, Canaport LNG, Government of Canada, Government of New Brunswick, Government of Nova Scotia, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government of Prince Edward Island, BrilliantLabs LabsMagazine Magazine Revue RevueLabos LabosCréatifs Créatifs Brilliant

United Way Centraide: Saint John, Kings and Charlotte; Greater Moncton and Southeastern New Brunswick; and Newfoundland and Labrador, on behalf of the Government of Canada through the COVID-19 Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF).”

Camps Virtuels au NouveauBrunswick, by Naya Goguen Labos créatifs a réussi à offrir des camps d’été malgré des circonstances exceptionnellesc’est un succès! Au début de la quarantaine, nous n’étions pas certains que ce serait possible. Être confinés chez nous avait soulevé plusieurs questions, comment peut-on réussir à livrer des camps d’été sans être là en personne? Estce même possible d'offrir des camps d’été sur une plateforme virtuelle? Très vite on s’est rendu compte que ne pas être capable de voir ou entendre nos étudiants rend les sessions difficiles . Certains jeunes comprennent à 100% les directives et ils réussissent à nous suivre sans difficultés. D’autres jeunes se

perdent après quelques étapes et sont confus pour le reste de la session. Sans l’avantage d’être là en personne, sans être capable de voir le langage non-verbal des élèves, c’est parfois difficile à déterminer qui est à quel niveau. Pour surmonter ce défi, mes coéquipiers et moi avons vite réalisés qu’il est impératif de les encourager à interagir avec nous le plus que possible. Nos appels sont remplis avec beaucoup de

“Comment ça va?” et “Est-ce qu’on peut voir ce que vous avez créé?”. Non seulement est-ce que cela aide les mentors à avoir une idée de leur niveau de compréhension et de savoir le progrès qu’ils font, mais c’est aussi avantageux pour les jeunes. Il existe mille et un différents projets et ressources en ligne, mais avec nos camps, les étudiants peuvent participer avec nous en temps réel et ils peuvent interagir avec nous et avec leur pairs. S’ils deviennent frustrés avec leur projet, mes coéquipiers et moi sont là pour leur assurer que c’est normal de ne pas y arriver sur le premier coup. On est là pour leur assister avec des trucs et des conseils ainsi que pour les féliciter sur leur bon progrès! Parfois, je rentre dans la salle virtuelle pour voir que quelques étudiants ont joins l’appel en avance de la session et se parlaient entre eux. Ils parlent de ce qu’ils ont accomplis la session précédente et ils discutent de l’activité d’aujourd’hui, ils s’envoient des liens de projets Scratch, de Piskel,

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etc. Au courant de l’été j’ai eu la chance de rencontrer des jeunes de partout à travers les maritimes. Puisque les camps sont virtuel, des jeunes provenant de petits villages, qui n’auraient jamais eu la chance de participer au paravant, on pu se joindre à nous et exercer leur créativité. Cette année fut remplie de changements, mais ces nouveautés ne sont pas toutes mauvaises. Les camps virtuels de Labos créatifs sont, jusqu’à date, un grand succès! Les mentors et les étudiants ont réussis à s’adapter sans trop de

problèmes. Tous les obstacle étaient surmontés avec l’aide d’une équipe fantastique, toujours prêt à aider!

Edmundston, N-B, Camp robotique en personne, par Christine Long Une belle semaine débutait avec 10 jeunes prêts à apprendre Lego Mindstorms EV3 et la programmation. Après quelques activités « brise-glace » avec Etienne le moniteur de camp et Kathleen la superviseure du camp, les jeunes ont débuté l’exploration du monde fascinant de Mindstorms. Ils ont créé un robot qu’ils devaient programmer à compléter un circuit d’obstacles imaginé par Etienne et

Christine. Les jeunes ont réussi à compléter le circuit dans la même journée! Pendant cette semaine, ils ont eu l’opportunité d’explorer et de créer des projets avec Scratch et de reproduire le jeu « Dance Dance Revolution » avec un Makey Makey. Les jeunes essayaient continuellement de surpasser leur score. Il y avait des jeunes qui n’avaient jamais utilisé cette technologie et en moins de quelques heures, ils étaient en mesure de réaliser ce qu’ils voulaient et parfois avec de l’entraide des amis. À la fin de la semaine, chaque participant voulait revenir pour une autre semaine!

Virtual Summer Camps in

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Prince Edward Island, by Nicholas Lamacchia This year has been a unique and unprecedented experience for us all. The challenges of delivering hands on and practical experiences to our campers has been something Brilliant Labs has tackled with efficiency and compassion. With the current situation of a global pandemic each camper is coming from a different situation in their home, as such, it is integral that we as mentors have a great deal of empathy and compassion for the students' positions. I have seen many of my peers come to camps ready to take on the project of the day to end up in intellectual conversations about how this topic is reflected in the world's current situation. It is with this empathy that we as mentors can teach students and still allow them to thrive in the learning environment we have created. Many of the projects we have created this year are unique fun learning experiences that truly emphasize the idea of STEAM. Each lesson encompasses the idea of crosscurricular learning as well as incorporates real world problems and solutions. One particular project that has been a shining example of STEAM

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and project based learning was the creation of a two part water filtration system. Students created both a particulate filter as well as a solar oven out of recycled household materials and those found in their neighbourhood. Students and mentors alike loved this project as it was a fun and exciting way to create a solution to solve some issues we face in our world today. Of course a cardboard box solar oven is not going to solve the world's fresh water problem however the science and engineering experienced will propel them to think about these problems and be pioneers in the science world. The use of these critical thinking and problem solving skills students learn in these camps will propel students forward. This year has been a challenging experience for mentors and students alike at BL however I am nothing but impressed with the call to action and the effectiveness of each mentor on the team. Things look a lot different this year, but many of our mentors have seen this as an opportunity rather than a hindrance and have improved their skills and adapted their content delivery in so many unique and interesting ways. Overall I have nothing but positive responses to my peers and their amazing abilities they have used to instil quality education this summer.

Charlottetown Outdoor InPerson Camps, by Carron McCabe This summer was full of virtual camp experiences for Island youth. Not only were our Summer STEAM Mentors having fun online

BioMaking virtual summer camp participant designing project & bioplastic mixture. Submitted/Twitter

with campers, they also got to meet some awesome kids at two different events through The Adventure Group. The Adventure Group, Inc. is a registered charitable, non-profit, experiential educational and training organization incorporated in 1992 to address the needs of young people and their parents. The goal of the Adventure Group is to offer opportunities for learning as well as personal and skill development using experiential, service learning and adventure based curriculum.

Youth designed rockets and launched them, learned about chemical reactions, propulsion, aerospace and design thinking. At times it got a little messy for everyone in the splash zone! Sometimes the rockets took their time before their blast off - the suspense was exciting! We are all looking forward to more in person rocket fun next summer!

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Virtual Summer Camps in Newfoundland & Labrador, by Sadie Hutchings When the chance to return to Brilliant Labs as a summer tech mentor came around, I did not hesitate for a second. Having previously been a part of the afterschool program as a STEAM mentor I was excited to be back, even if it was during a global pandemic. This just meant that some aspects, such as teaching in person were no longer possible due to COVID-19 restrictions. While this presented obstacles for us, we were equipped for the task. The first day back arrived and the planning, preparing, and getting reacquainted with the technology began immediately. Some things became obvious right away that they would need more planning than others. For instance, having to use the projectors on sight, with a virtual video call for the mentor teaching at the time. Simply packing up and going to the camp locations to teach in person was no longer an option. Making with a projector setup became the most interactive way to teach rather than pre-recorded videos, while still maintaining social distancing. While all the planning was necessary, and things do work perfectly sometimes there will always be limitations and unforeseen problems. To begin with, you cannot plan for how the kids will react in the moment, and at times we found it hard to fully capture their attention being only online and not face to face. Despite also providing the supplies they needed to work with, follow along and create themselves, it was at times hard to bridge the divide. So, 50

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“I

was excited to be back, even if it was during a global pandemic...while this presented obstacles for us, we were equipped for the task.

- Sandi Hutchings Summer Camp Mentor

to work around this we would change up the lessons more, adding more educational games, eye catching demonstrations to get the creative process going and sometimes changing up the leading instructors. Overall, the summer shaped up great, because in my experience nothing is without bumps in the road but it’s about how you handle those bumps that determines where you go from there. In our case even the unsolvable ones were met with an optimistic approach, and working together easily resolved most without difficulties. It is this outlook on a situation that is often the difference between finding a solution or not, and at Brilliant Labs these skills and mindsets are encouraged and developed. Making Brilliant Labs a wonderful, positive,

and meaningful place of work I will always highly regard.

Virtual & In Person Hybrid Camps, by John Barron Brilliant Labs was also able to offer some in person camp experiences working with student pods in municipal run camps in Newfoundland and Labrador. These hybrid camps blended virtual instruction with in person support, reached over 200 students per week.

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Along the shores of South West Nova Scotia Brilliant Labs summer camps were looking a little different this year. With indoor limitations put in place camp organizers took to the beaches, where the learning opportunities became limitless! These shoreline campers consisted of different groups over several areas to keep numbers within the recommended guidelines. Campers were given the opportunity to take part in workshops on biodiversity and classified the many mollusks and gastropods (seashells) that they were able to observe using their handy (waterproof and wipe able) shell identification chart. Groups learned that thousands of mollusks have yet to be discovered, and that beachcombers just like them have been the ones to find new species. What couldn't be identified was uploaded onto iNaturalist.org, a platform that connects amateur naturalists with other naturalists and specialists to help identify and discuss observations. These observations help to build scientific repositories and create a larger snapshot of the biodiversity around us. Shark week was a hit with campers too! They studied the various species of sharks that live off the Atlantic coast, from the deepwater catshark, black dogfish, and of course great whites! All were tracked using Ocearch.org an online data-centric platform used to help scientists learn more about these incredible animals. Campers could see the locations of great whites all over the world. Many of which end up cruising along the Atlantic coastline. For example, at the time of this article a 12 foot great white named Hal decided to explore the islands off Lunenburg after a lengthy swim from the coast of Florida. While the shores off Lunenburg may be too close for some, campers decided to take it a step further and recreate their favourite resident shark on land using any material they could find on at the beach. 52

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EMPATHY AT THE WATER’S EDGE How scientific learning grew to be a lesson in empathy for Yarmouth County’s Natural Maker-Camp participants BY MARY WEBBER | CREATIVE SPECIALIST | BRILLIANT LABS

Brilliant Labs campers and volunteers hosted a beach clean up day and collected over 600 pounds of scrap metal during the clean up! Mark your calendar: June 8th World Oceans Day was first introduced in 1992 to raise awareness of the crucial role the sea plays as sources of food, oxygen and medicine. It was officially recognized by the United Nations (UN) in 2008 and is observed on June 8 each year. Why not challenge your friends, family and community to a clean up next June 8th. Help keep our waters safe, clean and bountiful. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Ocearch.org is an online data-centric platform used to help scientists learn more marine life. Users can find various species of shark, dolphin or turtle to name only a few tracked using this system.

While driftwood and beach stones make excellent additions to a sand sculpture, campers were dismayed to find their beaches littered with plastics and scrap metal. The empathy that was created by learning about the local environment, and what creatures' lives were at stake when garbage infiltrates their ecosystems turned into positive action. Campers insisted on returning to the beach for a clean up day. The campers and volunteers that returned to the beach collected over 600 pounds of scrap metal during the clean up. This was brought to a recycling depot where campers were given 35 dollars for their efforts. This money was allocated by the campers to their FIRST® LEGO® League fund. While some campers stuck to shore 54

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lines, others took to inland streams. Campers learned about cold water stream systems and their importance to trout populations. These cold water streams rely on being fed by groundwater and springs and are less susceptible to invasive species. However, campers learned that they are under a great threat from drought. Following these streams, Brilliant Labs campers in Clare, NS (approximately 50 Klms from Yarmouth) assisted with the NSSA Adopt-a-Stream program, which is designed to encourage and assist community groups across Nova Scotia protect and restore their local waterways by providing technical support and project funding. Activities include: trout capture and release, and building

river structures to assist in an ecology rehabilitation program partnered with Nova Scotia Salmon Association. These campers really got their hands dirty, and played an active role in constructing structures along the river bed to help stop the erosion of the important cold water stream’s banks. They also came across a portion of the river suffering from drought, which was leaving small trout in danger. The campers were accompanied by a local scientist and Mr. Bernie Pictou, Mi’kmaq Elder. Together they were able to capture and relocate 45 trout to a more hospitable part of the river. When asked about what Brilliant Labs summer camps would look

like in the future, Program Specialist Gary Gaudet replied “I would not stop doing outdoor camps after COVID-19, there was such a great mindset from exercise and fresh air, but most impressive was the amount of empathy shared when exploring and learning along the beaches and streams within our communities”. Gary, camp counsellors, and volunteers knew they had successful summer of Natural Maker-Camps especially when 50kmh winds whipped along the shore. “I thought for sure the kids would lose steam when the weather turned bad or with the mucky streams” said Gary “ but instead they didn’t seem to care and were busy with their tasks. From tracking great whites online to muddy streams. The scientific learning, enthusiasm, and empathy was easily measured by their dedication, good questions and bright smiles!” “Thank-you” to the specialists to volunteers and outstanding camp counsellors who made this summer a success! Mildred Comeau, Volunteer Cohen, Counselor Bernie Pictou, Mi’kmaq Elder Roland LeBlanc

Acadia First Nations 4 Seasons Youth Group Fundy YMCA (Clementsport) Municipality of Barrington Department of Recreation Volunteer teachers Clare Lyons Club

Want to learn more about Brilliant Labs Natural Makerspace programs or other hands-on learning opportunities in Yarmouth? Let’s connect you with Gary Gaudet, Program Specialist: gary@brilliantlabs.ca OR visit Brilliantlabs.ca Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

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CAMPS D'ÉTÉ MAKER NATUREL Par Michelle Thibault, spécialiste du programme spatial Natural Maker specialist

[English copy follows]

En avril 2019, l’équipe de Labos créatifs a lancé le programme Labos créatifs naturels qui permet aux éducateurs et aux élèves de se connecter avec le monde extérieur. Les espaces créatifs naturels n'ont pas de murs et encouragent l'utilisation de matériaux et de phénomènes naturels pour manipuler, explorer, découvrir et créer. Au coeur de notre nouvelle réalité pédagogique et sociale souvent virtuelle, il est temps plus que jamais de faire une place à la nature, ce gigantesque espace si accessible mais à la fois si peu connu. La connection à la nature est essentielle à notre santé physique et mentale à tous. Richard Louv a bien exposé les dangers reliés à ce qu’il appelle le “trouble du déficit de la nature” dans son ouvrage “Last Child in the Woods”. De plus, nous connaissons les bienfaits du temps passé à l’extérieur sur la capacité d’adaptation, de résilience et de concentration des élèves. De mars à juin 2020, la plupart des enfants ont été exposés aux écrans beaucoup plus qu’à l’habitude en raison du confinement et du travail à la maison de plusieurs parents. C’est à ce moment que l’équipe Labos créatifs du Nord-Ouest du NB s’est donné le défi de piloter un programme d’été pour les enfants de 5 à 14 ans ENTIÈREMENT à l’extérieur. L'objectif premier de ces camps d’été en nature était de répondre au besoin de socialisation et d’interaction chez les enfants dans le milieu le plus sécuritaire envisageable, la nature. Dehors, la distanciation physique est grandement facilitée. Les témoignages des parents sont unanimes: “Le camps Natural Maker Naturel a fait le plus grand bien à mon enfant!! Il a permis de ramener un peu de normalité dans sa vie!”, Chantal Couturier, maman de Didier, 10 ans. Durant huit semaines, environ 120 jeunes ont participé, gratuitement, à des camps dans les régions du grand Edmundston, St-Joseph et du Haut-Madawaska et près d’une centaine d’autres ont eu la chance d’assister à des ateliers à Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

l’extérieur dans la région de GrandSmith des “Grands penseurs se maison dans les semaine qui ont Sault, Drummond, Plaster Rock et rencontrent dehors” ont captivés suivies. La beauté de construire en Perth Andover. En participant à un autant les petits que les grands. nature c’est vraiment que les jeunes camp d'une semaine, les enfants Moudre du sarrazin, coudre, développent une gamme de ont passé au moins 28 heures tricoter, fabriquer des abris ou compétences, incluant la créativité et dehors, beau temps mauvais des tapis en sacs de plastique, l’innovation afin de dénicher le temps, en plus de développer de reconnaître les plantes matériel nécessaire à un projet. nouveaux intérêts et passions comestibles, participer à une qu’ils ont rapportés à la maison. “ géocache et lire une boussole, Chaque semaine, les enfants Pour ma part ce camp a été une concevoir et utiliser des noeuds, exploraient un nouveau site extérieur. réussite de A à Z autant pour mon faire de la musique avec la Pour chaque site, une mission fils de 12 que celui de 9 ans. nature, créer un parcour de jeux communautaire était accomplie : Apprendre tout en s’amusant et en avec du matériel recyclé…. Et ramasser les ordures, construire une appréciant ce qui nous entoure fait plus encore. Dehors, les structure de jeu, créer des vidéos parti de nos valeurs. Après chaque possibilités sont illimitées au explicatives, etc. Nous avons jour de camp, une explication très grand bonheur des enfants. également terminé chaque semaine intéressante de leur part avec les "J'aimais bien creuser pour faire par une heure de découverte avec les yeux qui brillent… Un camp hors le four et construire une maison parents, car le lien avec la nature est de l’ordinaire pour permettre à nos de filles dans la forêt. J'aimais beaucoup plus fort lorsqu'il est jeunes de vivre une expérience bien la chasse aux trésors et partagé en famille. Les réactions des entièrement extérieure avec parents confirment que ces des ateliers our ma part ce camp a été une réussite quelques heures ont fait une enrichissants!!!”, Jinny de A à Z autant pour mon fils de 12 que grande différence pour le bien-être Pelletier, maman d’Anthony, celui de 9 ans...Un camp hors de général des enfants, leur 9 et Olivier 12 ans. l’ordinaire pour permettre à nos jeunes de vivre permettant de socialiser loin des une expérience entièrement extérieure avec des écrans et d'apprendre par le jeu et Chaque semaine, des ateliers enrichissants!!!” --- Jinny Pelletier, maman la découverte. Le conseil municipal experts de la communauté d’Anthony, 9 et Olivier 12 ans. de la ville d’Edmundston a même ont généreusement donné reconnu l’équipe des Labos créatifs de leur temps pour transmettre quand j'ai télécommandé le à titre d’étoiles communautaires du leurs savoirs et leurs passions. drone... et j'aimais tout en fait. Je mois d’Août pour cette initiative. Mme Amélie, biologiste à la la voudrais y retourner. Tout le Société d’aménagement de la monde était gentil. J'espère qu'on Enfin, les camps d’été sont peut-être rivière Madawaska a pris plaisir à va se revoir.", Louna Haddad Lolot, terminés mais la pédagogie du maker faire découvrir les cours d’eau aux 7 ans. en nature ne s’arrête pas pour autant. enfants chaque semaine. En L’équipe des Labos créatifs naturels attrapant les insectes qui s’y Étienne Bélanger, animateur des qui s’est doté d’une petite remorque trouvent et en les analysant, ces camps Labos créatifs depuis fermée pour transporter le matériel derniers ont pu conclure que l’eau maintenant 3 ans souligne qu’il a d’un espace naturel à un autre est polluée ou en santé. Ils ont adoré bâtir, construire, inventer souhaite maintenant en faire profiter même construit des barrages de avec les éléments trouvés en les écoles. Vous avez envie d’explorer castors pendant la semaine sous nature avec les jeunes. Bien que les espaces naturels à proximité de le thème “Ingénieur de la nature”. des ateliers étaient à l’horaire, de votre école, communiquez avec nous belle surprises sont souvent au afin de réserver la remorque Labos La journée passée avec les enfants rendez-vous dans le monde créatifs naturels pour une semaine. de la Première Nation Malécite a naturel. La découverte d’argile fût aussi beaucoup marqué les jeunes. un moment marquant pour Les chants au tambour de Mme Étienne. Les enfants ont construit Dyan Richard résonne encore dans un petit four et Étienne a même le coeur de plusieurs enfants. Les perfectionné son art en enseignements du vocabulaire construisant un four d’argile Wolastoqey et les jeux de M. Ian conventionnel avec son père à la

“P

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Karina Thériault, Photographe

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

NATURAL MAKERSPACE SUMMER CAMPS By Michelle Thibault, Natural Makerspace Program Specialist

In April 2019, the Brilliant Labs team launched the Natural Makerspace program that allows educators and students to connect with the outside world. Natural creative spaces have no walls and encourage the use of natural materials and phenomena to manipulate, explore, discover and create. At the heart of our new pedagogical and social reality, often virtual, it is more than ever time to make a place for nature. The connection to nature is essential to the physical and mental health of all of us. Richard Louv has well exposed the dangers related to what he calls "nature deficit disorder" in his book "Last Child in the Woods". In addition, we know the benefits of time spent outdoors on students' adaptability, resilience and concentration. From March to June 2020, most children were exposed to screens much more than usual due to confinement and the work-at-home of many parents. It was at this time that the Brilliant Labs team in Northwestern NB took on the challenge of piloting a summer program for children aged 5 to 14 years fully outdoors. The primary objective of these outdoor summer camps was to 60

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respond to the need for socialization and interaction among children in the safest possible environment, nature. Outside, physical distancing was greatly facilitated. The parents' testimonials are unanimous: "The Natural Maker camp has done my child the most good! It has brought some normalcy back into his life", Chantal Couturier, Didier's mother, 10 years old. For eight weeks, about 120 youngsters participated, free of charge, in camps in the Greater Edmundston, St-Joseph and Upper Madawaska regions and close to a hundred others had the chance to attend outdoor workshops in the Grand Falls, Drummond, Plaster Rock and Perth Andover areas. By participating in a week-long camp, the children spent at least 28 hours outdoors, rain or shine, and developed new interests and passions that they brought home with them. "For me, this camp was a success from start to finish for both my 12-year-old and 9-year-old son. Learning while having fun and appreciating what is around us is part of our values. After each day of camp, a very interesting explanation from them with their eyes shining... A camp out of the ordinary to allow our youngsters to live an entirely outdoor experience with enriching workshops", Jinny Pelletier, mother of Anthony, 9 and Olivier 12 years old. Each week, experts from the community generously volunteered their time to pass on their knowledge and passions. Mrs. Amélie, biologist at the Société d'aménagement de la rivière Madawaska, took pleasure in introducing the children to the waterways each week. By catching and analyzing the insects found there, they were able to conclude if

the water was polluted or healthy. They even built beaver dams during the week under the theme "Engineers of Nature". The day spent with the children of the Maliseet First Nation also made a big impression on the young people. Ms. Dyan Richard's drum songs still resonate in the hearts of many children. The teaching of Wolastoqey vocabulary and Mr. Ian Smith's "Great Thinkers Meet Outside" games captivated young and old alike. Grinding buckwheat, sewing, knitting, making shelters or carpets out of plastic bags, recognizing edible plants, participating in a geocache and reading a compass, designing and using knots, making music with nature, creating a playground with recycled materials.... And much more. Outside, the possibilities are endless, much to the delight of children. "I liked digging for the oven and building a girls' house in the forest. I liked treasure hunting and when I remotely controlled the drone... and I actually liked everything. I would like to go back. Everyone was nice. I hope we will see each other again", Louna Haddad Lolot, 7 years old. Étienne Bélanger, Brilliant Labs camp facilitator for the past 3 years, says he loved to build, construct and invent with the elements found in nature with the youth. Although workshops were on the schedule, there are often nice surprises in the natural world. The discovery of clay was a highlight for Étienne. The children built a small kiln and Étienne even perfected his art by building a conventional clay kiln with his father at home in the following weeks. The beauty of building in nature is really that the kids develop a range of skills, including creativity and innovation

in order to find the materials needed for a project. Each week, the children explored a new outdoor site. For each site, a community mission was accomplished: collecting garbage, building a play structure, creating explanatory videos, etc. We also ended each week with an hour of discovery with the parents, because the bond with nature is much stronger when it is shared as a family. Feedback from the parents confirms that these few hours made a big difference to the general well-being of the children, allowing them to socialize away from the screens and to learn through play and discovery. The Edmundston City Council even recognized the Brilliant Labs team as Community Stars for the month of August for this initiative. Finally, the Natural summer camps may be over, but the pedagogy of the maker in nature doesn't stop there. The Brilliant Labs team, which has acquired a small portable trailer filled with material can now be shared with schools. If you would like to explore natural spaces near your school, contact us to reserve the Brilliant Labs Natural Makerspace trailer for a week.

Want to learn more about Natural Makerspace programs or the mobile materials trailer? Let’s connect you with Michelle Thibault, Brilliant Labs Natural Makerspace Program Specialist! Email: michelle@brilliantlabs.ca Brilliantlabs.ca/naturalmakerspace

BrilliantLabs LabsMagazine Magazine Revue RevueLabos LabosCréatifs Créatifs Brilliant

WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK “Brilliant Labs summer camps have been just brilliant. We didn't quite know what to expect doing camps online, but my kids were happy to try. They also had participated in some Brilliant Lab activities at the library the previous years and liked them. We love your variety of the different themed camps. My kids range from 7-14 years old and they all felt that there were camp topics that interested them. Although some topics, like the design of the circuit board and the ChatBot, are entirely new to them, they persist with the help of the counsellors. It is the right mix of challenge. They all received their camp kits on time and could hardly wait for the sessions to try them out. The counsellors are respectful and helpful. I love the addition of the power points in some of their classes, because it makes it easier to revisit the info that they just learned. The camps are filled with interesting new experiments, hands-on coding and exploration of other technology. They wished some camps would have run a week longer or had an extension, like more coding with the MicroBit. Their only regret is that they would have liked to attend more camps and hope to do so in future. I am happy to see that the camps are also geared towards teenagers and gave meaningful challenges to occupy their minds. My children were truly inspired and learning continued even after the camp was done for the day. Brilliant Labs has saved our summer and brought much joy in a time when Covid-19 has caused so much frustration and loss. Thank you Brilliant Labs Team. The Brown Family”

Thank-you to all the families and youth who participated in our virtual, hybrid, and physical camps. Stay-tuned for news of 2021 camps and watch our social channels for updates about our upcoming after school virtual programming. 62

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THANK YOU STEAM CAMP SPONSORS Brilliant Labs would like to thank our generous sponsors and partners for supporting our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) summer camp programming. We couldn’t have reached so many youth and their families without you. •

Ted Rogers Community Grants

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Dr. Oetker Community Fund

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Canaport LNG

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Saint John Human Development Council

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Government of Canada, CANCODE Gouvernement du Canada, CODCan

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Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Agence de promotion économique du

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Government of New Brunswick Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick

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Government of Nova Scotia | Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse

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Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Gouvernement de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador

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Government of Prince Edward Island Gouvernement de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard

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Community partners, municipalities & libraries across the region| Les partenaires communautaires, les municipalités et les bibliothèques de la région.

MERCI AUX COMMANDITAIRES DES CAMPS STIAM Labos Créatif tient à remercier nos généreux commanditaires et partenaires pour leur soutien de nos camps d'été STIAM (sciences, technologie, ingénierie, arts et mathématiques). Sans vous, nous n'aurions pas pu atteindre autant de jeunes et leurs familles.

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

VIRTUAL SUMMER LEARNING ACADEMY By Brilliant Labs

The Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s (EECD) annual Summer Learning Academy may have had a different format this year, but there was no shortage of great information for the province's educators. The week-long professional development opportunity for Nova Scotia teachers is usually held in person, but due to public health restrictions the event became virtual this year. Despite the change in format, over 150 sessions were offered and registration was higher than previous years’ events. The conference offered a diverse range of sessions on topics from personal development and wellness to cutting edge technological tools to support student learning. Presentations were offered by EECD staff, community and corporate partners in education, as well as teachers and administrators from across the 64

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province. Brilliant Labs was one such community partner offering six sessions throughout the week on topics to help teachers incorporate maker-centred learning into their physical or virtual classroom. “The whole Nova Scotia team was on board,” said Sarah Ryan, Brilliant Labs’ Provincial Director. “We delivered sessions on a wide variety of topics that teachers can use in these uncertain times”. Brilliant Labs was quick to pivot to an online format when remote learning was instituted in March of this year. Many lessons were learned and techniques developed to deliver lessons in a fun, maker-centred, way that also provided clear ties to curricular outcomes. The goal of the sessions offered at the Summer Learning Academy was to impart these lessons to Nova Scotia teachers and share the resources developed over the last few months.

Two sessions were dedicated to sharing both new and existing projects and initiatives Brilliant Labs has available to teachers throughout the Atlantic region. Teachers will continue to be able to apply for project funding and support through www.brilliantlabs.ca/ funding and by contacting their closest program specialist, but the presentations also highlighted the wealth of content and resources the team has been working on for virtual learning. Program Specialist Jeff Hennigar, and Provincial Director Sarah Ryan led these sessions and were excited to show educators how these new resources could be used in their classrooms. “We have been working hard throughout remote learning to develop content that students will find engaging and that teachers can incorporate into their curriculum,” explained Ms. Ryan. “Every weekday during remote

learning we offered ready-made challenges, MakerFun activities, digital skills development sessions, and outdoor makerspace projects.” The goal of this new content was to help teachers and parents keep students engaged, while also providing learning opportunities in a variety of subjects for all age levels. Each activity was accompanied by a walk through or video to demonstrate the skill, as well as a teachable moments document with ties to curriculum and a design thinking document designed to get students thinking about their learning in a broader context. Mr. Hennigar also highlighted the importance Brilliant Labs placed on incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into each activity. The 17 goals were developed as a road map to creating a safer, greener, and fairer world for everyone. “Students recognize and respond to being challenged to think Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Welcome to BLVR. Here teachers can participate in virtual Professioanl Learning or host student classrooms. http://blvr.ca/ Q: info@brilliantlabs.ca

about these big world problems,” he shared. Mr. Hennigar also led a session on encouraging student choice in assessment. Research shows that fostering discussion with students and asking them to engage in meaningful projects leads to positive learning outcomes. When we let kids make, we’re giving them permission to try, fail, and learn from their mistakes. They’re engaged in their work and learning resilience. “We’re fostering their ability to turn their ideas into tangible products and helping them discover that their passions have a place in school. Regardless of age or grade, making and creating are not separate from learning. They are a part of it,” added Mr. Hennigar. Brilliant Labs also provided sessions for teachers to learn specific skills and techniques they could easily translate into the classroom. Creativity Catalyst, Alicia Collins, walked teachers through how to use 66

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the new virtual reality platform created at BLVR.ca. Teachers can create free virtual classrooms and worlds to enhance lessons, or let students create their own creations to demonstrate learning and increase engagement.

ideas of how they could use it as part of existing lesson plans. Suggestions included creating a weather station to gather data on how differing conditions affect the growth of plants, or building a robotics vehicle from scratch.

Program Specialists, Rachael MacKeigan and Nellie Keeting, showed teachers hands-on low-tech making activities that would spark student creativity and provide great ties to curriculum at any level.

Ms. Mackeigan and Ms. Keeting also led a session on how to record quality video content using a free program called OBS. The session included tips on how to improve sound, focus cameras, and include the teachers face while also screen recording.

They also provided a quick introduction to Brilliant Labs’ b.Board. The b.Board is an open source electronics hardware prototyping platform that allows students access to a library of over 600 different Click Boards™ of their choice. Measure heart rate, control 16 servo motors at once or make your own Internet of Things (IoT) device: it’s now all possible. Teachers can visit the Brilliant Labs Project Portal for ideas. Teachers were excited to see the ease with which students would be able to prototype projects and had great

“It is so important that students can see your face and your excitement during a lesson,” said Ms. Keeting, who is also the host of Brilliant Labs’ new MakerFun TV series. “Students take their cues from us, so it is always best to include yourself”. Program Specialist, Gary Gaudet, finished the week by presenting on the educational power of Minecraft. Brilliant Labs began hosting a Minecraft server soon after remote learning began in March and has made this space available every

weekday since then. “Students on the server participated in lots of fun, educational challenges like building a coral reef, launching a rocket, building a fireworks display, and so much more,” shared Mr. Gaudet. “Minecraft EDU is free for educators right now, so it is a good time to explore the possibilities”. EECD recorded all sessions and they will be available soon on the Summer Learning Academy website at www.rebrand.ly/slans

Say “Hello” to Brilliant Labs’ b.Board. Bring student projects to life & inspire your class in new ways. Connect with us:

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

CREATIVITY IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC: lessons from CompeTI.CA & Brilliant Labs research in Education By Jacob Lingley | Instructional Design & Co-Program Director | Brilliant Labs Dr. Viktor Freiman | Professor, Université de Moncton | Department of Elementary Education and Educational Psychology | Faculty of Education The article below is a summarized excerpt of a longer piece of research forthcoming on our Academic Blog (www.brilliantlabs.ca/blog). If you are interested in learning more about the topics presented in this article, be sure to check out our blog before November 2020 for the full version. The blog format will include a brief discussion regarding if some of the speculative thoughts became a reality. The blog will also feature more detail about the collaboration

Multiple school observations conducted by the CompeTI.CA research team has documented, since 2016, important gains in student creativity (Freiman and Kamba, 2020). For instance, when team members arrived at one school in western New Brunswick, they were literally pulled by three Grade 3 students over to a project that filled the foyer of their school. Researchers were soon captivated by a passionate, 40-minute long story about how a model community, made from cardboard, wires, tape and blinking lights was produced by the students’ entire class. It was an amazingly rich lesson of creativity. A lesson that was given by these students, one of which mentioned that he and his classmates felt more like teachers than students. The student voices were filled with pride for what they had made -- they had harnessed their collective creative power and accomplished something real. This was only one example of rich experiences students shared with us in makerspaces across the province from May 2016 when we made the first visit until March 2020 when school life of all students across New Brunswick dramatically changed. Almost seven months later, September 2020 has seen students, teachers and thousands of school community members return to a very different culture of learning. While the brilliant ideas of the young makers described above were 68

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Labs supported in New Brunswick alone has grown significantly from 21 in 2014 to 2382 in 2019.

abruptly cut short in March, there is new hope and opportunity for a reimagined version of their ideas to continue. As this new reality is being co-constructed by school communities, it remains unclear what influence adaptations to new learning conditions during a pandemic will have on creativity in education. Since the media coverage of the pandemic has seen many graphs to help inform the public about the impact of COVID-19, we will rely on the use of a graph as a metaphor to convey the important role of creativity in education in the context of making. Since 2014, many schools in New Brunswick, Canada have joined an international community of educators who are dedicated to providing students with creative opportunities to express their knowledge (Freiman, 2019). Concurrently with this community growth, Brilliant Labs has observed a marked change in the number of schools who have adopted a culture of making through the construction of makerspaces and maker-centred student projects. In fact, the number of student projects Brilliant 70

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As we find ourselves discussing a growing number of creative student projects, we often rely on metaphors like a graph with an increasingly steep slope. This is purely a qualitative observation and not one that relates to any specific set of data. There are numerous student project examples that could be used to explain the manifestation of creativity on this curve. What is impossible to know is where the next point on this metaphorical curve will be in the next few months.There are necessary pandemic constraints that may lead some readers to think that the curve could dip downwards. The restrictions on material sharing, classroom occupancy and simply how close any one student can be to anyone else, lead to conversations and concerns that for right now, have no end. Like many of you, many of our conversations this summer were filled with speculation concerning what will happen to this trend in creativity when students return in September. What was amazing (yet unsurprising given the passionate dedication our teachers contribute to their profession), was how easy it was for us for our speculation to explore scenarios in which creativity wouldn’t only be

present in our schools but could indeed increase. We were inspired by how our social media streams were inundated with examples of how students and teachers were expressing their resilient selves and remaining creative regardless of constraint. We are further inspired by the multiple local and global initiatives of significant merit that could have their own creative metaphor. Even though most of what lies below is based on speculation, it is plausible to add some scientific flavour to what is an optimistic forecast. Extending our curve metaphor a little further, below we present a brief portrayal of what we call A Coordinate System of Makers’ Creative Endeavors. This system comes from our research data and helps us to identify two main axes through which we speculate maker educators will embrace a new reality while

TWITTER: JULIE GAUTREAU, BIO-MAKEING, VIRTUAL

remaining as creative as ever (and perhaps even more!). Each of these axes will be discussed in-depth in our forthcoming blog article. Creativity through Knowledge Mobility & Virtuality. More than ever, the pandemic has forced many individuals to explore their knowledge of a concept in the most non-traditional ways. This wasn’t really a surprise since we have been observing students for years express their knowledge concepts in nontraditional ways through the use of diverse materials in makerspaces. For instance, we recall a moment from our research observations where we were particularly impressed at two Grade 6 students’ ability to manipulate a complex object in 3D space on a computer screen. Using the software TinkerCAD these students performed complex transformations that required at least some knowledge of shape and space. The students would casually talk about an object’s rotation as just a necessary step in completing their design goals. They remained unaware of the complex abstraction that they were making as they moved their knowledge from the physical to the virtual - and once printed - back to the physical. This knowledge mobility was noticed time and time again during the shutdown. Many virtual engagements relied on non-traditional forms of knowledge expressions like hand-gestures to convey concepts. Perhaps the forced virtualization of our communication during the pandemic has forced us to reconsider how our knowledge Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

of concepts exists as we move from a physical space to one that is less than physical. We have a tendency to think of virtual learning experiences as missing something. Perhaps they are not missing something, they are becoming something new. Something more useful in any space - something creative. Creativity through Collaboration and Knowledge Co-Construction. Social media during the pandemic has made us abundantly aware of the perils of ill-timed video conference interruptions. Perhaps it was a family pet, a child or a poorly timed yawn, all of these moments have been shared beyond what 72

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once was a comfortable audience size. The benefit of this move to collaboration via video conference is it has reinforced the value of collaboration with individuals in your network with whom you rarely interact. The removal of geographic barriers that prohibited collaboration with distant team members has significantly influenced the creativity of solutions discussed across team members. Yet again, this is knowledge that was already apparent among students in a collaborative learning environment. We might recall the cardboard community model-building project from Grade 3 makers we told you about at the beginning of this

article. Students we interviewed said that this project was the first time that many of them collaborated with their peers on what they felt was a real and complex task. It was thrilling to discover that students understood that it was through their shared conversation and action that they built the model of their community. Each time a fellow classmate presented their idea, their cardboard building they were constructing became more refined. They used their collective experience and the available materials to coconstruct not only their goal but also a representation of their shared knowledge. The discovery of new collaborative

TWITTER: JULIE GAUTREAU, TEACHER, BESSBOROUGH SCHOOL. NOMINATED IN THE UPCOMING MAKER NEWSLETTER FOR ENCOURAGING #MAKERFUN PROJECTS & UPCOMING IN SCHOOL EFFORTS.

groups is something that we will continue to see emerge as student and teachers learn more about the skills and experience they bring to a group - even if they are not all in the same physical place at once. It is mainly because of the above-described imaginative thoughts we were sharing with each other during our summer conversations and the many more that will come once school returns in September, that we are encouraged that the Creativity in Education Curve will not flatten regardless of constraints. Any constraint implemented in response to the pandemic is done for our collective safety and

wellbeing. Even though some collaborative learning areas in a school may be redefined out of logistical necessity, the spirit that originally inspired the construction of that space lives on in the culture of the school. The spirit of a makerspace and the affordances they can provide across a school’s community is one of resiliency. This resiliency can be influenced to lead a school community to explore creative

pedagogies that extend far beyond any one’s physical space. This is where creativity will prevail.

Want to learn more? If you have questions or would like to learn more about school communities exploring creative pedagogies that extend beyond physical space— Let’s connect you! Email: jacob@brilliantlabs.ca or visit www.brilliantlabs.ca/blog

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

THANK YOU | MERCI WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE STUDENTS & TEACHERS WHO ARE INSPIRING INNOVATION EVERYDAY AND TO THE CONTRIBUTORS & STAFF WHO HELPED CREATE VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1: DECODE COMMUNITY NOUS AIMERIONS REMERCIER LES ÉLÈVES ET LES ENSEIGNANTS QUI INSPIRENT L'INNOVATION TOUS LES JOURS, AUX CONTRIBUTEURS ET AUX MEMBRES DE NOTRE ÉQUIPE QUI ONT CONTRIBUÉ À LA CRÉATION DE CE VOLUME 3, NUMÉRO 1: DÉCODER LA COMMUNAUTÉ

BRILLIANT LABS | LABOS CRÉATIFS

CONTRIBUTORS | CONTRIBUTEURS

JEFF WILLSON, EDITOR

BEN KELLY ALFRED BUGESSON KRYSTA AU SAM PATERSON FEMI OWOLADE-COOMBES (A.K.A HACKERFEMO) NAYA GOGUEN CHRISTINE LONG NICHOLAS LAMACCHI SADIE HUTCHINS DR. VIKTOR FREIMAN

WYLIE BUTLER, EDITORAL JOHN BARRON, EDITORIAL CARRON MCCABE, EDITORIAL MARY WEBBER, EDITORIAL SARAH RYAN, EDITORIAL JACOB LINGLEY, EDITORIAL MICHELLE THIBAULT, EDITORIAL NATACHA VAUTOUR, EDITORIAL ALISHA COLLINS, EDITORIAL NATACHA VAUTOUR, EDITORIAL ABOUT US | À PROPOS DE NOUS

Brilliant Labs is a non-profit, hands-on experiential learning platform based in Atlantic Canada. We support the integration of creativity, innovation, coding, and an entrepreneurial spirit within classrooms & educational curricula. Labos Créatifs est un organisme sans but lucratif du Canada atlantique offrant une plateforme d’apprentissage expérientielle mettant l’accent sur l’expérience pratique et la technologie. Nous appuyons l’intégration de la créativité, de l’innovation, de la programmation et de l’esprit de s’entreprendre dans les salles de classe et dans les programmes d’études. PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN | PHOTOGRAPHIE & DESIGN Article images were provided by staff and contributors. Professional images were sourced at Unsplash.com | Pixles.com. Magazine design, photography, photo & copy editing and original art was created by Cheryl Willson, Brilliant Labs Marketing Communications Manager | videography for Brilliant Labs Magazine digital is edited by Josh Lively, Brilliant Labs Video & Marketing Specialist. Les images des articles ont été fournies par le personnel et les contributeurs. Les images professionnelles ont été obtenues sur le site Unsplash.com | Pixles.com. La conception du magazine, la photographie, l'édition et l'art original ont été créés par Cheryl Willson, responsable de la communication marketing de Labos Créatifs | la vidéographie de Labos Créatifs reveu digital est éditée par Josh Lively, spécialiste vidéo et marketing de Labos Créatifs. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

WATCH FOR VIRTUAL AFTER SCHOOL & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING | SURVEILLEZ L'APPRENTISSAGE VIRTUEL APRÈS L'ÉCOLE ET L'APPRENTISSAGE PROFESSIONNEL Brilliant Labs invites you “Create & Make” with us in virtual after school & Teacher Professional Learning sessions. This FREE virtual Maker Series is open to educators, youth, teens and public learners. Watch Facebook & Twitter for announcements. Labos créatifs vous invite à "Soirée Créative" avec nous dans des sessions virtuelles de formation professionnelle des enseignants et des activités extrascolaires. Cette série GRATUITE de création virtuelle est ouverte aux éducateurs, aux jeunes, aux adolescents et aux apprenants du secteur public. Surveillez les annonces sur Facebook et Twitter. Contact |nous contacter: info@brilliantlabs.ca

Brilliant Labs Magazine: Digital Hope

Articles inside

CREATIVITY IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC: Lessons from CompeTI.CA & Brilliant Labs research in Education

In Conversation With: Alfred Burgesson

3D Printers WANTED by Wylie Butler

From In Class To Learning Success At Home by Sam Paterson

THANK YOU

Welcome, Alisha Collins

VIRTUAL SUMMER LEARNING ACADEMY

FAILURE IN THE TIME OF LOCKDOWN

Lonely To Leadership with MinecraftEdu by Ben Kelly

THOUSANDS OF EXPERIENCES

Camps d'été Maker Naturel

Learning At Home: A family's journey