Brilliant Labs Magazine: Programming & Social Connection by Brilliant Labs

Volume 3 Issue 2

REVUE

MAGAZINE

CLAIR 2020

UN COLLOQUE À L’ÉCHELLE HUMAINE…

FIRST® LEGO® League A Maritime Wide Championship

TAKE

A Discussion With Gary Walsh ISTE CREATIVE CONSTRUCTOR LAB

New Orleans

Volume 3 Issue 2

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This Issue |Cette Édition Welcome. Bienvenue <3> Meet Mr. Hennigar

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Maker Faire: ROME

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ISTE Creative Constructor Lab: New Orleans In conversation with Roseanne Gauthier

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Clair 2020, Un Colloque à L’échelle Humaine Brilliant Labs: Community TV Take 5: Gary Walsh

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First LEGO: New Brunswick First LEGO: Maritimes

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Rockin’Royality: Royal Robots

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Entraîneur de l'année pour les recrues Rookie Coach of The Year

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The Bears: Gracious Professionalism Award. Team Drift: Rising Star Award

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LEGO Minestorm EV3: Way Easier To Use mBot Story Telling

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Halifax West BB8: Droid Reloaded!

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Create A Chatbot <80> Raspberry Jam Halifax

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Summer Virtual Camps | Camps d'été virtuels STIAM

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Making Green Solutions <94> Empowering Girls with STEAM: I am the demonstration, you be the voice <98> Acknowledgements

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Welcome. Bienvenue. Jeff Willson, Executive Director | Directeur Général This school year has been like no other! Brilliant Labs got off to a flying start and introduced a free after school program, a microaccreditation system to help teachers, students, and parents keep track of a student’s progress with digital skills and competencies, we introduced the latest version of our b.Board, an updated IDE, new tutorials, an open source cloud service, and our Sustainable Brilliance Resources developed to support the integration of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals with curricula. We also launched a re-engineered project sharing web app so teachers, libraries, and community centres can share exciting student led projects. Amongst the introduction of these new tools, we saw the incredible disruption caused by COVID-19 in March and along with school closures came a need for our team to mobilize and create remote learning materials to support parents and teachers looking to engage their children and students during these tumultuous times. Our next issue of the BL Magazine: Digital Hope, will share many of the stories behind some of our responses during the pandemic which included daily schedules of original activities and videos, professional learning for teachers, a community tv show to reach kids without internet access, a daily moderated Minecraft server, support for many initiatives designed to help frontline health workers, helping to provide technology to youth, and virtualizing our summer camps. With that said, in this issue Brilliant Labs Magazine: Programming & Social Connection, we welcome Jeff Hennigar to our team. Jeff was seconded from the Halifax Regional Centre for Education in Nova Scotia. He brings with him a passion for maker centered learning and the willingness to try new pedagogies. We then will explore our life before COVID-19 and celebrate the efforts of teachers and youth throughout Atlantic Canada. In the not to distant past, our team traveled to Maker Faire: Rome, welcomed teachers from across Newfoundland and Labrador to New Orleans for the ISTE Creative Lab, and celebrated the passion of hundreds of francophone educators as they gathered for Clair 2020, un colloque à l’échelle humaine… Looking back these physical learning experiences brought with them impactful memories and energized educators to come home with new learning perspectives. These social connections inspired a connectedness that created lasting professional networks that will pay dividends in our new reality. Being connected physically allowed us to reach and celebrate the efforts of educators and students in ways we will never forget. Last spring, Brilliant Labs worked with Rothesay Netherwood School to introduce teachers and students to the FIRST LEGO league. They completed workshops and took that knowledge back to their communities to start training for the first New Brunswick robotics competition in late November. From here, seven teams travelled to Wolfville, Nova Scotia, on Valentines’ Day to the premier Maritime FIRST LEGO competition. We will consider how programming a robot is only a portion of the skills needed to succeed in these high energy competitions. We then shift our attention to ‘Take 5’ with an incredible educator who has spent his career inspiring youth through sport, martial arts, robotics and STEAM programs. Gary Walsh, has been empowering youth for more than thirty years. Today he is the Director of Acadia Robotics and shares his journey with us. Our team then digs deeper into programming by visiting Halifax West High School as Bradly Watt and his students reboot their droid project by creating a life size BB8. While in Kings Point, Newfoundland & Labrador, Logan, a grade eight student, teaches us now to program our own chatbot using Dialogflow. Finally, we will look at how the United Nations Sustainable Development goals can be applied in our everyday life and how students are creating projects to help reach Canada’s 2030 commitment. Join us as we share these stories to help illustrate how coding and digital skills are playing an ever increasing role in how we interact and build social connections.

Quelle année scolaire! Avec un départ exceptionnel, nous avons débuté un programme parascolaire gratuit, un système de microaccréditation pour aider les enseignants, les élèves et les parents à suivre les progrès d'élèves en matière d'aptitudes et de compétences numériques, nous avons introduit la plus récente version de notre b.Board, mis un EDI à jour, créé de nouveaux tutoriels, offert un service de nuage informatique à source libre, développé des ressources pour soutenir l'intégration des objectifs de développement durable des Nations Unies en lien avec les programmes d’études. Nous avons également lancé un portail de partage de projets afin que les enseignants, les bibliothèques et les centres communautaires puissent partager des projets passionnants menés par des élèves. Parmi l'introduction de ces nouveaux outils, nous avons vu l'incroyable perturbation causée par COVID-19 en mars et, parallèlement aux fermetures d'écoles, notre équipe a dû se mobiliser et créer du matériel d'apprentissage à distance pour soutenir les parents et les enseignants qui cherchent à faire participer leurs enfants et leurs élèves en ces temps tumultueux. Le prochain numéro de notre revue : L’espoir numérique, partagera de nombreuses histoires derrière certaines de nos initiatives pendant la pandémie qui comprenaient des activités quotidiennes et vidéos originales, des séries d’apprentissages professionnel pour enseignants, une émission de télévision communautaire pour atteindre les enfants n’ayant pas accès à l’internet, un serveur Minecraft modéré quotidiennement, le soutien de nombreuses initiatives pour aider les travailleurs de la santé de première ligne, de l'aide afin de fournir des outils technologiques aux jeunes, et la virtualisation de nos camps d'été. Cela étant dit, dans ce numéro, nous allons explorer la programmation et les connexion sociales. De plus, nous accueillons Jeff Hennigar dans notre équipe. Jeff a été mis à notre disposition par le Centre régional d'éducation d’Halifax, en Nouvelle-Écosse. Il apporte avec lui une passion pour l'apprentissage centré sur le créateur et la volonté d’explorer de nouvelles pratiques pédagogiques. Un retour en arrière pour explorer l’année scolaire avant COVID-19 et célébrer les efforts des enseignants et des jeunes de tout le Canada atlantique. Dans un passé pas si lointain, notre équipe s'est rendue à Rome pour le Maker Faire Européen, nous avons envoyé des enseignants de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador en Louisiane assister au laboratoire créatif de l'ISTE, et nous avons participé à une célébration de la passion de centaines d'éducateurs francophones réunis pour Clair 2020, un colloque à l'échelle humaine! Ces expériences d'apprentissage physique ont apporté des souvenirs marquants et ont donné aux enseignants l'énergie nécessaire pour revenir chez eux avec de nouvelles perspectives sur l'apprentissage. Ces liens sociaux ont inspiré une connectivité qui a créé des réseaux professionnels durables qui porteront leurs fruits dans notre nouvelle réalité. Le fait d'être physiquement connecté nous a permis d'atteindre et de célébrer les efforts d’enseignants et des étudiants d'une manière que nous n'oublierons jamais. Au printemps dernier, Labos Créatifs a travaillé avec l'école Rothesay Netherwood pour présenter aux enseignants et aux élèves la ligue FIRST LEGO. Ils ont participé à des ateliers et ont rapporté ces connaissances dans leurs communautés pour commencer à s'entraîner en vue de la première compétition de robotique du Nouveau-Brunswick à la fin novembre. De là, sept équipes se sont rendues à Wolfville, en Nouvelle-Écosse, le jour de la Saint-Valentin, pour participer à la première compétition de FIRST LEGO des Maritimes. Nous allons voir comment la programmation d'un robot n'est qu'une partie des compétences nécessaires pour réussir dans ces compétitions à haute énergie. Nous nous concentrerons ensuite sur un "Take 5" avec un enseignant incroyable qui a passé sa carrière à inspirer les jeunes par le sport, les arts martiaux, la robotique et les programmes STIAM. M. Gary Walsh, a donné aux jeunes les moyens de se prendre en main depuis plus de trente ans. Aujourd'hui, il est le directeur d'Acadia Robotics et partage son parcours avec nous. Nous visitons ensuite l’école secondaire Halifax West, où Bradly Watt et ses élèves re-démarrent leur projet de droïde en créant un immense BB8. Pendant son séjour à Kings Point, à Terre-Neuve et Labrador, Logan, un élève de huitième année, nous démontre comment programmer votre propre chatbot en utilisant Dialogflow. Enfin, nous verrons comment les objectifs de développement durable des Nations unies peuvent être appliqués dans notre vie quotidienne et comment les élèves créent des projets pour aider à atteindre les buts Canadien 2030. Joignez-vous à nous pour partager ces histoires afin d'illustrer comment le codage et les compétences numériques jouent un rôle toujours plus important dans notre façon d'interagir et nos habiletés de créer des liens sociaux. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

PHOTO CREDIT: ASWIN MAHESH

WELCOME MR. HENNIGAR

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EMPOWERING NOVA SCOTIA

BY REACHING MORE YOUTH MEET MR.HENNIGAR Since our inception Brilliant Labs has been fortunate to collaborate with incredible educators. They are the champions of inspiring fun and engaging learning for our Atlantic Canadian youth. This past school year we were very grateful that Mr. Jeff Hennigar would be joining our Brilliant Labs Team. Jeff Hennigar has been a teacher for the past twelve years and has empowered students through impactful literacy programs, energetic math, and hands-on learning projects. Brilliant Labs is excited to welcome Mr.Hennigar, Education Champion, to help more youth throughout Nova Scotia alongside the BL team. Let’s meet Mr. Hennigar

You've been a teacher for how many years? Hard to believe, but its been 12 years already! Why did you become a teacher? My earliest memory of wanting to become a teacher was when I was 16 and I spent my summer as a camp counsellor at Sherbrooke Lake Camp near New Ross, Nova Scotia. I really enjoyed working with the kids and I continued working at camps and day camps for many summers. Once I started my education program I learned quickly that planning lessons and projects for my students was something I enjoyed as much as working with the kids! In your lifetime has anyone inspired you to change your mind, for the

better, to overcome an obstacle? About 5 years ago, a colleague of mine, Mario Eleftheros, was working with his team to organize a PD day here in the Halifax area. At the time I was designing and playing a lot of Breakout EDU escape room games with my students. The thought of presenting to teachers was as far from my comfort zone as it could be, but when Mario asked, I reluctantly agreed to share what I had been doing in my classroom. Not only did that event show me that the things I do in my classroom were worth sharing, but I also connected with teachers at that event that are now an important part of my Professional Learning Community Mario’s push really changed the course of my career.

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What inspired you to first bring making to the classroom and what makes it brilliant? About 6 years ago I started spending some time on Twitter, I gained a much wider view of what teaching and learning looked like in classrooms across Halifax and around the world. Before this, I felt like activities with making were things teachers did in art class, or in addition to the curriculum. My time on Twitter showed me how teachers all around the world use hands-on learning and technology as methods for teaching the curriculum in ways that engage students that a textbook can’t! What are your goals as a Program Specialist with Brilliant Labs? I want to help teachers in the way that Twitter helped for me 6 years ago; I want to work with educators to plan and implement learning experiences that demonstrate how technology and making are tools in our teachertool kits for reaching curriculum goals in relevant and culturally responsive ways. Brilliant Labs has been an invaluable support to my teaching over the years, and I am thrilled to now have the opportunity to work with this team!

What advice would you give teachers who are interested in bringing making to the classroom? If students don’t remember the content we’ve covered in class, then we really haven’t taught them anything. When I think back to my elementary school days I don’t remember much about my classwork, but I do remember the projects! The log cabin I hot-glued together using sticks and moss, the windowsill garden my class built and cared for, and my science fair project about food-waste in my school. These were things that I was invested in, had autonomy over, and felt proud to share when they were done. Our Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Jeff and his son, Hunter, are writing books for early readers and #MakerFun learning activities.

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he creative freedom we have over HOW we teach is a big part of what makes teaching awesome. Keep in mind throughout the process that sometimes it isn’t easy to recognize what learning has occurred after an hour of making, and to someone walking down the hall it might seem like the students are “just” playing around. Know and trust that the learning is happening...” — Jeff Hennigar, Brilliant Labs Program Specialist, Nova Scotia

students (in all grades) need a chance to apply what they are learning in creative and meaningful ways. My advice would be to just keep trying new things! The creative freedom we have over HOW we teach is a big part of what makes teaching awesome. Keep in mind throughout the process that sometimes it isn’t easy to recognize what learning has occurred after an hour of making, and to someone walking down the hall it might seem like the students are “just” playing around. Know and trust that the learning is happening, and that you are also helping them find a love for school and a curiosity for learning through all this. That in itself makes it worthwhile.

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ISTE CREATIVE CONSTRUCTOR LAB

Written by Melissa Lee Brilliant Labs NLESD Coding Itinerant

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eans

GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION OF DIGITAL INNOVATORS In October, Brilliant Labs partnered with the NLTA Technology Education Special Interest Council and the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District to send five teachers, representing all regions of Newfoundland and Labrador, to New Orleans to attend the ISTE Creative Constructor Lab. The professional learning opportunity is a two-day interactive learning experience where participants discover how to create vibrant, media-rich learning environments to help grow the next generation of creators! Along with the Newfoundland and Labrador Brilliant Labs team, the teachers had a great learning experience and the opportunity to collaborate with international educators about how to best support creative problem-solving and digital knowledge construction for their students. A large variety of sessions were offered in the areas of; exploration and application of design thinking, digital tools and resources, classroom creativity models, skillsbuilding around classroom creation tools, and resource sharing.

From left to right: Matthew Grant, John Barron (Brilliant Labs NL Provincial Coordiantor), Christine Elliott, Nicole Abbott, Megan Roome, Wylie Butler (Brilliant Labs NL Program Specialist), Terry LaVallee, Chelsea Morris Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

EDUCATOR

TAKE-A-WAYS

Sum up the experience in 5 words: An enhancing, and reaffirming experience. MATT GRANT, EASTERN TEACHER Where are you teaching? Holy Trinity High School in Torbay, NL What are you teaching? Math, Science and Technology

CHELSEA MORRIS, LABRADOR TEACHER Where are you teaching? Rigolet, NL What are you teaching? Kindergarten, Grade 1, Technology Gr.7-9 Big takeaways: Networking with teachers all across North America. I now have teacher connections in Louisiana, Arizona, Wyoming, and Kentucky to name a few! Being able to use technology such as Augmented Reality to enhance the learning environment in northern communities where resources and exposure to different experiences may be limited. Using Stop Motion technology in the classroom for all ages. Reaffirming that the Inuit are already makers and have been resourceful makers for thousands of years. It’s being able to help enhance those maker skills with technology, without taking away from tradition that is my goal as a Technology Teacher. Future plans for your classroom: To incorporate video production using a combination of Green Screen and Stop Motion Technology to make an Inuktitut Dictionary. Working with all 5 Nunatsiavut Schools to create one large project, or to break off and do individual projects in each school. 10

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Big takeaways: Newfoundland and Labrador is certainly not behind the times when it comes to classroom technology and teaching. If anything we’re ahead of the curve. micro:Bits are every bit as common in our classrooms as they are in the most innovative school in North America. I hadn’t heard from anyone at the conference doing anything as advanced as what we’re doing with Raspberry Pis in the new Computer Science 1204 course that was just introduced in our province. What was comforting is that we all are facing the same issues: How do we prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist with technology that is constantly in flux? How do we convince others (parents, administration and other teachers) that the incorporation of technology is a worthwhile endeavour? Future plans for your classroom: I would like to bring in more video production into my students’ work. Adobe Spark seems to be an easy program to learn that delivers elegant results. I also want to evaluate the value of using Virtual Reality with CAD programs to motivate students into learning 3D drawing skills. Sum up the experience in 5 words: Motivational, inspirational, eye-opening delight!

Sum up the experience in 5 words: A rewarding interactive and collaborative experience! NICOLE ABBOTT - CENTRAL TEACHER Where are you teaching? Matthew Elementary School, Bonavista, NL What are you teaching? Teacher Librarian

Chelsea, Megan & Melissa: Incorporating the design process into creating clothing and wearables #MakerEdNL

MEGAN ROOME, EASTERN TEACHER Where are you teaching? Villanova Junior High, Conception Bay South What are you teaching? Grade 6 Early French Immersion Big takeaways: Learning from teachers across North America by collaborating during breakout sessions. Expanding my PLN giving me the ability to continue to learn from others and collaborate virtually in the future. Reinforcing the fact that we’re on the right track with what we’re doing here in Newfoundland and Labrador with regards to technology in education and the maker philosophy. Focusing on the how and why. The planning and creating steps are as equally as important, if not moreso, than the final product. Student voice and choice - promoting and celebrating student input and involvement in their learning. Future plans for your classroom: I would like to incorporate more video production with my students, including green screen, animation and stop motion animation, to provide students with other ways to communicate and represent their ideas and understanding with others. I very much enjoyed the session on video production with iMovie and Keynote.

Big takeaways: I love all the connections I made throughout the conference. I have created such a large professional learning community with so many educators from all over North America. -I liked the focus on process when bringing maker education into or classrooms. We need to know the goal of our projects/lessons and the process is so important in this. Future plans for your classroom: -I plan to create a podcast for our school to share activities, showcase student learning, and connect our community and school. -I look forward to working with other teachers to integrate maker education throughout the curriculum. I hope to motivate my colleagues to use technology, coding, and maker activities to create a group of students who are prepared for their future in our ever-changing world. -I plan to start up an after-school program to allow students the opportunity to get involved in a variety of STEAM activities. Attendees were encouraged to get creative during the conference as demonstrated by this mask created for the New Orleans Krewe of Boo Halloween Parade.enhancing, and reaffirming experience.

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-I want to initiate a ‘genius hour’ time where students get to focus on their interests and strengths to do something that motivates them. Sum up the experience in 5 words: Engaging, motivating, and inspiring experience. TERRY LAVALLEE WESTERN TEACHER Where are you teaching? Pasadena Elementary What are you teaching? Grade 6 Math, Lang Arts, Science, French and VP duties Big takeaways: The power of networking The importance of giving learners a way to be SEEN, not just to find ways to hear them. They need access to opportunities to BE - be a student, a presenter, a motivator, a struggler, a teacher, and a life-long learner. The importance of equity and how technology can ‘help’ get closer to it if used appropriately. Future plans for your classroom: -Implement a Social Issues Photography club upon return- keeping in close contact via Twitter with Sheri Kushner and Adobe as they both influence and offer input on my group’s work -Continue to push the maker philosophy across ALL my courses. Have maker-themed 12

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days where, no matter the course/subject, everything is visited through technology and/or maker-inspired events -put more autonomy in students’ hands. -let students create and model their own content (ie. Genius Hour) -continue to promote and support all above-mentioned initiatives through the school and in local schools in my area -maintain a strong PL community Sum up the experience in 5 words: Humbled, Educated, Enlightened, Invigorated, Renewed

Future plans for your classroom: Role of podcasting in promoting what we do with Brilliant Labs. Music in the Key of Life Presentation really highlighted the power in creating music with students. With very little cost kids can create amazing music. After the sessions it confirmed in my mind the way we approach coding and making. Coding and making for a purpose is the best approach to teach technology skills while teaching curriculum. Future plans for your classroom:

WYLIE BUTLER, BRILLIANT LABS PROGRAM SPECIALIST

Spend some time working on podcasting and music creation with high school students.

Where are you teaching? Anywhere and Everywhere :-) BL NL Program Facilitator.

Sum up the experience in 5 words: Stimulating, Inspiring, and Engaging

“I

t was a great opportunity for the NL team to connect because we are normally so spread out geographically from all regions.”

EWARDING

INSPIRING

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Carron McCabe| Program Director | Prince Edward Island | Brilliant Labs

IN CONVERSATION WITH ROSEANNE GAUTHIER on the future of libraries and how Maker Education has intersected.

From the first day Brilliant Labs has been on PEI, the Public Library Service has been an instrumental partner in reaching Island youth and their families to bring maker education and technology into communities. Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Roseanne Gauthier, Youth Services Librarian with the Public Library Service at her home base, the Confederation Centre Public Library. Roseanne shared her thoughts on the future of libraries and how our work has intersected. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with where Island library branches are today and how does the PEI Library Service use and integrate hands-on learning within programming to support youth?

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RG: Public libraries are all about learning. I think we've always been great at providing resources to help people learn new skills, but now we've expanded our ideas about how people learn. Embracing a hands-on approach to learning in our programming is definitely part of that ongoing shift. CM: This is a shift that is happening in education as well. I can see how students and educators become active in their learning when they get to explore, use their hands, and try something new. Embracing this approach can take some time because this may not be what we experienced when we were young and visited the library, so I can see how this can be new for both librarians and patrons alike.

We both know how important literacy is for us all. Could you share how you see the PEI Library Service impacting youth and families? RG: Public libraries offer free resources and programming for everyone. We provide opportunities for youth and families to build their literacy skills -- all types of literacy skills - in a fun, engaging environment. Ideally, we're another part of the educational support system that's preparing today's youth to be successful citizens of the world. CM: I think this could be another shift that is happening - many may not see technology as a literacy. Digital citizenship and the skills needed to exist in that space are so important. Making

PHOTO CREDIT: BRILLIANT LABS

these skills fun is what we do at Brilliant Labs. I love that you said libraries are another part of the educational support system. Learning happens everywhere! You touched on literacy and I wonder how does the library work to help patrons build digital literacy? RG: Public libraries are definitely working hard to offer digital literacy learning opportunities for Islanders of all ages. For young families, we talk about guidelines around screentime and how to use screentime effectively once kids are old enough. We also provide access to iPads with carefullycurated apps to give kids an opportunity to explore how tablets work. Many of the apps introduce basic computational thinking. We

have board games that use logic and problem-solving skills. Yearround emphasis on STEAM-based activities for PD Days. Some libraries run a Computer Skills for Seniors course that matches senior citizens with teen volunteers to learn about using tools from email to e-books. Always adding to our collection of technology resources -- lots of new books for all ages and skill levels, plus circulating technology kits (eg. Code-A-Pillars, Microbits, Ozobots, etc.) and technology for programming. I'm sure I'm missing stuff! CM: Ah yes! STEAM Education is a wonderful way to infuse skills, knowledge and competencies for our future communities! Can you tell me more about how

technology fits with your other programs and what role it plays? RG: Sure! We're always discovering new ways to integrate technology into our programming, especially as we've built our relationship with you and Brilliant Labs. Your suggestions have been helpful for our staff, and over time our librarians have realized they can trust your judgement. As our staff has gotten more familiar with the types of tools Brilliant Labs can provide for us, they've also gotten more comfortable with playing around to find new ways to use it in our programs. Open-ended and technology-based programming take a bit of adjustment for staff. Most of our staff members have not always been used to learning this way and worry that kids will BrilliantLabs LabsMagazine Magazine Revue RevueLabos LabosCrĂŠatifs CrĂŠatifs Brilliant

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be frustrated if they don't immediately have the right answer all the time. It's been a learning process for us, as much as it is for the young people attending our programs. CM: I have had such pleasure visiting branches across PEI to support librarians in their work. It’s so interesting to see how your branches have adapted to serve each community. Library staff have been amazing in stepping up and meeting the challenge of learning how to build and operate 3d printers. I’m often learning right along side them. Admitting fear and taking the steps anyway make them great role models for their patrons! Roseanne, when you look to the future, how do you see the role of libraries changing over the next 10 years?

museum passes, and radon detectors. I'm sure that list will only continue to grow! CM: I love the opportunities libraries offer us all. It really changes how we have historically perceived libraries. I am seeing the same shift happen in schools where librarians are moving more into makerspace programming and creating a space to build, construct, and code. It is an exciting evolution! With that said, how do you see the maker movement evolving within the library?

CM: I couldn’t agree more! There is an appetite for making all across PEI. In some communities I have found they are more advanced in their skills than I had thought and often have to have something else up my sleeve when I put on programming in your branches! Thank you for this conversation, Roseanne. The work you do as a Youth Services Librarian has so many connections to the work Brilliant Labs aims to accomplish in PEI. I look forward to supporting patrons and librarians in the future.

“L

ibraries are one of the only spaces left where everyone is welcome and everything is free. I think that will mean public libraries become even more important and vibrant over the next decade.”

RG: I think the role of the library as a community hub will continue to evolve. Already in urban centres like Calgary you can see that public libraries are incorporating things like family play spaces, community kitchens and art galleries. Libraries are one of the only spaces left where everyone is welcome and everything is free. I think that will mean public libraries become even more important and vibrant over the next decade.

The resources we have available to our patrons continue to expand too. We're already looking beyond traditional print and digital resources with our Library of Things. The PLS currently lends out snowshoes, musical instruments, children's play equipment,

RG: The first step, and the one that's really exciting right now, is seeing the maker movement expanding beyond PEI's bigger centres, like Summerside and Charlottetown, into more rural communities, like Tignish and Georgetown. People are excited just to have access to the tools and technologies like Micro:bits and 3D printers. Being able to complete a simple task or project is cause for celebration. Everyone is still scared they're going to break something expensive! People will always be excited by new technologies, but I think as time passes and people are more familiar with the "basics", there will be more experimentation and creativity too.

Roseanne Gauthier, Youth Services Librarian, works at the Confederation Centre Public Library located at 145 Richmand Street, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 8G8. The library is open daily.

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CLAIR 2020, UN COLLOQUE À L’ÉCHELLE HUMAINE… par Roberto Gauvin | Publié 5 février 2020

C’est en fin de semaine dernière qu’avait lieu la onzième édition du colloque Voir l’éducation autrement ; Clair2020. Ce sont plus de 350 personnes qui ont convergé vers le Centre d’apprentissage du HautMadawaska (CAHM) pour y voir les pratiques gagnantes de cette petite école du Madawaska au Nouveau-Brunswick. Les participants provenaient majoritairement de l’est du Canada et certains même du Bénin en Afrique. La fierté de l’exdirecteur en moi de cette petite école de campagne était, évidemment, très grande, et en même temps imprégné de nostalgie. Depuis 2010, le colloque 18

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Voir l’éducation autrement permet aux enseignants de se rencontrer et de faire le point sur les meilleures pratiques pour innover et pour permettre aux élèves les meilleurs apprentissages possible. Cette année, lors de la cérémonie protocolaire d’ouverture, nous avons réalisé que plusieurs participants en étaient à une première visite au CAHM. À mon avis, cela démontre que les participants des années précédentes retournent dans leur milieu de travail avec des commentaires positifs et cela permet à d’autres enseignants de bien vouloir y participer. Il faut dire que le budget en publicité pour ce colloque est inexistant et que toutes

les places à 250 $ se sont envolées en moins de 9 minutes en septembre 2019. La programmation 2020 aura permis de faire un premier bilan d’une première décennie. Au début, le colloque rassemblait ceux et celles intéressés par le déploiement du numérique. Avec les années, l’offre s’est transformée par l’accompagnement, l’entrepreneuriat et l’importance de l’humain. Ron Canuel en a profité pour nous donner une fable qui représentait bien les limites qui nous sont imposées par le système d’Éducation. De son côté, l’artiste Monique Poirier nous a

Clair2020 avec les jeunes au coeur du colloque dans une petite école du Haut-Madawaska. Rémi Picard, président du conseil des élèves du CAHM rappelé d’être à l’écoute des enfants et de nourrir leurs intérêts et leurs talents. Nous avons aussi eu la chance d’entendre deux témoignages, dont celui d’André Gobeil, sur la culture d’innovation et organisationnelle qu’il préconise à la direction de son CÉGEP à Chicoutimi. Les participants ont aussi eu la chance d’entendre un vibrant témoignage de la part d’Éric Tremblay, enseignant dans la région de Québec. Ces rencontres ont été à la fois touchantes et nous ont permis de réfléchir et de faire le point sur nos propres pratiques et comportements au quotidien.

Le colloque aura aussi permis à un grand nombre de personnes de participer au Forum des pratiques gagnantes et à la Foire pédagogique dans les classes de l’école. Un BarCamp a aussi été présenté et c’est au total, ce sont plus de 18 sessions qui y ont été présentées. Plusieurs participants étaient à une première participation à un BarCamp et nous ne sommes pas habitués de participer de cette manière. C’est à mon avis, c’est une excellent façon d’apprendre et d’échanger. La table ronde animée par Partick Giroux sur l’environnement a aussi été excellente. Finalement que dire de la Session Ignite CADRE21 animée par nul autre que Jacques Cool en

personne. Six participants ont relevé le défi haut la main sur le thème « On fait quoi maintenant? ». En plus des rencontres sociales, des repas et du bar à bonbons, l’émission Heure de pointe en Acadie était aussi sur place le vendredi 31 janvier pour y présenter une émission spéciale d’une durée de 2 heures. Il est possible d’aller écouter et entendre les différentes interventions lors de cette émission spéciale présentée à la radio de Radio-Canada. Comme à l’habitude, les participants étaient invités à réagir et à partager leurs impressions sur un Backchannel Twitter. À un certain moment donné lors de l’ouverture du BrilliantLabs LabsMagazine Magazine Revue RevueLabos LabosCréatifs Créatifs Brilliant

colloque, le hashtag #Clair2020 était # 3 du sujet le plus tendance au Canada. Un nuage de bulles a aussi permis aux participants de voir en image les mots les plus utilisés et encore cette année, ce sont les élèves qui semblaient prendre la plus grande place. Le colloque de Clair2020 aura donc été un rendez-vous maintenant devenu un évènement incontournable en éducation. À lire tous les commentaires sur le fil Twitter de #Clair2020, nul doute que les participants ont bien aimé leur passage au CAHM. Je suis fier de l’évolution du colloque durant toutes ces dernières années. Pour ma part, je suis content de voir que la relève s’organise et que les gens semblent vouloir continuer à offrir et à participer à cette rencontre annuelle. Je suis aussi content d’avoir pu travailler en compagnie de Joey Nadeau et de lui permettre de prendre les rênes de l’animation. Évidemment avec la retraite qui arrive à grands pas, je crois qu’il sera important pour moi de laisser plus de place au comité de programmation et laisser tous ces gens voler de leurs propres ailes. J’ai beaucoup aimé mon expérience durant ces onze ans. J’ai rencontré des gens incroyables et qui ont à coeur le développement d’une réelle éducation de qualité. Plusieurs

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Nuage de bulles créé par Patrick Drouin personnes croient qu’il s’agit d’un tour de force d’avoir réussi à présenter un colloque d’une telle envergure et d’une telle qualité depuis tant d’années. Je le crois aussi. Si on pense à tous les barreaux dans les roues, tous les pièges bureaucratiques et tous les défis d’organisation, cela pourrait être décourageant à première vue. Si vous m’aviez dit en 2010 que le colloque serait présenté à 11 reprises, je ne pense pas qu’à ce moment, je l’aurais cru. Disons donc poliment que les sceptiques ont été confondus… Je termine en prenant le temps de remercier tous ceux et celles qui ont

osé faire autrement et qui dès le début de cette aventure, ont bien voulu y croire et s’y investir. Je remercie tous les membres du personnel du CAHM, les élèves, la communauté et à tous les nombreux partenaires et commanditaires du HautMadawaska. Ceci ne serait pas possible envers l’engagement et le travail de toutes ces nombreuses personnes. Un grand merci aussi à tous les participants qui sont venus d’un peu partout sur la planète au fil des ans. J’ose croire aussi que nous avons réussi à semer plein de graines d’innovation, des idées de changement et plusieurs questions à plus de 3500 personnes qui se sont déplacées pour y participer sur place ou pour nous suivre via la web diffusion. Au final, je crois que ce sont les élèves qui en sortiront gagnants. Ceux du CAHM, mais aussi ceux des centaines d’enseignants et enseignantes qui peuvent maintenant oser faire autrement. Nous avons laissé des traces au fil des ans comme par exemple, ce lien YouTube avec la majorité des présentations grâce à un important partenariat avec l’Université de Moncton.

appelé d’être à l’écoute des enfants et de nourrir leurs intérêts et leurs talents.” - Monique Poirier, Artist

Ceci est une réimpression. Pour trouver l'histoire originale, visitez http://robertogauvin.com/ BrilliantLabs LabsMagazine Magazine Revue RevueLabos LabosCréatifs Créatifs Brilliant

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LEARNING AT HOME | APPRENDRE À LA MAISON Join Brilliant Labs’ Maker Fun on Eastlink & Rogers Community TV weekdays for educational and engaging activities that youth can do at home in Atlantic Canada! Rejoignez les #FunCreative Labs sur Eastlink & Rogers Community Television en semaine pour des activités éducatives et engageantes que les enfants peuvent faire à la maison! 22

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MAKER FUN | FUNCRÉATIFS June 22-26 juin: Coding / Codage

July 27-31 juillet: Empathy and Natural Making /Empathie et fabrication naturelle

June 29 juin -July 3 juillet: Space / Espace July 6-10 juillet: Transportation July 13-17 juillet: Light and Colour /Lumière et couleur

August 3-7 août: Simple Machines / Invisible Forces/ Machines simples/ Forces invisibles August 10-14 août: Going Green / Fabrication verte August 17-21 août: Sound and Language /Son et language

July 20-24 juillet: The World of Work /Le monde du travail

August 24-28 août: Perspectives

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Why did you first become a teacher? I actually began Teaching and Coaching while I was still a High School Student. Working with fellow students and athletes became a very important part of my life, so the School System seemed to be the perfect fit when it came time to focus on a career.

TAKE 5

Take Five is a regular feature of Brilliant Labs Magazine that focuses on an educator that has been inspiring, innovative, and/or has shown a socially responsible entrepreneurial spirit. In this issue, Programing and Social Connections, we are excited to interview Mr. Gary Walsh. Gary may be a retired teacher, but he is a long way away from retiring as an educator. Throughout his life, Gary has been a teacher, principal, athlete, coach, rock and roll musician, Director of Karate Canada Board, and Director of Acadia Robotics. We asked Gary to share his passion for education and pulled his top 5 inspiration tips for educators & community.

Your life’s journey surrounds educating youth. How did a teacher passionate about Rock n’ Roll and Karate come to be the Director of Acadia Robotics? I coached several things during my Teaching Career. Wrestling, Soccer, Weightlifting, Karate, the Rubik’s Cube, and Rock and Roll. Therefore, if I knew how to do something, chances are … there were always others interested in learning how to do it as well. So, when Competitive Robotics was introduced to Nova Scotia by Dr. Danny Silver (former Teammate of mine on the University Varsity Soccer Team) - I jumped to the front of the line in order to add it to my repertoire. Who Introducing robotics to your knew that something I was coaching - would eventually school or community allows youth to not lead to a career!! only develop valuable critical thinking

skills, it propels many teams from our

In February Acadia Robotics and Acadia University, region directly to regional, international with the support of sponsors and community and world competitions. partners, hosted the first Maritime FIRST LEGO League and ROBOFEST Robotics competition. This is the 15th anniversary for the event, what makes this competition special and why is it important for youth? These competitions not only provide a cutting edge and state-of-the-art competition and program for youth from our local schools and communities – they also advance the top teams in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes directly to the Annual World Championships, as well as several other International Competitions throughout the year. You were a Principal and Teacher within the Annapolis Valley School system. Some principals & teachers don’t know where to start when incorporating robotics into school programming/classrooms. What advice can you give? The easiest way to be introduced to the program is to contact the Lead Person for Robotics competitions in each province directly. From here you will be provided with a program description, direction on administration, and support - when it 24

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Generate interest and support by inviting community leaders, potential sponsors and supporters to your event. If they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come be imaginative and bring the event to them.

R2D2 chilling with Gary (Totally LEGO !!!) Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

comes to Product, Programming, Workshops, and Competitions. In Nova Scotia this would be robot.director@acadiau.ca Fostering innovation within schools and community is paramount. One of your long time sponsors, Dennis Langille Michelin North America, proudly stated that “Innovation is a part of our DNA. People are a part of our DNA. We are here for the children, they are our future”. What advice can you give to schools or community organizations about creating long lasting support from corporations or local partners? The best way to guarantee the interest and support from leaders in business, industry, community groups, and other potential sponsors and supporters - is to either bring them to an event – or to bring an event to them. Once they see the excitement and interest that the program provides to the youth of our schools and communities – they will then realize the importance of what is being offered, and the thousands of young minds it will affect.

We have moved from technology being a form of entertainment to being a necessity. Think of how technology has changed for you and how it can improve lives, communities or well-being.

Finally, how has robotics and youth involvement changed over the past 20 years? What do you envision for the FLL future in Atlantic Canada and how can we, Brilliant Labs, community, schools, corporate partners and government agencies help? Decades ago, when technology of any kind was introduced to various schools or community programs, it was seen as an interesting or entertaining activity. However, in today’s world, Computer Science, Robotics, and Technology of any kind is essential to everyone – since it is now a critical part of everyday life. These subjects should now take priority in a number of areas – since they are the subjects that are indeed a major ingredient of every other subject. So, by providing a strong education in technology to the youth of today – we can ensure that they focus on these life skills, and have the opportunity to see them as a necessity in order to be successful in today’s world - and in the future. In other words, we should focus on offering these opportunities to everyone, every day – after all, in this day and age … the Youth are Entitled to the very best education possible when it comes to this amazing World of Computers and Robotics.

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Finn is one of Gary’s Shodans (Blackbelts) and in 2018 he was the Chief Programmer of the High School Team that won the Gold and Silver Medals at the Robofest World Championships. Today Finn studies Mechatronics at Western University, London Ontario.

As technology has become a critical part of our daily lives, how can we encourage educators and community leaders to make computer science, robotics and ICT a part of the regular curriculum mix? Making them as important as reading, writing and arithmetic.

Gary’s band: FOCUS. Thirty-one years of Rock and Roll!

Dean Kamen (owner of FIRST ROBOTICS worldwide) and Gary Walsh

We should focus on offering technology opportunities to everyone, every day – after all, in this day and age … our Youth are Entitled to the very best education possible when it comes to this amazing World of Computers and Robotics.

15th Anniversary of Acadia Robotics Robot Programming Championship Celebration Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

New Brunswick Middle school students from across New Brunswick spent months preparing for the premier provincial FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics competiton at Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS). Written by Brilliant Labs

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Tammy Earle, Director of Technology and Learning Initiatives, RNS, and Gary Walsh, Director of Acadia Robotics, at New Brunswick’s premier First LEGO League competition. Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS), Rothesay, NB.

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We all have memories of LEGO® as children. It was LEGOLAND® complete with the Caribbean Clipper, Kings Castle and even the Space Supply Station. LEGO inspired us to build and create stories. To be innovative engineers that would create the futures of tomorrow. Now, here we are! Our future is here and we are inspiring the youth of tomorrow, but just as we have grown so has LEGO. Meet LEGO MINDSTORM® and the FIRST® LEGO® League “the most accessible, guided, global robotics competition, helping students and teachers to build a better future together” in the world as defined by LEGO. The LEGO robotics’ program is structured around themebased challenges to engage youth between 9 -16 years old. These challenges foster problem solving, programming, and engineering. At the foundation of the program is the FIRST® Core Values. These values emphasize teamwork, discovery, and innovation. Students emerge from this experience more confident, excited, and equipped with the skills they need in a changing workforce (Visit FirstInspires.org to learn more). Since the beginning of the school year students from across the Maritime provinces have been learning and improving on their problem solving skills through First 30

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LEGO League robotics clubs. Brilliant Labs has supported more than 60 robotics kits throughout the region and has provided hands-on support as well as professional training to support educators, coaches and teams. Nova Scotia has been participating in the FIRST LEGO League for years thanks to the efforts of Acadia Robotics. To help grow the league in our region, Brilliant Labs and Rothesay Netherwood’s (RNS) STEM program welcomed educators from across New Brunswick to learn more about the LEGO® ® robotics kits and how to build engaged teams. These teams would then travel to Rothesay, NB, November 29th, to test what they learned and challenge their robotics skills. ROTHESAY, NEW BRUNSWICK — Tammy Earle, Director of Technology and Learning Initiatives, Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS), and team, hosted New Brunswick’s inaugural FIRST LEGO League robotics tournament for 18 middle school teams. Teams worked to complete LEGO mission challenges by programming the LEGO MINDSTORM autonomous robots they designed to do complete tasks.

This competition not only fostered computational thinking it created a can-do spirit as participants worked together to problem solve on the spot. Some teams found their robot designs couldn't complete the task or went off track. Others discovered problems with their power supply. No matter the issue they did not give up, instead they persevered to learn valuable lifelong skills and the power of teamwork. At the end of the the day-long competition 7 teams received awards and 7 teams advanced to the Maritime FIRST LEGO competition at Acadia University, Wolfville NS, hosted by Acadia Robotics. Tournament Awards: Judges Award #1: Rising Star – Elsibots; Judges Award #2: first Lego League Spirit Award – St. Mary’s Academy; Innovation Project Award – Knights 4 All (Grand Falls; Robot Design Award – Beast Mode Bots (Saint John); Robot Performance Award – Team Drift (Saint John); Core Values Award – Blazer Bots (Bathurst); Tournament Championship’s Award: 4 Bears (Perth Andover)

ADVANCED TO MARITIME COMPEITITON: J 4 Bears (Perth Andover) Beast Mode Bots (Saint John) Blazer Bots (Bathurst) Knights4All (Grand Falls) Les 3 Patenteux (Edmundston) La Gang 2019 (Edmundston) Team Drift (Saint John)

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MARITIMES Hundreds of students from across the Maritimes decended onto Acadia University Campus to test their problem solving and coding skills at Acadia Robotics’ premier interprovincial FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics Introduction written by Brilliant Labs with support from the Acadia Roboitcs, through the Jodrey School of Computer Science, and contributions from Jeff & Paula Hafting, Christine Long, Laura Taylor and Mike Grand.

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“W

hen students are engaged in hands-on STEM experiences, they build confidence, grow their knowledge and develop habits of learning. When adults coach these students, they encourage them to try, fail, and try again, while connecting STEM concepts to real-world examples. - FIRST® LEGO® League

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WOLFVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA — This past Valentine’s Day was a busy travel day for many students across the Maritimes as they arrived in communities surrounding Wolfville late that night after a full day of school. The drive for most was only a few hours, but for some it was as much as 7 hours across two provinces. Nonetheless, teams arrived at 8:00am Saturday morning, February 15th , to register for the region’s fist Maritime FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics Competition. This marked Acadia Robotics’ 15th year hosting the Robot Programming Championship and proved to be their largest event yet. Acadia Robotics works year round to bring programming opportunities to youth across the region and with the help of community partners, sponsors and more than 150 volunteers they successfully welcomed their largest delegation of young programmers ever. The weekend was split into two competitions: FIRST LEGO League CITY SHAPERSM challenge for Middle School & ROBOFEST designed for high school competitors. Every year the FIRST LEGO League program announces a new challenge designed to inform, educate and inspire 36

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young engineers. This year CITY SHAPER worked to challenge teams to consider their own communities. They were tasked with recognizing a problem and working to develop a solution hypothesis. Teams not only researched these problems they reached out to subject area experts to ask questions and present their ideas. It is this outreach that forced many teams to rethink or re-engineer their project. Some made models out of cardboard, others had skits to illustrate their community’s problem and possible solution, while others presented diagrams to the judges. All this was done before 12:00pm. Teams were tested on design and problem solving skills, but also on their ability to collaborate with each other and the world around them. By early afternoon the robot challenge was set to begin. All FIRST LEGO League challenges are made up of “missions” that teams must work to complete. Each mission has guidelines, problems and an expected outcome. Teams only have 2.5 minutes to complete the mission and each mission has points that can be earned (10-60 pts depending on the mission). Teams are also evaluated on their collaboration skills with

each other and those around them, ability to overcome unforeseen problems and to think strategically. Being quick on your feet and having the ability to problem solve is critical as these young engineers only get three rounds to complete as many missions as possible. To make this competition even more challenging, teams cannot enlist the help of coaches and only their top score is counted. Before they know it the boom of Gary Walsh’s voice calls throughout the bustling gymnasium: “3-2-1-LEGO! Let’s get this show on the road everyone!” ACADIA ROBOTICS RESULTS — 1st place Championship team: Royal Robots. The Royal Robots will be invited to represent the Maritimes at the FIRST World Festival being held in Detroit, Michigan in May 2020. 2nd Place Championship team: Grace Christian School. The Grace Christian School team is invited to the LEGOLAND Open, held at the LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California in May 2020. The top ranked LEGO Foundation team through the generous support of the LEGO Foundation will receive an

invitation to the FIRST World Festival held in Detroit, Michigan in May 2020. In addition to the invitation to the World Festival, the LEGO Foundation is providing a $5000 travel bursary to this team, to support their attendance at the event. The top ranked Innovative Project team is nominated to submit their Innovative Project Solution for further consideration to the FIRST® LEGO® League GLOBAL Innovation Award. The Global Innovation Award is a competition designed to showcase the real-world, innovative solutions that FIRST LEGO League teams create as a result of their CITY SHAPER Project. Teams from around the world will be submitting their innovative project solution and the top 20 teams will be chosen to attend the 10th Annual Global Innovation Award event. This event will be held at Disney's Contemporary Resort and World Showcase Pavilion in Epcot, June 7-9, 2020.

FIRST LEGO League competition details and Acadia Robotics Maritime Championship Information can be found on the Acadia University website at https://robots.acadiau.ca/robotics-home.html

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Rockin'

Royality Written by Jeff Hafting, Coach Royal Robots began at the Annapolis Royal Regional Academy (ARRA) in 2005. Gary Walsh was the first coach of the team, and it was called "Rockin' Robotics" since it was made up of members of his school rock and roll band. It soon became Royal Robots, and ARRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s math teacher Erin Arnold took it over in 2011 when Gary retired from teaching. Erin coached for 2 years and asked me (Jeff) if I was interested in taking over the team in 2013. I had been looking for ways to get my kids and others engaged in science and technology as a way of expanding their horizons in this rural setting of Annapolis Royal, and FIRST Lego League looked like the perfect tool to do so. I asked Andy Sharpe to help me out and we pulled together a team of 2 boys and 4 girls (including my son Finn and his daughter Alex) to compete in our first competition in 2013. This original team set the tone for all the teams to come, with the focus being on teamwork and inclusion. This team won 3 consecutive Acadia Championships, and travelled to Toronto and St. Louis to compete internationally. They were selected for an Encore Presentation of their project at the World Festival and performed in front of thousands at the closing of the Championship. This original team aged out of FIRST Lego League, and three team members moved on to Robofest, where they won a World Championship in 2018 at Lawrence Tech in Michigan. Two of these team members continued to achieve after high school, winning a TD ($70,000 in 2018) and a 40

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LORAN ($100,000 in 2019) Scholarship upon graduation. They are both studying Engineering in university currently (Dalhousie and Western). The original team set the bar very high for the next version of Royal Robots, which began in 2016 with a new co-Coach, Paula Hafting. We had some continuity with the previous team as we had one team member stay on as a mentor, and my oldest son passed his knowledge on to my youngest son who was now a Royal Robot. Again, we placed teamwork above all and worked on Core Values more than any other aspect in the early days. That being said, the technical robot work improved drastically with the new team since we had so much experience with the first team. This new team has won 4 consecutive Championships, have traveled to St. Louis and Detroit for Three World Festivals and are getting ready for their Fourth and Final World Festival in Detroit this April. Last year they ranked 15th in the world in Robot Game and won a Strategy and Innovation Award. 42

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We hold tryouts every year and decide if we want to add team members to the core group each year. Every year the team has been slightly different, with some nonreturning members and some new members being added. We base selection totally on team cohesiveness and ability to work with others in a group. We don’t assess technical ability at all and explain to students who want to join that this is not a LEGO building club, and to make the team they have to value teamwork above all else.

Two days per week immediately after school, for 1.5-2 hours each practice. When it gets close to competition we may add a third practice if we need to.

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Practice Core Values above all else. This is the FUN part of robotics and it will pay off if you put enough effort into it. Give the team problems to solve and group games to play that have nothing to do with robots. Remember that we are using robots to build kids in FIRST Lego League, not the other way around. The Robots are just a tool to teach the “soft skills” of collaboration and teamwork. These skills are in short supply in the real world and FIRST values these above all else. I can tell you from experience that being able to work as part of a team is the way that the challenges we face as a society (energy, food, climate change etc) will be solved, and universities expect students to work on team projects more and more often. Start now and we set these students up for success early. Also, have your team run workshops and share what they are doing with other teams. Teaching a skill helps you to really learn it and helps the students when they are being judged. They become the experts, and this gives them confidence when being judged. Make your students the experts and give them opportunities to teach others what they have learned.

CORE VALUES are #1! Start there and return to these at every practice. The robot game can become the sole focus of a team, but the robot is only ½ of the overall FIRST vision. My teams work hard during practices, but only for ½ of the practice. We take the time to return to core values as often as we can. FIRST is supposed to be fun, not frustrating. Help the students to find their technical solutions to EV3 problems but remind them that the robot should only ever be ½ of the team’s focus. Be creative for the presentation. We have always written a skit for the presentation. We begin with characters and costumes before we write it. This is so fun and is an outstanding and repeatable Core Values activity. Acting leads to confidence, and the more often you present to “outsiders” the more confident the team becomes. Keep it fun, NO POWERPOINT!

have coached, and for myself. It is for all kids, not just kids interested in Science and Technology. There is room for artists and actors, scientists and engineers. The team will take on the character of the kids who are on it, and as a coach you can just roll with it! It is the hardest fun you will ever have, and the rewards are great. These kids are building lasting skills and friendships, and the stories they will tell will be worth all the effort.

Work on the robot as much as you can, but when you are close tocompetition, and at competition, stop the work! Don’t program (except small tweeks) at competitions. At this point it is too late. Treat robot game at competition like a core values session. Cheer the other teams, cheer your own success, and go meet the others and lend a hand if they are struggling. FIRST Lego League has led to so much joy for the teams I

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Entraîneur

de l'année pour les recrues Lors de la compétition First Lego League du Nouveau-Brunswick, Labos Creatifs était fier de soutenir des dizaines de nouvelles équipes et de les aider à se rendre à Wolfville, en Nouvelle-Écosse, pour la première compétition des Maritimes. Christine Long et Brenda Laplante étaient ravis d'apprendre que les deux équipes d'Edmundston allaient se rendre à l'événement principal en février. La compétition interprovinciale a accueilli des centaines d'élèves au championnat Maritime First LEGO. La journée a été remplie de compétences en résolution de problèmes et en codage. Les équipes ont dû relever des défis sans l'aide d'entraîneurs. Les entraîneurs ont été informés que s'ils étaient surpris à toucher les robots de leur équipe ou même l'ordinateur, l'équipe pouvait 46

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être disqualifiée. C'était un test pour l'entraîneur autant que pour l'équipe. Comme dans tout sport, les entraîneurs peuvent crier sur la ligne de touche, mais ils ne peuvent pas intervenir auprès des joueurs. Christine Long, entraîneur des 3 Patenteux et professeur à l'école Notre-Dame, est nouvelle dans les compétitions de la première ligue LEGO. Elle a peu d'expérience en matière de codage et de robotique. Comment a-t-elle donc remporté le prix de "l'entraîneur débutant de l'année" ? --- La patience et la gestion du stress. Avez-vous été surpris d'être reconnu comme entraîneur recrue de l'année? C’est la première année que l’école Notre-Dame avait des équipes qui

pouvaient participer à la FIRST Lego League. À la suite d’une invitation de Kathleen Rice de Labos Créatifs, deux élèves et moi-même avons eu l’opportunité de se rendre à Rothesay Netherwood School à Rothesay pour une formation sur le défi City Shaper. C’est la première fois en 24 années d’expérience que je voyais une activité comme celle-ci. Nous avions eu un aperçu l’année précédente que nous pouvions faire de la programmation de MINDSTORMS EV3 mais nous avons appris que nous pouvions participer à cette compétition cette année. Les deux élèves qui m’accompagnaient était très excités de partager leur expérience avec les autres élèves à l’école. C’est à partir de ce moment que nous avons eu deux équipes, La Gang 2019 et Les 3 Patenteux, qui se sont lancés dans l’aventure. Ils ont

appris la programmation des robots et une fois que nous avons reçu le tapis de compétition et les structures, ils se sont vite motivés eux-mêmes afin d’accomplir le plus de missions du défi qu’ils pouvaient faire. Ce n’était pas toujours facile mais ils étaient de plus en plus engagés à résoudre les problèmes qui survenaient. Les élèves pratiquent deux midis par semaine en plus d’un temps d’environ une heure et demie après la classe. Au début lorsqu’on se joint à la ligue, c’est un peu lourd de comprendre les règlements et le déroulement des compétitions puisque le défi comporte 4 volets mais c’est très excitant en même temps. Les élèves doivent expliquer la construction de leur robot, démontrer les valeurs de la ligue en relevant un défi d’équipe, de développer un projet d’innovation et finalement, la compétition des robots. Je pense que participer à la FIRST Lego League exige aux élèves de créer, de persévérer, de partager avec les autres participants et résoudre des problèmes de robots, de programmation ou autres pendant le travail qu’ils ont à accomplir. Il faut laisser les élèves explorer, découvrir et s’amuser tout en apprenant. Il existe une communauté d’experts qui sont disponibles pour aider les nouveaux membres.

pépins de dernières minutes. C’est donc mon rôle et celui de ma collègue, Mme Brenda, de guider les élèves dans le déroulement de la journée, étant donné que c’était notre première participation et nous ne savions pas trop comment se déroulait la journée. Nous avions aussi à encourager les élèves à s’amuser, à pratiquer et à profiter de cette expérience. Il arrivait parfois que les élèves devenaient stressés parce qu’il n’avait plus de temps de pratique ou bien que le robot de répondait pas à la programmation comme à l’habitude alors nous avions à les aider à gérer le stress. Personnellement, j’aimerais remercier Labos Créatifs, le personnel de Rothesay Netherwood School (département de robotique) et le personnel de Acadia University Robotics pour leur aide. Merci aux élèves Carolane Brideau, Nika Andersen Duguay, Pierre-Luc Cyr, Maxime Michaud et Jordan Bernard et les parents pour leur précieux support. Et finalement, merci à ma collègue, Brenda Laplante, l’école Notre-Dame et le District scolaire francophone Nord-Ouest.

Lors des compétitions, il est interdit aux adultes d’aider les élèves à programmer ou à les aider à résoudre les Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Rookie coach

Of the year

At the New Brunswick First Lego League competition, Creative Labs was proud to support dozens of new teams and help them make their way to Wolfville, Nova Scotia for the first competition in the Maritimes. Christine Long and Brenda Laplante were thrilled to learn that the two Edmundston teams would be travelling to the main event in February. The inter-provincial competition welcomed hundreds of students to the Maritime First LEGO Championship. The day was filled with problem solving and coding skills. Teams faced challenges without the help of coaches. Coaches were informed that if they were caught touching

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their team's robots or even the computer, the team could be disqualified. This was a test for the coach as well as the team. As in any sport, coaches can shout from the sidelines, but they cannot intervene with the players. Christine Long, coach of the 3 Patenteux and a teacher at NotreDame School, is new to first league LEGO competition. She has little experience in coding and robotics. So how did she win the "Rookie Coach of the Year" award? --Patience and stress management!

Were you surprised to be recognized as Rookie Coach of the Year? This was the first year that NotreDame School had teams that could participate in the FIRST Lego League. Following an invitation from Kathleen Rice of Brilliant Labs, two students and I had the opportunity to go to Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) in Rothesay for a training session on the First LEGO League: City Shaper Challenge. It was the first time in my 24 years of teaching experience that I had seen an activity like this. We had had a glimpse the year before that we could do MINDSTORMS EV3 programming but we learned that we could participate in this year's competition. The two students who accompanied me were very excited to share their experience with the other students at school. From that moment on, we had

two teams, La Gang 2019 and Les 3 Patenteux, who started the adventure. They learned how to program the robots and once we received the competition mat and the structures, they quickly motivated themselves to accomplish as many missions of the challenge as they could do. It wasn't always easy, but they were increasingly committed to solving the problems that arose. The students practice two lunches a week in addition to a time of about an hour and a half after class. At the beginning when you join the league, it's a bit heavy to understand the rules and how the competitions work since the challenge is 4-fold but it's very exciting at the same time. Students must explain the construction of their robot, demonstrate the values of the league by taking on a team challenge, develop an innovation project and finally, the robot competition. I think participating in the FIRST Lego League requires students to create, persevere, share with other participants and solve engineering, programming and other problems while they are working. Our students were allowed to explore, discover and have fun while they learned. It was nice to know there is a community of experts who are available to help new members.

During competitions, adults are not allowed to help students with programming or to help them solve last minute glitches. It was my role and that of my colleague, Mrs. Brenda, to guide the students through the day. Since this was our first regional competition and we were not sure how the day was going. We also had to encourage the students to have fun, practice and enjoy the experience. Sometimes the students would get stressed out because there was no more practice time or the robot was not responding to the programming as usual so we had to help them manage the stress. Personally, I would like to thank Brilliant Labs, the staff at Rothesay Netherwood School (Department of Robotics) and the staff at Acadia University Robotics for their help. Thank you to students Carolane Brideau, Nika Andersen Duguay, Pierre-Luc Cyr, Maxime Michaud and Jordan Bernard and parents for their precious support. And finally, thank you to my colleague, Brenda Laplante, Notre-Dame School and the Northwest Francophone School District.

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The Perth Andover Middle School Bears recently came home from Acadia University's 2020 Robotics competition with the first place Gracious Professionalism Award. The four-member team included Jacob Durepos, Miles Pacquette-O'Neil, Lachlan Moore and Kyelee Michaud. The Bears competed against hundreds of middle school students from across the Maritimes in the First Lego League where teams worked together using robotics to create and innovate a solution for a challenge related to an issue in their communities. They also participated in robot game competitions which showcased their engineering, design and programming skills. "The students learned more about coding and the power of teamwork and cooperation," said teacher Michael Grant, team coach. "They learned how to give and take feedback from teammates as well as 50

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the judges and they had fun!" Perth Andover Middle School was invited to get involved in the competition by Brilliant Labs, a not-for-profit, hands-on technology and experiential learning platform based in Atlantic Canada which works actively within ASD-W schools. Grant said his students practiced at school for the competition and received extra coaching from Brilliant Labs coordinator Helene Bard. They entered the contest wearing their own bright red school t-shirts donated by Atlantic Potato Distributors in Perth-Andover. Overall, they experienced authentic learning - that is how their skills can be transferred to a real life setting. At the same time, they had the opportunity to visit a well known university and speak to students and professors involved in computer science at the post-secondary level.

Members of the Perth Andover Middle School Bears team (left to right) Coach Michael Grant, Jacob Durepos, Miles Pacquette-O'Neil, Lachlan Moore and Kyelee Michaud with Principal Claudine Dionne.

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Team Drift, Barnhill Memorial School, Saint John, NB (Left): Kegan, Callum, Jayden and Elijah

In November 2019, Rothesay Netherwood School (RNS) hosted New Brunswick’s inaugural FIRST® LEGO® League Competition. Students and coaches from across the province tested their programming skills in this all-day event. Barnhill Memorial School, Saint John ASD-South, had four teams competing: Beast Mode Bots, Top Hat Bananas, Teal Turtles, and Team Drift. Teams had been practising an average of three days a week and come event day were energised to test their skills. “It was really exciting to see the kids participate in a competition that we went into not knowing what exactly to expect,” said Jessica Blagden, Barnhill Memorial School FIRST LEGO League’s Head Coach. Needless to say, it was an incredible learning for everyone. The Barnhill teams ran into power supply problems, robots drifting off course, and even some programs were missing come mission time. 52

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“Teams showed such great effort and represented our school to the fullest. When things didn't role out exactly as planned or how they had practiced, leading up to the completion, they would pull together, support one another and move forward,” Jessica explained. This was a day of filled with teamwork and problem solving, but in the end it was a great success as the Barnhill teams not only learned how to think critically, they were the only school that had two

teams advancing to the Maritime Competition at Acadia University: Beast Mode Bots and Team Drift. Jessica knew all their hard work paid off and is looking forward to doing it all over again —“I was proud to be part of the first group of New Brunswick schools to participate in the FIRST LEGO League competition and look forward to coaching the teams in the Fall.”

challenge. All tasks help judges evaluate how well teams work together. Teams then had to explain the design of their robot and present their CITY SHAPER community problem and solution. Presentation and design skills were key for this challenge. By the afternoon the gym was full of excitement as spectators filled the benches to watch as students competed in the Robot Game Competition. With limited time and resources, students worked together to design, build and program their robot to perform a series of missions. Both teams had a blast, but had to think on their feet and be independent when problems

On February 15th, 2020, the Barnhill two At the end of the day Barnhill teams arrived at Acadia University at coaches not only saw Beast Mode 9am ready to compete at the first Bots overcoming difficult missions Maritime FIRST LEGO League and celebrating their team’s competition. Beast Mode Bots and personal best. They were surprised Team Drift experienced a fun-filled day and happy to share in the of team-work, innovation, creativity celebration of Team Drift being and competition. They competed in awarded as the four different challenges. competition’s Rising Stars. The first was to showcase o have the team be recognized and an innovative solution to receive the Rising Star Award was a This was a victory for help solve a community at Barnhill. What issue. Then teams had to great way to end the weekend. Team everyone most people did not know present their robot design Drift was so excited to when their names were was that these rising stars and exhibit CORE VALUES to did not originally qualify at judges. called. It was a great moment for all of us!” the New Brunswick — Jessica Blagden, Head Coach. competition. Instead, only To share CORE VALUES six teams were picked to teams had to work together go to Acadia University, but after to complete a surprise task presented surfaced knowing they could be some deliberation the judges by judges. For example, tasks could be disqualified if they asked their reconsidered as as Team Drift had to build a newspaper table, craft a coach for help. It wasn't easy for the most mission points for the toothpick & marshmallow bridge or Jessica either: “It was tough to robot challenge making them the complete the cooperative Hula Hoop watch from the sidelines!” seventh team to advance to the Maritime competition. Team Drift knew what they needed to do: practice and improve on their CITY SHAPER community problem presentation. They clearly worked hard and it paid off by receiving The Rising Star Award.

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Beast Mode Bots, Barnhill Memorial School (Left): Rachael, Natalia, Cameron, Iris.

“To have the team be recognized and receive the Rising Star Award was a great way to end the weekend. Team Drift were so excited to when their names were called. It was a great moment for all of us!” — Jessica Blagden, Head Coach. Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Brilliant Labs and Acadia Robotics want to work with you to help more youth access world class robotics programs like the FIRST® LEGO® League. Learn more about this empowering STEM program and how you can create, learn and inspire youth in your community. The following information is provided by FIRST® Roboitcs Canada. FIRST® Roboitcs Canada MISSION: Our mission is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the field of science, technology and engineering. Our vision is of a world which celebrates success in science, technology and engineering and in which young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes. We pursue our mission primarily through running robotics competitions for school-age students at the elementary, junior high school and senior high school level. MOTIVATION: We believe that as a society we face enormous

challenges, and that to confront these challenges, we will need the full benefit of the energy, talent and dedication of our next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists. We believe that in any community, we encourage what we celebrate. When we celebrate success in sports, we motivate youth to excel in sports. When we celebrate success in entertainment and the arts, we motivate youth to excel as entertainers and artists.We believe it is important to celebrate, at the high school level and earlier, participation in and success in science, technology and engineering, in order to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in these areas.

related skills is one of the most important investments our society can make. OUR VALUES: Gracious Professionalism™: We instill this value at every opportunity. We expect, require and reward on-field and off-field conduct that models the best values of professional respect and courtesy. Coopertition®: Our programs are designed so that to succeed, teams must be able to cooperate with other teams as well as compete with other teams. This is an important real world skill. The principles of “gracious professionalism™” and coopertition™ work hand in hand.

We believe that our prosperity as a society is driven by our productivity. For our society to be as productive as it can be, it must be as innovative as it can be. Investing in programs that encourage young people to develop Graphic created by Ana Paula

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Judged awards: We make significant efforts to recognize and reward accomplishment, whether or not it is reflected in success on the playing field. We make it clear that our most prestigious awards are our judged awards. We deliberately seek judges of considerable standing and seniority (e.g., in the FRC context, university professors, engineering vice presidents) so that students know, when making presentations to such judges or when receiving an award from them, that the award is truly a meaningful one. Indirect learning: Our mission is to inspire, not to formally educate, but participation in one of our events involves the application of a remarkable range of creative and analytical skills, as well as the development of valuable social intelligence skills. Students must

learn to problem-solve collectively, as members of a team, while under constraints of time, cost, weight, size, game rules and regulations and other restrictions. Learning from mentors: We believe that much valuable learning takes place when students work side to side with adult mentors who are taking time from their professional careers to share their knowledge of and enthusiasm for science, technology and engineering with students. We work hard to put strong mentoring relationships in place. We value mentors as teachers and as role models. Respect for diversity, inclusion and volunteerism: Participating students fully reflect the diversity of contemporary Ontario society. Our program is volunteer led and

volunteer delivered. Part of our mandate is to encourage more young women to consider careers in science, technology and engineering and we appear to be having some success in this regard. OUR STATUS: We are a registered charity, and we are a volunteer-led and volunteer-run organization with a solid track record of success. To read more visit: www.firstroboticscanada.org

Questions? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Connect! If you have questions about training and starting a FIRST LEGO League Robotics program at your school email: info@brilliantlabs.ca

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3 V E S M R O T S D N I M O e G s E u L o t sier a e y a is w

y Written B Rachael MacKeigan Brilliant Labs,NS Program Specialist

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The FIRST® MINDSTORMS® EV3 kit has a long and impressive history of teaching the fundamentals of coding and robotics to students across the world, but some of it’s most game changing integration has flown under the radar. The kit can now be programmed using Microsoft’s Make Code and MIT’s Scratch platforms, opening up a whole new world of coding possibilities. LEGO kits have been around since 1998, with their most recent release, called EV3, debuting in 2013. Anyone who has used the kit knows that it is extremely powerful and versatile, but it can also be very intimidating for new users.

Teachers and students who have done coding in the past with events like Hour or Code or the Living Science with micro:bit will already know their way around these platforms. “It is way easier to use,” says Angus Campbell, a grade nine student and member of a FIRST Lego League team in Cape Breton, NS. “Everything fits on the screen a lot better and it’s cool that I can code the robot the same way I code games”. While students will like how much easier programming will become, teachers will like the built-in tutorials and lesson plans available on both sites. Imagine using the EV3 sensors to make a self-parking car, or a game

controller that reads your movements. The possibilities are endless and this integration really breathes new life into a kit that some may have seen as a challenge in the past. Did you know that EV3s can also be coded using Chromebooks? The interface is a paired down version of the software, but does a great job for simple projects. It works using the Bluetooth connection or by attaching the cord, but you have to make sure you are logged in to the Chromebook and not just browsing as a guest.

The students I coach as part of FIRST Lego League use the EV3 every year to compete against teams from across North America, but the steepest learning curve for them is always figuring out how to use the software included with the kit. Teachers like Brian Lawrence at Sherwood Park Education Centre agree. “The software just looks very intimidating,” he says. “I coach a robotics team and it took us a while to figure out how things work”. The large programming blocks mean that even simple programs will require a lot of scrolling, and more in-depth programming can really slow down your computer.

Example of the EV3 software

While students competing in FIRST Lego League have the time to spend learning the in’s and out’s of this complex software, most teachers and students wanting to do some basic coding can become very overwhelmed...but not anymore. The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 kit can now be programmed using classroom favourites like Microsoft’s Make Code and MIT’s Scratch. Both sites offer a drag and drop coding style that is more familiar and user-friendly.

Example of code written using Make Code Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Instructions Computer requirements: Windows 10 version 1709+ or MacOS 10.13+ Bluetooth capability Visit https://scratch.mit.edu/ and click on the create button and follow this graphic:

Make Code Instructions Computer requirements: Windows 10 version 1709+ or MacOS 10.13+ or ChromeOS Visit https://www.microsoft.com/makecode and select the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 option. The instructions for how to connect your EV3 to make code are in the getting started section.

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s 10 Window To Install the classic EV3 Mindstorms Program on a computer you will need to download the software from the LEGO site at: legoeducation.com/download Choose the EV3 robot and then choose your operating system and language to download the software. Once the file is downloaded double click it for instructions that will walk you through the rest of the installation.

Instructions

Go the the LEGO Mindstorms site for software information https://education.lego.com/en-us/ support/mindstorms-ev3/software-requirements

It looks similar to the original software, but a little more streamlined. When ready to download your program click the downward facing arrow in the upper right corner!.

Questions? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s connect to help with your MINDSTORM EV3 questions, professional or team training. Email: info@brilliantlabs.ca | Subject: EV3 Help

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mBot Story telling

Maker Faire To u t e u n e e x p é r i e n c e ! PHOTO CREDIT: JOSEPH BARRIENTOS

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Carron McCabe| Program Director | Prince Edward Island | Brilliant Labs

TEACHER PLANNING GUIDE & COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN THINKING TEAM CHALLENGE I jumped at the chance to integrate coding and robotics into a language arts class this year! Not only did I support some first time coders, I got to work with the entire grade 9 cohort plus a grade 8 class as well. It was an ambitious project that had curricular connections woven throughout. The 4 classes I worked with had already done some preliminary lessons on literary elements such as characters, exposition, conclusion, and plot. For this project, students were asked to create a short story that had an ending (no cliffhangers). Their challenge was to build a setting for their story and then code an Mbot to navigate through the plot within their constructed setting. They were asked to build 2d and 3d structures and include an obstacle that had to be avoided in their story. The wonderful Language Arts teacher I was working with created a handout that listed what outcomes this project will cover and the specific elements that needed to be present in the story. We wanted to have more than just drive straight, turn left, instructions. So we asked students to make their Mbots light up at some point in the story where it would make sense for illumination to take place. The light could be the protagonist having an idea, using a flashlight, or car lights.

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Each class was divided into groups and started to discuss what their stories might include. Once a rough draft was created I came into the classes and showed everyone how to use the Mbots. While some students were challenged by the tutorials in the Mbot app, others were so excited to fly through and learn how to code their Mbots. Each class was engaged and there were even students who came up to me after class to thank me for being in their class on that day. As each group learned to code, they were building some other skills. Communication, teamwork, resilience, problem solving, planning and anticipating just to name a few. From time to time students would be missing from their groups during this class. Group members had to be flexible and know when to take initiative. Once students got a good handle on how to code their Mbots, they then started to map out their stories on a bristol board. We encouraged 62

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students to be creative and create pathways that were interesting rather than just straight lines around the perimeter of the bristol board. Building structures, learning how to avoid obstacles and decorating the terrain took a few classes and was worth every moment. Stories were read and recorded while their Mbots acted out the plot. Students put so much effort and creativity into their projects! After recording most expressed how proud they were for their hard work and were so happy for their achievements! When it was all said and done, students were asked to reflect on the experience.

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Many made connections to this project and their lives outside school. One student shared: “I can apply different skills that I learned in this project to my life. I can apply working in a team and every stage of my life I can apply the coding in a more complicated way in university of when I start working after university. I can apply planning at every level of my eduction and on a professional level. In general I think this was a great project with a lot of life lessons.” The following is an outline we provided to the students. We quickly realized how ambitious our goal was. What we thought would take one week, in actuality took 2.

he coding used in the project could be applied to computer programming and game programming. This project had a few very good skills that could be applied to life such as robotics, programming, writing and reading, and group skills such as friendship. This project was a lof of fun and it was very good in the way of education.”

Day 1-2: Introduction & Planning: Working

collaboratively and using your Writer’s Notebook, brainstorm ideas and create the plot for your protagonist. Your team’s challenge will include all of the following. Today is a planning day only.

Day 3: Introduction to Robotics: Today you will become familiar with the mBots, how they work and complete a number of the tutorials.

1. The exposition (start point) to set up your story.

1. mBots: components and pieces and functions

2. The resolution (end point) to conclude your story.

2. Software, coding, and tutorials

3. Create at least six scenes (pause points) in addition to the first and last scene. 4. Each point must include text to describe the action of the story. 5. Create and craft your protagonist’s character. 6. Include one “Avoid Obstacle” point. 7. Include one “3D Structure”. 8. “Illuminate” your story at least once. 9. Your protagonist will be able to complete the story! No cliffhangers :) 10. Using the iPad, take photos as your story unfolds and record and narrate a video of your completed story. BE CREATIVE and mindful of fluency. You will have two large pieces of paper, coloured pencils and markers and coloured paper, a black Sharpie, tape, scissors, foam board, and other crafting bits to design your story. If you have other bits you’d like to add, feel free. This is your story!

together in your group

Day 4: Teamwork and Build Day: Working together in groups finalize stories and plan how to build the robots.

1. Tweak, edit, finalize the plotline of your narrative. 2. Run through the checklist to be sure that you included all components of the challenge.

Day 5: Reveal Day! This is it, the day teams have been waiting for. Plan your presenation and get ready to share!

1. Reflect, provide feedback to other team’s stories, and complete form. 2. What worked well in the story? What would you alter? What surprised you? If you experienced any challenges during the story creation or coding your Mbots, how did you overcome them? How can you apply the skills you used in this activity to life? Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Name:

Teacher:

Team Members:

Date:

“CODING AND STO RYTELLING: COMPUTATIONAL& DESIGN THINKING” TEAM CHALLENGE Provide Specific Critical Feedback W H AT D O Y O U N O TIC E T H AT WEN TWELL?

CRI TERI A STAN DARD FO RSUCCESS Did you complete and meet the expectations for all of the 10 components? Focus on the Literary Elements.

WHATSUGGESTI O N S DO YOU HAVEFOR YOUROWN GRO WTH O R I MPRO VEMEN T?

Did you do your fair share; that is, did you contribute equally to the collaborative process? Explain

SCO 9: provide specific critical feedback on self, peer, and/or modelled text using success criteria CRI TI CAL FEEDBACK

REFLECTI O N

Please explain the purpose of the 3D

Provides minimal or nonspecific feedback

structure to your story. For what reason does your Mbot light up

Provides superficial feedback with some focus on specific assessment criteria

in your story and what do the lights

Provides effective feedback focused on specific assessment criteria

What would you change about your

Provides insightful feedback focused on specific assessment criteria

environment? Please be specific.

symbolize? narrative, the code, and/or physical What did you enjoy about this project? What did you learn? What were your greatest challenges and how did you overcome them? How can you apply the skills that you learned and used for this project to life?

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Sarah Ryan, Program Director, Brilliant Labs Nova Scotia & Bradley Watt Teacher / Technology/Fine Arts Department Head Halifax West High School

Halifax West’s high school teacher Mr. Brad Watt and his students have been at it again! Their innovative initiative of robotics has reached an all-new major-maker endeavour building a life size “BB-8” to accompany their successful, impressive build of the lifesized R2D2 last year (see Brilliant Labs magazine Spring 2019, page ___). Although BB-8 is still in the initial stages of creation, we just had to share with our readers what Mr. Watt and his students have on-the-go. We hope that you’re as “tech-cited” as we are for their BB-8’s launch. Mr. Watt and his students have offered up some insider info on this impressive build. Let’s “Beep Boop Beep” together into this marvelous maker journey!

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Sarah: What grade levels and subjects do you teach? Mr: Watt: Grade 10 11 and 12. I teach IB MAth, Electrotechnologies 11, Applied Networking 11 and 12 and sometimes Design 11 Sarah: How has this special project encouraged further engagement in robotics, coding, and rapid prototyping for students? 68

Mr. Watt: The BB8 project is just starting but already we are seeing students flocking to the makerspace to volunteer and learn how they are able to contribute to the project. It is amazing to see how students are so eager to learn to work on real hard problems and how they are able to work together to teach each other new skills - from 3d printing to using new software to inventory and making purchasing plans and budgets. This challenging project will

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need everyone working together and working as a team. It will also push students to attempt new and difficult skills well outside their comfort zones. Sarah: Approximately how many hours will the project have taken by the point of completion? Mr, Watt: We are weak number 3 and the students are coming into the makerspace 3 - 4 times per on off blocks and at lunch to contribute.

Sarah: What are some key skills that you have noticed being developed in the students who have participated? Mr. Watt: The students have learned to: -Research parts and vendors that are able to supply. -Purchase planning, inventory and budgeting. -Creating spreadsheets. -Soldering - 3D Printing and the supporting software

-Design and 3d modelling Some students will be working with an engineering company (Precise Design Engineering Solutions) to learn how to use a metal CNC Mill/Router Many more skills are anticipated like airbrushing, motor control, coding, wiring circuits, laser cutting and networking

Sarah : Who / where did this idea originate from? Mr. Watt The students came to me last year and asked if they could try to build BB-8 as they had completed the R2D2 Project and wanted another challenge. We researched online guides and found a few designs we thought might work. We are going with Eds BB-8 Guide <http:// www.edsjunk.net/wordpress/edsbb-8-build-guide/> which is a pendulum design and should Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

provide the most realistic remotecontrolled robot Sarah: Approximately what was your budget for the project? How/where did you seek support? Mr. Watt: We received $5500 in grants from NSTU PDAF and a lot of equipment and material support from Brilliant Labs project funding. Sarah: How many multidisciplinary/ subjects were involved overall? Mr. Watt: Electrotech 11, Design 11, Applied Networking and probably some Computer Program 12 students Sarah: What were some major challenges, setbacks, or complications that you came across? Mr. Watt: None so far but the drive system is going to be VERY difficult to build and construct. Sarah: Do you intend on continuing or expanding on this project beyond this year's work? Mr. Watt: Yes - as with the R2D2 project and our Life-scanner we are always trying to improve them and make them better. Sarah: Once completed where does BB8 go? Mr. Watt: Hopefully to HALCON, on tour to elementary schools.

This project and article was created in the pre-COVID 19 environment. Brilliant Labs hopes Mr. Watt and students can complete this increadable project and together we can consider ways to share it with our region. 70

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“I

feel very fortunate having access to a makerspace as I transitioned to high school as a grade 10 student. I never thought I'd build a life-size R2-D2 through a year and a half, I've learned a lot from fitting, sanding and painting parts to designing them on a computer to cut and 3D print them out. I love that everyday I get to come to school and collaborate at lunch and after school with other students and make things, break things and fix things. Now as a Grade 11 student I look forward to the BB8 project and all the work and designing that's going to go into that. I feel lucky to have great teachers like Mr. Watt and many others that make these things possible?” — Ryan Kelley, Student, Grade 11, Halifax West High School

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Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

CREATE A CHATBOT Written by Logan, Grade 8 student at Valmont Academy, King's Point, Newfoundland and Labrador

Hello, my name is Logan, I am a grade 8 student at Valmont Academy, a small rural school in King’s Point Newfoundland and Labrador. I’ve had interests in many things over the years but one that has stuck with me is technology. I have done programming and other things in that field for a multitude of years and have researched and made many different projects including but not limited to coding, virtual environments, raspberry pi, and game development. I would have to say one of my most successful projects has to be my AI which is built to hold a human conversation with ease, even though there were many bugs and unseen complications. I managed to pull it together and that's what I'm here to talk to you about. I will be showing you my process on how I made my own AI, so you can make your very own AI, in Dialogflow.

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https://dialogflow.com/

Part 1: A simple chatbot that can respond to a simple hello First, go to www.dialogflow.com. When you arrive at the website sign in and head to your console. Once there click CREATE AGENT. (See figure 1) Now that you are into your agent configuration menu select a name and hit create and there you have it, you've made your own AI. Of course, it's not a great one yet, but we'll work on that. Now that we have our agent created and named, it's time to make some intents, the intents are exactly what you want your AI to do or say under predetermined parameters and circumstances. You can go ahead and hover over the default welcome intent. (See figure 2) and click delete. Now click on create intent (See figure 2). Right now we won't get into some of the options under the intents menu (i.e. actions and parameters, contexts, or events) but we will need training phrases

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

Figure 1

Figure 2

and responses. First let's just try a simple hello, go ahead click on training phrases and write the word “hello” and fellow variants of that word, such as “Good day”, “Hi”, etc. Click the enter key after each new training phrase or greeting. Once you have about 7 or so you can move on. I have several already entered in the diagram below.

Figure 3

Once this is complete, then you can move onto your responses. In your response section, you can put in anything but for this intent, I recommend that you put in hello and variants as well, now hit the blue SAVE. Congratulations, you've got your first intent and now we can test it. Go to the right side of your screen and you'll find a testing console. In this testing console, go ahead and type in hello. You should get back a response from your generated responses menu. After multiple attempts testing, you can even start using words that aren’t on your training phrases list and your AI will still recognize them and be able to respond. Let's move onto some more advanced intents.

Figure 4

Part 2: Creating a more advanced AI An automated joke-teller. Okay, go back to the intents menu and select the new intent button. This follows the exact same process as before in Part 1. Once we arrive at the new intent we can go ahead and name it to whatever you want but for now, we will just call it jokes. After you have it named. you can fill your training phrases with things such as :

Figure 5

tell me a joke, make me laugh, etc. Once you enter about 7 of these

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“T

he approach here at Valmont Academy is a slightely differn than to other schools in the province...it has helped me as I learn and work better in a free-range environment where learning is a lot more personalized...more unique than other schools. It’s not sitdown read this chapter and do questions 1-15, it’s more about personally learning and growing as student and doing projects that are applicable to you and what you want to do in the future.” —Logan, Grade 8 Student, Valmont Acadmey, Newfoundland & Labradour

Figure 6

training phrases, we can move onto responses where you can put in your custom joke/jokes. To do this, I went online and found a website with 50 or so jokes and copied and pasted these in for my responses. Now for a new part - we are going to add something called a follow-up intent. You need to exit your jokes intent and move your mouse so it hovers over your jokes intent and click Add follow-up intent. Once there it is the same process as before, you enter your training phrases and your responses except this time change your training 76

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

phases to “tell me another” or anything similar to that. Then you can just add more jokes in your responses field. You can now go to the right side of your screen and test this new joke-telling AI. In this testing console, go ahead and type tell me a joke, the computer will then pick one of your jokes from the responses you entered and you can then ask it to tell you another. That is it for the basics. Before you close your browser make sure to hover over the name of your AI and click the gear (Figure 7highlighted in red).

And in that menu, you’ll find a big blue save button in the upper right area. Go ahead and click that and now you’re done. Part 3: My next steps are to complete the alpha version of my AI and move it over into Facebook and Twitter. I want to do this because when this is implemented it will basically be a more advanced automated answering machine for any messages sent through these platforms. I have a developer account for each of these platforms and I would like to make it available for people to use. My AI was made to be able to respond to people and

what they want, so I’m planning on making it public to anyone who wants it. There is one big problem with me publishing it which is the fact that you need a privacy policy which I don’t have and don't know how to write. This will probably be my final challenge with this AI and once that is done all that's left is to patch any bugs along with other small updates. And that's it that's the tutorial and a little about myself and thanks for reading.

Figure 7

Pro tips: If you want to go even further in developing your AI, you can learn about Dialogflow actions and parameters which are features that allow data to be collected from your messages and be used in responses. For an example using these features, you can set up your AI to be able to set reminders on your calendar for specific dates, times, and names. All AI’s made with Dialogflow can be implemented into Google devices such as Google home, Google home mini, and Google nest.

Figure 8

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Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

“F

Halifax Raspberry Jam’s second or the second year in a row we could not have annual celebration of code offered a done it without our wonderful guests, variety of coding platforms and activities to try, engaging coders of all volunteers, and funders. These partnerships we ages and ability to build on current have not only offered a two-day event to the public but also skills while accessing new learning opportunities. Organized and hosted welcomed many new-to-digital-literacy to the wonderful by students, teachers, and world or working together”. community/partners, participants explored open-sourced, hands-on — Mr. Brad Watt, RPi Jam Lead Teacher, activities including coding with Halifax West High School Beebots, Microbits, and of course, the event’s namesake Raspberry Pi computer platform.

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The success of this event is found within it’s sponsors and volunteers.

olunteering at the Raspberry Jam was a very unique experience as it allowed me to interact with people that have little programming

experience and people that have a lot of programming experience. I learned how to properly guide people and also learn more about the Raspberry Pis and Micro-bits and

Student volunteers (Halifax West)

much more which was definitely most exciting", helped

Vicki Forhan

organize the Jam and was our social media coordinator and also provided coding assistance.”

Sahiir Monowar

—Piyush Bhatia Piyush,RPi Jam Volunteer

Angad Anand Piyush Bhatia Tian Deng Ewan Glover

“I

have to say, my favorite part about the JAM is how it’s free and brings the whole community together. The demographic is huge. We have

children, young adults, and older adults all come in. Some

Ryan Kelly

have no experience, and the ones that do have experience

Gerritt

community to enjoy. It’s absolutely lovely and I’m so glad

Naone Kim

to be a part of it.”

Young Liu

help those who don’t. People bring projects in for the

— Victoria Forhan, volunteer, Grade 12 Student

Allen Lu Teacher Volunteers Leslie Stewart Anne LeBlanc. teacher

he Raspberry Jam gave my son and I the opportunity to learn at our pace, in a relaxed environment with others who were interested

in coding. We learned together, which was a great experience." —Shannon Patterson - teacher at Prince Andrew High & parent.

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Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos CrĂŠatifs

EMPOWERING GIRLS WITH STEAM: I AM THE DEMONSTRATION, YOU BE THE VOICE By Sarah Ryan, Brilliant Labs, Program Director | Nova Scotia

In the not so distant future, the job landscape will be centred around science and technology. 90 percent of all jobs requiring Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills. We would like to think the past 20 years has evoked great change in gender equality and the rights of women in the workplace. Unfortunately, we are still seeing gaps in wage, gender biases and the inevitable glass ceiling in all areas of the workforce. This is especially true in science and technology.

secondary STEM-related studies, with only 3 percent in Information Communication Technology (ICT) studies. In Canada, a 2015 UN Human Rights report shared concerns about “the persisting inequalities between women and men” in Canada. This includes the “high level of the pay gap” and its effect on low-income women, racialized women, and Indigenous women. Out of 43 countries, Canada is ranked 8th as having the greatest wage gap according to the OECD 2016 data (Canadian Women’s Foundation).

According to UNESCO data, only 30 percent of female students have enrolled in post-

Atlantic Canadian education departments have recognized this incredible shift and

are working with non-profit groups like Brilliant Labs, hands-on technology and experiential learning platform based in the region to support the integration of creativity, innovation, coding, and an entrepreneurial spirit within classrooms and educational curricula. Brilliant Labs is proud to share that 63% of staff are females with more than 75% working in upper management, director and executive roles. Empowering girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICT fields is a priority of the organization. As Program Director for Brilliant Labs since it’s inception over five years ago, I am honoured to be in a position where I am able to create, support and deliver innovative programming, project-based learning tools for teachers, students and community groups on a daily basis. When I began this journey with Brilliant Labs, I was unaware of just how much influence and impact I would have. More importantly, how deeply my impact was needed. Mentoring youth, particularly girls and young women, has afforded me the ability to speak for those who are not always heard. As a single mother of a sixyear-old boy, I have also recognized the significant influence I can impress upon young men to be mindful of the biases that our culture holds towards women.

This artical was origionally written for Impakter and can be found and shared at impakter.com/empowering-girls-intostem Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

I watch my son play, grow, and form his own conclusions about the world around him. This inspired me to share my story with him through a letter. Although addressed to him, I hope it can also affect others — mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, educators, influencers of our society — to not only consider how girls and women are treated in everyday dialogue, classrooms and the workforce but also recognize their impact and therefore ability to support a movement towards gender equality. May this be a call-to-action for each and every one of us. It is not enough to presume change is happening, we must each assume our individual responsibility to see that it becomes a reality.

luck, we also have to recognize the reality that most others, especially young girls and women, still do not have similar opportunities. My hope is that in hearing my story and appreciating all that we have, you will continue my efforts to evoke change and promote gender equality. Do this both here at home and around the world. Your curiosity and inquisitive nature uncannily mimics mine at your age, naturally seeking answers from parents we love and look up to. I asked a lot of the very same questions that you ask me, especially pertaining to science. My parents did their best to help me find answers, not just give them to me, as I do for you. When we were stuck with a particularly tricky question they would respond with, “I don’t know, let’s find out together”. Keep in mind when I was your age we didn’t have Google but my

We were not welcomed in many sectors, especially those in science and technology. As I think back, I see that my mother may have been preparing me for similar setbacks, although hopeful that things would have improved. the same job requirements. We were not encouraged to seek management positions. We were not welcomed in many sectors, especially those in science and technology. As I think back, I see that my mother may have been preparing me for similar setbacks, although hopeful that things would have improved. When I decided to follow my dreams to be a scientist I enrolled in university. I was so excited to finally begin the “adult” part of life’s journey. I was excited to grow into the woman I dreamed to be: educated and able to support myself with a career that I loved. While carefully selecting the courses I would take I decided to choose an entry-level computer course. I was excited to build on the skills that my brother, a computer scientist, had shown me. Unfortunately, my rural high school offered very little in terms of computer science. I was surprised to see that I was the only woman enrolled in the course. Although disappointed at that fact I was still excited to begin the course. However, being the only woman made me a target for rude comments and snickers. My classmates pointed out my lack of coding knowledge and made it clear I didn’t belong. No one took the time to make me feel welcome or stick up for me when they should have. That being said, I did finish the course though I did not do as well as I could have. Being an outsider affected my confidence. I was too shy to ask for extra help and even missed some classes. Fast forward to now. I have my “dream job” as Program Director with Brilliant Labs. I am so very lucky to wake up every day to a career I love. It is my “passion project”. I know many women who have tried unsuccessfully to “make it” in my field of work. Some have progressed only to be pushed aside or forced into giving up their career after starting a family. My dear son, remember this message: everyone deserves to feel comfortable and

A LETTER TO MY SON: I AM THE DEMONSTRATION, YOU BE THE VOICE

Dear Lennan, It is with love and the utmost importance that I am writing this letter to you, my dear son. As I watch you now, at age six, you are still very fresh to the “real world”. Your observations of the world around you become more insightful every day. Your many empathic questions about life (which you show daily) demonstrate your potential. As you continue to observe and try to understand people and their actions you will soon realize that not all things are fair. This insight is what will allow you to be a driving force for positive change. As your mother, a woman who works in science and technology education, you have described me as a “real-life scientist”. This makes me smile. However, I also want you to recognize my struggles and understand that my accomplishments have not come easily. Given all that I see you are, I believe that you will embrace the importance of my message and share it as you journey through life. My story is not necessarily typical, especially as a woman. However, given the opportunities that my parents afforded me, I was lucky to have great support and options that many other girls did not. I am proud to be able to provide similar opportunities to you. In recognizing our 84

parents had a lot of life experience and a very expensive set of Encyclopedia Britannica. As a high school physics teacher, my father always had science equipment around the house (glass prisms, chemistry sets, catapults, magnets and more). Having these resources available gave me an educational advantage that I hadn’t yet realized was unique. Most importantly, I had parents who recognized and supported my interests. Similarly, you have robots, coding games, a sewing machine and so many other things to explore. Following in their footsteps, I am grateful to be able to support your explorations with both resources and encouragement. Growing up, my mother shared stories of her journey from a girl to a woman to a mother. She worked in various positions during the 1970s and 80s. Many of her experiences were hard for me to understand when I was younger. I grew to learn that there was a hard truth in her stories. A truth which most women experience at some point in their lives. She spoke of the unfair treatment she received simply because she was a woman. Women were paid far less than men, even with the same job requirements. We were not encouraged to seek management positions.

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encouraged to pursue what they love — no matter their gender. It is my hope that you will be an agent of change. You can invoke this in many ways. Speak up when someone discourages a girl from trying robotics by saying “but that’s for boys.” Help a young lady in a computer class feel like they belong there just as much as you do. Stand up when someone says something about girls not being scientists or good with technology. You can make a difference. As you grow, learn, and carve your place in the world please always be aware of those around you. Sooner than you realize, you will be preparing to move into the “real world”. I promise to support you in finding what you love and discovering your very own “passion project.” Hard work and dedication is worth it. Every day I see it in the youth I work with. I see it in your face when you ask what I built or fixed today. I feel it as I write this letter to you. Change comes from many directions. Seek education and a career which you love. You will likely see some degree of the same unfairness that Nanny, myself, and many other women have experienced and continue to experience, in school, work, and even family life. To ensure that things keep improving for the girls and women who you love now and will meet and love in the future, please keep these thoughts in your mind and heart. Be the voice to lead others from my demonstration and encouragement. This will help girls and women, like mommy, do what they love knowing they have the same equal pay and opportunities as boys and men have. So that they will have fewer troubles to overcome as they continue their life’s journey. With all of my support, encouragement, and confidence in you— Love, Mommy, “a real-life scientist” Sarah is a strong voice for closing the gender gap in science & technology. She is the recipient of two empowering awards: the Digital Nova Scotia’s “Power IT Up: Next Generation Leadership" award for her work as a role model to youth, particularly those in under-represented communities and the Women in Communications & Technology (WCT) 2019 "Rising Star" award for her efforts to inspire young women in ICT. Sarah has recently been nominated as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100. If you have qustions about closing the gender gap or need STEAM project help - connect: Sarah@BrilliantLabs.ca Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

FIRST LEGO League: If you have questions about creating a team, Let’s Connect: info@Brilliatnlabs.ca | Si vous avez des questions sur la création d'une équipe, Connexion: info@Brilliatnlabs.ca

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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 2: PROGRAMMING & SOCIAL CONNECTION. 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 CONTRIBUTORS | CONTRIBUTEURS

BRILLIANT LABS | LABOS CRÉATIFS

CONTRIBUTORS | CONTRIBUTEURS

JEFF WILLSON, EDITOR

ROSEANNE GAUTHIER ROBERTO GAUVIN GARY WALSH JEFF & PAULA HAFTING CHRISTINE LONG MIKE GRAND LAURA TAYLOR RACHAEL MACKEIGAN BRADLEY WATT LOGAN

JEFF HENNIGAR, EDITORIAL JOSIAH KENNEDY, EDITORIAL MELISSA LEE, EDITORIAL CARRON MCCABE, EDITORIAL JOSH KEYS, EDITORIAL CARRON MCCABE, EDITORIAL SARAH RYAN, EDITORIAL JACOB LINGLEY, EDITORIAL JOHN WONG, 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. Magazine design, photography, photo & copy editing, and original art was created by Cheryl Willson, Brilliant Labs Communications, while vector art was licensed from www.vecteezy.com. Les images des articles ont été fournies par le personnel et les collaborateurs. Les images professionnelles proviennent d'Unsplash.com. La conception de magazines, la photographie, l'édition photo et l'art original ont été créés par Cheryl Willson, Communications Labos Créatifs, on peut trouver de l'art comme l'échantillon à droite à l'adresse www.vecteezy.com.

Brilliant Labs Magazine Revue Labos Créatifs

Brilliant Labs offers outdoor learning opportunities through our Natural Makerspace program. Learn how you can connect learning-at-home and school activies with Natural Making Projects.

Labos Créatifs offre des possibilités d'apprentissage en plein air par le biais de son programme d'espace de création naturelle. Découvrez comment vous pouvez relier les activités d'apprentissage à la maison et à l'école à des projets de création naturelle. Funded by/ Financé par:

Questions? Michelle Thibault, Spécialiste du programme Espace Créatifs | Natural Makerspace Program Specialist Michelle@brilliantlabs.ca | Brilliantlabs.ca/naturalmakerspace