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iAM By: Nathan Manderfeld

     At the beginning of 2010-2011 school year I set a goal. That goal was to have my students experience their learning. I wanted each of them to produce a digital portfolio before the end of the year. This portfolio would archive their products and experiences from the year.

     The products and experiences would be based on a theme: Build, Create, and Move. The idea being that each month we would use our free time to build something, create somehow, or move somebody. Out of this idea grew another idea: iAM.  The "i" (iPhone, iPad, iPod)  representing their use of 21st century skills. The "AM" representing their experiences in various careers. At the end of their fifth grade year each of my students will be able to stand proudly and state, "iAM and engineer, iAM an architect, iAM an entrepreneur, iAM a graphic designer, iAM philanthropist, iAM an author, iAM a 21st century learner, and iAM more than a test score."

    The following post is a snapshot of what we have been up to from the students themselves.

Architect

My name is Emily and iAM an architect. Google SketchUp is a computer aided design program that allows you to build things in 3D. During our architectural design unit we learned different architectural design principles and terms. Here is the beach house I designed. 

My name is Raquan and iAM an architect. I have always loved computers. It is great when I get to use them to create things.I hope to one day become an architect and use my skills to help people build their dream houses. It was awesome when Mr. Greenwood came and spoke to us about his job as an architect. Check out the homeless shelter I designed.






Entrepreneur

My name is Erin and iAM and entrepreneur. As a class project we were encouraged to come up with a business idea. We decided on a hot chocolate business. CocoaLoco was born.Mr. Manderfeld then led us through a series of lessons where we learned about what it takes to start a small business.We learned everything from calculating margin to branding our product. We had to come up with a company name, create and test our product and write our business plan. We then worked together each day to run the business.We also had to keep track of the inventory and  finances. The computer program we learned and used during this unit was Microsoft Excel.

My name is Christopher and iAM an entrepreneur. Here is a copy of the spreadsheet we used to keep track of our finances. We used the money we earned to buy Christmas gifts for a boy from the Yucca Valley Boys Home and to purchase the Adobe Creative suite to help us with vector based graphics and publishing.

My name is Isaiah and iAM and entrepreneur. During our hot chocolate sales we came up with a number of promotions. Our most popular promotion was our, "free video game download with purchase" campaign. Each student who bought a hot chocolate that day got to play the video game I created. They then brought their downloads to our class to play the game at recess. Click the link below to play my game.

CocoaLoco The Video Game

Graphic Designer

My name is Timmy and iAM a graphic designer. Mr. Manderfeld had each of us create our own brand. We needed a logo and a business card. We used Microsoft Publisher to create a logo, business card, and brochure for our company. 

My name is Aishah  and iAM a graphic designer. I love to draw. Art is my favorite subject and I am really good at it. It is really cool that Mr. Manderfeld allows us to use all of our talents. Here is my business card for CA Cutouts.

Andrea Carter speaks to the class about her job in sales, marketing and graphic design.










Engineer

My name is Cody and iAM and engineer. During our unit on engineering we learned about the design wheel. We also worked in groups to build Rube Goldberg machines. A Rube Goldberg machine is a complex machine designed to do a simple task using a series of chain reactions. Click on the link below to see our inspiration the OK GO Rube Goldberg machine.


This Too Shall Pass Video

My name is Sergio and iAM an engineer. Building things is fun. My dad works on cars and when I grow up I would love to be an engineer. Building our Rube Goldberg machine was hard. We tried over and over again until it finally worked. I learned never to give up.










Philanthropist

We are currently in the progress of changing the world...Stay tuned for the latest updates.

    As we approach the CST's it is important for students to demonstrate to the state of California what they can do. But no matter what the outcome I have many students in my class that can truly say they are more than a test score! For more information resources or a copy of our complete digital magazine e-mail me at njmander@gmail.com

     

Why I Teach By: Nathan Manderfeld

     In the fall of 2009 I was entering my eleventh year in teaching. My

previous years of experience had been in inner-city Minneapolis, MN

and Indio, CA. My time in these schools developed the skills a teacher

needs to survive in today’s hostile world of education. My classroom

management skills were solid and my ability to get my students to score

well on the all important state tests was nearly unmatched. I was up for

evaluation that year and was excited to show off what I could do.

     In October I was evaluated and came out with flying colors. I received

exceeds expectations on all parts of my evaluation. I should have

been on top of the world. By every measure of educational success I was

there, but something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

My students were sitting in rows. They knew how to pass tests, but

they didn’t know how to apply these skills. They could read a story, but

few could discuss it. They were willing to complete the work but were

not passionate about learning. When I would ask a question ten students

would respond, but what about the other twenty-two? What about

those students who already knew how to do most of the curriculum?

What about those students that, no matter how hard I tried, still remained

below grade level? And even more troubling, what about all the

skills I wasn’t teaching? Skills like the ability to use technology to access

information, or the ability to organically collaborate to complete a task.

The world outside of school is changing faster than ever before,

so I had to ask myself a serious question. Is what I am presently teaching

preparing my students for the year 1983 or 2018? The answer to this

question was simple.

     I knew I had to do more. I knew I had to push myself and my students to

go beyond what was presently being asked of us. I began to passionately explore

what 21st century literacy is. I began to read ferociously. I read books like

Daniel Pink’s Drive and Jeff Jarvis’ What Would Google Do? I found organizations

like Edutopia and Edu 2.0. I found podcasts like Buzz Outloud. I began to

dive in and change the way I was teaching. I developed Mp3 guided readings

to increase participation. I began to use the on-line school I set up on EDU 2.0

to organize on-line lessons and discussions. I held a parent meeting to elicit

their thoughts and to explain my dreams for their children.

     Their response was overwhelmingly positive. It turned out that there was

a pent up demand for educational reform. Shortly after this meeting I asked

my principal to allow me to loop with my class and teach them fifth grade. I

wanted more time to explore with this group of students what it meant to be

educators and learners in the 21st century. The past year and half has been an

adventure like none other in my twelve years of teaching.

     I hardly have all the answers. Instead I am learning to ask more questions. What

skills will my students need in the world of tomorrow? What is my role as their

teacher? How can I make technology a part of the curriculum? How can I have

my students apply their skills in real world situations? How can I instill in my

students a passion for learning? How do I measure success in teaching? Is there

more to education than No Child Left Behind?

  Finding answers to these questions is what drives me to come to work each and everyday.