Going Places Family Night with Portland Public Schools and The Portland Art Museum

Young creatives revved their engines at Maine’s Portland Museum of Art in October for the Portland Public Schools/FableVision Going Places Family Night featuring author Paul Reynolds. 

Paul welcomed families to the museum and started the night with a reading of Going Places, the perfect picture book for any STEAM library, and then launched into a showing of the animated film version of Ish, written by Peter H. Reynolds and animated by FableVision Studios. As a bonus the museum purchased a copy of Going Places for every child. These stories set the stage for what was to come. 

WIth books in hand, families journeyed to another part of the museum for dots and dots of activities that were centered on sparking creativity and collaboration. Every Family Night hosted by FableVision is customized for the schools and this one was no exception. The first-ever Going Places Build-Your-Own Go-Cart station was a hit with young engineers as they built a moving vehicle with recycled materials. 

Check out the photos from the night.

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Would you like to host a Create Bravely Family Night? Send an email to Andrea Calvin at andrea@fablevision.com

FableVision Learning Connects with Gifted Educators in Georgia

FableVision Learning’s Sara Smith, Director of Creative Education, and Andrea Calvin, Vice President, roadtripped to Athens, Georgia to connect the dots at the Georgia Association for Gifted Educators conference. Held on the beautiful University of Georgia campus the conference saw over 500 educators from across the state. 

During three hands-on-sessions educators dove deeper into the works of Peter H. Reynolds and creativity skills.

At the Start With A Story session, participants explored the SEL and Creativity themes of Peter’s book The Dot as they made their mark in Animation-ish. 

Later in the day Sara encouraged attendees to Unbox Creativity and stretch their creative muscles as they explored divergent thinking and tools to bring into their teaching practice. If you weren’t able to attend the session, we encourage you to explore FableVision Learning’s Certified Creative Educator Course.

A special thank you to Lisa B. Hackney at the Georgia Department of Education for being an amazing host during the conference and  beyond. And to Desiree Isis Sharpe and the team at the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development (housed on the university’s campus), for hosting the FableVision Learning team, Georgia Department of Education’s gifted program manager Mary Jean Banter and program specialist Lisa Hackney, and Dalton gifted educator Molly Carlson for lunch and conversation.

FabMaker Spotlight: Boston Students Use FabMaker Studio to Create Their Own Food Truck Festival!

The following blog post is by Tyler Stott.

With a dash of creativity and splash of engineering, Mika Solo, a K1–3 Computer Science Specialist at The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts in Boston, encouraged her students to design their own food trucks using FabMaker Studio. 

Each team of fourth-graders had the opportunity to design a food truck using the web-based design and fabrication software and watch it cut through the Silhouette Portrait. 

Check out their projects!

The class also crafted city buildings that were illuminated with a few simple circuits!

When asked about how The Eliot School has incorporated the use of the FabMaker Studio, Solo responded, “We work in the Studio for a month-long session of 30-minute classes. The cycle goes by quick! We explore paper engineering with a bunch of activities and mini projects including: emojis, characters, 3D shapes, food trucks, and city buildings”

For Solo, one of the best parts about using FabMaker Studio has been seeing her students make their own creative designs. One example she mentioned was her students enjoyed using the weld tool to be able to make their own custom characters.

This program was part of a grant through the Dassault Systèmes US Foundation and The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity that provided three elementary schools with curriculum, software and training.

As for what is next, Solo hopes to continue to teach the next generation of younger students more about FabMaker Studio and STEM.

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Is your classroom a FabClassroom? We would love to highlight your school! To be featured in an upcoming post, send an email to andrea@fablevision.com. You can also tweet your photos with the hashtag #FabMakerStudio! For more posts featuring FabMaker Studio, click here.

For more information, contact us at info@fablevisionlearning.com. We invite you to join the conversation on Facebook the FabMaker Teacher Group.

FableVision Team Gears Up for ISTE 2016!

What is this thing called ISTE we keep talking about? ISTE, also known as the International Society for Technology in Education, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help educators and education leaders who are devoted to "empowering connected learners in a connected world." 

FableVision is excited to announce that this year we will have a hands-on booth. Our attending representatives cannot wait for June 27 to come. Read more to find out what they have to say about ISTE:

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Sarah Ditkoff, Communications & Development Strategist, FableVision Studios

"I am most looking forward to the people – ISTE is the best! There’s so much going on, and it still somehow manages to find that perfect intersection between creativity and community. There are countless ideas to share, old friends to reconnect with, and new friends to meet. It’s always an inspiring gathering of inspired people."

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Patrick Condon, Digital Media Engineer, FableVision Learning

"As the newest FableVisionary, I'm looking forward to ISTE because it is going to be my opportunity to meet the rest of the team and work together with them in a high-energy environment. I am also very excited to see the massive circular banner I designed hanging above the booth - It'll be hard to miss! As my first ISTE conference, I know I'm going to learn so much, so I could probably just say that I'm looking forward to everything!"

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Terry Shay, Lead Ambassador, FableVision Learning

"ISTE is a great time to connect with people who share our passion for connecting and creating. I look forward to meeting old friends and making new friends. I especially look forward to meeting new people who celebrate International Dot Day and hearing their stories. Last year I met wonderful educators from PA who impressed me with stories and pictures from their Dot Day celebration!!"

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Andrea Calvin, Vice President, FableVision Learning

"What aren't I looking forward to?!?! From the hands-on activities in FableVision Booth # 3704 to the fabulous presentations to the meet ups with creative educators - ISTE is going to be awesome!"

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Bill Norris, Dot Connector, The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity (TLC)

"I love going to conferences and special events. What makes it most intriguing to me is meeting educators from all over the globe. Over the past several years we have connected many ‘dots’, and I look forward to seeing everyone… it’s almost like a reunion. What I really like best is the opportunity to speak about our mission. Indeed we have wonderful products, but our bottom line is really about helping kids and teachers become more creative and helping us move the world to a better place!"

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Denine Jimmerson, Ed.D., Creative Curriculum & Evaluation Specialist, The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity (TLC) 

"I am looking forward to ISTE for many reasons! First, I've never been to ISTE before... this will be FUN. Also, I am looking forward to spending time with my FableVision "family", another first for me! And, I am really excited about having the opportunity to meet new people and learning from all of the brilliant people that will be attending ISTE!"

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Shelby Marshall, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Product Solutions, FableVision Studios

"I love going to ISTE. It's a great place to see what's new in the ed-tech industry, catch up with people I see only once or twice a year, and meet new people. It's especially rewarding to introduce people to the amazing work FableVision Studios does. I always come home inspired by what I saw and the conversations I had."

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Peggy Healy Stearns, Ph.D., Software and Instructional Designer, Fab@School Coalition Co-Founder

"I’ve been coming to ISTE since 1989 when it was called NECC, and for me it’s still the most anticipated conference of the year. From airport to hotel to convention center, and on the buses that ferry us between, there are warm reunions and enthusiastic first meetings with colleagues from around the country and beyond. Inside the exhibit hall, a small city takes shape as booths are assembled and banners are hoisted. The technology changes, faces change, but the passion and enthusiasm of caring educators who come together to learn how to impact the future of children, communities, and the world remain constant through the decades."

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Will you be at ISTE 2016? Let us know by tweeting at us @FableLearn! We look forward to meeting you there.