Author: Jodie Donner, Ed.D
To put it mildly, 2020 has been a year of change, casting aside what was, with what has to be, and the academic conference experience has followed suit.
Early this semester faculty member Kelly Davis sent me a message about 3D-printed document cameras and asked who might be able to provide these. IgnitED Lab staff members started planning how our labs could create these.
The network of IgnitED Labs at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has had three locations in full operation since the fall of 2019. The development of the labs always included the vision of extending the experiences to online visitors.
After wrapping the first iteration of Sun Devil Learning Labs, some of my IgnitED Labs peers and I were tasked with helping facilitate an event for Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Lead Teacher Week Workshop.
The latest all-college meeting for MLFTC at the end of last month was a chance for virtual connection, review, and celebration. The event brought closure for the unique semester we’ve had and some unexpected recognition for the IgnitED Labs and me.
The Chief Operating Officer of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, and the Emergency Management Specialist (EMS) of the Gallup Indian Medical Center reached out to the IndigeDesign Collab in Phoenix for more face shields and the Ignited Labs responded to this call within hours, opening the lab to allow staff to 3D print face shields for the Navajo Nation.
After closing the doors on our network of IgnitED Labs at Poly, Tempe, and West, members of lab leadership were developing projects to keep our student workers employed.
It is no news that children are exceptional learners and quick to use new technology. Sometimes even better technology users than some professionals in the work field.
Over 100 educators and future educators participated in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Early Childhood Conference on Saturday, February 8. Representatives from the IgnitED Labs had the opportunity to connect with educators and share how various emerging technologies align with early childhood teaching objectives.
Once again the IgnitED Labs crew took some lab experiences outdoors for fun and learning during the annual Homecoming event.