This week we were fortunate enough to go on a field trip to our school districts local Design Lab. This resource is also known as the Transformative Learning and Technology space. The Design Lab provides many different technology-based experiences for students to learn and grow. Our school district is fortunate enough to have two locations, one here in Cranbrook and one in Fernie. I was quite overwhelmed by all the opportunities the Design Lab has to offer, but it also made me super excited for future teaching possibilities.

The Design Lab is a small, hidden space underneath one of our local elementary schools. It’s set up like a classroom with several large desks and stools in the first part of the room, and then there’s more of a “shop” in the back area. In the shop, you can find 3D printers, laser printers, robotics equipment, a large green screen, button-making equipment, and much more.

Today, while visiting the Design Lab, we talked about our next class event called “Innovation Hour”. During Innovation Hour, students get to discover some of the possibilities technology offers. Today in class, we were fortunate enough to discover some of the activities we will be helping with. For example, one of the activities was using the Cricut app on the school iPads to design cutouts that students could attach to the buttons for the button-making station. This activity was really fun. I enjoyed being able to explore this process through creativity. Watching the Cricut print was also really fun!! Such an amazing machine.

Another technology I wanted to reflect on that I didn’t necessarily get to explore in the Design Lab, but do have experience with, was the LEGO robotics equipment. I’ve previously worked with similar equipment at another school while working as an Education Assistant, so seeing these kits in the Design Lab brought back so many fond memories. I love what these kits have to offer. Between coding your brick to actually putting the robot together, it’s so rewarding to watch students get to explore something so unique.

Overall, this experience was really enjoyable and made me become really excited for my future as an educator. Technology is so much bigger than you’d think, and there really are so many wonderful opportunities for students to expand their knowledge by using technology. I look forward to utilizing this space and these technologies in my future.