This Week, our class visited the design lab in our local district. This eye-opening experience really got me thinking about how tech can be used in the classroom. I am not well versed in technology by any means, and I find it quite a hurdle when faced with a problem surrounding technology. However, the work we did at the design lab showed how education in BC is really starting to look at the innovative side of technology. While we were there, my group built a train set. The challenge (as per assigned by the design lab coordinator) was to build a track that looped 3 times. We were also given little coloured tabs and an electric train that when it sensed the colours would perform different tasks (yellow= train whistle, red = stop, blue= stop and gas up, green = reverse) we were able to come up with some pretty cool designs that didn’t make a full 3 loops but 2 and a half and that felt like a pretty cool accomplishment. I would love to bring a class here again in the future. I think it would be awesome for teaching students the beginnings of code, teamwork/team building, problem solving, and how to better understand the world through the lens of technology. I was specifically interested in the cardboard building tools and would love to create a lesson around this. I think I would make it a social studies lesson and start by explaining the foundations of a community. Talk about what sort of things a community needs to survive and thrive and then challenge the class to build their own community where everyone plays a role. Here’s a tour of our train track!