Wrangell students learn and play using STEAM machines

Wrangell students got hands-on with robotics and circuitry for most of last week, taking part in a technological workshop put on by the AKTeach program.

The program – an acronym for Alaskans Transforming Educational Access in Communities and Homes – is part of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, and facilitates education services for school systems across the state. Instructors from the program were brought to Wrangell for three days to focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (or STEAM) in a series of creative challenges.

Arriving on March 22, instructors had Stikine Middle School students spend the day learning basic coding skills needed to command Dash robots. At other stations they learned how to build and use several simple circuits, using copper tape and watch batteries on a paper backing.

Students also got to explore the world of contraption making inspired by the work of Rube Goldberg. Groups were given a problem to solve (popping a balloon), and had to use several steps in order to accomplish that end.

"Kids had some really great stuff, and they had a lot of fun," said Crystal Thomas. Along with Nicole Fuerst, Teresa Hedges, Peggy Azuyak, and director Phil Johnson, she was part of the AKTeach team visiting last week.

An English teacher by profession, Thomas said she enjoyed the STEAM programming because of the different skills it encourages. "I teach this because I see the value in problem solving," she said. Breaking down problems into segments and working them through is not intuitive for everyone, and exposure to such exercises can help foster more abstract ways of thinking. The exercises also encourage team building, another skill with myriad applications in the real world.

Capping off the day, the students were able to build and fly their own model drones. They then put their completed models to the test, completing a variety of obstacles while also competing for points. Time and action points were factored in to final scores.

"I almost crashed the drone into the wall," said one student, Serena Barrett. "Even though it was hard, it was fun."

Wrangell Schools tech director Matt Gore explained that unmanned aerial vehicles present a growing opportunity for future workers, and addresses shortfalls felt even presently.

"We don't have enough drone pilots in Alaska," he pointed out.

New applications for the machines are being devised constantly, finding new niches to be of use. For example, power and communications companies are finding them useful for line maintenance, scoping out infrastructure for damage and wear more cheaply than a crew can. The devices can also be used for research, such as spotting, identifying and tracking whales by the distinctive features on their tails visible while fluking.

"If you can get someone who takes it seriously, there's a lot of avenues for it opening up," said Gore.

The tech was brought to the high school the next day, and over to Evergreen Elementary School on Friday.

"It was a busy week," said Thomas.

The workshop also presented a unique opportunity for cultural exchange, allowing dancers with the Johnson O'Malley program to share several dances on a live stream feed. The Wrangell students represented their Tlingit-Haida culture along with Alutiiq students streaming in from Kodiak, for the benefit of Aboriginal Australian elders and students partaking in the 2017 Lake Mungo Youth Project in the province of New South Wales, Australia. Also streaming in to observe was a group of students learning in China.

"We are the closing ceremony to this event," Johnson told Wrangell students. He explained the exchange was taking place at a site held sacred by indigenous Australians. "It's a tremendous honor," he told them.

The exchange highlighted some of the shortcomings yet to work out with the new technology, as connectivity issues prevented an earlier exchange of the drone program's doings with their Australian counterparts. Organizers discovered the BlueJeans video conferencing format AKTeach uses is blocked in Australia, and that afternoon was spent trying to reengineer the exchange.

By 5 p.m. Wrangell was ready, and despite a few hiccups on the other end was able to broadcast. Students in Alaska also got to learn a bit about the site, and interact with students via telecast.

"It was pretty amazing for our kids, getting to access technologies from outside our community," secondary schools principal Bill Schwan said of the week's activities afterward. The STEAM workshop gave the school some ideas for its own programming, and introduced several activities that get students thinking outside the box. "These kind of activities do that and they're fun. It's a pleasing way for them to enjoy learning."