Welcome to my website. I love to teach tech and all the things that can be created with tech. I was the technology integration facilitator for over 500 elementary students who are well versed in Google Apps for Education. I have worked on integrating and expanding our EV3 robotics program, developing an understanding of 3D design and printing principles, as well as designing a new ‘makerspace’ to supplement our STEM program. When I left ASD we work working hard to implement a K-12 programming curriculum for all students. I’m excited for the future opportunities available to students as they use computational as well as design thinking to solve authentic, real world problems. Before becoming a full-time technology integrator and facilitator I was the information technology, video production and design technology teacher for eight years at the middle and high school level at various schools.
To share my tech passion with others, I worked with a small team of educators from Doha to setup the first Edcamp Qatar. Below are testimonies from ASD administrators who attended this conference (click to enlarge).
I firmly believe in the Edcamp vision and I enjoyed the opportunity to bring this event to our school.
“Our vision is simple: innovative professional learning for educators. Our collective experience spans international education, professional development, technology, innovation, non-profit and for-profit business, and paramount to the work we do is input from others. Our charge is to help educators discover new ways of learning and teaching, reigniting their passion in the classroom and passing it on to students across the globe.”
Panel 1
Maker Project
I had the opportunity to teach a Technology Design class at American School of Doha. One of the ways I prepared for the course was by designing and building my own curiosity project. I decided to build a retro arcade machine from sheets of plywood, spare computer parts and old arcade components.
As an technology teacher and robotics coach for grades 3-8 I was able to teach basic coding to students. Students used coding to build games and to program robots. I believe that the expanding rate of the internet of things will make coding a valuable tool for all students. Some students were new to coding and we started them out with Scratch while others were more advanced and I had to accommodate to their learning needs. I also used an introductory unit in JavaScript programming for extended learners in coding. After taking completing computational thinking at the University of Pennsylvania, I would also like to teach students coding using Python.
Here are examples of student coding projects using Scratch
I taught 3D design principals and concepts for students in grade 5 all the way up to grade 8. At higher grade levels we used Google Sketchup and at entry level courses we taught Tinkercad. Students realize that there are some important concepts that must be understand in order for their design to print using an additive printer. Design concepts like tolerance, maximum size, supports and fill levels are needed to ensure products are able to print.
I also taught basic graphic design principals. The core elements we would introduce were contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity.
Below are some samples of graphic design principles in practice.
Grade 8 Design Principles Projects
Panel 4
Video Production
I am passionate about video, photography and multimedia production. To fuel this passion, I completed a certificate program in video production and storytelling at the New York Institute of Photography – the world’s oldest and largest accredited photography school. I’m proud of the fact that I had middle school students enter the high school THIMUN film festival and they won “Best Story” category. Quite an achievement considering those middle school students were going against high school IB Film students. In my experience, I’ve been able to engage students’ creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills using multimedia production. I believe with all my heart that film and video production can bring such a strong sense of community in a school and that is why it is my goal to someday teach it again.
Below are various video projects from my grade 7-8 Video Production Course.
“Dogs in Doha” is an example of one of my student’s documentary projects that won “Best Story” and “Best Junior Film” at the THIMUN film festival.
Students had a choice between creating a documentary or a “Mock-umentary” and it allowed some of our students with a sense of humor to work on their documentary film-making skills while applying some of their creative strengths. Some background information is needed to set this next film up – our middle school has a year-long competition in which six houses compete for the coveted “House Cup”. The film was displayed at our assembly right before the “House Cup” winner was announced.
“Ghost Movie” is an example of one of my student’s short horror film projects.
“Stick a Paper” is an example of one of my student’s commercial projects
“ASD Common Rules” is an example of one of my student’s stop-motion projects
“Water Conservation” is an example of one of my student’s advocacy projects
Panel 5
Blog
This is the page where users will find your site’s blog
Welcome to my website. I love to teach tech and all the things that can be created with tech. I was the technology integration facilitator for over 500 elementary students who are well versed in Google Apps for Education. I have worked on integrating and expanding our EV3 robotics program, developing an understanding of 3D design and printing principles, as well as designing a new ‘makerspace’ to supplement our STEM program. When I left ASD we work working hard to implement a K-12 programming curriculum for all students. I’m excited for the future opportunities available to students as they use computational as well as design thinking to solve authentic, real world problems. Before becoming a full-time technology integrator and facilitator I was the information technology, video production and design technology teacher for eight years at the middle and high school level at various schools.
Peter Kratz 