This week we got to go and discover the school district’s resource centre and design lab.

I have visited the site a few times but the one thing that I appreciated about this trip was actually getting to go in and see the resources available to us.

The librarian was super helpful in pointing out a few things that are neat about the centre, actually showing us what it looks like online and the resources found there, and then letting us just go and explore things for ourselves. There were a lot of materials that I wouldn’t have even thought to see if they had something had I not gone and checked them out myself.

Some of the options and features that stood out to me that can be used from the resource centre.

The technology and design lab component was also neat. I’ve had a few classes and trip to the lab with lessons given by the instructor there and there were still some new features and gadets shown that I hadn’t seen before.

One thing that I really liked was the app and kit “Pixicade.” It is a kit with a books explaining how to use the kit, different colored markers, and a QR code to link to the app with an account there to be able to upload the games that you create.

The Pixicade app.

I really liked exploring the “arcade” feature where you could play games that others have created.

The “arcade” of games.

I can definitely see kids being excited to create their own games and doing so super easily through just drawing their ideas with the right colored marker.

I appreciate the easy to use tools that can be brought into the classroom and still incorporate the technology component.