Installing the EAST Experience

EAST NEWS

I t’s August and just a few weeks before school starts. Teachers

are working diligently in their classrooms to arrange desks, organize supplies and decorate walls in preparation for students to arrive. By contrast, in the first year, the EAST experience begins with a bare classroom: tables, chairs, computers, and printers; none of the equipment is plugged in or turned on. It’s just sitting there, waiting (much like the facilitators and students).

But the wait isn’t too long, and when it is over, everyone involved has experienced something powerful and inspiring. It’s the “birth” of an EAST environment. In the parlance of EAST we call this transformation the Installation Experience. When everything is in place and all the preparations have been checked and double checked, a team of EAST staff members will arrange to meet at this new EAST school and help oversee the installation process. They can’t do it alone, however, they need the help of the school staff, the new facilitator, and most importantly—a team of EAST students.

EAST staff arrive first thing in the morning with a vehicle full of equipment. In total, the equipment a school receives costs over $80,000 and has a commercial value far beyond that. While the EAST technical service team begins to assess the environment to ensure the network and other technical components are working properly, the facilitator and EAST support staff review, unbox, and organize the equipment. About mid-morning, a team of EAST students arrive to help get their EAST experience off the ground.

You see, students begin to take ownership of EAST during the technology installation process. They learn by unpacking the various technology, charging batteries when needed, and installing and testing the items they receive. They also setup the network accounts and assemble other hardware such as 3D printers, Pi-Top, and an Arduino Kit.The overall objective is to make sure that everything the school received is accounted for and is in working order.

One of the more challenging technologies to test is the 3D scanner which requires the technology to collaborate and then scan an object. This item alone tests a student’s patience and takes a lot of trial and error to set up. When the testing process is complete, it isn’t uncommon to hear a joyful outburst. The install team takes a moment to have a mini celebration with the student because they overcame the challenge.

INSTALLING

THE

EAST EX

10 EAST QUARTERLY | www.EASTinitiative.org

A large scale printer called a plotter is assembled, ink and printheads added, and a test poster is printed. Cameras, professional-grade software, tablets, 3D printers, an Arduino, virtual reality equipment and so much more are installed and tested, too. These students are instrumental in making sure EAST is able to complete the install during the day and a half allotted. Although technical staff are there to assist, learning how to set up and work the equipment is all in the hands of the students.

The same install team returns the next morning to finish setting up the equipment and also to provide a handful of technological demonstrations so students can sample just a little of what they will be able to do in EAST.

The once empty classroom is now bursting with technology. This new EAST environment is ready to help students lead and serve their communities.

eSTEM East Village Junior High was one of the new classrooms set up in early August. Since these students had been in school since the beginning of July, they were eager to dive into the added technology.

EQ sat down with facilitator Derek Hancock to ask him about his expectations for his new classroom.

Q: Tell me what you are most looking forward to about EAST.

A: Wow. Taking these students to the next level. That’s what we are trying to do. Problem-solving skills are what this class is all about. The students I have been blessed with this year are quite intrigued and ready to get going.

Q: You’ve been in school for about a month now. What have you been working on in the past month or so?

A: We’ve been EASTizing. The first week was pretty much “What is EAST?” They had to read and sign a contract to let me know that they understood what this class was all about, that it is student-led and I am here to assist, to get you to the next level. But it is going to require 100% effort from the student. After signing the contract, they had to summarize it and explain things they were interested in and past knowledge they had. I found I had a couple of two-year EAST students and one three-year EAST student.

Q: This is a first-year program. What are you hoping for your program this year?

A: To excel. We’ve already been discussing projects and how they go, and I’ve been tuning their brains to get to thinking. We’ve been looking for problems around school, in churches and with parents. We’ve been doing a lot of team-building to establish the rapport.

PERIENCE

An empty classroom gets an “EAST” lift

By Melanie Ridlon

SUMMER 2018 | EAST QUARTERLY 11