Week 2

Creating bioplastic sounds like a very daunting task especially afte looking through all the slides and different ingredients to use to make it. After discussing bioplastics with the student corrdinator int the Warrior Fab Lab I became less nervous about mking it. 

In the first pictures you can see the ingredients we used to make bioplastics in the Warrior Fab Lab. We used water, honey, vinegar, and gelatin. It was a very stinky process but fairly simple to make once we started. We added 2 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon gelatin, half a teaspoon of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon honey. We started with the water and allowe that to warm up a tad before sprinkling the gelatin on top and then stirring. Once the gelatin was disolved we added the honey and vineagr and allowed that to thicken up before we removed it from the heat and allowed it to cool for a minute before putting it in our molds. From the pictures up top you can see that I tried several difference recipes for bioplastics including one that used corn starch. After some trial and error I found that I liked the recipe that used water, gelatin, glycerin, and vinegar the most. I then used some acrylic letters that had been laser cut as a mold to see how well letters would turn out with bioplastic poured on top of them. 

When I found the recipe that I like most I poured sheets of bioplastic so I could try to make something with it. Once my sheets dried I took them and cut them into strips to see if I could try and weave a basket with them. From my picture you can see that I have sort of a foundation for the basket but it is definitely a work in progress. 

1. Sustainable practices that I have considered in my student teaching placement are using whiteboards and markers instead of sheets of paper and incorporating environmental awareness into lessons that I teach by reading books about nature and connecting science lessons back to students' everyday lives. Some aspects I think I should improve  upon in my teachings is allowing students to take ownership in sustainability by allowing them to be recycle helpers, energy monitors, and plant waters so that it allows them to build these habits early on. I also think I can improve upon my own classroom systems so that I can easily reuse materials more effectively. 

2. I think that digital fabrication can support sustainable practices if it is done intentionally. I think that digital fabrication can allow teachers to create exactly what they need without having to by bulk of items that might go other wise unused. I also think that digital fabrication opens up the doors for conversations about the different types of materials being used and where those materials are coming from. Opening up this dialog allows students to be more mindful of the things they are creating. 

3. I think a good activity that ties in digital fabrication and culturally reflective learning is by allowing students to create a 3D printed name tag that represents their name story. Students would learn about the meaning of their name and origin and then they would have help designing a name tag that represents that story and then share it to the class. I think that other lessons could be designed as well using digital fabrication such as a cultural symbol museum for the class where students learn about a symbol that is important to their culture and it be 3D printed and displayed in a class museum. I think another on that would be fun with 1st grade students is learning about different patterns and textiles that are part of different cultures and design stamps for students to collect in a passport of sorts and then sharing their experiences with the class.