Education is Different Here

We annually get to enjoy a beautiful day at the Arkansas Innovation Hub. We learn different skills, talents, and technologies from several instructors. We have learned 3-D printing, ink press, clay modeling, painting techniques/dyeing textiles, engineering, robotics, and much more to come. Students really enjoy the creative outlet and the ability to incorporate this new found technology or skills into our EAST classroom. Overall we come back to the EAST classroom full of creativity and ideas for future maker opportunities and ideas for projects!

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“My lights are blinking!”

This was a small yet monumental victory for Tandem Young at the Arduino training he attended in November. Alex Shalk and Tandem attended this training in hopes to begin learning the ins and outs of Arduino so they could take it back to EAST at Dover High and  create something great. They learned a lot that day, from the basics of Arduino to creating light with a simple circuit board. The boys are currently working hard in their EAST classes to master Arduino and use it for project development in their ever-growing community.

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Although we can tell you all day long about the things we do in EAST at Dover High, we decided to let a chat bot do it for us. Colby Taverner recently invested his time and interest into the chat bot program Facebook has to offer. Using Facebook Messenger, you can type questions or key words that will prompt an explanation or another question about our EAST program. Colby has inserted information about the many projects we have going on and the ones we have finished, all that can be accessed with just a few words. You can also learn about the technology we use day to day, and the software and hardware that comes with it. Although it is a work in progress Colby is making the most out of the chat bot, utilizing it as a way to expand the knowledge our community has of EAST at Dover High. And it’s all through the most popular social media platform of this day and age.

What was EAST Day Camp?

EAST Day Camp was a day that we  set up to show new or returning EAST students/school faculty different types of software and allow them to create and design their own projects.  To start the day an EAST alumni, Abby Mahon, taught us all about Adobe Illustrator and we even got to make our own business cards. Then, we transitioned into 3D printing, where Colby Taverner informed us on how to download different files and just the overall idea of 3D printing. The last software we learned about was Cricut Design Space, where we all got to design our own decal and cut it out on the Cricut! After eating lunch we gathered and brainstormed about the different projects that we could do and improve on using our new skills. Overall the day was full of learning and growing in our softwares and furthering the horizon of opportunities!!

Watching the 3D print take place:)

An image of learning.

LOVE our new BLOG and FB Banner – a custom design by Chase Minick! Hand drawings inside the font using the Wacom Tablet! I LOVE this part of my job….I said “Hey Chase, do you think you could come up with a custom banner image for our new blog” and this is what I got…in ONE day! We sit in awe and watch him work! He’s truly blessed with a creative, imaginative mind and the artistic hand to bring it to life on the screen!

I’m so excited to share our new EAST at Dover High video – created by Jessica Greathouse! You did a super job Jess! Go visit our Facebook page to view the video –

https://www.facebook.com/EAST-at-Dover-High-School-205353789532936/

Hey! Welcome to our blog! This is where we are going to tell you about everything we have going on. Today, the topic of choice is EAST Conference, which is a big training venue where all EAST schools, students, and facilitators get together and compete, share, and collaborate. There are also tons of things to do and resources to gain information from. This year we went with 7 students to make one team. (Left to right, back row: Braden Duvall, Bryce Masters, Nathan Johnson, Colby Taverner, Left to right, front row: Gracie Hartzell, Faith Johnson, Abby Mahon,                      Facilitator Sharla Hartzell)

We go for three days and set up a booth highlighting all of our projects and things we’ve done. The first day we get there, we setup our booth and attend opening plenary, where we learn about the exciting events taking place and receive a good luck from Matt Dozier (CEO of EAST!!). Then we as a team go out and eat, or order in :), and then return to our hotel for a team game night! We play and eat and prepare for the next big day. Day 2 is the biggest day of EAST Conference. On this day we start at 8 a.m. and don’t stop until 8 p.m. We start off the day at our booth or visiting other booths. As the day goes on we go and attend our different breakout sessions. Breakout sessions are little trainings where we learn about skills or how to use technology from professionals, alumni, or businesses. The one I attended was full of information about making a great first impression. When we finish out the time of booths, breakout sessions, and tinkering, we head back to our hotels and get all prettied up for the Gala, where they announce the winners of most of the competitions, including the Timothy R. Stephenson Founders Award.

After the Gala we go back to our hotel to SLEEP, something we’re missing by the end of the day! Finally, on the third and final day, we go and show our booth and visit other booths for the last time and finish up our breakout sessions. Then, we go to closing plenary, where they finish announcing the winners and reveal the theme for the following years conference. The theme for 2018 is All Systems Go and we can’t wait!

EAST at Dover High is excited to announce our new web address and format! After reviewing our previous website, we decided to expand our web communications to a blog format. Our goal is to encourage comments/feedback on our projects and increase networking among community and area EAST programs.