Author: Lensyl Urbano

Interim Planning Guide

Fjord Table Project

For interims we take a week-long break from regular classes where students design independent learning sessions and pursue the intense long-term projects. During the interim week, the schedule is divvied up into morning and afternoon sessions. Students can plan to use as many or as few of the sessions for their work, but most usually opt for doing one thing during the morning sessions, and another in the afternoon.

Despite it being my busiest time, it’s also my favorite part of the schedule because of all the interesting and creative work it spawns.

We start planning a least two weeks ahead and dedicate several extended morning meetings to getting everything lined up. This is the guide we’ve developed over the last year that seems to work pretty well.

1) Students’ initial proposals

Students propose projects with their learning objectives. Typically, each student submits two forms because most will not be doing a single project for the entire interim.

Interim Project Proposals FormDownload

Interim Themes (Faculty Organizes)

Based on the students’ initial proposals, faculty organizes students into Interim Themes like Makerspace, Cooking, Robotics…

Student Calendar

Students Complete Interim Planning Calendar

  • Morning Meeting: Students organize into groups based on the Interim Themes and determine which and how many sessions they would like to do. 
  • They can decide to do all morning sessions for one theme, or dedicate each day to a different theme, or design a schedule of their choice. 
  • They should also seek to balance the number of students in each session, so there are not too few or too many students in one session.
    • They can try to recruit other students into their proposed sessions.
  • Each student gets a Planning calendar to fill in with what they’ll be doing for each of the week’s sessions.
Interim Planning Calendar Template (v.2) – WeekDownload

Final Schedule (Faculty Organized)

  • Students are placed into the master schedule:
  • Faculty are assigned to supervise different sessions.

Students’ Final Planning

Students complete their proposals for each interim theme in which they’re involved. These may be different based on the theme, but there should be something for each theme. The objective is to make sure students will have the resources they need to accomplish their project: time, space, faculty guidance. For example.

Interim Cooking PlannerDownload
  1. Cooking Planner (See above): Students specify what they will be cooking, when they will be cooking it, what ingredients they will need, and what equipment they will need. This allows us time to make sure we have all the equipment (cooktops etc.) necessary.
  2. Interim Trip Planning Form: Where they’re going, when they’re going, and confirmation if necessary that a visit is scheduled (for college visits for example).
  3. Makerspace Interim Planner: Students specify what projects they will be working on, what supplies and equipment they will need to use, and when they will be doing it.
  4. General Project Planning form: What project they will be working on, what equipment and supplies they need.

Student Summary (After the Interim)

  • Student Summary: Each student should fill out some type of form to summarize what they did and reflect on how it went, with the idea of figuring out how they or we can set things up to be better in the future.
    • For example: Makerspace students should do a post to the Makerspace Blog. 

    Debrief and Sharing

    The last hour of the interim week is set aside for debriefing and sharing. We try to include the lower school students in the sharing, which takes some time (there’s so much to see), so we regularly postpone the debrief to the next week’s morning meeting.

    Santa Fe Immersion

    Last week, Ms. Bryan and I took the middle schoolers out to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We drove out on Sunday (stayed overnight in Amarillo) and returned on Friday night. A brief overview of what we did:

    Monday

    • Cadillac Ranch: Amarillo, TX:
      • A public art project. We brought our own spray paint and painted some cadilacs that have been stuck, front first, into the ground. (1 hr)
    • Petroglyph National Monument (Piedras Marcadas Canyon): Albuquerque, NM:
      • We walked the Petroglyph Viewing Trail which has some nice information about the petroglyphs and the basalts they have been carved into. We talked a bit about the geology of extrusive volcanics. (2 hrs)

    Tuesday

    • Albuquerque Aquarium and Botanical Gardens
      • This was a student-chosen site (we had one student who really wanted to go to the aquarium, and persuaded the rest of the group). (2 hrs)
    • Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (for lunch)
      • We stopped by the restaurant at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Alburquerque for a lunch of indigenous foods. (I had the three homemade stews, and they were excellent. The cornbread was also superb)
    • Cinder cones at Volcanos Day Use Area (Petroglyph National Monument):
      • We hiked the middle loop to the top of Black Volcano to look at the caldera. Also, saw nightshade plants, large millipedes, and storms in the distance. (2.5 hrs)
    • Bedtime Story: Global Atmospheric Circulation and the Biomes
      • A lesson contextualizing what we saw out of the windows as we drove from the deciduous forests of Missouri to the semi-arid southwestern US. (45 min+)

    Wednesday

    • Cliff Dwellings at Bandolier National Monument
      • After a beautiful drive up into the mountains, we did a short hike on the Pueblo loop trail that let us climb into cliff dwellings that were carved into volcanic tuff (2 hrs).
    • Bradbury Science Museum in Los Almos
      • We made a brief stop (1/2 hour) at the Science museum in Los Almos, because I wanted to scope it out, but could easily have spent much more time there. The replicas of the bombs dropped on Japan at the end of WWII attracted the most attention, but was in close competition with the chair that let you feel the seismic vibrations that result from explosions of conventional and nuclear weapons.
    • Prairie Dog Glass
      • Artisan George O’Grady took the time to guide our students through making glasses, pumpkins, and peppers out of glass (2.5 hrs).
    • Lesson (Mrs. Bryan): Modern Art (in preparation for our visit to the O’Keeffe Museum) (45 min)
    • Bedtime Story: History of the Universe

    Thursday

    Friday

    • First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City:
      • One of our students’ grandparent insisted we stop by the First Americans Museum, and I am really glad they did. I had not even heard of it (it opened in 2021), but it is an awesome space that fills in a lot of information about the pre and post colonial history of the First Americans. (2 hrs)

    Bead Sequences

    We’ve got some students who are very interested in beads and beading, who are going to try to make a bead curtain using mathematical sequences and codes for each strand. Some of my suggestions are below.

    Math Sequences

    • Prime Numbers
    • Odd and Even (alternating colors)
    • Natural Numbers
    • Fibonacci Sequence
    • Linear Sequences (multiples of 2, 3, 4, …) e.g:
      • n = 2i
    • Polynomial e.g:
      • n = i^2
    • Exponential growth e.g:
      • n = 2^i
    • Half-Life

    Code Sequences

    Marionetting with AI

    A student of mine wants to do a presentation about AI that is completely AI generated: they’re even thinking about generating the slideshow five minutes before doing the presentation, so they’re not tempted to edit it too much.

    I love the idea, because I suspect it will highlight some important questions about AI use by students, and in society in general. As structured, the student would end up just being a front person for the AI. Although they would have posed the prompt, pretty much all of the “cognitive” work would be done by the AI. It should open up discussions of ideas such as agency, critical thought, and control in the relationship between humans and AI (even beyond current LLMs).

    Makerspace 2025

    As we’re constantly adding capabilities to our Makerspace, it’s useful to summarize our capabilities. I’ve broken it down into Computer Controlled Equipment, Analog Machines, Electronics and Coding, and Computer Hardware, Software and Design sections.

    Computer Controlled Equipment

    Laser Cutter/Etcher

    The Universal 60W laser we use regularly to cut and etch 6 mm thick wood (1/4 inch) and acrylic. The bed is 24×18 inches. It also has a rotary tool to mount water bottles and glasses, and we’ve made adaptors to mount pens (though that’s still a work in progress).

    Design is done primarily using Corel Draw and Inkscape, but we usually send print jobs using Corel.

    3d Printers

    We recently acquired a Prusa XL to go with our Prusa M3, though we have a couple other Prusa machines that were donated that are in the process of repair. The XL has a large print volume, can do multiple filaments, and is substantially faster than the M3. We’re still putting it through its paces, but so far everything looks great.

    These days, most student-designed prints are made using TinkerCad, though I have students in my classes use OpenSCAD to do parametric modeling. One of my high schoolers is interested in Fusion 360, and I’m hoping they’ll be able to give a couple classes on it soon.

    Vinyl Cutter

    Our vinyl cutter can handle rolls up to 24 inches wide, and we’ve used it to make lots of stickers and signs for school (like for the chicken coop). It is limited to the colors and types of vinyl we have on hand (I get removable vinyl for obvious reasons) but student can bring in their own materials.

    We use inkcut to send svg files to the cutter, but design is usually done with Corel and Inkscape.

    CNC

    We currently have an Inventables CNC with a 75×75 cm bed that we use for carving plywood, MDF (and to a degree epoxy resin), and solid wood pieces (we have made wooden swords of oak, pine, and maple).

    Jobs are sent through Inventables’ Easel web-based app, mainly by importing svg files. We are still working on an effective procedure for passing Vcarve designs through Easel.

    Embroidery

    We do have an embroiderer that we’ve used to embroider student designs onto fabric and clothing. You can switch the machine for sewing.

    Designs are made in Inkscape using the Ink/Stitch plugin.

    dye sublimation printer

    We have a printer dedicated to dye-sublimation, and have used it to make prints on wood, acrylic, and water bottles (the Middle School business made a decent profit making water bottles of students and their grandparents on Grandparents Day).

    Designs are usually done with Corel Draw and GIMP.

    Analog Machines

    Lathe

    We got a medium sized lathe with a 12 inch throw this summer, which students have used to make all sorts of bowls, vases, mushrooms, and pens. Fallen trees from storms over the last year have provided our work material, so we’ve had to figure out how to work with green wood (high moisture content), and different types of finishes.

    Our turning tools use carbide tips, and we’re still exploring the variety of square (radiused), round, and diamond-shaped tips available.

    tufting (Rug Making)

    One of our alumni sent in a rug he’d made with a tufting gun, and the students liked it so much we had to get a tufting setup. We’ve had a number of rugs made, but it takes a while, so most progress is made on interims or during the summer camp. Now that we’ve figured out that you can use non-toxic Elmer’s glue on the backs of the rugs, we can do it all in the Makerspace (and don’t have to leave the rugs outside for days to de-gas).

    epoxy

    Students have used epoxy to make everything from river tables, to chess-boards, to coasters, to earrings. We’ve acquired quite a variety of molds over the years. We’ve had to dedicate a special table for the epoxy projects because it gets pretty messy.

    Carving

    We’ve picked up a variety of chisels and tools for carving, and students have demonstrated impressive patience in using them to create, mainly, cooking utensils (one student tried to do a bowl before we got the lathe). We’ve also had to get a sharpening stone setup (that we’ve also used on the non-carbide lathe turning tools).

    Spray Paint Art

    A couple years ago, one of our students spent a lot of time exploring spray-paint art, especially making planet paintings, so we now have system and a lot of spray paint (and graffiti remover for when things spill over onto work surfaces) . Planet painting has become a popular part of the Makerspace Summer Camp among the upper elementary kids.

    Electronics and Coding

    SolderinG

    Our Weller soldering station gets a lot of use, and has been great for doing detailed work like soldering PCB parts and electronics repairs. It is, of course complemented by wire-strippers, cutters, and tools (the ifixit tool kit has seen a lot of use, and I am amazed that we more-or-less still have all the bits after about 5 years).

    Printed Circuit Boards (PCB’s)

    We have figured out a decent process for designing our own printed circuit boards (PCB’s) using Fritzing and having them made by pcbway.com. Our PCB designs have mainly been to make it easier to connect Raspberry Pi Picos to LEDs, sensors, and other components. We do have quite a collection of components (resistors, transistors, terminal blocks etc.) to go on the boards.

    LED’s and Coding

    One of the primary ways I introduce coding is by having students make lamps using individually addressable LED strips connected to Raspberry Pi Pico microcontrollers. So we do have a stash of Picos, Pico W’s and WS2812 strips.

    Microcontrollers

    Although we use Raspberry Pi Pico’s for most of our micro-controller needs (they are cheap and we have a system for working with them–based off circuitpython), we also have a number of other types, including Arduinos (used more for robotics).

    Computer Hardware, Software, and Design

    Tablets (iPads and Supernotes)

    Students have done a lot of their initial design work on our Makerspace iPads (mainly using Procreate), but this summer, we had one student make all of their drawing on the Supernote e-ink tablet which made it much easier to transfer the design files over to the computer since they could send both vector (pdf) and raster (png) images to Corel for final finishing and printing to the laser.

    laptops

    When the lower-school switched over to Chromebooks, the Makerspace acquired about a dozen of the Thinkpads that were being retired. These have been great for us, because we switched them over to Linux and have mounted them on the walls to use their touch screens as interfaces.

    However, since the Middle schoolers now have Chromebooks, and we have not figured out an easy way for them to program the Raspberry Pi Picos, or even to do website building, using them, students tend to check out the Makerspace laptops to do their micro-controller and LED work.

    Oblique Strategies

    I had the chance to sit-in on a wonderful guest class by a local artist, Blaine Deutsch. He got us to try Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies approach for when you’re stuck on something. It’s a set of cards, each with a short phrase aimed at rejiggering your thinking. I got the card below:

    You can find the very nice card sets (and other merch) on Eno’s Oblique Strategies website, but there are also lots of webpages that will throw up a random one for you, including my own:

    e-Ink Notebook in the Classroom: A Handwritten Wiki

    I recently rediscovered e-Ink tablets, and ended up getting myself an A6 sized Supernote (Nomad). And I really like it. Despite being someone who has walked around with a gridded, pocket notebook for years, I’ve found that I quickly switched over to taking all of my notes on the tablet. It’s very similar to writing on paper, and the tactile differences are more than made up for by the ability to have multiple notebooks with me at all times, and have them all connected by links. It’s basically my own personal, handwritten wiki: something I wish I’d had for the last 20 years.

    First page of my Makerspace Network notebook. Note the list of devices on the left that link to the specific note about that device.

    Tech in the Classroom: An Argument for e-ink Tablets

    My acquisition of this device has coincided with a renewed discussion at our school about the appropriated technology policy for the middle and high schoolers, that is a response to the current movement for retrenching on technology in the classroom, and indeed, banning devices like cell phones in schools. I think these e-ink devices are a qualitatively different category of device that warrant a different approach compared to phones, laptops, and even the more general-purpose tablets like iPads.

    What I like:

    The type of device I like are the ones specifically designed to be notebooks and not much, or very little, more. Specific highlights:

    • Links, links, links: The ability to easily make links from the text/drawing in one note to another page in the note, or another page is the feature that made me opt for the Supernote instead of the other e-ink tablets like the ones from Boox and Remarkable.
    • The handwriting and paper-like feel is not like the iPad and similar glass-surfaced tablets, with much less distance from the tip of the pen to the writing on the tablet. The difference between them and pen-and-paper is very small. The Supernote, in particular, foregoes a front light to minimize the pen-to-writing distance. There is evidence that handwriting is better for learning compared to typing (e.g. Ihara et al. 2021), and while they found no significant difference between pen-and-paper and writing on a tablet, I find that the tactile difference is important to me. I’ve not been able to use an iPad for note-taking, though a number of my high-school student do and have continued using them in college.
    • The ability to keep all of your notes in one place and on one device is enormous for my students who use the stuff-it-in-the-backpack method of paper organization. It’s not, to my mind, as intuitive and satisfying an organizational method as a binder with sections and color-coded tabs for each subject, but, there are significant number of students who can’t seem to make the binders work. Personally, I’m not using the device as a student, so I need a couple dozen notebooks to keep track of everything I’m doing, and I know, from years of trying, paper has some severe limitations.
    • The low refresh rate make them pretty useless for video. This is a big advantage when trying to create a distraction-free environment. This is a result of the way the e-ink technology currently works, and, I think that if this changes as the technology “improves” it will make these devices less appropriate for schools.
    • Few distractions, if any: no notifications and limited internet connectivity by design.
    • Black and white: This is not necessarily, entirely an unalloyed good, because I know some of my students make extensive use of highlighting in their notes.
    • No AI writing assistance: One of my students using the Goodnotes app on an iPad had the unwanted experience of the app trying to answer their math question for them, which I presume is because there’s now an AI in the program. The AI got the question wrong, but it would probably have been worse if it had gotten it right. It seems hard to overstate how problematic it is for the AI to be providing unsolicited answers to a student trying to learn by working through problem sets.
    • EMR styluses: These electro-magnetic resonance styluses don’t need charging or pairing with the device, so I’ve been able to use my stylus, which I was using to write on my Supernote, to make marks on my students’ Kindle without having to do anything (it was amazingly satisfying).

    Caveats/Uncertainties

    • Not all of these devices have open formats for their notes, so there is the non-trivial concern about data loss as proprietary formats evolve or companies go out of business. This is the key issue I have with the Supernote. It is on their road-map, but I’ll continue to be concerned until I actually see it. That said, Max Mujynya has the excellent PySN library of python tools for working with Supernote notes.
    • Handwriting to text: This is less relevant in math, at the moment at least, but I’m unsure when this type of text conversion is useful to a student trying to learn English or History, and when it is not.
    • Printing and sharing: We’re still figuring out the best way to share notes between devices (especially different companies) given the closed note formats mentioned above.

    Since I’ve been using (and gabbing on about) my device constantly, my students have noticed and one of them recently acquired a Kindle Scribe for math class. We’re still figuring out the details about the best way for them to do their and share it with me: right now they’re going to try using a different note for each chapter’s assignments, and submitting the file to me as a pdf. I should be able to mark it up on my device and send a pdf back.

    A Note on the Supernote

    I’m almost all-in on the Supernote specifically because of its ability to wiki (see above) with the one caveat about the currently closed note file format). But the other feature specifically designed to capture my attention is the fact that it’s built with interchangable parts. You can take the back off and change the battery and the motherboard, which means, hopefully, I can easily upgrade just the motherboard when a better one (X3 perhaps) becomes available. There’s even a slot for a Micro-SD card.

    An A6 Supernote Nomad, the A5 Manta, and a selection of EMR pens I experimented with. The pens are, from left to right: a Lamy AL Star (I like this one because it’s a nice solid, metal pen with a button), a Steadtler Digital Mars, which I really like because it looks and feels like a pencil with a felt nib, a black, unbranded stylus I got from Aliexpress for $15, which works quite well, two (blue and red) S-Pen type styluses that, I think, were intended for use with Samsung cell phones (they’re tiny, cheap–$5–but work well, have a button, and a little clicky thing that’s nice for fidgeting with), and finally a clunky black pen that I got for $10 on Aliexpress that has, for me, a horrible tactile feel, and clunky nib, but a button and a working eraser, though the eraser mode is not terribly useful on the Supernotes.

    More to follow as we get more experience with the e-ink devices.