Ever forget a password or just not have it with you? And we know it isn’t safe to be using sticky notes or leaving usernames and passwords out and about. Everything we do in this day and age calls for more logins and passwords…passwords that need to be secure and vary from site to site. What can you do? Save them digitally!
Options
Google Chrome Passwords – Ever notice how Chrome asks you if you want to save your password? These are stored within Chrome itself. If you actually log in to Chrome and see your little profile picture across from the address bar, you can have the passwords sync to the cloud, thus making them accessible on other devices you log in to and safe if anything were to happen to your computer. You can also look up the password you entered on a site in case you need to enter it on another device. (Free)
- Viewing saved passwords: When in Chrome, click the 3 dots on the upper right, choose
- Turning Sync on: At the top right, click the gray person icon. Click the blue button to turn sync on and log in.
Safari – This browser will also ask you if you want to save passwords. These would be stored directly on your laptop and not necessarily backed up. (Free) - Viewing saved passwords: When in Safari, click Safari at the top left, choose Preferences, and click the tab for Passwords. Before you can see anything, it will prompt you to enter your laptop password as an extra layer of security.
iCloud Keychain – This feature available on Apple products will let you sync your passwords saved in Safari to other Apple devices. In general, it is a very basic way to back up passwords which is done through the use of your own Apple ID. (Free) - Turning on iCloud Keychain: In the upper right, click the apple and go to System Preferences. Click into the iCloud section. You will need to be logged into iCloud for this to be an option, so log in using your personal Apple ID. Click the box to enable Keychain and follow the prompts.
LastPass – Web-based password manager. There is a free version as well as a paid option. Just create one account on the website (you will need to remember this login and password though) to be able to save all your passwords. This works across different platforms and devices. There are a variety of options to install and access LastPass on your devices to make logging in to sites easier and faster. (Free and paid versions. The free version should be sufficient.)
Soldering finally happened! I provided my middle schoolers with the opportunity to learn how to solder electronics. The majority of the students had never soldered before, but there were a few rock stars that were more than happy to share their knowledge with the rest of the class. The intro lesson reviewed how circuits worked – especially polarity, how to solder, and general safety. Our first project was Learn to Solder: Circuits with LED and Pipe Cleaners. This was a nice starting point that only required four solder points and allowed for certain success. If I do this particular project again, I would find a way or have the students find a way to incorporate a switch so that the LED can be turned off without needing to remove the battery. Following this first project, we proceeded to practice soldering on little electronic soldering kits and learning about the different components.
Tips:
- If you are going to have students solder random wire, test soldering the wires together before leading the lesson. Not all wire or metals will work. For example, paperclips and ever so slightly coated wire will not allow the solder to fuse. (I attended a training where the instructors had not fully tested out the lesson before teaching it.)
- Find or create a video to demonstrate how to solder since it can be difficult for an entire class to crowd around to see the process up close.
My year started out with this fun and engaging STEAM challenge while the weather was still wonderful – and it will be again! The challenge was set up with a story about how I had been at a state fair and observed a lady selling her personally crafted bubble wands and proprietary bubble solution. I was confident that my class could design their own wands and discover the best homemade bubble solution recipe on their own. Below is the general lesson plan this challenge activity followed which could easily be adapted to another multiday challenge topic.
Day 1
Planning: Research options and determine the necessary materials. Students completed a planning worksheet with a drawing of the wand, a materials list, and the exact bubble solution recipe to try. As a class, we compared recipes and picked three unique ones to try (within reason). Preplanning provided the opportunity to remind students what materials are reasonably expected to be available in class versus what a student might want to bring from home for the next class period. The planning step of this challenge was also necessary from the teacher standpoint to know what items needed to be made available and the associated quantities. For example, dowel rods could easily be required, but how many, or what are the necessary lengths to purchase?
Day 2
Creating: Students had 20-25 minutes to assemble their bubble wands and mix up the desired bubble solutions.
Testing and Problem Solving: Outside, the wands and solutions were tested. Students needed to compare the usability of the different solutions with their wands. There was a clear winner when it came to the recipes. Extra materials were made available while outside to aid in problem solving and success of their wands and experiences.
Reflection and Debrief: As a class, we made determinations as to which wands and solutions worked the best. Why did some work better? How could wands be improved? What did we do when our plans didn’t work as expected?
Day 3 (optional)
Modifying: Students had 20-25 minutes to modify and improve their bubble wands. Either they upgraded their previous design or completely started over based on their new-found knowledge.
Testing: Outside, round two of testing the upgraded wands and solutions.
Reflection and Debrief: We engaged in a class discussion of the findings and the experience as a whole. Students completed an individual written reflection on the challenge to round out the experience.
See my other post Classroom STEAM Challenges for more challenge ideas.
