Introduction: Woodshop and Maker Space Safety

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About: I am a woodshop/maker teacher. I have been woodworking since I was 9. I like to make things that are out of the ordinary to push myself and continue to learn and grow. I try to challenge my students to do the …

I teach at a continuation high school where students join my class throughout the year. This has made safety a difficult issue for our class since students will be at many different levels and points in my curriculum as the year progresses. Through trial and error, I have found a method that works VERY well for me.

Supplies

  • Video camera if you want to make your own videos. I recommend this, students will be much more engaged.
  • EdPuzzle account (free accounts available but with less functionality)

Step 1: Google Quizzes

Before making my videos I like to start with making my quizzes so I cover all my bases in the video.

Here are my woodshop google quizzes if you would like to steal them.

Step 2: Make Safety Videos

I like to make my own videos. I have found that with other videos the disengage. I think they can see that I care enough to go through the effort. With other peoples videos it comes across as me being lazy I think. For the initial effort of making these, it has been a HUGE payoff.

I don't do anything fancy. Several of them were shot on my cellphone. Editing has been best with iMovie but I have tried other free software when I did not have a mac. They are then uploaded to youtube so they can be used in the next step.

Step 3: EdPuzzle

Edpuzzle has a free and paid version. For I have this set up you can get away with the free version. The paid version has more features that let you track student scores better.

I have embedded questions in the videos. These are almost the exact questions that are in the final quiz. By the time they get to the final quiz, they will have seen every question before.

Step 4: THE BEST PART!!!

Of all the things that I have tried this was the step that was the biggest game-changer for me. I have this spreadsheet projected at all times. Students and I are able to see what tools they are allowed to use. This has eliminated all debates about, "why can't I..." and other wining.

This link is to a blank version of the spreadsheet. You will need to make this the destination for all your quizzes. Then change the name of the sheet in each column to correspond to the name of the quizzes you have.

Next step: Eventually I want to have a separate flatscreen running a Raspberry Pi that will run this and be timed with our bell schedule to switch between classes!