Today we had the opportunity to run an Innovation Hour event at a local K–6 school, and it ended up being one of my favourite experiences of the semester. We set up five different learning stations around the gym:

• Button-pin making
• GoCubes
• MicroBits AI Watches
• ChompSaw
• Unplugged Activity: Brain in a bag

Throughout the day, we rotated between stations and worked with students from grades 2–6. It was such a fun, hands-on event that really highlighted how innovation can be both high-tech and low-tech.

MicroBits AI Watch Station (Grade 5–6)

In the morning, I worked at the MicroBits watch station with the Grade 5–6 students. These watches are AI-programmed movement watches. Students worked in pairs to test different motions and see which pixel animation each movement would trigger. The process looked like this:

1. Try a movement
2. Wait for the watch to register “no movement”
3. Repeat the movement
4. Compare the results
5. Repeat, try new things!

This became a perfect way to teach that AI doesn’t always get things right. The watches sometimes misread or interpreted movements differently, which led to great conversations about double-checking information and not trusting technology blindly. The students were creative, silly, curious, and genuinely engaged—it was awesome to watch.

Unplugged Activity: Brain in a bag (Grade 2–4)

At midday, I switched to the unplugged station with the Grade 2–4 classes, and this station ended up being one of the more challenging stations to run. Students worked in teams of three:

• Student A drew a picture (house, cat, or car)
• Student B found the matching shapes for that image (this is where it became challenging, I ended up drawing some hints which really helped!)
• Student C “coded” the shapes to reveal parts of a mystery word

Each correct shape sequence revealed a letter of the secret word, and once they repeated the process three times, they uncovered the word: computer.

There was so much teamwork, laughter, and excitement. To keep things moving quickly, we turned the activity into a “race against the clock” instead of competing against each other. Every group stayed motivated and supported one another, which made this station feel especially rewarding.

Highlights From the Other Stations

Button-Pin Station

Students designed and pressed their own custom button pins, easy to run and high interest for every grade level.

GoCube Station

Students used GoCubes to practice problem-solving and spatial reasoning. It was fun to see how quickly some students grasped patterns and strategies.

ChompSaw Station: Cardboard Airplanes

This station was a hit! Students used the ChompSaw cardboard cutters to create their own cardboard airplanes. They were so excited to test them, decorate them, and compete to see which airplane could fly the best. It was a great blend of engineering design, creativity, and hands-on building.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed the chance to work with students of different ages in such an organized and creative environment. This semester has shown me how innovative and purposeful technology can be when it’s intentionally woven into learning experiences.

And honestly, today was so much fun. The energy in the gym, the excitement from the students, and the creativity happening at every station made the whole event feel special. The only downside is that after trying to yell-talk over the ChompSaws while explaining all the steps of the unplugged station, I might not have much of a voice tomorrow! But even that feels like a sign of a good day.

I’ll admit that at the start of the semester, I was pretty anti-technology. However, after participating in hands-on activities, classroom visits, and events like Innovation Hour, I’ve completely changed my perspective. Technology doesn’t replace learning—it can enhance it in ways that are creative, engaging, and collaborative.

Innovation Hour reminded me that innovation doesn’t have to be flashy or complicated. Sometimes it looks like drones or AI watches… and other times it’s as simple as building cardboard airplanes or using shapes to code a word. I’m leaving this semester feeling excited and confident about bringing these kinds of experiences into my future classroom.