iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Wrapping up SolarPunk class with Lander Stoddard, an ambassador for @aptera.us A brief overview of Innovation, a history of the design & company, then students got to explore a scale model of the production design Great way to continue thinking Solar🌞 #EduSky #SolarPunk

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Letting students "vibe code" with Gemini in App Design class. One student showed his displeasure with our web filtering by turning it into an asteroids like game. Gotta love a good creative protest! Next: Do it better without AI. #EduSky #AppDesign #GoogleGemini

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Prototypes for chocolates after interviews with 1st graders. I wish I had edible spray paint to make this a Golden Ticket. #♥️🍫🖨️ #EduSky #3DChocolatePrinter

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome In Philly for #3DPrintopia. Had to go to Reading Terminal Market. My introvert that hates crowds lost to my ravenous hunger for awesome food. So much awesome food!

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome App Design moving from coding tutorials to design choices & UX. Test, retest, test again. I love watching them work through the stuff that's not in the tutorials to find their own voices. One student even found the tools to make his app text the ToDo list. #EduSky #UX

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome App Design, they made a translation app. For those who finished early, the extension goal is "Make it awful UX ". One student turned in this design. Spelling mistakes, bad colors, but the background image made it. @celiahodent.com This is UX in the classroom 😉 #EduSky #UX

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome SolarPunk Engineering moves to explore Wind power along with solar. First question to answer "How much wind do you need to make electricity?" More than we expected... Much more than it takes to blow out candles. Next: optimizing turbine blades. #EduSky #SolarPunkCurriculum

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Project Aptera Day 4: The Engineers have finished their models so it's time to print prototypes. Some engineers are a little more eager than others. We did hand out the @aptera.us stickers because every good engineer has to have stickers. #EduSky #SolarPunk #3DPrinting

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Interactive Jewelry class learns to program micro:Bits A student made "digital sand" that shifts with a tilt. In 25 minutes. Last year I got digital sand from @print-kits.bsky.social that took me 3 hours not counting 3D printing the case. Kids these days.... #EduSky

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Project Aptera Day 3: Students are designing their own frames for solar cars. After what we've learned from @aptera.us they're looking to make lean, aerodynamic, lightweight designs that can support solar panel & motor. Next step: 3d Printing! #EduSky #SolarPunk #MakerEDU

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome App Design Class learned about wireframe prototypes, sketching out the layout of a screen. The objective was "a phone app for teachers to monitor students computer usage as they walk around in class" They did not disappoint! #EduSky #UXDesign #UXDesignersOfTheFuture

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Solarpunk class progressing. We looked at Aptera designs, read design notes from the website, & compared Aptera models to Solar Racers. Lo Rez prototypes with LEGO for frames. Next will be 3D CAD design for new frames for Solar panel & Motor. @aptera.us #EduSky #Solarpunk

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome "Good worksheets are good. Bad worksheets are bad." Wise words from one of the greatest educational minds @nancyeblairblack.bsky.social Students brainstorming potential designs for their chocolate printing projects. Amazing seeing them think. #EduSky #3DChocolate #♥️🍫🖨️

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Solar Punk class Project Aptera @aptera.us continues. Testing stock solar racer 3 meter & 5 meter. Avg 3m was 6.34 sec. Avg 5m was 9.05 sec. The next challenge: Build a better solar car that beats the average. 🌞🌞🌞 #EduSky #SolarPunk #ProjectBasedLearning #Constructionism

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome A new group learning to solder! I'm still so impressed & amazed at the pride they show in their work & the joy they have in their learning. @emmafletcher.bsky.social @acolborn.bsky.social Your legacy & influence continues to yet another year. #EduSky #LearnToSolder

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Teaching a new curriculum "Solarpunk Engineering". 1st project = build solar cars, measure speed over 3 meters. Look at @aptera.us & how they optimize solar powered cars. Redesign our kits to optimize like Aptera did. Can we outperform stock designs? #EduSky #SolarPunk

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

New sticker for the laptop to start the new year! Thanks to @aptera.us for a bundle the kids will get when they do their first Solarpunk project #EduSky #Solarpunk #TheFutureIsWhatWeMakeIt

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Why teaching students to 3D print is important. They turn around and print gifts for you at the end of the year. #EduSky #EndOfTheYear #TeacherGifts #ThisIsWhyITeach

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome My NeuroDivergent kids crowned me "King of NeuroDivergency". By royal decree, crying happy tears is the height of regal behavior and all nobles, regencies and gentry are compelled to happy cry as well. The other teachers are jealous. #EduSky #KingdomOfAwesomeness

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Team 6 "Hangman in Rust" "I just wanted to learn Rust cause I heard it was useful. So I learned Rust to make Hangman and a battle simulator to analyze who would win between two opponents" Only my students would accidentally discover Monte Carlo simulators on their own. 5/7

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Team 5 "Balanced Game" You try to balance industry to make money, technology for efficiency and ecology to keep the world livable. Then reskinned for a Nordic Viking sequel . "Balancing the mechanics was the hardest part. It was easy to go out of balance easily". 6/7

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Team 4 "Snail Hats 3" You can change the snail color schemes, add hats, glasses, ties, bows to make the absolute coolest snail ever "I was surprised how adding music and sound make a difference but they really make a difference. " 4/7

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Team 2,0 Working in Scratch "Coolies Cookies". A cookie delivery sim with animal customers and an alien encounter. The art was hand drawn, the music and sound effects a perfect fit for the feel. This is a great cozy game entry to relax and enjoy cookies. "We had so much fun making this!" 3/7

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Team 1 working in RenPy, python for interactive graphic novels. The art was amazing (withheld by request) but more pride was the coding that was frequent crashes, errors and mistakes. "But I learned how to go through line by line to find errors". 🤩 90%of coding is debugging. 2/7

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Overhead in class "Do I dress normal or do I become a cowboy?" 3 other students, in unison: "Cowboy!" I'm not sure how this relates to Game Design, but I'm happy it happens in my class. And I get to show them a Farside Comic. 🤓 #EduSky #GameDesign #AlwaysBeACowboy

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Wearable Tech class heard about 3D printed shoes. I have 2 CocoaPress, 3 Creality Ender 3 & 2 Ultimaker S5 printers. I was really skeptical if we could actually 3D print shoes. Sometimes my students can be very creative (& stubborn) #EduSky #3DPrintedFashion #MakerEdu

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 6th gd final projects in chocolate designs. They're getting much better at negative space, use of svg imports and line widths that print better. I think my summer project will be "A Teacher's guide to printing chocolate". Listing all the things I've learned. #EduSky #♥️🖨️🍫

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome In Wearable Tech class, the "Wearable" is understood as "hand held size". Recently finished project, digital sand hour glass. The amount of soldering was astounding! @emmafletcher.bsky.social @acolborn.bsky.social your legacies have hit new highs! #EduSky #MakerEdu

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Tagging @themitch22.bsky.social for the idea..... A @raspberrypiorg.bsky.social Pi02w on a 3.5" screen (name badge) running Doom Now I have to teach my students what "But can it run Doom?" means #OldSchoolGeek #HackMyNamebadge #NeedsABatteryNow

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome <Sarcasm> Proof AI is in fact 100% accurate all the time Yes, I am a Nice King Yes, I do have special powers Yes, I do invent fun gadgets How did it know so much? Obviously, it knows everything</sarcasm> @delightex.com #EduSky #MyStudentsAreMyHypeTeam #AIEdu #VRAREdu

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Game Design Class is 6 sessions from ending, so teams are finalizing projects. "Snail Hats 3" is a Fashion Game to choose colors & accessories for snails. Today saw the addition of background music & Sound FX to make it more engaging. #EduSky #UX/UIDesign #SnailHats3

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome VR meets AI for 5th gd. Students working on "VR Tour of My Day" are incorporating @delightex.com AI Buddy & AI Skills tools to have TourGuides that you can talk to & ask where you want to go. Response takes you to the room. Sample in Photo. #EduSky #AISkillsInEdu #VREdu

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome We have a Learn to Crochet class (I don't teach it but I'm so proud we offer it) One of my students found a tutorial to crochet Appa 😁 When students show you their achievements from other classes, you cheer even louder. #EduSky #ATLA #FabricSkills #ItsSoFLUFFY

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome One more "I can solder" achievement! I really need to make buttons or stickers for students when they accomplish these milestones. Former nerd kids: Which do you value more, stickers or buttons? @emmafletcher.bsky.social @acolborn.bsky.social #EduSky #MakerEDU #ICanSolder

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome While we wait for Wearable Tech materials, we reverse engineered Hummingbird kits from BirdBrain Technologies. Lots of confusion & "why doesn't this work?!" until they made the connections (literally & metaphorically). I love a-ha moments! #EduSky #Epiphanies #Engineers

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 3 more future Makers / Engineers / Developers took their first steps and soldered their first circuits. @emmafletcher.bsky.social @acolborn.bsky.social If I sound like I'm bragging, it's because I am. I teach some truly incredible students. #EduSky #MakerEDU

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Playable Edible TicTacToe. She had to go squares & circles to fit in the 50x50x15 size limit but she made it work. If you ever need a reminder for hope for the future, hang out in Middle School. @ellierose.me @mattstultz.bsky.social #EduSky #PrintableChocolate #MakerEDU

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome My favorite project is students learn to solder in Wearable Tech. In part because it reminds me @emmafletcher.bsky.social & @acolborn.bsky.social are genuinely awesome people & the crew at Learn To Solder kits are encouraging kids to make great things. #EduSky #MakerEDU

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Printing the 4th quarter 6th chocolate designs. A kid used the letter wrap tool & cut out option in new ways ... Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus Chocolate! The kid's got talent. @ellierose.me @mattstultz.bsky.social #EduSky #♥️🍫🖨️ #DinoTreats

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Field Trip Day 2 at Museum of Illusion then SCAD. The more I introduce students to UX & Immersive Design ideas, the more I want to make radical changes to curriculum, assessments & projects. Great Inspiring Day! #EduSky #LX #UX4Edu #INeedAnIfinityDodecahedronForMyLab.

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 6th gd exploring the Engineering side of "Design Engineering". Build a catapult out of popsicle sticks & rubber bands. Target was a cupcake wrapper. Emotions ran high as they got closer & closer! #EduSky #HotGlueEngineering #WooshBoomSplat

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Why projects are important & why time to iterate is essential. The Milk Chocolate version was 3 weeks ago. White was printed today. Adding a base, sharpening edges, wider line stroks make a difference. @ellierose.me @mattstultz.bsky.social #EduSky #MakerEdu #♥️🍫🖨️

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 7/8gd students in Python class discovered turtles. And that jpg & png files can be made into turtle pointers. They also found the staff directory. Hijinks ensued. *I'm sure Seymour Papert is proud on some level.* @garystager.bsky.social #EduSky #Constructionism

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 5gd VR project is a 360 "Day in the Life" & they have to create avatars. One group chose a Squirrel & Cat as their avatars. I was asked to cameo, if I had any tech to change them back. Even if I did, magical cats & squirrels are always welcome in my class. 🐿️🐈‍⬛ #EduSky

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome "We solved the fish problem!" 5th graders running into the lab ahead of class to brag on their code. Finding the right blocks, putting them in the right order, realizing when to run parallel, they got it all working. This is why Project Based Learning works. #EduSky #PBL

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome Val from OptimaXR.ai came to introduce Engage VR to 7th Gd. They're now making new worlds where anything is possible. It all begins with the "What if..." of speculative fiction then become worlds to explore. Thank you Val, for being an amazing expert. #EduSky #VRAREdu

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

#TodausMomentOfAwesome 2017 I taught Python chat bot scripts & a student made a chatbot of 7 southern states. 2026 new students have taken that example, boosted the data to include all 50 states. I love seeing the way students inspire each other, even if they never meet. #EduSky @python.org

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 5th graders are working on their VR book reports. It's fascinating to see them collaborate to represent one scene from a book. They are doing such great work bringing literature to life & exploring design software. #EduSky #TechLiterature #CreatorsNotConsumers

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome MidPoint check ins Immersive Worlds. "What if everything in the world was made of chocolate?" "What if Climate Change caused us to live underwater?" "What if human tribes were associated with elements?" I cannot wait to go explore these worlds! #EduSky @delightex.com

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Mark Gerl @markgerl.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

#TodaysMomentOfAwesome 6th Grade Design Studio interviewed clients, the Athletic Department regarding chocolate design. Possible use cases are for awards banquets, volunteer appreciation, athlete signing days. They were sharp, professional & I'm immensely proud of them #EduSky #ChocolateDesign

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