iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

"Many of us do what we can to pay attention, to tune into our students’ emotional needs, build relationships with them, create safe spaces in our classrooms, and weave lessons about communication, anger management, self-advocacy, and mindfulness into our academic content.

Still, we’re pretty sure this isn’t enough.

Some schools are tackling this issue by providing mental health services as part of larger wraparound programs. Other schools are adding on separate SEL curricula, doing book studies, and giving extra SEL training to their teachers.

Another creative approach is to designate a space in school that can meet some of these needs. But in this case, we’re not talking about a counseling center or meditation room—although these would be welcome additions to any school. This space does not appear to have anything to do with social-emotional needs at first glance: You’d see a 3-D printer, piles of Legos, books, index cards, art supplies, laptops. You’d see students cutting paper, taping pieces of cardboard together, editing videos. It looks like a makerspace, because that’s what it is. But it’s more than that."

 

The Maker Movement in schools is exploding.  It’s exciting to see so many schools starting makerspaces and offering students opportunities to express their creativity.  But with this explosion also comes the desire to focus too much on the STUFF and not on the EXPERIENCE.

After the 2017 STEAM Symposium in San Francisco there were many great ideas floating around the brain. It was next to impossible to capture them all. When getting to the meat of what was most useful to share with the Maker community what really stood out was exploring the best ways to create budget-friendly makerspaces. This is constantly discussed in education circles as makerspaces are not only a hot trend, but visibly impact the student learning experience. My personal highlight was meeting and chatting with MAKE’s very own Dale Dougherty who was passionate about the concept of Makerspace design by and for the user or what is commonly known as user-center design.

When designing a space, a couple things are clear, while you don’t need a lot of money to start you need a minimum of a clearly defined vision, mission and purpose. Whether you plan to ring in the New Year in a brand new makerspace or undergo a makerspace reboot, here are some tips collected from the STEAM Symposium experts and from the San Diego Maker community to get you going.

A makerspace can be any place where students can get creative, whether a classroom, library or garden. It's not about the space, but the innovation mindset that the space promotes. In this article, we unpack everything you need to create your own collaborative makerspace at school.

Learning needs to be at the core of any decision when creating your makerspace. Ask what you want your students to learn and achieve.

But you don’t need lots of high-tech equipment. Anything that gets kids thinking, collaborating and creating is a wonderful start, so all you really need is a space and a quick look in your supply closest and you could be on your way.

Makerspaces provide students with access to tools, resources and humans to help drive innovation and entrepreneurship.

In this series of videos, Joachim Cohen, Schools Technology Innovation Lead, and Greig Tardiani, Technology for Learning Project Manager, both from the NSW Depart

You've read about the maker movement. You've seen the posts with 3D printers, laser cutters, and three-axis mills in shiny new labs. And you want your students to start making, too. But you've got one big problem: you don't have a full lab -- or even a 3D printer -- because, like many educators, you don't have the biggest budget. Maybe you have no budget at all.

But what if you could get started making tomorrow and didn't need all the fancy tools to join this movement? Making starts with a mindset, and simple materials are all that you need to get started. There are resources all around you, materials hidden in plain sight, tools just waiting to be used for a creative purpose. And with a little dose of ingenuity, you'll have your students making in no time.

One perfect way start making on the cheap is through upcycling, the intentional transformation of hard-to-recycle materials into new products, thus saving them from the landfill. This type of real-world project not only teaches making skills but also helps you integrate making into your subject area. Study material science, explore industrial design, or dig into environmental education. As an added bonus, a project like this ignites your students' entrepreneurial spirit.