Documenting Learning in the Makerspace: A Peek Inside Our Process at Roy B. Kelley School. The Backstory: I’ve spent the last week helping Heather Bitka and Rachel O’Sheehan launch a brand new makerspace in Roy B.
Kelley School in Lockport. This project began with solid visioning work that challenged all of us to think about and then rethink about what would happen in that space, how, and most importantly: why. This week has been an incredible learning experience for me, as I’ve tested new professional learning approaches and protocols while deepening my understanding of documenting for learning as well. Are you willing to provide feedback on my revised coaching tool? Teaching, Tech and Twitter: Starting Our STEM Lab & Making Our Makerspace: Tips, Tricks, Resources & Ideas We Learned About Along the Way. Create, Collaborate, Innovate. Create, Collaborate, Innovate. Making looks different at different types of makerspaces.
However, schools, public libraries, and even artist collaboratives have some universal themes that tie us all together (and owning a 3D printer isn’t one of them.) A makerspace is a place where you make stuff, but many times making meaning is more important than the “stuff” you make. (See Jay Silver’s Maker Movement is About Making Meaning.) Post inspired after a chat with Mike Degraff over at UTEACH Austin. Like this: Like Loading... Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers. The Online Community for Makers.
Maker Education Initiative – Every Child a Maker. Sierra Vista students in La Puente create in MakerSpace lab. Robots roamed the room, optical and ultrasonic sensors silently guiding them around obstacles.
Sierra Vista students continued to work on electronic circuit boards, building security alarms, cooling fans and other whirligigs. Others displayed the video games and computer coding they had constructed themselves. All were proud of the engineering accomplishments the seventh and eighth graders have achieved thanks to the Makerspace lab sponsored by the Alcoa Foundation. “We’ve seen significant increases in attendance and math scores, as well a rising interest in careers in science and engineering,” said Principal Terry Ceja .
The La Puente middle school was celebrating the second anniversary of the innovative program. “We couldn’t have done it without close to $40,000 in grants from the Alcoa Foundation,” Ceja said. “We want to get our students interested in science and math. The Alcoa official said the company has been impressed with the growth of the program over the past year. Advertisement. Transforming Monticello High’s Library Into the Creative Hub of the School. The following is a guest post co-written by Joan Ackroyd and Mae Craddock, library media specialists at Monticello High School in Albemarle County Public Schools in Charlottesville, Virginia.
How do your make your high school library the creative hub of the school that it was always meant to be? It takes a unique perspective and a can-do attitude. Our philosophy about library programming has always been one of open access and flexibility. As library specialists at Monticello High School in the Albemarle County Public Schools district in Albemarle, Virginia, we have seen the library evolve from a traditional, research- and reading-centered space that few students utilized to one where students and teachers flock to use the latest technology, collaborate on projects, and create content. Our library at Monticello has not always been the “MakerSpace” that it is now, though. One of the first steps Monticello took to improve its library was to focus on music. Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Instructables - DIY How To Make Instructions.
How the Maker Movement Is Transforming Education. How the Maker Movement is Transforming Education By Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary S.
Stager The Maker Movement, a technological and creative learning revolution underway around the globe, has exciting and vast implications for the world of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, “smart” materials, and programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable or even free versions of these inventions, while sharing tools and ideas online to create a vibrant, collaborative community of global problem-solvers. Fortunately for teachers, the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. One might try to marginalize robotics or 3D fabrication as having nothing to do with “real” science and dismiss such activities as play or as just super-charged hobbies. “Hard Fun” and the Process of Design. Project Ignite. Middle School Maker Journey: Top 20 Technologies and Tools.
"It's not about the tool," they say -- but sometimes it is.
In our middle school makerspace, students have been using a variety of tools and technologies in a variety of projects and activities. And there are many more that we've yet to explore and experience. While our makerspace is still in its infancy, it feels like we've had the program forever. As of this writing, a second group of students is in the midst of Design Experience One.
We haven't had that much time to delve into projects in depth, but you can expect more from us later in the year. Before I go any further, let me say that we realize just how fortunate we are. The Lure of Bright, Shiny Objects Makerspaces are too often defined by things -- hardware, software, other technologies -- which can engender a shopping-list mentality among people interested in creating such a learning environment. 1.