To make is to learn: A Q&A with Dale Dougherty There’s something missing from schools, and Dale Dougherty thinks he knows what it is. It’s the opportunity for kids to connect their minds to their hands and follow their curiosity about how things work — in short, to grow into a society of makers and tinkerers rather than consumers. “I see the maker movement as a social movement, a cultural movement that aspires to invite as many people to participate as possible,” said the founder and CEO of Maker Media, which produces Make magazine and the annual Maker Faire . Dougherty admits to having a secret agenda: helping people wake up from their consumption-driven trance. “I want to see a culture where people have access to materials and tools that make them feel like they’re in control of their world,” Dougherty said. Although the maker movement’s momentum has been largely powered by its growing community of do-it-yourselfers, Dougherty has played a key role in organizing and curating the phenomenon. What makes a makerspace?
Why Your Library May Soon Have Laser Cutters and 3-D Printers | Design Ben Wiseman Visit the downtown branch of the Chattanooga Public Library and you'll find the usual stuff: rows of books, magazines, and computers. But walk up to the fourth floor and there's something unexpected. It's a “makerspace”—complete with a laser cutter, a zine lab for making paper publications, and a 3-D printer. There's even a loom. When it opened in spring 2013, the maker floor—formerly unused and filled with decrepit equipment—became a massive hit, and up to 1,200 patrons attended events there. Chattanooga and Cleveland aren't the only cities giving this new kind of library a try. Ezra Reynolds is an example. But what about books? You have to give the librarians credit.
Inexpensive making in the classroom It seems like everywhere you go, someone is talking about the maker movement, making or people who are makers. You may also be hearing about making in the classroom and, as a teacher, wondering how you might bring making to your school. The makers are taking over ISTE 2014 with sessions, hands-on playgrounds, interactive workshops and more. Maker education programs are cropping up in schools across the nation as the maker movement gains momentum. Making often incorporates modern technologies such as 3D printing, micro controllers (such as Arduino) or robotics. At Digital Harbor Foundation, we find and create maker activities and resources that are accessible and affordable for our youth. Here are three inexpensive ways to start making in your classroom: 1. Start with something you already know and are comfortable with. 2. One of the resources we recommend creating for your classroom when you are just getting started is what we call a “makerspace in a box.” 3.
- Maker Space In Education Series: 10 Sites To Start Making In The Classroom 0 Comments August 13, 2014 By: Michael Gorman Aug 10 Written by: 8/10/2014 6:38 PM ShareThis Welcome back and I sure hope you enjoyed the last article of 20 Reasons for Maker Space in Education. While an ultimate goal might be a school Maker Space, a single teacher may wish to consider a starting place that is practical and doable. I invite you to look for that one Maker Possibility that will allow your students to make while they learn. A great starting place might be to look at some of the links I have included below to get some ideas. Makezine – This might be a great place to start. Instructables – Here you will find ideas to make so many things that could Make a great connection to learning. The Exploritorium Tinkering Studio – Tinkering is at the very heart of formative learning, allowing for iterations that encourage revision and reflection. DIY – Do It Yourself is a platform for students to discover skills and share what they make and do with each other and the global community.
RTy322_Maker Movement.pdf The Maker movement makes its mark The next industrial revolution is right around the corner, and it's going to be bigger than the Internet — or so says a growing army of hackers, designers, artists and entrepreneurs. Across the country, "makerspaces" are popping up to satisfy demand for affordable access to industrial tools and shared work spaces. These massive fabrication facilities are like a cross between a business incubator and a manufacturing plant, with sprinklings of academia and community spirit thrown in for good measure. "With the right motivation and time on your hands, you can now go through your own personal industrial revolution in 90 days, and can launch a company or product within those 90 days," says Mark Hatch. How is this possible? "The skill level required to produce a usable prototype or usable object has dropped precipitously just in the last five years," Hatch adds. "Everyone is becoming an entrepreneur," says Molly Rubenstein, education and outreach manager at Artisan's Asylum.
The Role of Peer Assessment in a Maker Classroom Background When I first started using a problem based curriculum in science I admit that I had no idea what to expect. Moreover, I had only a vague idea of how I was going to assess my students. As an academic teacher, I am required to give my students a letter grade twice a year. While I am moving more strongly towards the use of portfolios and self-assessment in my classes, I still work within a system that strives to have letter grades accurately reflect a student’s level of understanding and or effort in a discipline, in my case 5th and 6th grade science. Beginning with the role of peer assessment, I hope to describe the role of alternative forms of assessment (the other 95%) that I have been using in my problem based approach to science. Why peer assessment? Can you trust a 10-14 year old to guide another 10-14 year old? Forgetting for a minute that my students are ages 10 and 11 (as I must to begin to learn their strengths), I researched forms of assessment. Feedback References:
Nurturing the Innovator's Mindset in Your Classroom Galileo Learning's California-based programs have been developing K-8 innovators for the past 13 years. This summer, more than 20,000 kids worked with 1,300 educators to build go-karts, print 3-D projects, program Java to modify Minecraft, paint Italian frescoes, engineer bridges, and design fashion lines. One thing that we always come up against, and I'm guessing it will sound familiar, is that students are often reluctant to engage in creative work because they fear making mistakes and are overwhelmed by open-ended design challenges. They can also be quick to give up when they experience a setback. To counter this, we identified a set of attributes required for innovation, and we call them the Galileo Innovator's Mindset: Visionary Courageous Collaborative Determined Reflective. These attributes are prominently visible in every one of our classrooms. Taking a measure of the Innovator's Mindset. Photo credit: Glen Tripp 8 Strategies for Teaching Innovation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
World Maker Faire, New York, Day 1 | thornburgthoughts Today was the first day of the World Maker Faire held at the New York Hall of Science, and Norma and I were there the whole day and still didn’t see everything. But we will go tomorrow as well. Once we get back to Chicago I’ll post a more detailed report with photos of some of the more amazing things we saw. The 3D printer world continues to grow. Kickstarter had a region of the massive exhibit where (among many other things) M3D showed their $350 3D printer that self adjusts as it is making parts. NASA has an interesting exhibit, but was unable to get one of the special 3D printers planned to be launched to the ISS Sunday morning. As regular readers of this blog know, Norma and I are focused on additive fabrication in which parts are built layer by layer in a 3D printer. Later we’ll give our wrap-up of the entire event with pictures of some of the cooler things we saw. Like this: Like Loading...
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