Why We Need Books in Makerspaces Books play an essential role in all makerspaces, whether they are in the library or not. Instructional books can support students in learning complex skills and tools. Project books can give ideas and inspiration for what to make next. Art books can provide visual inspiration. Professional development books can … Read more
Writing a post like this isn’t easy. I feel like I know in my heart what my philosophy on makerspaces is, but putting it into tangible statements seems harder. So I started thinking about this more as a manifesto – if I was to make a grand statement about what I feel the value of … Read more
The Four C’s are big in education right now: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication. We talk constantly about how we need to be teaching our students these skills. I’m not always a big fan of buzzwords – even though I’ve only been in education for less than a decade, I realize that they come … Read more
I’ve written lots of posts about the various Maker Fairs (also called Maker Fests) that I did at Stewart over the years I was there, going all the way back to our first one in 2014. But somehow, I never got around to writing a post about the logistics, the details of how we went … Read more
Many educators falsely believe that you can’t start a makerspace without a huge budget. But some of the best makerspace supplies are free! As part of our new Maker Mondays program, I recently tried out a new activity with my students that went off great. I only spent around $50 on supplies, most of which … Read more
Note: This post is a brief summary/intro of an article I wrote that appeared in the Septemeber 2017 School Library Journal. To read the full article, click here. The Furniture Challenge Towards the end of the 2017 school year, I introduced a design challenge to my afterschool Maker’s Club that was one of our best ones … Read more
With a changing and growing movement, many are declaring that there are right and wrong ways of doing things. We are getting so hung up on the specifics and our own ideas of what a makerspace SHOULD be, that we’re losing the sight of the big picture. We worry far too much about the stuff. … Read more
2017 was my fourth year of holding a Maker Fair at Stewart Middle Magnet School (see 2016, 2015 and 2014 for the previous ones). This year, my students had to put together everything for our Maker Fair in an extra short period of time, since the school year ended early. They rose to the challenge … Read more
Check out my post on Demco to learn more about design challenges in low tech makerspaces! Many educators have the misconception that makerspace activities always need to involve expensive technology like 3-D printers and circuit kits. But this isn’t true. Students can have amazing learning experiences in makerspaces with low-tech and no-tech tools. Design challenges … Read more
Design challenges are powerful ways to engage students in making (that’s why I co-wrote a book about them). Sometimes, I craft the design challenges myself. But other times, I go to my students and ask them to create their own design challenges. This one was one of those, and I think it was brilliant: The … Read more