The
Maker Movement
We have recently concluded
yet another book study at the Hood School. As a learning community we are
always learning together as a means to enhance our practice. During the late
fall and early winter we read The Maker Movement Manifesto by Mark
Hatch. We selected this topic as the Maker Movement is slowly
infiltrating schools across the country.
The Maker Movement, a
technological and creative learning revolution that is underway around the
globe, is a unique combination of artistry, circuitry, and old-fashioned
craftsmanship. This movement 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. Makers are people who like to figure out and fix
problems with their hands. Indeed, many of us went on our first techno-rush as
kids playing with Legos and electronic kits. In a day when everyone thinks,
"There's an app for that," many educators believe that we're missing
the point of technology if we think its best use is programming kids to
memorize math facts. Students don't want to use apps -- they want to make them.
Groff (2013) points out, “We are reaching a period where it is just as easy for
young people to produce . . . multimodal, multimedia content as to consume it”
(p. 23). Furthermore, Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager write, in Invent
to Learn, that “Maker classrooms are active classrooms. In active
classrooms one will find engaged students, often working on multiple projects
simultaneously, and teachers unafraid of relinquishing their authoritarian
role. The best way to activate your classroom is for your classroom to make
something.”
Creating spaces for
students to engage in these practices is a hot trend in education. These spaces
are commonly referred to as “Makerspaces.” Makerspaces, sometimes also referred
to as hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs are creative do-it- yourself (DIY) spaces
where people can gather to create, invent and learn. In libraries Makerspaces
often have 3D printers, software, electronics, hardware supplies and tools. Participants,
or Makers, can create digital and physical items in common working spaces using
shared equipment and resources.
As a school we are excited
to begin to plan and build a Makerspace of our own and engage our students
through these practices.
