Makerspaces & Learning Commons

Places to Build

Makerspaces typically have a physical area to build. These areas often will have a wide range of materials and tools that support rapid prototyping so that students can quickly bring their ideas and designs to life.

Places to Design

The learning environment in a makerspace promotes students' ablity to design. This can be an individual process or a group process. To help with this, having areas that have non-permanent surfaces for students to quickly record ideas helps promote the design process.

3D Printing

More and more, technology such as 3D printing is becoming available to schools. This technology allows students to use computer aided design software to design and print objects. When thinking about adding a 3D printer to your makerspace, a good question to start with is how will it be used by students?

Robotics

Many makerspaces have an area where students can access robotics tools. These tools allow students to explore how robotics can help solve problems. Robotics works hand in hand with programing or coding where students break down complex tasks to smaller components of instructions. Robotics a physical demonstration of these components that help students look for missing steps in a process to solve a problem. A question to consider is; how will students use robotics in a meaningful way to learn about the problem solving process?

Coding

Having an area for students to use coding as a tool to help solve the problem they are engaged in, or to improve their designs, helps to give an authentic reason for students to be engaged in coding. Coding can occur using a wide range of platforms, from complex computer languages like JAVA to block coding tools. Providing a wide range of entry points and a reason to code provides students the opportunity to develop their skills. Coding is more about learning a way of thinking, problem solving and debugging than learning a specific language. Questions to consider are: How will students use coding to fulfill a need? How will the skills students are learning while coding help them in other kinds of learning?

Tools

In a makerspace students have access to a wide range of tools with which to create. These can be traditional tools like hammers, saws, and pliers, or modern tools like 3D printing pens, Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs or cardboard fastening devices. The critical thinking needed to select the appropriate tool for the task is an important part of the learning experience. The development of this skill comes from multiple opportunities to prototype, succeed and fail. A question to consider is; how will opportunities be planned for students to engage in the design process?