1. Create a Google Site to share. Create one page per activity and one page for the VR presentation.
For your two chosen activities include:
- The product of your challenge (with at least one picture or video)
- A challenge you create to capture student interest and elicit exploration and creation;
- A curricular tie-in to suggest to teachers with an objective, at least one relevant standard that could be included, a description of an activity, and considerations on it implementation (e.g., equipment needs, student skills, grouping, timeframe);
- Any additional resources you have found;
- Your thoughts about how this tool could be used at your level(s).
For the VR presentation include:
- How do you see using this in your school?
- Resources, thoughts, implementation issues
Make sure the Google Site and all attached resources are publicly shared. Put link in Makerspace Activities Website Assignment.
2. Complete at least two makerspace stations of the four listed under Activities - 2020. There are many more resources on this site that reflect the tools we would have played with in an on-campus session. Also see Andersen Library's STEM Tools & More for resources you can borrow from the campus library.
3. Create a brief, attractive introductory flyer on makerspaces for your administrator (principal / superintendent) and school board. In one page or less answer these questions:
- What is a makerspace?
- What does it do for students and their learning?
- Why should the librarian be involved in creating this learning environment?
- You may choose to use a program like Canva (https://www.canva.com/), Smore (https://www.smore.com/), Word, or some other graphics tool. Attach it to your makespace Google Site.
4. By the end of the week, do a final reflection on the makerspace activities, readings, and discussions and how you might support student exploration, tinkering, and creativity in your school. Put this in the Makerspace Reflection Assignment.
- How much do we guide vs. allow open play? How do we balance open exploration with guided projects?
- What types of questions should we be asking students? How much guidance should we provide?
- How do we allow time for failure and learning from it?
- How do we fit this into the school week?
- How can we get teachers to think differently and see value of these activities? How do we integrate these activities into the curriculum?
- How would you implement a maker program to support student exploration, tinkering, and creativity in your school? Where will you start or expand what you are currently doing? (Think hypothetically if you aren’t in school and define setting). What two things would you try out in the next year? What barriers must be overcome? What pitfalls do you need to avoid?