There is a point of view that kits are not good for Makers/Makerspaces. Their is a belief that kits take away from the purity of exploration of a Makerspaces and trying new things and failing. One big question from these people is,
Are you truly Making if you are just following directions?
My answer to that is yes. A big, fat yes for that matter.
I love starting my learning with kits. If I want to tackle something completely new and have no idea where to start, I will order a kit so I can get my bearings. After going through the motions with the kit and understanding what everything can do, I start to branch out and explore my ideas based on what I've learned. That is the beauty of kits. They are the gateway to more in-depth making.
I get very frustrated that there is a "my way or the highway" approach to Making and Makerspaces. Not everyone is going to follow the same path when it comes to Making and that should be embraced and supported by all educators. Our students are not starting in the same place, so why not offer them a kit or challenge to help guide them on their journey. I think it is called differentiation.
Companies (littleBits, SparkFun, Pimoroni, PiSupply, etc.) offer a simple access point to complex electronics that might be too intimidating for beginners to explore on their own. I appreciate any company that wants to try and make STEAM concepts more accessible to a variety of learners. Can these kits be pricey? Yes, but getting all of the pieces for various projects and creating the guides for them are not cheap and a person is paying for the convenience the kit provides.
As a Maker community, please let us be kind and supportive of all learners, adult and child, that are trying to explore the creative world around them in ways that work for them.
Hugs and High Fives,
NP
Are you truly Making if you are just following directions?
My answer to that is yes. A big, fat yes for that matter.
I love starting my learning with kits. If I want to tackle something completely new and have no idea where to start, I will order a kit so I can get my bearings. After going through the motions with the kit and understanding what everything can do, I start to branch out and explore my ideas based on what I've learned. That is the beauty of kits. They are the gateway to more in-depth making.
I get very frustrated that there is a "my way or the highway" approach to Making and Makerspaces. Not everyone is going to follow the same path when it comes to Making and that should be embraced and supported by all educators. Our students are not starting in the same place, so why not offer them a kit or challenge to help guide them on their journey. I think it is called differentiation.
Companies (littleBits, SparkFun, Pimoroni, PiSupply, etc.) offer a simple access point to complex electronics that might be too intimidating for beginners to explore on their own. I appreciate any company that wants to try and make STEAM concepts more accessible to a variety of learners. Can these kits be pricey? Yes, but getting all of the pieces for various projects and creating the guides for them are not cheap and a person is paying for the convenience the kit provides.
As a Maker community, please let us be kind and supportive of all learners, adult and child, that are trying to explore the creative world around them in ways that work for them.
Hugs and High Fives,
NP
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| Wrong kit. This is K.I.T.T. |
Thanks for this perspective. The all or nothing approach, and intolerance for variety isn't doing anybody any good.
ReplyDeleteI like how kits can help me get the right pieces in the door, and what I like most are when the kits have great documentation and I can place my students in an authentic literacy experience. (read the manual).
What worries me about kits is not the individual kit, it is the class set, and it isn't so much the first class set, it is the 3rd or 4th. To be fair, I don't know any teachers who run a makerspace that just hops from kit to . If I did I would talk to them about my key concern, sustainability. No matter how we use our makerspace, we have to run a program that meets the needs of our school site.
Thanks for working to keep the conversation open, there is plenty of room for a wide variety of approaches, in fact there is a need for that variety.
I hope that using this case, kids will be able to learn better things and overcome different situations that they often face in their life.
ReplyDeleteEmma Charlotte | Dissertation Help
Have you tried Thimble? I've been using it with my engineering advisory class this year and it's been a helpful way to get them "making stuff" (as they put it) given my limited knowledge and experience with electronics.
ReplyDelete