I was working in the Makerspace yesterday and a group of regulars came in to continue to work on an impromptu project. a few 6th graders saw a couple of large empty boxes that were just sitting in my room. They were the boxes for a couple of Inventables Carvey CNC machines. I was excited to receive these new machines because some students expressed an interest in design that went beyond cutting poster board and really wanted to explore what could be possible with different tools.
The Knight's Forge, our Makerspace at University Liggett School, was a messy delight as these students decided to take the big boxes and make houses out of them. They saw boxes and immediately decided to make houses. Here is a shot of the building process,
Three different students have come together on their own to design and build a box home. I sat back and watched as they problem solved on how to make a roof and then how to make the room have a point to give them head room. They cut out a circular, Hobbit-esque, door into the side of one box and then did a matching one on the other box to connect the two. Everyone did their part and just had fun building. During the build, a student turned to me and said,
"I bet your annoyed that we are using cardboard instead of all of the technology in the room."
My immediate response was that a Makespace is for making anything using whatever you want and that I LOVED that they were just using the cardboard in the room to create something amazing. The tools are available for whatever type of project you want. The student smiled and went back to designing his roof, but I felt bad.
Reflecting is something we should all do, but try to avoid because it can sometimes give us a hard truth that we do not want to face. However, with reflection, we can grow and become better for ourselves and our students.
The Knight's Forge has started to fill up with different types of technology because of a grant I wrote that was supported by CTN and Detroit Public Television. These new tools will offer students and teachers the opportunity to explore project based learning in ways not possible before. Independent student projects will have more options now because of these tools. After reflecting on the student comment, I realized that there needs to be equal conversation about the analog tools that are available to students and teachers in the Makerspace. It is something I believe and have shared before, but it is something I need to be more vocal about in my setting. Just because I know it and think something is obvious, doesn't mean that others do. This is something I know I can do better and will moving forward.
As an inspiration, I generally turn to Colleen Graves and the amazing things she is doing in her library. Here is a short video from Instagram of students creating with cardboard.
The Knight's Forge, our Makerspace at University Liggett School, was a messy delight as these students decided to take the big boxes and make houses out of them. They saw boxes and immediately decided to make houses. Here is a shot of the building process,
Three different students have come together on their own to design and build a box home. I sat back and watched as they problem solved on how to make a roof and then how to make the room have a point to give them head room. They cut out a circular, Hobbit-esque, door into the side of one box and then did a matching one on the other box to connect the two. Everyone did their part and just had fun building. During the build, a student turned to me and said,
"I bet your annoyed that we are using cardboard instead of all of the technology in the room."
My immediate response was that a Makespace is for making anything using whatever you want and that I LOVED that they were just using the cardboard in the room to create something amazing. The tools are available for whatever type of project you want. The student smiled and went back to designing his roof, but I felt bad.
Reflecting is something we should all do, but try to avoid because it can sometimes give us a hard truth that we do not want to face. However, with reflection, we can grow and become better for ourselves and our students.
The Knight's Forge has started to fill up with different types of technology because of a grant I wrote that was supported by CTN and Detroit Public Television. These new tools will offer students and teachers the opportunity to explore project based learning in ways not possible before. Independent student projects will have more options now because of these tools. After reflecting on the student comment, I realized that there needs to be equal conversation about the analog tools that are available to students and teachers in the Makerspace. It is something I believe and have shared before, but it is something I need to be more vocal about in my setting. Just because I know it and think something is obvious, doesn't mean that others do. This is something I know I can do better and will moving forward.
As an inspiration, I generally turn to Colleen Graves and the amazing things she is doing in her library. Here is a short video from Instagram of students creating with cardboard.
Colleen takes some cardboard, adds a Makey Makey, and the creativity explodes with the students. If you are exploring Makerspaces, it is important to make sure that there is room for great tools to support a wide range of creative interests. Don't forget that cardboard can take students on amazing rides with their imagination.
Students in 6th grade Math are working on their own Scratch based arcade games and some are going to build controllers for their games. Cardboard is a perfect place to start the design fun. Here is my Makey Makey cardboard controller creation.
I hope my misstep and reflection helps others as they look to explore making in their own spaces. Learning is a lifelong adventure and I'm glad I have a place and community to share the ups and downs. Have an amazing day everyone!
I got my son a set of the Makedo tools (https://www.make.do/) for Christmas a couple years ago, and he has gone nuts building with every piece of cardboard that comes into the house.
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