Thing 26: Makerspaces

Thing 26: Makerspaces

Before starting this “thing”, I had some basic understanding of what a makerspace is. I’ve attended a workshop on how to get started with them in my school library, but still didn’t quite grasp how to really implement this sort of space into my middle school library.

I started out by reading the article “What is a Makerspace?” to see if I could gain a better understanding. Most of the information was general, including the links to helpful tips. I did appreciate the different sections on multi-literacies, participatory learning, professional standards, and setting up a makerspace. However, I still didn’t feel this article helped me with gaining insight into how to actually implement a makerspace in my school library.

That being said, I moved on to the next article on Edutopia: Fostering Creativity With Makerspaces.  This article also had helpful hints, broken down into the following sections, complete with a photograph example for each tip:

1- Find the space: the library can work because it should be the hub of learning, open all day, and already monitored by staff.

2- Find the money: Write as many grant proposals as possible.

3- Find the tools: filled with tools that students wanted and tools to get the students thinking.

A few things that have been popular in other makerspaces and ended up being used immediately included:

1. Makerbot.3D printer
2. Ideapaint on a wall (students can write directly on it)
3. Makey Makey is a great tool to get kids thinking about programming
4. Chromebooks so students can access work from home

4- Find the Students

There are students that have been waiting for a space like this our school. The minute word got out that a makerspace was going in, those students started hanging out in the library. Use the school newspaper, put something on the announcements, hang fliers in the hallway, visit classrooms, and do anything else you can think of to get students talking about the space. They're the ones who will make or break the space. Promoting the creativity aspect will make a difference. A makerspace is a great place to get away from the standardized testing and try something new and exciting. Maker contests are another way to bring kids in. We hope to run one per semester. Once the students populate the space, the rest will take care of itself.

Having already a good sense of the “what and why”, I decided to move on to the next section of suggested reading articles, hoping the “planning and how to” articles would be more of what I was looking for to help me get started.

I started with the article “Setting Up Your Own Makerspace”, and WOW! It was an amazing resource on how to actually get up and running - and was exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for! The author’s own school website, http://lc.liberty.k12.mo.us/MakerSpace itself has a plethora of information to help new MakerSpaces get started. I will definitely refer back to this webpage when I’m at that point in the process with my own school library’s MakerSpace!

I decided to reach out to Shannon Mersand, a library media specialist who does MakerSpace presentations, and ask her for specific ideas. We communicated via e-mail and I was able to get a lot of tips, including asking our tech department to save laptop boxes (kind of like pizza boxes) for me to use in my MakerSpace to store “in progress” students projects and setting up a dry erase table in the MakerSpace area to simplify student project planning.  I plan to implement many of her tips!

• How do makerspaces connect with learning? How do the fit in schools and libraries?
  I think MakerSpaces help students connect with learning by offering a variety of tools from which they can learn. MakerSpaces can fit into school libraries in lots of ways: offering students a place to visit during lunch/study hall/after school periods; in collaboration with robotics club advisor, and possibly other subject area classes as well.
  
• What do students gain from making?
  Hands-on creation makes learning more memorable and engaging. It also offers skills that students might not necessarily be able to practice in other classes.
  
• What sort of makerspace might you create in your school?
  I’m in the process of setting one up this year.  I have 9 dedicated shelving units with plastic bins that I label.  Right now I have everything ranging from glue sticks & construction paper to a couple of K’Nex and circuitry sets to a pair of OzoBots.  Now it’s just continuing to learn how to actually use them and implement them into the school program.
  
• How would you justify your plans to your school administration?
  I’m fortunate to have a very supportive administration, and using the explanations above, supported by some of the articles and websites included in this “thing”, I would be in excellent shape if asked to justify this space in our school library.