MakerSpaces
2018 Model of Academic Excellence and Innovation
As we prepare students to become college and career ready, we are always searching for opportunities to give students real-world experience and the tools to be successful. We want students to be problem-solvers, to be able to backward plan, and to have logical and critical thinking skills. Schools and districts all over the world are developing Makerspaces in order to give their students an opportunity to learn and explore. A Makerspace is a place where students can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover using a variety of tools and materials. Makerspaces allow students to drive their own learning while exploring concepts taught in their classrooms. Self- directed learning allows for discovery through inquiry. Makerspaces allow students to develop these skills while also being creative and productive. Students are no longer just consumers of information. They are creators and makers.
A Makerspace can be tailored to fit a school’s specific needs. For example, students at North Mountain Middle School have used electronics such as Little Bits, Makey Makeys, and Arduino microcontrollers to make small projects such as flashlights, video game controllers, motion and sound activated alarms, wireless remote controlled cars, and synthetic music. Mountain View High School students have created green screen stations, designed at sewing stations, and worked with Kano (Raspberry Pi), which allows students to build and program a computer. Students work with Little Bits circuits, program small robots such as Sphero, and help modify the school mascot robot. Students design objects for 3D printing with Tinkercad and are coding with Scratch and Codesters.
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