Now that my Maker Showcase Presentation has passed, I want to take some time to reflect on some key questions I wanted to address and how I actually addressed them. My initial responses are in black and were written before I delivered my showcase. The responses in blue are a how my answers have changed after giving my presentation and watching another presentation from a member of my cohort.
What is you Maker philosophy and how has it evolved?
Everyone can be a Maker, your curiosity just has to be fostered.
I used to believe that Making was only done when you took a thought and turned it into something tangible like a painting or a bound book. Over the course of this experience in Maker I have come to find that Making is so much more. I have learned how to appreciate digital making and how to integrate making into the classroom. I also came to learn that Making includes both failures and successes. The process of Making is not linear and often involves an iterative process.
What do you feel is the role of Making in education? What are the opportunities and the barriers?
Students learn best when they can take ownership of their work. When they are excited about a project, they will be more engaged in their learning. Making is the best thing that can be integrated into STEM classes!
However, there are some barriers to Making in the classroom. Cost of supplies, access to tools, and time are the greatest barriers to Making. I think is the most critical. If the curriculum allows teachers flexibility to create and administer Maker lessons, the teacher has to:
Everyone can be a Maker, your curiosity just has to be fostered.
I used to believe that Making was only done when you took a thought and turned it into something tangible like a painting or a bound book. Over the course of this experience in Maker I have come to find that Making is so much more. I have learned how to appreciate digital making and how to integrate making into the classroom. I also came to learn that Making includes both failures and successes. The process of Making is not linear and often involves an iterative process.
What do you feel is the role of Making in education? What are the opportunities and the barriers?
Students learn best when they can take ownership of their work. When they are excited about a project, they will be more engaged in their learning. Making is the best thing that can be integrated into STEM classes!
However, there are some barriers to Making in the classroom. Cost of supplies, access to tools, and time are the greatest barriers to Making. I think is the most critical. If the curriculum allows teachers flexibility to create and administer Maker lessons, the teacher has to:
Find or create the lesson
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Mao Leonard, a member of my cohort team, mentioned a barrier that I had not thought of -- accessibility. Even if we as educators have all of the time and resources we need, extending the enrichment to before or after school could limit the number of students participating in Making. Many of our students come from economically disadvantaged households and therefore either work part-time jobs or babysit while their parent attend their second or third job. They are unable to experience Making anywhere else except for in the classroom. Our classes, in some cases, are the only place a student can feel ownership of their own creation and I think that makes it even more worthwhile.
In what ways have you plugged in to the Maker community and how will you continue this after you graduate?
Reagan Early College High School has a machine space that was originally founded as a MakerSpace, however, students outside of robotics rarely use it. I have encouraged more of my students to use the shop by allowing them to choose a final project that either required access to the MakerSpace or one that didn't.
I also co-coached the Reagan Robotics team and attended several FIRST Tech Challenge events. I participated in FIRST when I was in high school, but didn't feel like a Maker at the time. Being on the other side of things has changed that. Watching my students tinker with possible solutions, make prototypes, douse everything in superglue has helped me affirm that this is Making.
I will be teaching engineering classes at Reagan ECHS and hope to keep allowing students to take ownership of their work so that they will be confident in their engineering abilities in the future.
Describe your Maker project. What were the challenges and successes?
My Maker project was created for my Physics by Inquiry final. It is an embroidery project integrating wearable tech. I used a TinyLily board which has a pre-programmed ATtiny microcontroller and several pink LEDs to create a twinkling blossoms scene.
These components were connected using conductive thread. Though it seems obvious that conductive thread conducts electricity along its entire length (since it is not insulated), I did not take that into consideration when sewing my components together. I shorted my circuit on several occasions and had to test components separately on a different project before figuring out my issue.
Eventually I figured out how to insulate my wires, and though the back is not beautiful, the font is stunning. I love how it came out and next time I will think about how I can integrate the LEDs without the backing showing. Taking this project further, I have designed a shirt that includes sever of the same components. The collar would have the embroidered blossoms and twinkling lights to draw attention to the embroidery work. The challenge here is time.
What benefits did you get from being in UTeach Maker and creating this Showcase?
UTeach Maker has expanded my view of Making to include digital arts and technology integrated arts. I have had more exposure to circuits and programming than I would have had otherwise and can integrate a lot of what I’ve learned into my classroom. This will be coming in hand as I'll be teaching students about circuits and electronics next school year! Becoming comfortable with trying and failing
Creating this showcase has allowed me to really look back at my usage of Making in my personal life and how Making has shaped my teaching style. Though I want to deliver content in the most effective way, I want to do more than just that. I want to use Making to help my students learn perseverance and self-confidence, skills we don’t traditionally teach.
What suggestions do you have for the next group?
Start as early as possible. Create your Maker project and continue iterating on it. If you teaching partners let you, create as many Maker lesson plans that you can because maybe you’ll end up loving one more than the other. Talk to your CT about integrating Making into the classroom within the first week of AT. Make friends and be active in this community.
Most importantly, be passionate. Be passionate and let your students see how passionate you are about Making. They'll feel your energy and be just as excited as you are.
What are some resources you recommend?
As an engineering teacher, I love exploring different websites that help give me inspiration for maker lessons. This is a list of some of the best ones I have found:
Reagan Early College High School has a machine space that was originally founded as a MakerSpace, however, students outside of robotics rarely use it. I have encouraged more of my students to use the shop by allowing them to choose a final project that either required access to the MakerSpace or one that didn't.
I also co-coached the Reagan Robotics team and attended several FIRST Tech Challenge events. I participated in FIRST when I was in high school, but didn't feel like a Maker at the time. Being on the other side of things has changed that. Watching my students tinker with possible solutions, make prototypes, douse everything in superglue has helped me affirm that this is Making.
I will be teaching engineering classes at Reagan ECHS and hope to keep allowing students to take ownership of their work so that they will be confident in their engineering abilities in the future.
Describe your Maker project. What were the challenges and successes?
My Maker project was created for my Physics by Inquiry final. It is an embroidery project integrating wearable tech. I used a TinyLily board which has a pre-programmed ATtiny microcontroller and several pink LEDs to create a twinkling blossoms scene.
These components were connected using conductive thread. Though it seems obvious that conductive thread conducts electricity along its entire length (since it is not insulated), I did not take that into consideration when sewing my components together. I shorted my circuit on several occasions and had to test components separately on a different project before figuring out my issue.
Eventually I figured out how to insulate my wires, and though the back is not beautiful, the font is stunning. I love how it came out and next time I will think about how I can integrate the LEDs without the backing showing. Taking this project further, I have designed a shirt that includes sever of the same components. The collar would have the embroidered blossoms and twinkling lights to draw attention to the embroidery work. The challenge here is time.
What benefits did you get from being in UTeach Maker and creating this Showcase?
UTeach Maker has expanded my view of Making to include digital arts and technology integrated arts. I have had more exposure to circuits and programming than I would have had otherwise and can integrate a lot of what I’ve learned into my classroom. This will be coming in hand as I'll be teaching students about circuits and electronics next school year! Becoming comfortable with trying and failing
Creating this showcase has allowed me to really look back at my usage of Making in my personal life and how Making has shaped my teaching style. Though I want to deliver content in the most effective way, I want to do more than just that. I want to use Making to help my students learn perseverance and self-confidence, skills we don’t traditionally teach.
What suggestions do you have for the next group?
Start as early as possible. Create your Maker project and continue iterating on it. If you teaching partners let you, create as many Maker lesson plans that you can because maybe you’ll end up loving one more than the other. Talk to your CT about integrating Making into the classroom within the first week of AT. Make friends and be active in this community.
Most importantly, be passionate. Be passionate and let your students see how passionate you are about Making. They'll feel your energy and be just as excited as you are.
What are some resources you recommend?
As an engineering teacher, I love exploring different websites that help give me inspiration for maker lessons. This is a list of some of the best ones I have found:
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