Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice

@DianaLRendina * RenovatedLearning.com
EMPOWERING STUDENTS
THROUGH MAKERSPACES
How to Create a Space that
Ampliﬁes Student Voice
Diana Rendina, MLIS
Teacher Librarian, Speaker, Writer
RenovatedLearning.com

DIANA RENDINA, MLIS
• Teacher Librarian at Tampa
Preparatory School, 6-12
independent, since 2017
• Media Specialist at Stewart
Middle Magnet School in
Tampa, FL from 2010-2017
• Blogger @ RenovatedLearning
• 2016 ISTE Outstanding Young
Educator
Portrait by Kimberly Yau

WHAT IS A MAKERSPACE?

“A makerspace is a place where students
can gather to create, invent, tinker, explore
and discover using a variety of tools and
materials.”

THESE ARE ALL MAKERSPACES

ABOUT TAMPA PREP
• Independent 6-12 co-ed college prep school
founded in downtown Tampa in 1974
• 700 students
• 1:1 iPad, Active Learning Environments
• Current building was constructed in 2002
• Makerspace started in 2017

TAMPA
PREPARATORY
MAKERSPACE
Ge9ng started

TAMPA PREP IDEALAB

INNOVATE
DESIGN
EXPLORE
APPLY

Programming, creation and experience
VIRTUAL REALITY

Programming, creation and experiences in VR
VR CLUBS

Hands-on creativity and design
MAKERSPACE

Afterschool, drop-in, open to everyone
MAKER MONDAYS

COVID - SHIFT TO MAKER DAYS

Design challenge themes each week after school
MAKER DAYS

HOW TO AMPLIFY
STUDENT VOICE
In Your Makerspace

STUDENT PLANNING TEAM
Include your students in
designing your makerspace

OPEN EXPLORATION Allow some free time to explore
interests

ALLOW FOR EXPRESSION Creativity for the win!

LABEL ALL THE THINGS!!! Empower students to
know where things are

MAKER FAIRS & FESTS Let students share
their work

AUTHENTIC AUDIENCE Give students real
feedback

COLLABORATIONS Let students share their
work with other schools

What’s one idea you’ve seen so
far that’s stuck out for you?
How could you do something
like that in your space?

DESIGN
CHALLENGES

“It seems contradictory, but
when it comes to creaFve work,
limitaFons mean freedom”
~ AusFn Kleon,
Steal Like an ArFst

CARDBOARD CHALLENGE
Build a game that someone else can play using cardboard
Check out Caine’s Arcade on YouTube

CARDBOARD CHALLENGE

Paper Circuits
DESIGN CHALLENGE

CIRCUIT BRACELETS And Plushie

BEST PRACTICES FOR CHALLENGES
• Don’t make it a compeFFon
• Provide a focus, but not too
many limitaFons
• Leave room for creaFvity
• Build in a sharing component

CREATING A DESIGN PROMPT
• What is the goal?
• Who do students work with?
• What are the materials?
• How much Fme do they have?
• How will they share it?
• Other creaFve constraints?

CLASSROOM
CONNECTIONS
6th Grade Science + Makerspace

REIMAGINING 6TH GRADE SCIENCE
with Makerspace

CREATE A SAFETY DEVICE
Lab safety connecFon

Safety googles, gloves, lab organizers, lab “Roomba”
LAB SAFETY

STUDENT DESIGN PITCHES
Terp Tank

EARTHQUAKES Build a structure

EARTHQUAKES Learning how different materials work
Cardboard
LEGOs K’nex
Strawbees

EARTHQUAKES Testing out on the shake table!

WEATHER DEVICES Making in the library

FAMILIARITY = COMFORT

3D PRINTING Seeing printers as a resource

What are some design
challenges or classroom
collaboraFons that you’ve tried
or would like to try?

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
LEARNING &
ACCESSIBILITY
Rethinking our spaces and
how our students use them

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
Community Building Spaces

Hands-on learning, control of space

Encourage collaboraFon

Make space for Play & Whimsy

MAKERSPACE AS CALMING SPACE
Support for students

ACCESSIBILITY
Keep supplies open & available when possible

ACCESSIBILITY
Allow for drop-in students, personal projects

ACCESSIBILITY
Oﬀer the makerspace for classroom projects

There is no such thing as a
ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
MAKERSPACE

Resources: h>p://renovatedlearning.com/presentaAons/
Presentation resources

Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice

Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice

Similar to Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice(20)

More from Diana Rendina

More from Diana Rendina(7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded(20)

Empowering Students through Makerspaces: How to Create a Space that Amplifies Student Voice