Presentation for the Enoch Pratt Teen Librarians given at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Baltimore on January 19, 2016.
Includes project ideas and examples, and discussion about balancing accessibility with applicability.
4. What is a Makerspace?
• Not about the the technology or equipment
• Enables people to:
• Feel free to experiment
• Feel free to fail
• Have the opportunity to progress/iterate
5. Start Small
• Start where you are &
Use what you have
• Cardboard Challenge
• LED Name Tags
• Art Bots
• Paper Flashlights
• Straw Rockets
7. What to include?
• Playdoh
• Cardboard & Paper
• Tape, Rubber bands, Clips
• LEDs, Copper Tape, Batteries
• Motors and Gears
• Toys that move
• Pool Noodles
8. Getting Started
• Start Small:
• LED Name Tags
• Art Bots
• diy.org
• cardboardchallenge.com
• Increment:
• MaKey MaKey
(makeymakey.com)
• Scratch (scratch.mit.edu)
9. Project: LED Name Tag
• Design a name tag with an LED that represents something about
yourself.
• Use the following supplies: LED, Coin Cell Battery, Colored Foam,
Adhesive Foam, Markers, Scissors, Tape
• Constraints:
• Must use 1 LED
• Time: 10 minutes
10. Project Prompts
• Open ended, include constraints
• Integrate Design Process: Plan, Make, Share
(receive feedback and iterate throughout)
• Move away from step-by-step directions
• Allow for scaffolding: Options for scaling up
11. Example Prompt: Art Bots
• Using your supplies, create a robot that draws
• Constraints:
• Must use 1 electric toothbrush
12.
13. Scaffolding
• Start with the prompt
• Give time for brain storming and prototyping
• Provide a sample or prototype to be reverse
engineered
• Finally, provide step-by-step directions
17. Creativity + Productivity
• Creativity
• individuality and personalization
• increases ownership
• Productivity
• Solves a problem
• Addresses a need
36. Gimp
Accessible Applicable
9 4
Free
The tool itself does not have many
jobs
Supports a variety of platforms
The skills you learn with the tool
can be very in demand
http://www.gimp.org/
41. Access > Applicability
• Teach core concepts
• Move to more applicable as fast as possible
• Have a road map to applicable
42. Applicable > Access
• Share alternative tools that are more accessible
• Start with accessible and move to applicable quickly
43. Outcomes
• Teach how to learn, not a specific product.
• Favor accessible but have a plan to get to
applicable
44. Resources
• Book: Invent to Learn by Gary Stager & Sylvia
Martinez
• Book: Howtoons: Tools of Mass Construction by Dr.
Griffith Saul, and others
• Book: Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making by Curt
Gabrielson
45. Resources
• Book: How to Build a Hovercraft: Air Cannons,
Magnetic Motors, and 25 Other Amazing DIY
Science Projects by Stephen Voltz & Fritz Grobe
• Make: Magazine & Website
• www.familymakenight.org