TREND 4: MAKERSPACES

Earlier this month in Teacher’s Corner, we explored the 21st Century Skills, which

encourage student creativity, problem solving, and collaboration as an approach to

teaching and learning. In a traditional classroom space, it can be hard to give students the

freedom to engage in these types of skills. As a result, there has been an increasing trend in

education for schools to develop physical spaces in a school where students can have more

open space to engage in project-based activities. These are called makerspaces. The

projects can be entirely decided by the students or centered on a theme such as

environmentally-friendly projects or projects that must serve the students’ locally

community.

However, a makerspace is not just a physical space for learning. Makerspaces bring

with them a hands-on learning approach. In a makerspace environment, students are

expected to engage in project-based learning and are encouraged to be self-directed in

their learning. This learning approach pushes the students to become makers. Makers

create new ideas and new products by exploring, experimenting, and learning by doing.

This learning should be guided by the students’ own natural creativity and problem-solving

skills. To encourage students to make and build, makerspaces are built on five basic ideas:

1. Everyone is a maker – makerspace projects can be as simple as painting a picture to

as complex as building a robot. What is important is making, even if what you make

is messy and not perfect.

2. Our world is what we make it – makerspaces encourage students to be more than

consumers. These spaces encourage them to reuse and recycle to make new things.

Being environmentally friendly is at the heart of the makerspace movement.

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 3. If you can imagine it, you can make it – makerspaces use students’ natural curiosity

and imagination. If students can imagine it, they can build with enough energy, time,

and support from teachers.

4. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have – a makerspace does not need

to be technology-focused. A makerspace can be as simple as a table or room with

paper, cardboard, and markers.

5. We share what we make, and help each other make what we share – makerspaces

are collaborative and students are encouraged to learn from one another. Teachers

and students are equal partners in the makerspace.

HOW DO I CREATE A MAKERSPACE?

Building a makerspace begins with the learning space. These spaces look more like

workshops than classrooms. These spaces tend to have long rows of tables with only

enough chairs for each student to have one. By working at long rows of tables, students can

see the work being done by others and communicate freely. Also, keeping the number of

chairs to a minimum helps by giving students room to get up and move around. In

makerspaces, it is critical for students to be able to move freely around the room, so

teachers should avoid requiring students to stay in their seats for long periods of time. If

your school doesn’t have a room to build a makerspace, a classroom can still be used; just

move unnecessary tables and chairs into the hallway during makerspace times. Many

makerspaces begin as an after-school club that meets once or twice a week. These less

formal after-school clubs can be a great way to discover what makerspace ideas work best

for your teaching context. If you provide the space, students will provide the creativity.

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 Next, a makerspace needs tools for students to build and create. These tools can be

physical or digital. It is important to have materials that are widely available to you and

your students. Some examples of materials to include in a makerspace are:

Physical Materials

● Paper and Cardboard – cheap and easy to find, these two materials should be in

every makerspace. Students can use these two products to begin rapid prototyping.

In rapid prototyping, the goal is to go from idea to product quickly. The first build

can be messy and rough, but it should help students focus their ideas. Paper and

cardboard are great for this.

● Two liter bottles – plastic bottles are another great makerspace resource. They can

be used to make bottle gardens, or the plastic can be used to make new projects.

● Glue, string, and tape – makerspaces always need basic tools to help students build

their projects. When starting a makerspace, don’t forget basic tools that can help

students combine cardboard, paper, and plastic.

Digital Materials

● Audio Recording – If you have musical students, have them use the makerspace to

write and record their own songs. Students looking to make music can use tools

such as Audacity, an open-source audio recording and editing tool. Open-source

tools are software that can be downloaded and installed for free by users. Users of

open-source tools can then change the software code to make changes or

improvements to the original software. For more on using Audacity, check out the

September 2015 Teacher’s Corner.

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 ● Game Design Tools – Encourage students who love video games to stop playing

them and start making them. A variety of online tools can teach students how to

make their own video games. In your makerspace, include such tools as Gamestar

Mechanic, Kodu, and Scratch.

● Programming – The 21st Century Skills are designed to prepare students for the jobs

of the future and many of those jobs will require coding skills. Students can learn the

basics of computer coding through a variety of websites such as Code.org, Hour of

Code, and App Inventor.

HOW CAN A MAKERSPACE BE USED FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING?

Makerspaces give students an opportunity to build and create. In the process of

building and creating, students develop an ownership of their created materials and

generate something they can talk about. This ownership of the materials invests students

into the projects and can lead them to communicate more because they want to share their

ideas with the makerspace community. As instructors, we can use this desire to share by

creating opportunities for the students to use English. Makerspace activities in English can

include:

● Project Instructions – Students can create written instructions on how to use their

creation. For example, the makerspace could have as its focus student teams

building a device or project that helps the environment. Once they complete their

project, the teams must write instructions in English on how to use their device.

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 ● Advertisements – For a fun writing and speaking activity, teams of students can

create commercial advertisements for their project. The advertisements must show

what their project is and how it can be used. These advertisements can then be

shown in class for a student-created listening activity.

● Project Show-and-Tell – During the creation process students can share their

progress in show-and-tell progress reports. In these presentations, teams of

students can present their ideas to the other makerspace teams. The teams can

discuss their successes and failures in developing their project and provide

suggestions to other teams.

● Teacher Instructions – Another way to introduce English into the makerspace is to

provide students with instructions entirely in English.

Using some, or all, of the ideas listed above can help get your makerspace started. As a

makerspace instructor, it is important to create an atmosphere that encourages students to

learn by doing, to communicate and collaborate with their classmates, and to learn from

one another. So have fun and make something!

Want to learn more about makerspaces? Check out these resources:

Create to Communicate - This book provides ideas on how to use art to encourage students

to use the English language. Many of the ideas presented can fit directly into a language-

focused makerspace. The book can be downloaded by section or as a whole.

Make it yourself – Casa Thomas Jefferson opens Makerspace - Learn more about how a

makerspace is being used for English education.

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Makered.org - Maker Ed is home to the makerspace for education movement. On this

website you can find materials on using makerspaces for learning.

Makerspace Playbook School Edition - This downloadable book can help you get started in

creating a makerspace at your school.

Youth Makerspace Playbook – This is similar to the Makerspace Playbook listed above but

with a focus on makerspaces for younger learners.

Just make it! How makers are changing everything - This article provides a brief overview
of makerspaces and how people are using them to create new ideas and products.

US College Libraries in the Digital Age – Read this Voice of America article about how the
digital age is changing libraries from a focus on books to a focus on creating.

Will Technology Benefit Very Young Children? - This is a Voice of America article on how
even young learners are using makerspaces to interact with the digital world.

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