The Maker’s movement and FabLabs in Education: Experiences, Technology, and Research
By Paulo Blikstein & Dennis Krannich
Glossary Terms
Logo - is a graphic oriented educational programming language, designed in 1967
Logo (programming language). (2013) In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
Alice – Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity - an open source, natural language chatbot that relies on artificial intelligence for human interaction.
Alice. (n.d.) Webopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/ALICE.html
NetLogo - designed, in the spirit of the Logo programming language, to be "low threshold and no ceiling". It teaches programming concepts using agents in the form of turtles, patches, "links" and the observer.[1] NetLogo was designed for multiple audiences in mind, in particular: teaching children in the education community, and for domain experts without a programming background to model related phenomena.
NetLogo. (2013). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NetLogo&oldid=582835015
ISEF – Intel Science and Engineering Fair (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
technological literacy - a general set of skills and intellectual dispositions for all citizens (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
technical competence - in-depth knowledge that professional engineers and scientists need to know to perform their work (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
Quotes
“…a move from computer skills towards computational fluency or literacy and broadening ‘technological literacy’ to include basic engineering knowledge, the nature and limitations of the engineering design process, and critical thought about the trade-offs of technology development and implementation.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
It is amazing how times have changed and the amount of knowledge that children today face in schools. How are children supposed to keep up with all the changes? How to the teachers and parents? Knowing how to work a computer is not longer good enough, now we expect our children to be able to build one too.
“Shop class became ‘vocational education’ for those who supposedly could not handle ‘serious’ math or science.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
The tragedy of this is that students who are talented and learn better in a more hands-on capacity are being nominalized because of the stigma placed on the practical classes. This is not only shop classes but home economics ones as well. Additionally, are they viewed this way by other but they also view themselves this way which can be damaging for emotionally developing youth. What is wrong with a trade or a vocation?
“Despite this resurgence of fabrication labs and “making” in formal and informal settings, the ideas behind this movement are based on three decade-old theoretical and pedagogical pillars: experiential education, constructionism, and critical pedagogy.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
Interestingly, this understanding of a different form of education is not a new theory but something that has been around for a long time and is only now being looked at as a viable option for schools, now that it seems education is in a crisis. However, since this knowledge is not new, it has likely been examined and tested for its reliability and success levels, but we are unlikely to know the full picture until it has be fully realized.
“These toolkits and technologies prepared the ground for the popularity of the ‘maker’ movement and digital fabrication. They showed that it was possible to engage children in complex uses of technology, that those same children could actively construct with technology rather than just consume technological products.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
This new form of fabrication also seems like a new way to teach our children to recycle products and spare pieces. Also, it will teach them that they will likely get more pleasure out of something that they have designed instead of just going out and buying the latest gadget, they will try to make their own version.
“…we are still in early stages of implementation of these technologies and spaces in schools, and soon the “honeymoon” period will be over – results will be demanded, evaluations will take place, and schools will carefully analyze the cost-benefit of such initiatives.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 615)
These are great questions to ask, how do we define success and is it worth the money. It may seem great that the students are engaged in their learning but are they getting everything that they will need to be successful. How do we guarantee they learn all they need to know with this format? Or does the classroom become a hybrid of the new and the traditional? Plus, many school have cut other practical hands-on classes do to the expense of keeping them going, how will a makerspace be any different?
The following are article that I would like to read for further exploration.
“Considering Constructionisn for Digital Fabrication Software Design” by Zeising, Katterfeldt and Schelhowe
“Youth Conceptions of Making and the Maker Movement” by Martin and Dixon
References
Blikstein, Paulo; Krannich, Dennis. 2013. The makers' movement and FabLabs in education: experiences, technologies, and research. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. Pgs. 613-616. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from http://doi.acm.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1145/2485760.2485884
Logo - is a graphic oriented educational programming language, designed in 1967
Logo (programming language). (2013) In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
Alice – Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity - an open source, natural language chatbot that relies on artificial intelligence for human interaction.
Alice. (n.d.) Webopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/ALICE.html
NetLogo - designed, in the spirit of the Logo programming language, to be "low threshold and no ceiling". It teaches programming concepts using agents in the form of turtles, patches, "links" and the observer.[1] NetLogo was designed for multiple audiences in mind, in particular: teaching children in the education community, and for domain experts without a programming background to model related phenomena.
NetLogo. (2013). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NetLogo&oldid=582835015
ISEF – Intel Science and Engineering Fair (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
technological literacy - a general set of skills and intellectual dispositions for all citizens (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
technical competence - in-depth knowledge that professional engineers and scientists need to know to perform their work (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
Quotes
“…a move from computer skills towards computational fluency or literacy and broadening ‘technological literacy’ to include basic engineering knowledge, the nature and limitations of the engineering design process, and critical thought about the trade-offs of technology development and implementation.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
It is amazing how times have changed and the amount of knowledge that children today face in schools. How are children supposed to keep up with all the changes? How to the teachers and parents? Knowing how to work a computer is not longer good enough, now we expect our children to be able to build one too.
“Shop class became ‘vocational education’ for those who supposedly could not handle ‘serious’ math or science.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
The tragedy of this is that students who are talented and learn better in a more hands-on capacity are being nominalized because of the stigma placed on the practical classes. This is not only shop classes but home economics ones as well. Additionally, are they viewed this way by other but they also view themselves this way which can be damaging for emotionally developing youth. What is wrong with a trade or a vocation?
“Despite this resurgence of fabrication labs and “making” in formal and informal settings, the ideas behind this movement are based on three decade-old theoretical and pedagogical pillars: experiential education, constructionism, and critical pedagogy.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 613)
Interestingly, this understanding of a different form of education is not a new theory but something that has been around for a long time and is only now being looked at as a viable option for schools, now that it seems education is in a crisis. However, since this knowledge is not new, it has likely been examined and tested for its reliability and success levels, but we are unlikely to know the full picture until it has be fully realized.
“These toolkits and technologies prepared the ground for the popularity of the ‘maker’ movement and digital fabrication. They showed that it was possible to engage children in complex uses of technology, that those same children could actively construct with technology rather than just consume technological products.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 614)
This new form of fabrication also seems like a new way to teach our children to recycle products and spare pieces. Also, it will teach them that they will likely get more pleasure out of something that they have designed instead of just going out and buying the latest gadget, they will try to make their own version.
“…we are still in early stages of implementation of these technologies and spaces in schools, and soon the “honeymoon” period will be over – results will be demanded, evaluations will take place, and schools will carefully analyze the cost-benefit of such initiatives.” (Blikstein & Krannich, 2013, pg. 615)
These are great questions to ask, how do we define success and is it worth the money. It may seem great that the students are engaged in their learning but are they getting everything that they will need to be successful. How do we guarantee they learn all they need to know with this format? Or does the classroom become a hybrid of the new and the traditional? Plus, many school have cut other practical hands-on classes do to the expense of keeping them going, how will a makerspace be any different?
The following are article that I would like to read for further exploration.
“Considering Constructionisn for Digital Fabrication Software Design” by Zeising, Katterfeldt and Schelhowe
“Youth Conceptions of Making and the Maker Movement” by Martin and Dixon
References
Blikstein, Paulo; Krannich, Dennis. 2013. The makers' movement and FabLabs in education: experiences, technologies, and research. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. Pgs. 613-616. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from http://doi.acm.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1145/2485760.2485884