2. Digital fabrication in education

This week I designed and cut a sticker for our school-fablab that reflects my understanding of the maker mindset.

My Sticker

Our schoolfablab is still under construction, so I can use the vinyl cutter to label cabinets and tools. This week I set myself the goal of designing logos for the cupboard doors. These were to be more than just simple lettering, as they were to reflect central elements of my didactic concept. After several attempts, I decided on the following design:

The design contains the logo of our school as well as the logo of the Fablabs. In addition, the four central characteristics of the work in the Fablab are shown as a term and as a symbol:

• The work in the Fablab is open in many respects: it is not tied to specific subjects, timetables or tasks, but gives our pupils the freedom to consider their own problems and solve them independently.
• The work at Fablab is networked, because not only do we work with networked technology, but we are also networked with each other, in that everyone supports each other and everyone can contribute their expertise.
• The work at Fablab is various, because not only do we work with a wide variety of tools and technologies, but there are always many different paths that can lead to the realization of an idea.
• In the Fablab, we work interactively, both with the machines and the software and with each other, by discussing our ideas and reflecting together at the end on whether and to what extent we were able to complete our projects successfully.

In my digital didactics, I refer to these four terms as the four principles of digitality. These are not only the basic characteristics of digital technology, but they should also correspond to the way we teach and the way our students learn.

Technical realization

It was not easy to stick the cut vinyl onto the cabinet because of the size and complexity of my graphic. Transfer foil had to be used for this, and I think the result turned out well. I could also print out the graphic and use it for the entrance door to the Fablab. I can use the graphic to explain the basics of working in the Fablab to the students and they always have it in front of them when they get tools or materials from the cupboards.

I created my graphics with Silhouette Studio. The graphic was taken from my book, but I had to translate it. I also had to vectorize the graphics.

In oure school-FabLab, we use the Silhouette Portrait 3 and 4 with the Silhouette software. The plotter is controlled via USB, as it it a Problem to see wihich plotter ist attached by Bluetooth when using more than one plotter at the same time.

These are the Steps to work with the vinylcutter:

1. Draw or vectorize graphics.
2. Cut out, observing the device settings. I had some fails when doing that, because I didn´´t get the right settings for the plotter. There was also a problem with the plotter, so I had to try some settings at the plotter.
3. Transfer printed objects to transfer foil. Some problems occured because of the size of my graphice. It was difficult to get all cut objekts on the transfer foil.
4. Stick objects from the transfer film onto the target object. It was important to clean the cabinet before the film is applied. Again, problems occured because of the size of the graphics. Maybe it would have been better to cut the graphics into several parts.

All these steps are important when working with the kids. We do not use transfer foil the first time our students work with the vinyl cutter. First we use ist to individualize e.g. exercisebooks of the kids. First they use to apply the negative room around their names, an then they see that some letters are not displayed in the rigt way. E.g. an “A” will have a hole at the upper side. Then students try to apply the single letters and they lear how difficult it is to line the letters up in the right way. At that time, we introduce the transfer foil.

Reflection questions

How does this process relate to what I am are teaching in the classroom? How did this project inspire me?

Since our students make stickers in the Fablab, my project is directly related to what I do. It inspired me to have students make stickers that express how they learn or what ideas they associate with certain subjects. The designs would be much more than just labels. The technical side of the project showed me how difficult it can be to work with complex or delicate graphics.

Explain how would you implement each one of the steps of the design process model explained in the Master Class. Do not forget to discuss about learning outcomes.

For me, the most important element is good documentation of all sub-processes. I think it is useful to work with guiding questions and to provide rough structures for the documentation. The students should be encouraged to document all work steps in different ways: in the form of videos, as a learning diary or as a website. An important aspect for me is that the completion of a project is not the last step, but that there must be a phase in which the product is made accessible to the public and in which it can be evaluated. I could imagine exhibiting products publicly in school or announcing competitions for specific problems. When you take all of this into account, students learn to reflect on their actions and they can become aware of what they have learned and what they still need to learn. And this ability makes the difference in what constitutes effective and deep learning. Empirical research confirms this, as can be seen in the Hattie study, for example.

In which part of the digital fabrication continuum would you feel more comfortable? Why?

For me, fabrication with students is much more interesting than fabrication for students. This is what is really new and significant about the maker movement. It completely changes the role of the teacher and enables schools to become contemporary institutions that prepare students for the real challenges of life. As a teacher, I definitely want to take advantage of this opportunity, and that is why fabrication for students is of secondary importance to me.