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4.2 Makerspace Management

MAKERSPACE SKILLS, MANAGEMENT, COMMUNITIES, LOCATION loT MICRO.BIT

Makerspace Skills and Management

CLASSROOM COLLABORATION in DF

-Digital Makerspaces lend themsleves well to group work. -Group work marries well with PBL, socio-cultural learning, inquiry-driven, soft skills and real world relevance.

-Successful classrooms have a culture that supports group work! Trust and safety and clear expectations are critical. Some tips: -Integrate team building activities early on -Develop class norms that support group work -Model this behavior … active listening, facilitating group discussions -Ofter collaborative activities.... - think, pair, share - ask three, then me - formative feedback (fist to five)

-Consider the group size, groupings, objectives, assessments and opportunities to share and reflect

Makerspace in Learning - WHERE ARE THE FAB LABS?

Look for information on promise of Makerspaces in Formal Education Constructionist, Socio-cultural, Inquiry-driven, PBL, STEM, Technology and Differentiated learning are all results of a GOOD makerspace. If not, these spaces are more about making things, teacher-based learning, assignments and doing projects, STEM as a discipline instead of integrated, learning tech., everyone learning the same thing at the same time.....

Are there rules and protocols for the use of the space?

Different ages need different thoughtful consideration.

4 Key Components to a school-based Makerspace (a formula for assessment of Fab Lab) 1. Leadership Is there a shared mission statement for your makerspace? The WHY for admin, teachers, students,etc.
How does admin understand and communicate the MS? Who is responsible for managing the space? Who is responsible for supporting content and teachers?

  1. Access Who is allowed to use the space and how? Have a protocol! Location? *Physical accessibility (centrally located?).

  2. Technical Knowledge and Training How are teachers trained? Is there a school-wide training/plan? How are students trained to use the tools and space? Who can support the technology during student classes?

  3. Environment How many students can fit? How are you organizing tools and technologies? Space design? Safety considerations?

Continuum of Accessability Rigid Scheduling.........Flexible Scheduling........Open Scheduling

Remember the TPACK model Staff member/teacher responsible for integrating the content area (like a librarian) ~Full time in lab ~Co-developes plans ~Co-teachers ~Supports teachers with tech. in and out of lessons ~Trains teachers on technology

Building Communities and Location

Adopt - Adapt - Apply

How someone gets engaged in project or skills.

Apply knowledge from outside.

Community building (resources/context/people - WHY) - Explore and Analyze - Define Strategy ....What are the challenges and strengths? Know your WHY

Involve the parents/community members.

Santi - talking about a a project that turned into a global project… Exploratorium - SF, USA

Tools

Micro.bit Computer Node-Red run this in your computer using Raspberry Pi

Assignments

Use 2 microbit boards and have them communicate with one another.

eg. plant that needs water sending message to phone/something (light on) eg. microbit with Scratch

REFLECTION How to build stakeholders in your DF community? What are your next steps in developing your MS? What is the potential for Physical Computing in your teaching?

Resources

Scratch - [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-5369-program-to-learn-the-power-of-creative-coding/)

Smart Citizen [https://smartcitizen.me/) Smart Citizen Kits