by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
“What stuff should I buy?”
With that one question, everyone wants the same thing. A list of kits that they can use in their classrooms to create a makerspace. And you know, it IS awesome that people are looking for ways to bring creativity into the classroom – really awesome. But maybe we need to rethink the question we ask. Making really isn’t about kits. In fact, kits are standardized and making is kind of the opposite of standardized.
Let’s rethink the “stuff to buy discussion” and dig deeper ourselves…
“How can I redesign this unit to allow for more student collaboration?”
“How can I encourage students to share their work with each other and with the world?”
“What if I get kids involved in building a cardboard model of a new playground design, and pitching their idea to administration?”
“What are some open ended questions I could ask that will get kids digging deeper?”
“How can I change what I do to be more of a facilitator in this project?”
“How would this unit change if students designed a board game to represent their topic, and then we held an event where they could share their work?”
“How can I make school more meaningful for my students?”
The truth is, every big and wonderful change happens in tiny increments, one little moment at a time. When I think back to our first year in our makerspace, I can tell you that nothing spectacular happened overnight. Except the arrival of boxes from Amazon. Other than that, it’s been day after day, building, cultivating, stoking the fire. And you know what? The little flame is starting to explode into moments of student-led design-infused learning. The real kind.
Not even Amazon can deliver that. Trust me, if they could, I’d have already ordered a set.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 6, 2016 | Make, Maker Spaces
If you’ve read my blog, Twitter feed, or Instagram for more than 2 seconds, you’ve probably noticed that creativity is important to me. Not like peanut butter is important to chocolate, but important like how humans need oxygen to live. I’ve felt that way since I was a kid, in school, deprived of the oxygen in my learning. And every day since I became a teacher? I’ve vowed to myself that I will make school more for kids who crave creativity. When making came along, or intersected my world, I knew this was it. This mindset, this beautiful way of integrating hands on design, creation, production, and fabrication? It’s everything my worksheets were not.
Now? The whole country is getting involved and it’s exciting. YOU can get involved, too. The White House hosted the first ever White House Maker Faire just last year and this year, a National Maker Faire is taking place at the University of DC on June 18-19, 2016. Tickets are available on the website for FREE! The White House has declared June 17-23, a National Week of Making. An entire WEEK of celebrating MAKERS! {Note: Not sure what a Maker Faire is? Check out photos I snapped at the Austin Maker Faire.} It’s a gathering of all types of Makers to share their craft, inspire each other, and celebrate the creativity that each person can bring to the table.
Most exciting to me? On Friday, I’ll be visiting the White House (eeek!) for the event kickoff and I’ll be going to the National Maker Faire on Saturday. I look forward to capturing the experience, connecting with other makers, learning, and sharing. Learning and sharing is really what making is all about.
To celebrate the Week of Making, I’m going to be sharing daily tips and projects for the elementary crowd and ask that YOU make a commitment to bring making into your classroom in some way in the school year ahead. I’ll also share some amazing resources and people to connect with that you can find easily around the internet. If you have questions about making, leave a comment here and I’ll try to make sure I answer it during the Week of Making! Are you ready to be inspired?
I can promise you that once you see your students get excited, eyes lit up, and joy on fire, you’ll be glad you opened the door to empower their creativity. People always ask me, “What stuff do I need to order to start making in my classroom?” Nothing. The projects I will share with you each day will be stuff you can do with stuff you have or with very, very inexpensive items. Repurpose, redo, recreate. Cardboard is the newest item to add to your classroom supply list. The other comment I get from teachers is, “I don’t feel like I know enough about coding (or 3d printing or creativity or making) to get started.” Nope. That’s a myth. Not knowing, being vulnerable, and taking a risk? That’s being a maker. And your students NEED that from you. Somehow, it’s the not knowing that makes it all an even better and more authentic learning experience.
So, are you ready? Join the fun in the National Week of Making by following the hashtags #WeekOfMaking and #NationOfMakers. Let’s make school the most exciting place in a child’s life. Together we can all share, collaborate, and MAKE the world a better place. We can also make incredible puns about making, and that’s fun, too.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Jun 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
Hold up. Before you ask me what kind of 3d printer to buy, I want to introduce you to something even better. 
Someone, actually.
Seymour Papert. Let me guess, if you’re like me, you were NOT introduced to him in your college coursework on education. Then one day, you discovered his work and started reading it. Articles dated from around the year you started kindergarten, talking about empowering children to use their creativity and how technology’s role plays into all of that in a beautiful way.
Then you realize this Maker Movement unfolding around us? It’s so NOT about products. It’s not about the flashy kits and lists of things to order. In fact, that STUFF is an INSULT to what it really is. You don’t need tons of expensive stuff or a special room where creativity is allowed. You need to make the environment, wherever it may be, the kind of place that brings the makerspace OUT of each child. And to do THAT? You just need to know your kids. What are their needs? What do they like? What are their passions? Empowerment comes out of connecting with kids and then letting them steer the ship.
Sometimes when I write something, a piece of my soul feels moved. Like a “This is why you are here.” And I feel like this is it. Creativity matters. That’s the big picture. The drones, the robots, the coding, the designing of bracelets that light up, the building of a Lego tower with a windmill that turns, the stuff. The ipad. The laptop. The app. The cardboard. The duct tape. The things. The tools. All tools that help us provide and empower kids with what they need to invent, explore, discover, design, make, and create. And if we order stuff without ever thinking about we’ll empower our kids and our teachers? We’ve missed out. I know I missed out for years not knowing the work of Seymour Papert. I’m just glad I found it. Because it’s never too late to learn.
- Seymour Papert’s Legacy Thinking about Learning and Learning About Thinking
- 30 Years Empowering Children to Be Creative Thinkers
- Teaching Children Thinking (An article from 1970)
- Gary Stager’s Resources on Seymour Papert
