Getting Back to Nuts and Bolts
Actor John Ratzenberger wants to see every kid become a hands-on maker.
Education
Maker Education is such a valuable role. These stories will bring you the latest information and tales of maker educators who area spreading the maker mindset. Help others learn how to make things or how to think like a maker at makerspaces, schools, universities, and local communities. The importance of maker education can not be understated. We appreciate our educators.
Teachers’ Pet Projects
We asked teachers to share their favorite classroom & science fair projects.
Make: Education — Learn by Making
Share ideas, stories, and techniques for helping more kids learn by making at Make: Education.
Maker’s Corner — Be an Angel
Take a school or teacher under your wing this holiday.
STEM resources for teachers
This weekend I had an opportunity to attend a renewable energy workshop organized by the Southeastern Massachusetts Achievement and Retention in Technology group at Bristol Community College. The morning was packed with teachers sharing their lesson and unit ideas on ideas based around the STEM subjects of green technologies and energy.
The college offers a Lending Lab for tools and lab equipment that most schools are unlikely to stock. Through using these equipment resources, teachers can get their students’ hands onto enough materials to for a series of lessons on windmill design, hydrogen cars, air purity testing, and more. Teachers shared their experiences in bringing this equipment into their classes and how it affected student learning.
Transparent solderless breadboard
Recently I’ve been helping a friend’s 11-year-old daughter get started in electronics. The use of a solderless breadboard was counterintuitive to her until I presented her with one of these clear-cased versions, available through Solarbotics. As she puts it, “you can see where the metal is.”
How education threatens creativity …
Ken Robinson speaks on the importance of creativity and how closely it depends on our freedom to make mistakes. Hmmm … to put it more accurately – Sir Ken Robinson explains how our modern education system represses creative thought by discouraging mistakes. If you’ve ever stared paralyzed at a blank canvas/page/protoboard/ etc, you likely understand […]
