Can Teachers Build a Physics-Go-Round?
How would you build a giant turntable or merry-go-round for the physics classroom? Includes ideas for parts and a peek backstage as well as back in time.
classroom
Finding Starter Projects: Free Software for Making
Learners and teachers have so many free options at their fingertips, we find that fewer are buying the higher-priced software. Just like with all kinds of making, with software these days you can do a lot with a little. Years ago, the costs of new software, especially those used by creative professionals, were prohibitive to […]
Live from New York: The Day Before World Maker Faire
In this special edition of Maker Camp, we’ll be coming to you LIVE from New York, one day before we open the doors to the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth! We invite classrooms, kids, teens, families… anyone to join us for this 30-minute virtual field trip on Friday, 9/19/14 starting at 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific […]
Why Educators Love Maker Faire 2013
Teachers love Maker Faire because they see how much it means to engage their students as makers. For Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to salute educators who bring the Maker movement to kids in schools and in after-school programs. We believe making has the power to transform education and develop the potential of every child to create and innovate. Getting making into schools can be difficult so we’re particularly happy to applaud the efforts of pioneering educators who are leading the way. It’s important that these pioneers realize that they’re not alone.
Ear Bud Holder as Student Project
Yesterday I carved out a bit of end of summer classroom experimentation time. One of the projects I wanted to develop was a student designed ear bud holder. They’ve crossed my radar a bit over the years, but I’ve never really needed one. I used to keep my headphones plugged into my mp3 player, and would put it on a shelf in the house, or in the elbow box in my car. Recently, though, my mp3 player and GPS unit were stolified out of my car. So now my phone seems to have become the ultimate gizmo again. It works pretty well with the music app, and Google Maps has a navigation feature that wasn’t there when I looked before. It would actually be perfect if it had an FM radio for local terrestrial audio. The problem now is, where to keep the tangle of headphone wires.
Junkbot student videos
As a summation assignment for the CD scrounging, battery pack and junkbot project, students made videos showing their junkbot. In the videos, which were made on whatever equipment they had available to them, they were to show the ‘bot, explain what they did to make it and explain a bit about how it works. Part of the project was a writing assignment had them write about their Junkbot and tell about what they learned in the project. Not all of the students put the videos online, instead emailing them in. Having the videos online definitely creates a better, more lasting record.
Drawing techniques for making
In engineering, fabricating, and all-around making, it is very useful to know basic drawing styles. This will help you get your ideas out of your head and onto that napkin, or into your notebook so that you can bring them into the world. Architects, planners, designers, engineers, and others use drawing to help communicate their […]
