Knight's Forge Maker Show featuring @3Doodler

Students have published a new video on their YouTube channel, The Knight's Forge Maker Show. These students spent time with the 3Doodler pens for a couple of week and share their thoughts on using them in the makerspace.

From the teacher's perspective, I really like these pens and the entire Edu kit. It comes with example projects and lessons for teachers to explore with their students. A 3D pen can seem a bit crazy to use at first because it does not seem like an easy tool to use. However, my 6th graders were able to pick up the pens, load the filament, and get creating in no time. How easy a tool is to use out of the box is a big deal to me when it comes to finding the right tools for the makerspace and the 3Doodler was super easy for the students to use.

One of the ways that a 3Doodler can be used that the students did not touch on is to fix 3D printed objects that might have broken. Think of it as PLA solder for 3D printed objects. It is a fun lifehack for a makerspace. Check out the 3Doodler site for more examples of projects and the different start packs you might want to explore for your space or home. 

Making With Purpose #MakerEd

Last week, I published a post on Maker Fatigue. I felt like I was in the spot where I couldn't think of anything to make. It was frustrating because I have spent so much time working with students and their projects, I had the motivation /want to Make, but no ideas.

As I reflected more on the feelings, I decided to take the time and clean up my workspace at home. My space has been dormant the past few months because I have been so busy at school and it looked a bit sad. Cleaning up the space was very helpful because a my organized space can sometimes help me see things more clearly. Is that weird?

During the cleaning, I came across a mini thermal printer I bought over a year ago for a long forgotten project. All of a sudden, something just clicked in my brain. I should make a Raspberry Pi powered camera that prints the pictures on the thermal paper. I got all excited and started researching how this would be possible. Not surprisingly, there were some great examples out there already and they will be perfect to help guide my creation. I had a purpose and I was ready to get started. When it comes to Making in school, are we giving students a sense of purpose with their making?

When students are given a chance to make, are they just thrown in a space and told to make something? That would be frustrating for someone who just doesn't have a sense of purpose for their creation. You spin your wheels and get frustrated because you want to make something, but nothing seems to drive you. How much time is given to students to find a purpose or how much time is spent helping students explore what that means? I felt this way about coding as well. Just sitting and writing lines of code for a game is not going to truly inspire someone to become a coder. Learning to code to make a project that you want is purpose driven learning. When I coded my first lines of code, it is because I wanted to make that LED turn on when I pressed a button. I knew if I learned that, I could make a button do whatever I want. That was my purpose, my drive.

As I think about our makerspace next year, I need to make sure that there is something in place to help students with finding purpose in their making. It could be as simple as wanting to make something beautiful with paints to want to code their first robot. Not matter what the purpose is, as teachers, we need to make sure we help the students find it or recognize it as a driving force in their making.

I'm not sure what my thermal printer/Pi creation is going to look like,  but I'm excited to see what I will learn along the way, and that is my purpose.


(Editor's Note: If you are reading this and are thinking of the movie, The Jerk, you are not alone.)

Maker Fatigue? #MakerEd

This has been an amazing year for me as a Maker Educator. I've worked with students and staff to create a new makerspace at my new job and have worked hard on plans to expand the space three fold next year. Project Based Learning and Making have taken hold in some classes and expanded in others. I have had the joy of working with so many different students and teachers on creating amazing projects and lessons to showcase understanding and engage students. I sit at home on this holiday weekend proud of what I have accomplished, but exhausted.

I was hoping to dive into some making this weekend. I have tossed around some ideas, but nothing seems to be sticking for me. I look around my workroom and all of my tools lay dormant, almost mocking me. I have been so hyper focused on helping everyone at school, I feel like I have lost the creative oomph that I have that sparks my maker impulses. Is it possible to have Maker Fatigue?

I'm not tired of making, I feel like I'm missing the creative flicker that drives my creating. Is it possible I am dealing with more of a Maker's Block and not a Maker Fatigue? I want to dive into some fun Raspberry Pi project and there are some sweet projects on Adafruit right now, but I can't seem to find the drive to do them.

I can see this a huge metaphor for student engagement. If I don't WANT to make something, I do not have the drive or passion to do so. The same is true for students. The ones I have worked with that were excited about their projects were in the space all the time and could not wait to iterate the next version. Those that were just completing a project had a hard time following through on their work or always placed it on the back burner. Maybe the same is true for me?

I wonder how many makers our there have dealt with this type of fatigue or block? Is this something you are not supposed to admit? Does this make me a "bad" or "flawed" maker? I'm not sure of the answers to this, but it can be frustrating to want to make, but don't seem to have anything that appeals to you.

If you have been here, I'd love to hear how you dealt with this.

The #KnightsForge Maker Show Checks Out @MakeDo #MakerEd

Students from the Knight's Forge Maker Show explored Makedo and how it can be used to create amazing things with cardboard. Check out their latest video on Makedo in the Makerspace.

I'm a huge fan of Makedo and think it is perfect for any classroom and makerspace. Cardboard is all around us and duct tape can be so expensive and wasteful. Makedo's reusable screws make it possible for students to prototype and then reuse the screws as needed. The full toolkit is phenomenal and in constant use in the space. Students can use the cardboard saws to trim their pieces to the size they need and then just use the screwdriver to connect the cardboard pieces with the screws. The 6th graders think they are perfect for their cardboard fort and are planning some large construction down the line. If you want your own set, check out Demco for all of the different packages from Makedo.