Supporting Learners as Inquirers and Designers
As mentioned in our Discussion for this module, I really enjoyed reading the article by Josh Weisgrau, as I feel like it highlights that Makerspaces are not replacing Libraries or LLC’s they are complimenting them. I was in a role where I got to have discussions with TL’s about making this shift and adding in a Makerspace to the Library and many were apprehensive. The general thoughts and feelings were that this Makerspace was going to overpower the Library and take away from the resources. I think that this article really highlights the opposite. The important part of making this change is “Understanding that both libraries and makerspaces are interdisciplinary sites of informal learning, contain physical and human resources to aid in constructing knowledge, and are spaces that build community can be a great place to start (Weisgrau 2015).” A Makerspace will never replace research and the resources needed for that research. A Makerspace will allow learners to be inspired what they researched in a way that may not be possible if they did not have access to the tools that were offered in a makerspace. Maybe the student produces an iMovie about their findings on biomes or an E-book on the states of matter, or a digital collage of the Water Cycle or an automated watering system with a Micro:bit. All these things would not be possible if students did not have an outlet that will allow them to create.
The following video compliments what I have just said and states that, “Innovation would be difficult without access to new Technology.” It is our job as educators to provide a space for students to have access to new Technologies. It became very evident during remote learning that even though I thought I taught in an affluent area, access to technology is still not accessible to everyone. There were families that did not have Wi-Fi at home, and did not have access to devices. It is important that we are doing our best to create equal opportunities for all our students.
Robin Hooker reminded me a lot of my father. He is a legitimate ‘Mr. Fix-it.’ There are not a lot of things that he is not able to fix. He is retired, yet sometimes he is a full time mechanic working on mine and my siblings vehicles. I once asked him how he learned how to fix cars and other machines and he said, “When I was six years old I took apart my bike because I wanted to know how it worked, I was able to do that by putting it back together. When I got older I did the same with my cars. Sometimes it worked out, other times it did not, but that is how I learned, my friends and I spent hours tinkering around with cars, that’s what we did for fun.” Growing up without devices attached for everything allowed him to explore the world around him. As an elementary educator I may not be able to give students a car to take apart, but I could give them similar opportunities in a makerspace to just let them tinker. We need to teach our students that, “The world can be mashed up, modded, repaired, reclaimed….we can transform the world by giving people access to spaces like my Dad’s garage (Hooker 2018).”
I have been inspired by several of my family members this week. First it was my father and then my son. As I was reading the article on Sketchnoting, my son, as always was very interested that I was ‘colouring’ so he wanted to join in. He sees me making notes and highlighting my work and interprets this as something fun because I am using colours. As a 2 year old, he has no ego or judgement, he just does what he does and I love it. I think there is a lot to learn in the sense that nothing has to be perfect. As Baughcum states, “Whatever fear, doubts, worries you have about your abilities to doodle…get over yourself! We all have the power and ability to doodle. It is the doodle that has the power not the art of it.” I think that’s the best part of a doodle, is that it does not have to be perfect, it is not an art project, it is an expression of thought and creativity. A lot of the time doodles are not for anyone but ourselves and that is an important part of the doodling process. I have included my son’s doodle (with a few of my own from his request) below.
The last article that really interested and excited me was David Loertscher’s article, ‘Makers, Self-Directed Learners, and the Library Learning Commons.’ The reason that I enrolled in the TL program was to have a Learning Commons with a well established Maker Space. I thought that this would be a such an amazing job to foster this type of learning with our school community. I strongly feel that if we foster a Maker Space culture in the Learning Commons, “…curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and work-arounds become a normal and natural part of education. The learner has the ability to knuckle down and get work done in an intended way but is often focused on new ways to accomplish a task more efficiently , and productivity increases (Loertscher 2014).” I have seen this first hand with the students in my grade 3/4 class. Right now we are producing stop motion movies with Smoovie. We have been working on this project for almost a month and only one group has started the ‘filming’ process. They are realized that there is a lot of behind the scenes work if they want to see their desired result in the end. They are delegating tasks to each other and utilizing different strengths.
To start this process, I showed them a documentary episode on part of the filming of ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ and they were absolutely fascinated and inspired. We also watched the full length movie so that they could see the intricacies in the final product. As we work through, I have some students who are fulling embracing the process and some who are focused on getting the product done. I had one student come up to me to say that there was nothing else to do, however, they had only taken 8 pictures for their entire movie. When we sped it up they realized that this was not even one second of film. This group had completed an elaborate script, so I asked how they would get that all out in less than one second. This is when the wheels really started to turn and they realized what stop motion really was! They were freeze framing on a scene and describing the one picture that they took instead of taking multiple pictures to create animation of their characters.
I feel that this is why Makerspace is so important for students to experience. For my one student who is very brilliant and is always focused on ‘What’s next?’ it slows them down to be more present and think about what they are doing and be more in the moment. They are learning that it’s about the process, not the product (Pghmakeshop 2014). It’s about the troubleshooting and problem solving, rather than the flashy end product. Students learn to work together and solve problems as they work and realize that, “We need to fail, it’s ok, everyone does it (Pghmakeshop 2014).” It’s how we face the failure and learn from it that is the most valuable.
If I were living in a perfect world, I would be TL and have the most outstanding Maker Space available for my students. It would be a place where students can work collaboratively with their teachers and their classmates. It would be a place where they can create and make with tools that they may not have access to at home. It would be a place with endless materials and inquiry possibilities. I found the following Makerspace which would be an absolute dream for a TL and students. My favourite aspects of this space is the built in green screen so that students are able to film and create without the set up. The 3D printer is also such an amazing tool for students to invent and design. This space is absolutely amazing and I hope that every Elementary Learning Commons would have a space like this to offer their community.
I end this Learning Curation with one of my favourite quotes from our course so far, “
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people whoa re crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. –Apple Computer (Loertscher 2014).”
This quote captures how I feel a lot of the time as an educator in my own school. It is exactly the reason why I love to present on Technology at Pro-D’s because my colleagues are genuinely interested in what I am presenting, or else they would not have signed up for my workshop. When I present to my own staff, I often feel like they are looking at me as if I’ve grown a horn from my forehead. Researching and reading on Makerspaces always makes me excited as I think forward to my future career goals to become a TL and become a model Learning Commons. This is my aspiration and how I wish to inspire my fellow educators and TL’s. I will continue to present Pro-D sessions to both my staff and district wide sessions because I know that if I can inspire a few teachers at a time, I am doing my best to provide more students with different learning opportunities.
Works Cited:
Baughcum, Carrrie. (August 4, 2017). Sketchnoting: I just don’t know how to start. Retrieved from: http://carriebaughcum.com/how-to-start-sketchnoting/
Edmontonpl. (2020, September 13). Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOF3Y73AOA0
Hooker, R. (2018, July). Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/robin_hooker_a_makerspace_for_everyone
Loertscher, D. V. (2014). Makers, self-directed learners, and the library learning commons. Teacher Librarian, 41(5), 35-35,38,71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1548229909
Pghmakeshop. (2014, February 28). Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8J18ZeYz8&list=PLtYmFWNpZ50kN-roqhRuMKSgpJ7KWXf1R
Weisgrau, Josh. (2015, September 24). School libraries and makerspaces: can they coexist? Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-libraries-makerspaces-coexist-josh-weisgrau