Introduction
Maker Majors (or “M2”) is a program that uses the Makerspace to fuel independent study projects in technology, engineering, and other related fields. The name comes from the idea that just as classes go towards a major, as a student pursues an area of interest, they are required to complete a series of projects in the Makerspace that go towards that major.
The Makerspace is a new addition to the library that invites students to tinker and innovate. It is equipped with legos and craft materials, but also computers, a 3D printer, and electronics parts.
Motivation
- Demystify the world of technology and engineering
- Find new ways to help students take advantage of the Makerspace (with the incentive of credit)
- Practice real research and project management skills in an area of interest
- Bring projects that students are working on outside the classroom into school to encourage collaboration
Exposure to the world of technology & engineering
Unless students have a friend or parent who is into technology, the whole field can seem inaccessible. The purpose of school is not only to teach, but to help students find a passion beyond the classroom. Maker Majors would create an accessible opportunity to explore these fields.
Beyond exposure to the fields of technology, the need for certain materials and software creates a barrier to entry. This commitment makes it hard for students to explore technology on their own. With a school funded library of electronics, software, and books, students would have access to explore these things without making a monetary commitment.
Maker Majors would would help connect students with the real world. We hope to inspire students to use their education by exposing them to projects and potential careers. To facilitate this, we hope to create a website or other platform that would allow students to easily explore careers / ideas / problems that exist in the world. Categorized TED talks, blog posts, and YouTube videos could accomplish this goal. As well, providing access to student’s previous projects could provide inspiration.
M2 as a way to use the Makerspace
The Makerspace represents an opportunity for NCHS to make a step toward positive change. We want to ensure that students have reasons to want to use the Makerspace, and know how to use the Makerspace effectively. Besides tinkering, a credit based course could incentivize and provide structure for long term projects in the Makerspace.
Research skills
Programs like Independent Study help students develop research skills, and Maker Majors would take that further in applying these skills into synthesizing personal projects. Hopefully by handling a large project on their own, students will gain the confidence to take on other ventures of interest. If online courses and MOOCs become an option, a project-based approach would ensure that students conduct individual research to complete their projects.
Stimulate collaboration
There are a lot of students doing work outside the classroom on independent projects. Creating a place for students to bring these projects into school would turn a competitive school culture into a collaborative one. With Maker Majors, beyond their own project, each student will design and direct a workshop to talk about the field they looked into, the problem they tried to solve, and the steps they took to get there.
Resources
Makers will have access to the softwares and materials provided by the school that are necessary to complete their project. Another key resource for Makers will be the Makerspace website - this will include the following components:
- Access to previous M2 projects: an important resource for indirect collaboration, guidance, and additional resources
- Access to current M2 blogs
- The Information Web: A Maker generated wiki with information on the various fields of STEM (or others); each article will include summaries of the field along with history, key figures, current problems, intersections with other fields, and descriptions of what people in this field do
- Documentation of Makerspace resources (softwares, materials, hardwares etc.) with capabilities to propose and vote on new resources
Structure
The structure of the course will break down as follows (components pertaining to credit evaluation are specified in indent):
- Beginning: those who wish to do M2 will apply with a main goal and a rough outline of the resources they will use to get there; Makers can browse previous projects for inspiration on the website. Group projects are encouraged.
- Main Goal
- Project Outline
- Process: for more technical goals, the M2 process will revolve around an online course (or other available resource). Makers will complete various checkpoint projects along the way. Makers will use a personal blog to track the progress of their project and reflect on resources, challenges, etc. Makers will also conduct a small amount of research along the way to contribute to the Information Web wiki
- Notes for online course (or other available resource)
- Weekly Blog
- Checkpoint Projects
- Contribution to Information Web wiki
- Makerspace presence
- End: By the end of the course (whether semester or year-long) Makers should have completed their goal, or adjusted it midyear to be able to complete by the end of the term. In addition to this, Makers will create a project summary - some sort of infographic, video, or animation to serve as a synopsis for this process (resources used, how-to, challenges faced etc.). Other students will be able to access this summary from the Makerspace website to get an overview of different projects. Makers will also put on a workshop demonstrating the basics of their project
- Goal fulfilled? (Y or N)
- Capstone project
- Project Summary (with resource evaluation)
- Workshop
Incentives
Beyond the promise of course credit, there must be an incentive for students to jump through the hoops of the program. These material benefits for being a Maker could be:
- Unlimited no-cost 3D printer use
- Take-home laptop with licenses for softwares
- Priority for proposing and voting on new materials
- Satisfaction of being at the top of the social hierarchy of NCHS
