Author: David Perlis
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Raising Every Project’s Ceiling
(Originally posted at the Creativity Lab.) I think we all like making for different reasons. For some of us it might be driving a curriculum, and for others it might be just the thrill of getting messy, or exploring new technologies. Looking back on my year with the Creativity Lab, I think I’ve probably gone through cycles of areas…
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Building Miniature Makerspacers
At the Creativity Lab, we understand the worries and headaches that often go along with trying to design and create a makerspace. Just knowing where to begin can be overwhelming. In fact, we hear enough concern over how to create a makerspace that we host an entire workshop on the subject. So, what’s the secret to a “correct” makerspace? (I’ll answer that below),…
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Kinder Programmers
Featured Image originally from https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/badwater-road-open.htm Our kindergarteners are some of our biggest makers at Lighthouse. They make year-round, usually with sewing and woodworking (using handsaws, clamps, drills, and hammers). Now, they are in their second week of testing out a programming unit, and so far it looks like it’s going pretty well. The tool (toy?) they’re using is called a Pro-Bot, and our…
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Hand-Making
Frankly, I don’t know what our official title for this project is. Around the Creativity Lab, we generally just refer to it as “the hand project,” or “hands,” as in: “Students are working on their hands,” or, “Do we have any hands we can show off to a tour group?” So, here it is: The Hand…
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Testing Out 3D Printed Scribble Machines
In the weeks to come, we are focusing on Maker Faire prep, but I’m also working on an updated project guide for scribble machines. It would be nice if I could fit this project guide to the template I just created for Turtle Art, but we’re talking about two very different kinds of projects. The Turtle Art project guide is designed…
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The Why Behind The Making
Last week, I read an article on venturebeat.com, describing Nancy Pelosi’s “awe” for the maker movement. The article was old, (published January of last year), but I was still happy to see this opinion vocalized, being a maker-educator, myself. We call our makerspace the “Creativity Lab.” In six years it’s grown from a single robotics…
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Mathematics and Turtle Art
We’re a K–12 school, with K–12 makers, and we treat that making as a way of driving student learning, rather than simply showcasing it. What that means is that we let students tinker, discover, and hit walls with a project before giving them instruction, then use these successes and setbacks as learning tools. Driving our…