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Introducing Design Thinking to Elementary Learners Design thinking is an approach to learning that includes considering real-world problems, research, analysis, conceiving original ideas, lots of experimentation, and sometimes building things by hand. The projects teach students how to make a stable product, use tools, think about the needs of another, solve challenges, overcome setbacks and stay motivated on a long-term problem. The projects also teach students to build on the ideas of others, vet sources, generate questions, deeply analyze topics, and think creatively and analytically.

How to Start a Makerspace When You're Broke Everyone’s Favorite Excuse I’ve had the honor and privilege of sharing with hundreds of librarians and educators about our makerspace. Unfortunately, I see many educators hold back on starting a makerspace because of funds. Defining Makerspaces: What the Research Says Recently, I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with criticism. I was told (not to my face) by a visitor to our school that our library makerspace is not a “real makerspace”. This same person stated that our woodshop is a “real makerspace” because it has power tools. She suggested that I “do some research” on what makerspaces actually are. Computational Thinking Across the Curriculum Algorithmic Thinking Students demonstrate algorithmic thinking whenever they create or use a well-defined series of steps to achieve a desired outcome. In our sixth-grade math class, for example, students identify and plot a set of ordered pairs on a coordinate plane to re-create a piece of art they’ve made. Students practice the algorithm for Punnett squares by refashioning themselves as cartoon babies, meticulously crossing their genotypes to create endless generations of children.

Makerspace Resources All the Makerspace resources you could hope for (and more) I first started learning about the Maker Movement in education and makerspaces in late 2013. Since then, I’ve been using this page to compile and curate some of the best articles, videos, blogs, books and other resources that have helped me along the way. A Brief History of Makerspaces a Brief History & Rationale Makerspaces of all types are growing at an exponential rate. As Davee, Regalla and Chang (2015) report, “Google Trends shows the search term “makerspace” has quadrupled in the past two years and is currently in its highest rate of growth in search frequency” (p. 2). In fact, according to the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report: 2015 K-12 Edition, “makerspaces are expected to be increasingly adopted by schools in one year’s time or less to make use of mobile learning and cultivate environments where students take ownership of their education by doing and creating” (p. 1). Therefore, with makerspaces emerging as a worldwide phenomenon, the following questions surface:

Learn Dance Party Grades 2+ | Blocks Minecraft Hour of Code A Minecraft Tale of Two Villages Makerspace My MakerSpace Journey at The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County Small Tech, Big Impact: Designing My Maker Space at The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County (OH) (School Library Journal article, February 2016) 1 Year Later, What I’ve Learned Constructivism vs. Constructivism vs. Constructionism March 19, 2018 at 9:00 am I wrote the below in 1997. I’m surprised that I still find references to it from time-to-time. That website may be going away soon, so I thought I’d put it here (only very slightly edited) in case others may find it useful. I’d like to offer my take on the meaning of these words.

Design Thinking Process and UDL Planning Tool Bringing Makerspaces into Classrooms to meet STEM and STEAM Post by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D. @jackiegerstein, and Barbara Bray @bbray27 is also cross-posted at If there is a makerspace in your school, it may be down the hall, in the library, or in another building. If there is someone other than the teacher managing the makerspace or there is a schedule for the school, your kids may only be able to use it once a week or month.

Christmas Light-up Cards w/ Paper Circuits We sell a complete paper circuit starter kit that contains the parts needed for 10 projects or students. Use the button below to buy the kit or project book. The first thing you need to do is download the project template ZIP file and then print them out. Each project is 2 pages and it’s recommended that you print them on one sheet of paper (front and back). Constructionism - Digital Pedagogy - A Guide for Librarians, Faculty, and Students - Research guides at University of Toronto Piaget’s Constructivism versus Papert’s Constructionism: What’s the difference and Why is it Important? In her article, Edith Ackermann discusses between Constructivism (developed by Piaget) and Constructionism (developed by Papert). She argues that integrating both views helps educators to understand how people learn and grow cognitively. Piaget’s constructivism offers a window into what learnners are interested in, and able to achieve, at different stages of their development, while Papert’s constructionism, in contrast, focuses more on the art of learning, or ‘learning to learn’, and on the significance of making things in learning. Unlike Piaget, Papert stresses the importance of tools, media, and context in the construction of knowledge. Ackermann feels that both Piaget's and Papert's theories allow educators to gain insight in the three following areas:

The future of many school libraries is anchored to makerspaces Not long ago the New Milford High School library in New Jersey was pretty traditional. It had tall stacks of books and old wooden tables that didn’t move easily. It was underutilized. Students weren’t drawn to it and, to a large extent, neither were teachers. (Rethinking) Makerspaces Kids have always made in my library. We encouraged digital and visual and dramatic and rhetorical creativity before, during, and after school. But for a while, I’ve questioned the value of using already heavily used real estate to randomly carve out space for a 3D printer, electronics stations and sewing machines.