Day 12

Maker rather than inventor - Maker movement


Digital

You have 3 hours to upskill in Maker Culture, 3D Modelling and Innovative Learning Spaces. You can choose to do all of the 6 stations, or do just some. Minimum is 3. Please spend at least 30 minutes in every station you choose. Some of the stations have suggested zones, for some you can choose the space freely (freezone).

On a new station read all of the three steps through, and then act on them 

• firstly there is always something for you to start with (reading(s), viewing(s), reflection(s)…) and
• based on that we then suggest how to produce something, and
• there is also before you leave this station part (how to finalise, publish…)

Once you worked through those three steps you can move to the next station of your choice!

STATION 1 - Reflect & Sketchup / Zone 1 / LEADERSHIP

Goal: Re-design your learner's environment with a future focus in mind.

Reflect: Read these two sources:

• Article: Campfires in Cyberspace : Primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st Century
• Table: Next Generation Learning Behaviours and Environment to Support Them

Base your reflection on the above:

• How could you as a leader make your main learning spaces (i.e classroom) better from a digital and/or collaborative aspect?
• How could even slight changes in your environment maybe help you to up skill as a more distributive and collaborative leader?
• What changes, no matter how small, could make the biggest difference to the learning outcomes?

Sketchup: Model the changes you’d like to make, either using a simple Floor planning tool or the more advanced SketchUp that you can do 3D-wonders with!

• Simple Classroom Floor Plan tool: http://classroom.4teachers.org/ OR
• More advanced 3D Modelling Software: Sketch up
  • You can either use the laptop that has SketchUp downloaded and installed, or you can download and install it to your device (preferably a laptop / you need admin rights / software itself is free) If you don't have the software on your device you could also collaborate with someone who has, or maybe choose the other option?
  • If you haven't used Sketchup before, view these videos explaining the interface and how to make a model before you start:
    • SketchUp - Part 1 - Getting Started Tutorial (Ensure you view this before you start)
    • If you want to dive in deeper, these will help you: SketchUp - Part 2 - Getting Started Tutorial, SketchUp - Part 3 - Getting Started Tutorialand SketchUp - Part 4 - Getting Started Tutorial

Before you leave this station: Once your model is ready, screen record it as a video or picture (print screen, screen castify or https://screencast-o-matic.com/ and publish that to G+ community with the hashtag #sketchup.

STATION 2 - View & Construct / Zone 2 / DIGITAL

Goal: Making sure that we’ll have robotic arms in each location ready for next week’s session.

View: First view this video that explains how these robotic parts were made. We’ll use all of the constructed MeArm robotic arms on next week's programming task.

Please bear in mind that this is a new activity that we have not tried before, so regard it as a shared exploration. You might also need extra hands, and even viewing the instructions is better with more than one pair of eyes. Collaborate if possible!

Be aware that this is not a simple activity. It requires great patience, focus and methodical thought. It is a true makerspace activity, challenging but rewarding.

Construct: Construct a part of a MeArm robotic arm, by following this 20 step-by-step guide. There is also one MeArm on the table that you can look at and visually re-engineer when needed.

When viewing the guide online, be sure to click on the images for each stage, which will take you through a sequence of highly relevant pictures for each step. We suggest at each stage you read the description, then view the picture sequence, then repeat, until it starts to make sense.

Keep in mind that every step is really important, even the first one, the small bolts are different sizes! 

Please try to finish every step that you have started, so that it is easier for the next one to continue from where you finished. 

You will need a small screwdriver, and you may find a ruler useful for checking the lengths of the bolts. Note that in some cases the bolts are pushed through one hole and then tapped into another to enable the components to move. If you screw them too tight then the robot will not work.

Do not feel pressured to try to do this task quickly, or to do more steps than you are comfortable with. Remember that this is a Collaborative activity. Work with others. Contribute what you can. Peeling the brown sticky backing off the acrylic and counting or measuring the screws is as important as assembling the components. Remember from (Agile) pair programming that the navigator is as important as the driver.

Before you leave this station: Once you feel like you’ve done your part (about 30 mins to an hour) make sure that (if the robotics arms are not ready yet) there is someone there to continue the work. This means, that if you are about to leave the station empty, go and advertise that to others. We would need all of them ready by next week! 

It might be wise to leave some notes next to your robotic arm, that tell others how far you’ve gotten. Or if there are issues they should be aware off. 

STATION 3 - Analyse & Suggest / Free Zone / LEADERSHIP

Goal: Consider the environment as the third teacher, from a learner's point of view.

Analyse: Check that you have done your homework, if you haven’t started by doing that first. Your task was to prepare for this session by gathering survey data about how teachers and students feel about their learning spaces. Once you have filled in the survey, view and analyse the data gathered.

Maybe you could even draw suggestions from it? Recommended readings might help you with the analysis?

Add your analysis into this collaborative slide set, and put your name on the slide you are working with, so others will know. Look at what others might have already done, and think what you would like to add.

You can for example

• create a graphical analysis of interesting parts that could influence how we design a learning space.

Suggest: Based on the analysis of the data, make suggestions on the same collaborative slide set set, for example:

1. What are the perceptions of learning spaces from a learner's point of view?
2. Was there anything in the data that stood out to you as interesting, why?
3. How could we use this data to inform future decision making?
4. How might we involve learners in the design of their learning spaces?
5. What other questions could you include in the survey?

You can use as many slides as you like to present your data analysis (charts/graphs), as well as conclusions and recommendations - you do not need to use all of the data, only the parts that you think are relevant.

These readings may also help guide you and act as a reference:

• The Technology, Architecture and Furniture model
• Pedagogic Framework for Use in Next Generation Learning Spaces
• 8 Design Principles That Underpin the Design of Learning Spaces

Before you leave this station: Make sure you have named the slides you worked with http://tinyurl.com/learningplacesslides. You could also add the date when you did the analysis, since there are more and more data coming in each day. If you think of an interesting aspect some other student could work with, or how to continue your work, you could add a comment there?

STATION 4 - Design & 3D Model / Zone 4 / DIGITAL

Goal: Rehearse a universal design and prototyping mindset.

Design: Familiarise yourself with the Universal Design Ideas and their guidelines. Then design an ideal classroom object you are missing (i.e table, chair… )

Model: 3D model the classroom object by using https://www.tinkercad.com/. We’ll print one of these 3D models out based on your votes on the G+ Community at the end of this session.

Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-learn online app anyone can use to create and print 3D models. You need to Sign In or Sign Up. For this we recommend you use a laptop (either your own or one provided by TMLBU).

If you haven't used Tinkercad before, remember to view these videos first:

• Introduction - TinkerCad
• Basic Features - TinkerCad
• Tools and Shortcuts - Tinkercad
• Creating holes - Tinkercad

Alternatively you can watch these step by step guides made by Coco

• Starting Tinkercad
• Tips & Tricks using Tin kercad 1
• Tips & Tricks using Tinker cad 2
• Tinkercad - Using the Hole Tool

Remember to save your 3D model frequently.

Before you leave this station: When you have finished your design, save it and make it public. Then publish a picture of your model in our G+ Community and include short description and the link to your model as a description or comment. Remember to also include a hashtag #tinkercad and one of these based on the session you are on ( #aucklandcentral #aucklandnorth #aucklandsouth #balclutha #christchurch #hawkesbay #invercargill #wellington #rotorua #tauranga #ruatoria).

We need your model to be public to be able to access it (.stl file) for the possible 3D printing, and we'll need those hashtags to find it in G+ Community. Also sharing your models makes you part of the Maker Community!

STATION 5 - Read & Feedback / Free Zone / LEADERSHIP

Goal: Witness maker culture and students as makerspace designers.

Read: Read first The 'Open University: Innovating Pedagogy report 2013' article about Maker Culture. Then read through the blog written by Justine Hughes’s students: http://thecreatoropssteam.blogspot.co.nz/. We suggest you start from the oldest post and work your way upwards. This project was part of Justine’s LEADERSHIP assignment plan and it was mostly run by her students. True transformational leader helps others to be leaders?

Feedback: You can give feedback for these amazing students by commenting on their blog - they really do appreciate that! You can also post your ideas and thoughts to our own G+ Community by using the #makerspace or #makerculture hashtags.

Before you leave this station: Consider whether you would be interested in starting a similar project? If so, this framework might be interesting to look at Question Driven Pedagogy-Space-Technology Framework for Developing Learning Space

Maybe your LEADERSHIP 2 assignments change initiative involves changes in your learning spaces? If so, Lee, Tan, and Tout (2011) identified approximately 100 articles, reports, presentations and books that focused on the design and evaluation of learning spaces. These comments they raise in their literature review and the ‘Evaluation Learning Spaces’ Baseline Development Model' they created‘ might help you to get started.

STATION 6 - Embrace Change & Video / Free Zone / DIGITAL

Goal: Share your insights with the future postgrad students

Embrace Change: We are now in Week 12, so it has been 3 months since you started your Postgraduate journey. Have you embraced change?

You might remember how you felt in the first couple of weeks? Is your attitude towards using technology in your classroom the same? Has something changed? If so, what?

Take a look at this article we wrote last year, and consider where you are now on your journey in relation to the sections 'Transforming Teaching and Learning' (p. 38) and 'Discussion' (p. 44).

Video: Make a short video that we could share parts of with the next intake who start their journey in early November. Make sure that the sound quality is audible, so that the new students can hear you tell them, for example:

• How did you feel during the first few weeks?
• How do you feel now? What have you learned?
• Have you any tips or wisdom to share on being the learner at The Mind Lab?
• Have you any insights you could share with the November students? How could you help them to embrace the change?

Before you leave this station: Please add/save your video to this folder, so that the facilitators can edit and cut together a final one. You can of course also share your video in the G+ community, but the most important task is to save it to the folder.