4 Part 1. The Seven Attributes of a GREAT MakerspacePersonalizedDeepEmpoweringEquitableDifferentiatedIntentionalInspiring
5 Part 2. Making GREAT MakerspacesReflect on your own school experiences, gather your team, and brainstorm your vision for your makerspace. How can making transform school for your students?
6 Part 3. No Cookie-Cutter Makerspaces Allowed!UnderstandAssessConsiderDevelopOrder
7 Part 4. Get the Most Bang for Your Buck!Based on the themes you uncovered in the makerspace planning process, you will stock your makerspace with the materials, resources, and supplies your space needs!
8 Part 5. Creating the Conditions to Inspire!Now that you’ve completed the makerspace planning process, it is time to consider what making in the makerspace will actually look like. Challenge your students with authentic project ideas, activities, and opportunities for reflection.
9 Part 6. Assessing Creativity Without Squashing It!How do we assess in a makerspace?
10 Index
About the Author
www.worldsofmaking.com
www.worlds-of-learning.com
@LFlemingEDU
Laura Fleminghas been an educator in the state of New Jersey for 20 years. She has been both a classroom teacher and media specialist in Grades K–8 and is currently a library media specialist for Grades 9–12. She has played a prominent role in education as a writer and speaker and has served as an educational consultant on next-generation teaching methods and tools. Laura cohosts the Movers & Makers podcast and is the author of the best-selling Worlds of Making: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School (Corwin, 2015). Laura is also the creator of a digital badge-based professional development platform in which educators all over the world earn badges in acknowledgment of their professional learning. Her library makerspace has garnered national attention and has served as an inspiration for schools across the country. She is also an honoree of the National School Boards Association’s “20 to Watch” in educational technology leadership for 2014 and was recently nominated as a White House Champion of Change for Making. Laura is also the creator of the Worlds of Making Digital Academy, which provides makerspace professional development for teachers. Her goal is to create learning experiences that empower and equip students with necessary skills to effectively produce and consume content across multiple media platforms. She is also driven to enable educators and cohorts in applying these innovative methods and cutting-edge technology in their fields of expertise. Laura is an educational consultant, thought leader, and speaker on education, librarianship, and technology.
Acknowledgments
Corwin gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following reviewers:
Patricia Allanson, Seventh-Grade Intensive Math Instructor
Deltona Middle School
Deltona, FL
Marsha Basanda, Fifth-Grade Teacher
Monarch Elementary
Simpsonville, SC
Carol S. Holzberg, Director of Technology
Greenfield Public Schools
Greenfield, MA
Marti Hooten, Second-Grade Teacher
Leaphart Elementary School
Columbia, SC
Susan E. Schipper, Elementary Educator
Charles Street School
Palmyra, NJ
Margie Zamora, Digital Learning Coach/Instructional Technology Support
Elaine Wynn Elementary School
Las Vegas, NV
Every child has the right to invent,
tinker, create, make, and do.
Maker Manifesto
Introduction
“There are many ways to make a makerspace. But the best way to make it is . . .”
These are the words from my son Gavin, 8 at the time, when I told him I was going to be writing this new book, and his suggestion for how it should begin. So that is where we are beginning. Anyone can create a makerspace, but it is my hope that this book will help you make your makerspace the best it can be.
There are makerspaces, and then there are GREAT makerspaces! This new book is aimed to support ALL educators as they plan and create GREAT makerspaces for their school communities. Makerspaces are never done. GREAT makerspaces are always growing, evolving, and shape-shifting, and by nature are agile and responsive. So even if you are an educator who already has a makerspace, it is my hope that this book will help ensure that your makerspace is one that is most effective and meaningful for your school community.
At the core of this book is the belief that
No two makerspaces should be exactly alike, because no two school communities are exactly alike.
Whether readers are creating a makerspace for a classroom, library, or another space within a school, this book will help them uncover and roll out a space that is vibrant and meaningful to their school now but also sustainable into the future.
It is my hope that readers of this book will have already