VSTE 2016 Presentation

If We Dream It,
They Will STEAM It!
Creating a Library MakerSpace
Fara T. Faust & Heather Thomas
Alanton Elementary School
Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Presentation
Resources
http://faustclass.weebly.com/makerspace.html

Heather Thomas, Library Media Specialist
•17 years teaching experience (7 in library)
•Fixed schedule with Kindergarten
•Flexible schedule 1st- 5th grades
•Open library for check outs and MakerSpace usage
•2nd year of implementing MakerSpace
•Very supportive administration
Meet the Presenters
Fara T. Faust, Instructional Technology Specialist
•28 years teaching experience
•19 years are a Special Education Teacher
•10 years as a Technology Specialist
•Instructional Coach
•Works with LMS as part of the Educational Technology Team
•Supports including coding skills as part of the elementary curriculum
•Writes grants to support the purchase of robotics for students
•Very supportive administration

A place where people access resources and
collaborate to learn through creating, exploring, and
making
• Can be high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech
• Could be in a library, classroom, common area,
anywhere!
• Can be open-ended (create, explore) or task
oriented (a problem to solve, challenge to try, etc.)
What is a MakerSpace?

Your Date Here Your Footer Here
Why Make?
• Teaches students how to learn through failing
• Opportunity to explore areas of interest not
covered in traditional classroom settings
• Collaborative learning
• Addresses the following components:
• Inquiry-based learning
• Globally competitive skills
• Flexible learning opportunities
• Career awareness and exploration

First, decide What kind of MakerSpace
you want -
•Techy?
•Crafty?
•Build, create, Problem Solve?
Where Do You Begin?

• Makerspaces may have low tech/no tech materials:
• Legos, K’Nex, Blocks
• Strawbees (straws and connectors)
• Toothpicks, popsicle sticks, straws, pipe cleaners,
etc.
• Recyclable materials
• Art/craft materials
• Cups, cardboard, paper,
• Building kits, manipulatives
Low Tech / No Tech

Makerspaces may include high-tech resources:
• Robots (build and/or code)
• Apps/Websites for coding
• Makey-Makey, LittleBits,
• Snap Circuits
• 3-D printers/pens
• iMovie Book Trailers
• Osmo
High Tech

1. Find a space (classroom, library, common area)
2. Get some stuff
3. Invite some kids! (start with a small group to test
it out)
4. Share! (Allow students to share their work with
an audience- create videos, take pictures, etc.)
How do I Create a MakerSpace?

• Crafts
• Time Commitment
• Signage
• Teachers Understand of Maker Concept
What have we learned?

• Introduce new tasks or new materials with videos (can
be shown on morning announcements or used in the
MakerSpace)
• Start small (pick one material, one task, or one station
or a few simple stations)
• Let students explore and see what happens!
• Get some colleagues on board and brainstorm ideas
together
• Use the curriculum to get ideas (great way to tie in
content)
• Check Pinterest!
• Use Twitter - #makered
Tips & Tricks

• Parent/Teacher donations
• Community donations
• Grants
• Book fair
• Library budget
• Donors Choose
• Dollar Tree
• Raid Unused Materials in your school (Science/Math)
• Old Electronics
How Will I Fund My MakerSpace?

• Who can come?
• How many can come?
• How long can they stay?
• How often can they come?
• Once/twice month at teacher’s discretion
• Collaborative block scheduling
• Language arts rotation
• Open schedule
How Do I Manage Students in the MakerSpace Area?

MakerSpace Pass Timers for
Time Management

• Soft-skills/21st Century Skills (creativity,
collaboration, communication) are so important. A
MakerSpace is a great place to foster and practice
these skills.
• Open-ended activities vs. “STEM” like challenges
• Kids take risks and work by trial and error.
• Tie MakerSpace to curriculum?
• Tracking MakerSpace usage?
Points to Ponder

• Scrap something if it doesn’t work and it’s ok if
things DON’T work. Kids need to see this. Have
them help you with the solution!
• Strive for a balance in your library… We still need to
foster love of reading.
• Noise/activity level-- Do you want compliance or
full student engagement?
• Meeting every students’ ability level
More Points to Ponder

• Storage & organization of materials
• Documenting completed projects
• Scheduling
• Amount of Students at stations
• Buy in from teachers & administrators
• Students clean up...or not
Struggles

• Magical thinking moments-Ah Ha Moments
• Students hearing other kids thinking and helping
each other problem-solve
• Students identifying problems
• Students don’t want to miss time in the library
Positive Outcomes

• Kids are doing the work. We provide the scaffolding
necessary.
• Virtually no behavior problems or kids off task.
• Promotes Growth Mindset.
More Positive Outcomes

• There are positives and negatives to MakerSpace.
• The important thing to realize is to provide
students the opportunity to work in MakerSpace.
• Just like the kids, we will fail, but we must continue
to find solutions for this worthwhile endeavor.
Final Thoughts on MakerSpace

Below are a few fabulous picture books to help your kids begin
thinking, innovating, problem-solving, creating, and even failing
like makers!
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (Love This!)
• Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
• Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
• Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis
• Awesome Dawson by Chris Gall
• Monkey With A Toolbelt by Chris Monroe
• Going Places by Peter Reynolds (Love This!)
• Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet
• What Do You Do With An Idea by Kodi Yamada
• Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen
•
Connecting Making to Literature-Focused Standards

• Coding is telling a computer what you want it to do,
which involves step-by-step commands
• There are many websites and apps for coding:
• https://code.org/
• Scratch Jr. (app)
• Scratch
• Snap
• Kodable (app)
• Crunchzilla
• Ozobot.blockly
• Tynker (app)
Coding

Presentation
Resources
Fara T. Faust
Instructional Technology Specialist
Fara.Faust@VBSchools.com
Twitter: @ftfaustEDU
Heather Thomas
Library Media Specialist
Heather.Thomas@VBSchools.com
Twitter: @hpage1432
http://faustclass.weebly.com/makerspace.html

VSTE 2016 Presentation

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