CLT #1: Critical Investigation into Inquiry and Liberatory Design Thinking in the Maker Environment
Makerspaces
Terminology
“ You can innovate as a hobby. Imagine that: a nation of innovation hobbyists working to make their lives more meaningful and the world a better place. Welcome to the maker revolution.”
What is a Makerspace?
Maker Mentality
― Mark Hatch The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers, and Tinkerers
Skills & Competency
Theories and Pedagogies
Making is intrinsically cross-disciplinary and based on (de)construction through contextualized active participation of making and sharing artifacts.
Constructivism
Embodied and Distributed Cognition
Liberatory DesignFrameworks
Local Makerspaces
Below are some spaces that I am familiar with in Vancouver where communities can engage in collaboration and hands-on creation together.
Ethos Labs
MakerLabs
Workshop, studio space with a wood shop, metal shop, ceramics studio and variety of tools.
STEAM Innovation Hub for Youths
Vancouver Tool Library
Langara Makerspace
Co-operative tool lending library with a variety of tools for home repair, gardening and bicycle repair.
Open to staff, faculty and students at Langara College
Reflection Questions
- With maker pedagogy built upon the individualization of interests, skills, and participation in a process (Halverson & Peppler, 2018), how do we as educators help faciliate or cultivate such "learner-driven" processes?
- Papert (2000) shows the challenges of integrating makerspace models into formal education settings, and Martin (2015) cautions that without intentional integration of maker mindset, formal learning will become "tool-centric"... how can we create a balance between maker pedagogy in formal spaces? What can that look like in your personal context?
Maker Mentality
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
One driving force behind the Maker Movement is the idea of "you can learn anything" and being inspired to want to make something yourself when you see someone else making (Dougherty, 2011). It is a participatory culture in which not all members must contribute, but all must believe that they are free to contribute when ready and that their contributions matter to the community, shifting the focus of individual expression to community involvement (Jenkins, 2006).
With the increase in interest for using PebblePad in post-secondary spaces, my supervisor at work has created a community of practice across institutions such that we can more easily share and crowd-source our knowledge together.
Ravelry Community
With interest in crocheting and knitting, I found a vibrant community on Ravelry, a place where you can find many patterns,advice and forums about yarn/fibre art. Youtube has also been a helpful resource for tutorials to crochet alongside! With the rise of TikTok during the pandemic times, crochet TikTok has become a safe space for sensitive souls finding comforts in crafts in the digital age.
Skills & Competency
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
In Jenkin's paper "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Cutlure", with the rapid changes in media environment altering our understanding of literacy, he mentions "New Media Literacies should be seen as social skillls, as ways of interacting within a larger community and not simply an individualized skill for personal expression" (p. 20). This resonated deeply with me,as the more interconnected we are with technology and digital spaces, the more distributed we are in terms of both our IRL presences, as well as online presences. The particular skills may also be dependent on the communities that one participates in, as the Maker Movement is build upon individualization of interest, and related to that, skill development.
In my professional context of learning the PebblePad platform, the terminology was quite specific and was important to understand the functions of the platform. Having a solid understanding in the terminology allowed me to consult the collective intelligence of the PebblePad community of practice, utlize my judgement and network to appropriate what I have learned to find solutions to help instructors achieve their goals on the platform.
Crochet Community
In my personal context of participating in crochet communities, transmedia navigation was rather important to navigate through the different formats of video tutorials, written patterns, and drawn diagrams. There was also a lot of playing around with found collective knowledge with using the basic shapes and techniques to appropriate into what I wanted to create.
Ethos Lab
Intentionally fusing Black culture into science, technology, engineering, applied arts and maths (STEAM), Ethos Labs is a Black-led organization open to all youth.
- Co-creation with everyone
- Center the Humanity of the Black experience
- People-first organization
- Importance of empowering youths as creators instead of consumers
What are Makerspaces?
(Cohen et al., 2016)
Makerspaces are workshops that provide people with access to tools and resources for making various things, often equipped with traditional machine tools and craft equipment, and more recently digital fabrication technologies, micro-electronics and design software (p. 285). More often than not, they are informal sites for creative production compared to more formal spaces such as schools, libraries and other institutions. They can also encompass online spaces where participants engage with each other and share knowledge about making (p. 287).
Constructivism
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
"To make is to construct"
This aligns with the portfolio-thinking processes involved with creating ePortfolios on PebblePad, focusing on ideation, iteration and reflection of their learning experiences. Utilizing multimedia to express and reflect on what they have learned, this situates their learning in concrete tangible digital artifacts that can be easily shared with others, and to showcase their skills. This is a better form of assessment as it solidifies their experience in context, especially aligning with tghe notion of "people create meaning through the things they create" (Resnick & Rosenbaum, 2013).
Constructing knowledge through active participation in the making and sharing of artifacts (Cohen, 2017) affords the creator an opportunity to situate and contextualize the object in a broader system, and can be more easily shared than abstract thinking. However, at the same time, Papert (2000) acknowledges where constructivists pedagogy can fall short, as "discovery learning" when orchestrated on present agenda of curriculum can be disempowering, falling short due to the ideas being learned are disempowered.
Vancouver Tool Library
Centering around the idea of "Why buy when you can borrow?", VTL offers affordable workshops on tool related skills and projects, with the vision to create a community resource with commitment to sustainability.
- Collective community resource run by members for its members, primarily volunteer driven
- Cooperative model, and operates under non-profit practices
This allows everyone to meet their tool needs without having to own an entire personal tool collection, saving costs, reducing waste, and connecting people together.
MakerLabs
Founded in 2013, MakerLabs has 26,000 square feet of space with various tools for woodworking, metalworking and ceramics. They host a variety of events, classes, and maker residencies. There is also a fabrication team available to help make your ideas happen. Membership on a monthly basis with access to all the tools, classes and events.
Langara Makerspace
Available to the Langara College community, no previous experience is needed to attend the free workshops to learn how to use the tools available in this makerspace. Faculty are encouraged to come and learn how to integrate new technoloies into the curriculum they teach. "Investigation of Making" through awareness of the object's puprose, materials, manufacture and lifestyle as a foundational component of Maker mentality.
Liberatory design is an approach to addressing equity challenges and change efforts in complex systems, hoping to create designs that disrupt inequality and increase opportunity to those most impacted by oppression. This reminds me of core concepts from ETEC565C: Ablesim, Equity and Technology, in which it is pertinent to reflect on our positionality and the biases that we as individuals bring into our designing process. I specifically chose this diagram as I believe the circular cycle reflects the iterative nature of needing to constantly check-in with the core values of equity and inclusion, and the importance to include members of the community to ensure their voices are being heard.
Liberatory Design
Distributed & Embodied Cognition
With the integration of technology our knowledge and learning is now spread across mind, body, tools and our environment, I believe it is important to include within the theories and pedagogies. Distributed CognitionMakerspaces provide the tools and environment that enhance our thinking through the use of physical tools, technology and collaborative efforts amongst others. Embodied Cognition Our mind is not separate from the body, and therefore through the act of constructing, manipulating and experimenting in hands-on physical interaction with our materials and tools, the sensory feedback from interactions create crucial connections to the cognitive processes of learning and meaning-making.
References
Cohen, J., Jones, W. M., Smith, S., & Calandra, B. (2016). Makification: Towards a framework for leveraging the maker movement in formal education. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2016 (pp. 129-135). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2023, January 17). Jenkins on participatory culture. New Learning Online. https://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-7/jenkins-on-participatory-culture Dougherty, D. (2011). The Maker Movement: Young makers and why they matter [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysTo7-VVg0 Halverson, E., & Peppler, K. (2018). The maker movement and learning. In E. Halverson & K. Peppler (Eds.), International Handbook of Learning Sciences (pp. 285-294). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315617572-28 Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. MacArthur Foundation. Resnick, M., & Rosenbaum, E. (2013). Designing for tinkerability. In M. Honey & D. E. Kanter (Eds.), Design, make, play: Growing the next generation of STEM innovators (pp. 163–181). Routledge. Papert, S. (2000). What’s the big idea? Toward a pedagogical theory of idea power. IBM Systems Journal, 39(3–4), 720–729. https://doi.org/10.1147/sj.393.0720
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Transcript
CLT #1: Critical Investigation into Inquiry and Liberatory Design Thinking in the Maker Environment
Makerspaces
Terminology
“ You can innovate as a hobby. Imagine that: a nation of innovation hobbyists working to make their lives more meaningful and the world a better place. Welcome to the maker revolution.”
What is a Makerspace?
Maker Mentality
― Mark Hatch The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers, and Tinkerers
Skills & Competency
Theories and Pedagogies
Making is intrinsically cross-disciplinary and based on (de)construction through contextualized active participation of making and sharing artifacts.
Constructivism
Embodied and Distributed Cognition
Liberatory DesignFrameworks
Local Makerspaces
Below are some spaces that I am familiar with in Vancouver where communities can engage in collaboration and hands-on creation together.
Ethos Labs
MakerLabs
Workshop, studio space with a wood shop, metal shop, ceramics studio and variety of tools.
STEAM Innovation Hub for Youths
Vancouver Tool Library
Langara Makerspace
Co-operative tool lending library with a variety of tools for home repair, gardening and bicycle repair.
Open to staff, faculty and students at Langara College
Reflection Questions
Maker Mentality
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
One driving force behind the Maker Movement is the idea of "you can learn anything" and being inspired to want to make something yourself when you see someone else making (Dougherty, 2011). It is a participatory culture in which not all members must contribute, but all must believe that they are free to contribute when ready and that their contributions matter to the community, shifting the focus of individual expression to community involvement (Jenkins, 2006).
With the increase in interest for using PebblePad in post-secondary spaces, my supervisor at work has created a community of practice across institutions such that we can more easily share and crowd-source our knowledge together.
Ravelry Community
With interest in crocheting and knitting, I found a vibrant community on Ravelry, a place where you can find many patterns,advice and forums about yarn/fibre art. Youtube has also been a helpful resource for tutorials to crochet alongside! With the rise of TikTok during the pandemic times, crochet TikTok has become a safe space for sensitive souls finding comforts in crafts in the digital age.
Skills & Competency
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
In Jenkin's paper "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Cutlure", with the rapid changes in media environment altering our understanding of literacy, he mentions "New Media Literacies should be seen as social skillls, as ways of interacting within a larger community and not simply an individualized skill for personal expression" (p. 20). This resonated deeply with me,as the more interconnected we are with technology and digital spaces, the more distributed we are in terms of both our IRL presences, as well as online presences. The particular skills may also be dependent on the communities that one participates in, as the Maker Movement is build upon individualization of interest, and related to that, skill development.
In my professional context of learning the PebblePad platform, the terminology was quite specific and was important to understand the functions of the platform. Having a solid understanding in the terminology allowed me to consult the collective intelligence of the PebblePad community of practice, utlize my judgement and network to appropriate what I have learned to find solutions to help instructors achieve their goals on the platform.
Crochet Community
In my personal context of participating in crochet communities, transmedia navigation was rather important to navigate through the different formats of video tutorials, written patterns, and drawn diagrams. There was also a lot of playing around with found collective knowledge with using the basic shapes and techniques to appropriate into what I wanted to create.
Ethos Lab
Intentionally fusing Black culture into science, technology, engineering, applied arts and maths (STEAM), Ethos Labs is a Black-led organization open to all youth.
What are Makerspaces?
(Cohen et al., 2016)
Makerspaces are workshops that provide people with access to tools and resources for making various things, often equipped with traditional machine tools and craft equipment, and more recently digital fabrication technologies, micro-electronics and design software (p. 285). More often than not, they are informal sites for creative production compared to more formal spaces such as schools, libraries and other institutions. They can also encompass online spaces where participants engage with each other and share knowledge about making (p. 287).
Constructivism
Personal context
PebblePad Community of Practice
"To make is to construct"
This aligns with the portfolio-thinking processes involved with creating ePortfolios on PebblePad, focusing on ideation, iteration and reflection of their learning experiences. Utilizing multimedia to express and reflect on what they have learned, this situates their learning in concrete tangible digital artifacts that can be easily shared with others, and to showcase their skills. This is a better form of assessment as it solidifies their experience in context, especially aligning with tghe notion of "people create meaning through the things they create" (Resnick & Rosenbaum, 2013).
Constructing knowledge through active participation in the making and sharing of artifacts (Cohen, 2017) affords the creator an opportunity to situate and contextualize the object in a broader system, and can be more easily shared than abstract thinking. However, at the same time, Papert (2000) acknowledges where constructivists pedagogy can fall short, as "discovery learning" when orchestrated on present agenda of curriculum can be disempowering, falling short due to the ideas being learned are disempowered.
Vancouver Tool Library
Centering around the idea of "Why buy when you can borrow?", VTL offers affordable workshops on tool related skills and projects, with the vision to create a community resource with commitment to sustainability.
This allows everyone to meet their tool needs without having to own an entire personal tool collection, saving costs, reducing waste, and connecting people together.
MakerLabs
Founded in 2013, MakerLabs has 26,000 square feet of space with various tools for woodworking, metalworking and ceramics. They host a variety of events, classes, and maker residencies. There is also a fabrication team available to help make your ideas happen. Membership on a monthly basis with access to all the tools, classes and events.
Langara Makerspace
Available to the Langara College community, no previous experience is needed to attend the free workshops to learn how to use the tools available in this makerspace. Faculty are encouraged to come and learn how to integrate new technoloies into the curriculum they teach. "Investigation of Making" through awareness of the object's puprose, materials, manufacture and lifestyle as a foundational component of Maker mentality.
Liberatory design is an approach to addressing equity challenges and change efforts in complex systems, hoping to create designs that disrupt inequality and increase opportunity to those most impacted by oppression. This reminds me of core concepts from ETEC565C: Ablesim, Equity and Technology, in which it is pertinent to reflect on our positionality and the biases that we as individuals bring into our designing process. I specifically chose this diagram as I believe the circular cycle reflects the iterative nature of needing to constantly check-in with the core values of equity and inclusion, and the importance to include members of the community to ensure their voices are being heard.
Liberatory Design
Distributed & Embodied Cognition
With the integration of technology our knowledge and learning is now spread across mind, body, tools and our environment, I believe it is important to include within the theories and pedagogies. Distributed CognitionMakerspaces provide the tools and environment that enhance our thinking through the use of physical tools, technology and collaborative efforts amongst others. Embodied Cognition Our mind is not separate from the body, and therefore through the act of constructing, manipulating and experimenting in hands-on physical interaction with our materials and tools, the sensory feedback from interactions create crucial connections to the cognitive processes of learning and meaning-making.
References
Cohen, J., Jones, W. M., Smith, S., & Calandra, B. (2016). Makification: Towards a framework for leveraging the maker movement in formal education. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2016 (pp. 129-135). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2023, January 17). Jenkins on participatory culture. New Learning Online. https://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-7/jenkins-on-participatory-culture Dougherty, D. (2011). The Maker Movement: Young makers and why they matter [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysTo7-VVg0 Halverson, E., & Peppler, K. (2018). The maker movement and learning. In E. Halverson & K. Peppler (Eds.), International Handbook of Learning Sciences (pp. 285-294). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315617572-28 Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. MacArthur Foundation. Resnick, M., & Rosenbaum, E. (2013). Designing for tinkerability. In M. Honey & D. E. Kanter (Eds.), Design, make, play: Growing the next generation of STEM innovators (pp. 163–181). Routledge. Papert, S. (2000). What’s the big idea? Toward a pedagogical theory of idea power. IBM Systems Journal, 39(3–4), 720–729. https://doi.org/10.1147/sj.393.0720