Upon reading this essential question, my mind went right to a session I attended at the Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE) conference this year. I walked into a large room that had several different tables filled with all kinds of crafting materials. The ladies leading the session gave us many opportunities to tinker and create as they shared 102 ways to make without technology. It was such a fun way to spend a couple hours. So naturally I was thinking I would need a bunch of craft supplies and stations for students to rotate to throughout the day. I still think this could make for a great Maker Day, but after reading through Maker Day Toolkit I am excited about exploring some other options as well.
Maker Day Toolkit is an excellent resource for creating a maker day that is focused on incorporating design thinking. "Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving." For me this method was very appealing because students would be working towards solving a problem rather than creating and tinkering without a real goal in mind (which is how I envision my first station rotation plan would work out). Groups of students would be invited to design and construct a solution to the given problem, question, or scenario.
So to answer the original question, I would need the help of many enthusiastic individuals to make a Maker Day come together and run smoothly. There would need to be an agenda that chunked the day into 60 to 90 minute activities. Students would be assigned to groups and expectations would need to be gone through with all participants. I would need to create a problem for the students to solve. And most importantly, we would need plenty of brain-powering snacks!
Maker Day Toolkit has an example problem, agenda, and a very complete list of resources to create the perfect maker day. It truly is an excellent resource that I will keep in my back pocket!
Resources:
Resources:
Crichton, S. & Carter, D. (n.d.). Maker Day Toolkit. Retrieved from https://www.itabc.ca/sites/default/files/docs/discover/Final%20MakerDayToolKit.pdf
Martin, T., & Tice, D. (n.d.). Makerspace 101: 102 ways to make without technology[Google Slides].
What is Design Thinking? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/what-is-design-thinking
Martin, T., & Tice, D. (n.d.). Makerspace 101: 102 ways to make without technology[Google Slides].
What is Design Thinking? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/what-is-design-thinking
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