Makerspace Blog Share! Renovating The Learning Experience

 

https://yoursay.mvcc.vic.gov.au/libraries-makerspace/widgets/368472/faqs

This post is, you guessed it, all about makerspace resources in the library and classrooms. I don’t have any first-hand experience with makerspaces myself, so I did some research to find a fellow blogger and media specialist leading the way in makerspaces. To my delight, I discovered Diana Rendina’s blog Renovated Learning: Building a Culture of Creativity + Discovery in Education! I simply cannot say enough positive things about this blog.  

http://www.renovatedlearning.com/blog/

Diana has been a librarian for over a decade, has been working to transform learning with makerspaces since 2014, and has even written two books on transforming and designing library spaces and culture. This woman has quite the resume and her website is no less impressive. She describes her passion and process as “redesigning the physical learning space…through a cultivation of a participatory learning environment and culture” (Rendina, 2023a, para. 3). This attitude mirrors the Heather Moorefield-Lang and Megan Coker’s (2019) description of how “librarians’ roles are reinvented along with library collections and spaces, new skills and strategies are necessary, from technical ability to flexibility, and other skills” (p. 372). 

Diana's Books available on Amazon.

Diana’s site is well organized and slam full of great tools ranging from a “Start Here” guide for those interested in dipping their toes in the world of makerspaces, to the blog itself, to a “Resources” tab for more information on design, projects, funding, articles, other blogs, curations, etc., to presentations, and so much more. You could spend hours exploring these well thought out and valuable provisions. And it appears she puts out new blog content every couple of months. I signed up for her newsletter. 

For the purpose of this particular post, I am going to focus on her blog post How to Start a Classroom Makerspace from Scratch. As I said, I am completely inexperienced with this stuff, and I found this relevant for both classroom teachers and librarians. But, there is still tons of helpful information on the site for veteran makers too. 

First, Diana suggests determining what your goals are for the makerspace. Do you want to focus on collaboration in small groups? Do you want to focus on a certain activity, such as robotics? What skills do you wish to develop? Whatever you and your team decides, “make sure you already have a firm idea of what types of activities you plan to do. Don’t just buy a bunch of stuff and plan later” (Rendina, 2022). Diana’s advice aligns with Kristin Fontichiaro’s (2019) assertion that the strongest programs articulate how and why they decided on the materials in their space by citing “specific local industry, specific collaborations, instructional gaps, and community aspirations” (p. 53). Similarly to Diana, I also really like the way the Makerspace Playbook (2013) describes the skills approach to determining activities, which is to “determine the skills you want the students to have, and then find projects that give the students a lot of practice” (p. 26). In addition, Moorefield- Lang and Coker (2019) stress the same idea by emphasizing “the importance of tailoring the makerspace to the needs of students, starting small and focusing on certain skill sets or activity types” (p. 371).

Once you have a clear vision and goals, start gathering supplies. These don’t have to be fancy or the latest and greatest shinny toy on the market. Diana suggests staring with easy to find or recycled material, such as cardboard. Just stock up on some good cardboard cutters, hot glue guns with sticks, tape, and some plastic tubs… Voila! Cheap maker materials students will love creatively interacting with to learn. As director Lauren Britton puts it, “The beauty of the Maker movement, particularly in the library, is that there is no set list of equipment or programming required to make a space successful.” But, if the 3D printer is in your budget and fits your needs, by all means, go for it. 

https://teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2017/06/12/makerspace-makedo-cardboard-construction-kits/

http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2016/10/31/connect-students-cardboard-challenge/

Diana also highlights the fact this process is a collaborative one, and even a school wide makerspace in the main library hub is not to be undertaken in a bubble. In the same way, Moorefield-Land and Coker (2019) encourage “collaborating with everyone involved, brainstorming, making things (from flowcharts to core value manifestos) as part of the process, and connecting with local and online maker communities” (p. 371). Plus, as the Makerspace Playbook (2013) reiterate, recruiting patrons to create and mentors to assist is also a large part of the process. 

I hope you take the time to explore Diana’s many other blog posts and resources on her site. I think I will take a leaf from the Makerspace Playbook (2013) and begin gathering notes inside a “Maker’s Notebook.” Lots of Diana’s material will make it inside my book! I can also provide material for students to keep a notebook too “where they can start jotting notes, making sketches and diagrams, and capturing things they find inspiring” (p. 23). 

Thanks and have a great week!

References

Britton, L. (2012, October 1). The makings of maker spaces, part 1: Space for creation, not just consumption. The Digital Shift. http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/ 

Fontichiaro, K. (2019, April). What I’ve learned from 7 years of the maker movement in schools and libraries. Teacher Librarian. 51-53. 

Makerspace. (2013). Makerspace playbook: School edition. http://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf

Moorefield-Lang, H. & Coker, M. (2019). How to make a maker librarian. Journal of New Librarianship, 4. 371-379. doi:10.21173/newlibs/7/9

Rendina, D. (2023). About Diana. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/about-diana/

Rendina, D. (2022, June 23). How to start a classroom makerspace from scratch. http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2022/06/23/start-classroom-makerspace/