You know those students who asked for an intuitive robot this Holiday season? Or a circuitry starter pack? Yeah, we like those students. They know what’s up.
The Maker Movement is About Meaning
The constant reiteration of the importance of “STEM this” and “STEAM that” has led to the revitalization of hands-on education in many K-12 school systems across the country. While many movements—in education or otherwise—die out after their trendiness loses appeal, the Maker Movement, it appears, should be one of them. But, as we all know, educators are under pressure to complete requirements in their classrooms—requirements that do not include teaching the basics of circuitry or spending a month or two constructing a high-tech project. For today’s students, MakerEd is about more than breaking free from traditional learning methods—it has real meaning.
The Maker Movement, arguably, is about more than the tools kids use to create modern projects. While 3D printers and robots certainly do comprise a chunk of maker education, there is more to it than that. The Maker Movement has been described as a new Renaissance—a post-industrial version that is led by each individual student becoming one with the idea that making has meaning. Hands-on PBL is exactly where this central tenet comes to life. Imagine a school without textbooks; the only tools they have to learn with are primary sources. Now, realize that those primary sources are the students, themselves—creating real and authentic learning through hands-on, collaborative and interactive projects that have true meaning to them as well as to the world.
Simple projects and experiments directly lead to creative approaches to the problem solving. When one approach does not go right, the best students are already considering how it can be improved for the next round of trial-and-error learning. The results the second, third or even fourth time around will probably look very much the same as the first product. What may not be visible, however, are the improvements. As making continues and the creations are refined, making has gained meaning. The Maker Movement is no longer solely about making the most aesthetically pleasing objects. It has real meaning.
Teachers Want More Control over EdTech
You know what we say to that? Give it to them! Teachers know what engages their students and usually can relate to them a lot better than administrators and district officials, who have never even met them. A recent survey discovered that only 38 percent of today’s teachers have some say regarding the EdTech products they are able to teach with in their classrooms. Of that 38 percent, 63 percent want to be in charge of such decisions. Unfortunately, however, currently these decisions are made at the school, district or even regional levels, often leaving the hard-working and dedicated teachers stuck with accepting whatever is decided for them.
You may have guessed that budget constraints are a major factor in EdTech integration for most schools. Even though cost is the major barrier (ahead of student outcomes and teacher buy-in), the decision is still generally left out of the hands of the teachers. Further, some of the people who make decisions on education technology, so-called “school-based technology experts,” say that educators should have a say in the decision-making process. There are ways to get around the costs of new technology, such as online and traditional class fundraising. The problem is, however, that teachers usually don’t get the “okay” to go that far. Whatever the case, most people seem to agree that parents and district officials shouldn’t be the ones to decide how students learn.
If teachers are the ones who want to modernize their classrooms by adding technology, they need to be responsible for researching it and knowing how it works. Fortunately, pretty much every teacher who does want to teach with technology is more than willing to put in this work. It’s easy enough for them to research the multitude of EdTech products or collaborate with other teachers to gain the best understanding of the coolest classroom tools. Even if they only got to pick from a predetermined list of district-approved products, most teachers would jump at that opportunity. They’ve also realized that the emergence of EdTech in schools is likely not going anywhere and many teachers have suggested that training for how to use it in class should become a regular part of their professional development. We couldn’t agree more.
Maker Education is Changing the World
Maker Education has carved its way into thousands of schools across the country and its popularity is only gaining momentum. The importance of maker activities, however is being recognized around the world by people who have long since completed their education. Many businesses today are in need of workers who have a high level of technology skills and are proficient in finding new and more efficient ways to create. For that reason, maker education has taken off as educators have realized the importance of cultivating a wide range of STEM skills in their students.
Maker Education, or “MakerEd” has brought about a revolution in hands-on education and those who have had success as MakerEd students are, at this moment, in the position to change the world in more ways than one. Makers have become something much more than just weekend hobbyists—they are now business owners, job creators and problem solvers among a wide range of other things. Experts say that the “maker” industry, which is comprised in large part by 3D printers, is responsible for injecting approximately $29 billion into the economy each year. Aside from the economic benefits, making, also known as “learning by doing” is fostering critical thinking skills and creativity as well as engaging all kinds of students from elementary school all the way up through college. Since the economic and global potential of MakerEd has been clearly published, many schools have properly integrated MakerEd into their regular curricula in the form of makerspaces and project-based learning.
Making also intrinsically promotes innovative and interactive collaboration among students in the same room—or those who are nowhere near each other. Makers are sharers, who are constantly publishing their designs and projects to inspire others to do the same thing. While making is generally considered an important DIY skill to have, it also perfectly promotes a DIWO (do-it-with-others) belief that is perfect for the STEM revolution in education. Perhaps the most important implication of maker education is the global possibility that projects present. Projects created by makers, once improved to the best version of themselves, truly can improve the quality of life for many people, help restore the environment or result in more efficient ways of doing things. The world of makers keeps expanding and the possibilities for students to collectively create a truly innovative tool follows them into the classroom each and every day.
Robots Could Cut Out the Middle Man (Us)
The robots are coming—and they’re coming quick. Until now, there has been somewhat lighthearted talk about the possibility of robots replacing humans in many of our nation’s jobs. Robots, of course, can do the same work we can, but do it much faster and there’s the whole you don’t have to pay robots thing. Many people still do not take this possibility seriously, but it’s probably about time we all should. At the same time, the emphasis on building STEM and technology skills in early education should be multiplied with the idea that if today’s students, who are tomorrow’s workers, can outsmart the robots they might be competing with, they’d stand a better chance of getting and keeping a legitimate job.
The presence of robots continues to grow in the manufacturing world, bringing with them much improved efficiency and accuracy. Not only have they lowered the cost of labor, they have also played a role in shrinking the cost of the items they are making, which means they cost less money for consumers. Robotics tools offer a solution to human labor that is cheap, safe and cuts down on boring, repetitive tasks that often don’t appeal to the average worker. All that combined with the fact that much of the technology world, including the robotics field, is on the cusp of booming to another level, makes the chance of robotic workers actually taking off rise to much greater levels.
The ultimate goal of creating smart robots is achieving what’s known as technological singularity—the moment that artificial intelligence can truly think for itself, redesign itself, improve itself or build something new and better than itself. While scientists have not created robots with these capabilities yet, the possibility is a strong one. Robots, currently, are capable of performing basic tasks like fruit picking, shelf stacking, traditional factory jobs and even a little bit of cooking. Soon, it’s predicted, they will be able to carry out face-to-face jobs as well. The evidence surrounding the possibility for a robot workforce, if not alarming yet, probably should be something to keep in the back of your mind. It’s also a stark reminder of the importance for today’s students to develop skills that robots can not posses, such as creativity, resiliency and innovation. The technology is available and it should be maximized before potential future employees are marginalized before they ever even get the chance to work.
PBL Can Better Prepare Students for the World
The world is changing—and it is changing rapidly. In the education as well as the professional world, students and employees are now expected to show what they know in an interactive manner rather than taking a paper test. Project-based learning provides today’s students with the opportunity to learn concepts and create meaningful work that coincides with the material they are learning, in turn, learning said material on deeper levels. Technology-based projects are emerging as the go-to way for schools to drive collaboration in and out of the classroom.
Project-based learning allows teachers to break complex concepts or topics down into chunks that are small enough for students to fully grasp. They then link each component together in a way that is both thoughtful and progressive in nature, resulting in the creation of something where there had previously been nothing viable. In PBL, learning is contextual, creative and shared. Since collaboration is a main component, ideas spilling from the minds of unique students cannot help but result in a spark of critical thinking for each member of the group. Learning, then, becomes relevant to them, making them realize there’s a purpose to learning required skills and subjects.
In the same way, PBL also allows students to be assessed on the creativity of their project and its successful application instead of just the content matter itself. They may not even realize it, but carefully designed projects provide students with the chance to develop foundational skills that are required for success in today’s “real world.” According to recent findings, the two most important skills for entry-level employees entering today’s workplace are communication and project management. PBL can help start legitimately developing these skills in the time it takes for students to complete first grade. A project-based environment, coupled with regular EdTech use, is simple enough to initiate in the early stages of education and applicable enough that it will have a lasting impression on skills development.
We know many of you are probably enjoying a relaxing Holiday break, but, for us, the learning never stops. So, we extend to you a wish for a Happy Holiday season and a wonderful new year!
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