The Doors to Creativity Are Open

Our Makerspace journey began last year when I started learning about makerspaces at conferences I attended, from books I read, people I talked with and schools that I visited. To be honest, my first thought was that it was a lot of talk about arts and crafts and seemed like the shop classes that I attended back in middle school. But the more I learned, the more I realized that it was much more than that. Makerspace is a mindset. It’s about encouraging our students to create, to tinker, to design, to invent, and to innovate. It’s about not being afraid to fail and to take risks. It’s using what you have to make something new and different. Today’s students may be growing up in a world of technology, but too often they are passive consumers of information. They are not active participants who are producing or creating new content. They live in a world that is very scheduled and prescribed both at home and at school. For various reasons, many don’t have opportunities to build, create, and make things at home. Even the rigidity and rigor of the school curriculum has been prohibitive in the free exploration of creation.

This couldn’t have been more evident than when the doors of our makerspace were opened to students this week. Prior to entering the makerspace, I had a discussion with students about creativity and innovation. We also discussed WHY we have a makerspace and that although we have a makerspace room, the makerspace mindset should trickle back into their classrooms. There were multiple stations set up throughout the room and the students excitedly made decisions as to where they wanted to go first.

It was so interesting to watch. There was so much enthusiasm throughout the room that it was electric. They were excited. They were like hungry little puppies that couldn’t get enough to eat as they each immersed themselves into a station of their choice. In some cases, it was as if the students had never been given an opportunity to simply create something with no boundaries. They were hungry and eager for more. As I walked around the room observing and listening to the students, I was as energized as they were. Some things I overheard:

• This is paradise!
• This is the best library day ever!
• I’ve never colored on a table before. This is awesome!
• I love the makerspace because nobody judges what you make.
• It’s a judge free zone!
• Creativity is like your mind spilling over onto paper!

This week’s orientation into the makerspace is only the beginning. It will continue to grow and evolve. It will house static stations like Legos, KNEX and Ozobot Robots, but it will also have dynamic stations that will propose challenges to the students and change on a regular basis. You know you’ve got a good thing going for kids when the biggest problem of the week was getting the students to leave the makerspace when their class was done!

Our Maker Journey

The creation of our makerspace has really been a journey in and of itself. What started with a few ideas has grown into dozens. With every paint project completed, a new one is created. One of the most exciting, yet unexpected things that keeps happening while making this space, is the unsolicited help from our community. People have shared ideas, they’ve helped create displays, they’ve helped paint, they’ve donated supplies, they’ve built storage boxes, and so much more. Synergy helped build our makerspace and it is still a work in progress. The other exciting thing to happen throughout this whole process has been watching and listening to the mounting enthusiasm that is growing amongst the students. Although they have not been in the room yet because of the ladders and paint supplies, they can catch a glimpse of what is going on from the doorway.

“When do we get to use that room?”

“I can’t wait to go into the LEGO Room!”

“That room doesn’t even look like school!”

This enthusiastic response from the students has been energizing and motivating to get the room done, so that they can start using it to create, tinker and invent! Once the students start utilizing the makerspace, we will create a student led Makerspace Leadership Team to help generate ideas for how we can continually make improvements on it's use. 

The Maker Movement

The Maker Movement is about moving from consumption to creation and turning knowledge into action. ~ Laura Fleming

Our students are inquisitive learners, but they need creative time and space to dream, create and invent. This is the year for a makerspace!

The library used to be a place that students visited to get a book, to get an answer, and to get information. Today’s students come to the library to use information, literature and technology to create new ideas, to become critical thinkers, to work collaboratively, and to communicate their thoughts. The library is no longer a place to GET knowledge; it is a place to MAKE knowledge.

With this in mind, we have been working to add a makerspace as an extension of our library media program. We are transforming a cluttered storage area that is adjacent to the library into a learning space where students will be encouraged to explore their interests, to take risks, to play, and to tinker with a wide variety of materials. We want them to have the opportunity to design, create, invent and discover! We want them collaborating, interacting with others, thinking and questioning. We’d like to build a makerspace that engages our kids and makes learning fun. We believe that if we build it, they will come! Our student leaders will have the opportunity to partake in STEM projects that strengthen and enhance their learning experiences. They’ll be exposed to things they didn’t know they would love, which will unleash their imagination and individual genius!

We have a vision to transform this space into a makerspace!

  

 

Our Students Traveled the World Today

Today our students swam with sharks, walked on the moon, stood at the base of the Statue of Liberty, visited Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, traveled to the Galapagos Islands and viewed many landforms around the world. They were excited, energetic and amazed that they were able to do all of these trips without stepping foot outside of our school! 

Our school was selected to take part in Google Expeditions, a new product from Google that allows teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips. Google provided all of the equipment, we provided the students! The day began with the teachers being oriented to the devices and learning how to take their students on the virtual trips. As classes came down to the library and community room throughout the day, each teacher facilitated a virtual field trip for their students. They immersed their students in experiences that brought abstract concepts to life and a deeper understanding of the world beyond their classroom.

Although nothing beats taking a real field trip, a virtual field trip is the next best thing! As students traveled around the world they oohed and aahed over every new site. They loved how the trips made them feel like they were really there. Learning came alive for our students today and it was great fun for everyone!

This was a great site to see in the morning!

Google brought everything we needed for the day!

Teachers learned how to use Google Expeditions first thing in the morning!

Students traveled around the world (virtually).

The students swam in the ocean with sharks!

Standing on the moon and looking at earth.

Visiting the Galapagos Islands!

It All Started With One Question

How can we improve the learning space in our library? That was the question posed to my students last spring. Little did I know at the time how many ideas they would have and how busy the next few months would be implementing their ideas. I have to be honest, until that moment, it had never really occurred to me to ask the students how to redesign the library even though it was their learning space. Their ideas were well thought out and creative. They spent a lot of time brainstorming in small groups and sharing ideas. I spent a lot of time listening. It was truly one of the most invigorating experiences as an educator to see students so excited and empowered to make changes to the library that would benefit themselves and future students. We were able to get some of their ideas in place before school let out for the summer, but the rest was completed over the summer. We then waited in anticipation for students to return in September to see their inspired redesigned library! The pictures below showcase some before and after pictures!

Le Cafe Cooper

Book Nook

Literacy Lounge

Easy Fiction

New Tables

At a Glance

Student Approved

Students Redesign the Library

Although we are in the 21st century, most classes are still using the same desks and chairs that I sat in as a child. Curriculum has changed, pedagogy has changed, technology has changed, our students have changed, but our learning spaces for the most part have remained the same over the years. When I reflect on the spaces where I do my own best learning, a hard uncomfortable chair and desk does not come to mind. I also don't stay in the same spot for extended periods of time. In my home, I tend to shift between chairs and rooms depending on my mood and what it is that I have to do. Outside of my home, I tend to go to Panera or Barnes and Noble where the atmosphere is cozy, the seats are comfortable, and I can have a soft drink if I'd like.

As I reflect on how I learn best, I started thinking of the learning space in the library media center for my students. What I realized is that over the years I have made a lot of changes to the wall decor, but I have not made any significant changes to the physical learning space. The tables and bookcases are in the same places that they were in when I inherited the library media center ten years ago. My guess is that they are in the original location that they were placed when the school first opened and no thought has been given to them ever since. The learning space has to be conducive to how students want to learn, not how teachers want to teach. Therefore, I decided to ask the students to redesign our learning space to fit their needs. Their only parameters were that walls couldn't be knocked down and the computers couldn't be moved due to the drops on the floor. Everything else was fair game!

The kids worked in small groups to discuss the library learning space. Some groups sat at their tables to discuss and others got up and walked around the room to visual the changes. We then came back as a group to discuss their ideas and I was blown away! Some of their ideas included the following:

• Replace rectangle tables with round tables to promote a calm and cool atmosphere. They also thought it would be easier to have group conversations.
• Get comfortable chairs and bean bag chairs 
• Get some chairs with higher backs, so the smaller kids will feel more confident
• Add more bright colors
• Rotate the book shelves to make longer rows, which will help make it easier to find books
• Move the reference and biography books
• Move all of the books out of the middle area and make that the classroom area
• Add more lamps
• Add more quotes
• Add cushion seats
• Add a fish tank to help calm students
• Add more chairs around the library to give kids more areas to read

Wow! They thought of so many things that I hadn't thought to do! To get things started, I emailed our K-6 schools to see if anyone was interested in trading our rectangle tables for their round tables and I got a volunteer. Redesigning the learning space had begun! It is definitely a work in progress to implement their ideas, but it has been so exciting to see their faces when they come into the library and see the changes they suggested. As student leaders, their voices have been heard and the library will be a better learning space for everyone!

Students used Google Draw to design the Literacy Lounge area of the library.