Makerspaces encourage experimentation, exploration and the sharing of tools, materials, information, systems and expertise. Students can experiment with video production using a Green Screen, Lazer Cutter, 3D Printing, Coding and Robotics alongside learning how to create, invent, and learn. In a school they often have hardware devices, software, electronics, digital gadgets, craft and tools, and more.

Makerspaces provide creative time and space for teachers and students to build prototypes, explore questions, fail and retry, bounce ideas off one another and build something together. The spaces will not always include digital technologies, since some prototypes and designs can be built out of anything or may include various stages of design that move from traditional to contemporary and emerging technologies.

Makerspaces promote design and system thinking.

• Knowledge and understanding in digital systems and the representations of data.
• Processes and production skills in collecting managing and analysing data and in digital implementation.
• Knowledge and understanding in technology and society and learning in the technologies contexts: engineering principles and systems, and materials and technologies.
• Processes and production skills by creating sustainable solutions to meet needs and opportunities by investigating and defining, designing, producing and implementing and evaluating and collaborating and managing.

There are a number of different kinds of attempts being made at various schools. Some are creating ad hoc spaces by transforming existing spaces in classrooms, the library or into lunch time or after-school makerspace clubs.

Other schools are integrating aspects of design thinking and playfulness into the curriculum, providing time during the day or during a unit for this kind of free exploration.

• Recycled material
  
• Electronic components
  
• Digital gadgets

• Constructing tracks
  
• Testing inventions and solutions

• Green screen recording
  
• 3D Printer and Lazer cutters

• Laptops
  
• Digital gadgets and software and hardware equipment
• Collaborate work

• Digital devices, laptops, iPads or Androids
  

Thinkspace areas for:

• Collaboration and design thinking
  

• Enlisting volunteers as helpers
  
• Partnering with community organisations
  
• Using existing school resources
  
• Re-branding existing programs
  
• Seeking sponsorship
• Allocating school funds in next year's budget.
  

Consider:

Osmo - https://goo.gl/ZLFzq5

Ollie - https://goo.gl/MU0xav

Lego Mindstorm EV3 - https://goo.gl/9YXOmQ

Edison Robots - https://goo.gl/1uunJT

Sphero 2.0 and SPRK - https://goo.gl/THSrXr

The following is a set of ideas, activities and recommendations for starting a makerspace in your school:

BeeBot

PP – Year 1

Easy to operate - forward, back, left and right

Stops, beeps and blinks after each moveRemembers up to 40 commands - encourages sophisticated plans and programs. A great introductory tool for teaching sequencing, estimation and problem solving.

Kodable

Year 1 - 2

App and web-based tool

Classroom account with set tasks

Encourage 20 minutes a week

Wearable Tech

Year 1, 2 and 3
Learn to create simple electronic circuits and integrate them into wearable tech such as badges, wristbands, hats and clothes, and to ‘techify’ craft projects such as models, signs and conceptual machines.
Years 4, 5 and 6
Move on to integrate a ‘LilyPad Arduino (miniature microprocessor) and programme your wearables inventions to become multimodal, intelligent and sensory. See “invent to learn guide to fun classroom technology projects” for tried and tested classroom projects idea’s and instructions.

Makey Makey
Year 1, 2 and 3
Learn about conductive and non-conductive materials. Use various material with Makey Makey – which materials work? which don’t ? why ? Categorise materials, produce properties tables, research new words. Learn how electronic circuits are used to control computers. Use the Makey Makey connected to IWB as an alternative to keyboard and mouse, to control computer programmes such as a Pacman game and a musical keyboard. Research, Plan, Make musical instruments and game controllers using craft materials. Produce diaries of projects and videos of the results.
Years 4, 5 and 6
Learn to programme Makey Makey using Scratch and/or Arduino Software’s, to enable kids to make more complex projects and use a wider range of programming languages and techniques.

Scratch Jr (PP – Year 3)

Easy to use app (Apple and Android)

Students can program interactive stories and games

Learn problem-solving, design projects and work creatively

Scratch (Year 5 -6 )

Create a classroom

Drop and drag

Encourages collaborative working

Hummingbird Duo
Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
Develop programming skills using Scratch or Snap or Arduino software environments, and create and control intelligent models with effects including sound, light, motion, and an array of sensors. Work in small groups 2-4 per controller.

littleBits
Years 4, 5 and 6
Learn to control a wide array of electronic parts including sound, vision and movement, through using littleBits and making models from following the littleBits’ instructional guides. Work in small groups 2-4 per kit. Research new words, such as ‘inverter’ or ‘analog’ etc. - plan creative projects including creating a parts list, circuit diagrams and construction plans. Make Projects! Write up results / findings / lessons learned / improvements to be made next time. Produce video diaries, animations, blogs, photo’s throughout the projects.

Lightbot Jr

Year 4 - 8

Apple and Android App

Introduces complex principles of programming in a fun environment

littleBits Story Telling – Collaborative task with littleBits. Bigger groups work together to create a theatre/puppet show and use their model to complete the production. Demonstrate to school ‘live’ during assembly, and the World… through producing and publishing a video of your productions.

littleBits Programming
Use littleBits Arduino Bits to build programming into the mix and build on skills learned using Scratch and Makey Makey.

RoboTron Robot Construction Kit
Years 3 and 4
Use the Mechanics Kit to follow instructions to build simple mechanical models, learning about construction, wheels, cogs, axles etc.
Years 4 and 5
Use the Smart kit to follow instructions to build intelligent and / or remote controlled machines, such as remote control or sensory buggies. Learn simple programming techniques for models and changing their controls
Years 5 and 6
Use the Creative Kit to build and programme more complex mechanical machines.
These kits parts are also largely interoperable with littleBits, hence can be used to provide mechanical accessories to aid littleBit model making.

Micro Bits
Years 1-10

You'll know how to create circuits and design computer programmes. What it looks like! goo.gl/KKaN3F

Purchasing of Micro:Bit kits

https://www.kitronik.co.uk/5616-bbc-microbit-classroom-pack.html

Go to the BBC micro:bit Go with its online simulator goo.gl/fNbnF1

Lots of easy to follow lesson ideas suitable for Primary and secondary students
https://www.microbit.co.uk/blocks/lessons

Grok Learning Lessons

https://groklearning.com/launch/

micro:bit on the App Store - iTunes - Apple

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/micro-bit/id1092687276?mt=8

You won’t need to spend a lot of money, just things you have at home or school. Here are some examples:

• Cereal boxes

• Coloured paper/card

• Cardboard rolls

• Pipe cleaners

• Twisty ties

• Tape

• Scissors

• Felt pens

• Glitter

• Plastic containers (yogurt, fruit cups, small butter, etc.)

• Plastic & metal lids

• Pompoms

• Dowel rods/wooden skewers

• Popsicle sticks/paint sticks

• Florist wire/wire gauge

• Rubber bands

• Fabric scraps/buttons/spools

• Nails/screws/nuts/washers (variety of sizes)

• Cardboard pieces

• Styrofoam

• Tin cans/metal containers (mint, band-aid, etc.)

• Metal and plastic bottle caps

• Corks/clothespins

• Scrap wood

• Metal hardware (hinges, pulls, keys, eye hooks, fasteners

• Old paintbrushes

• Dominos/golf tees

• Metal rings/clips/brass fasteners

• Sandpaper

• Craft materials- pipe cleaners, pompoms, foam stickers, feathers, googly eyes

• Stencils

• Springs/plastic toy parts

• Balloons

• Playing cards.

Anything small, old, metal, or interesting to make cool and unique projects.

Code Club:

Students will enjoy “Unplugged’ Activities” as well as learning how to program using a variety of apps and software. It strengthens computational thinking, problem-solving, planning, designing and collaboration as well as having plenty of creative fun!

Computer Science Club

Free and available online - http://www.cs-first.com

Targeted at ages 9 - 14

Use unplugged resources like those at http://csunplugged.org/

Robotics Club:

students will enjoy the enthusiasm of a member of staff who creates and ‘plays’ in the world of robots! Set-up a Robotics Club and involve the students in designing and creating machines which move. The students can program, operate and control their robotics with software.

Earth Angels Group:

Set-up an “Earth Angels” group for students interested in making their school environmentally a better place through the development of sustainable practices such as maintaining a school vegetable patch, worm farms and composting systems, undertaking waste audits and managing a re-usable tuckshop bag system to reduce paper bag use. The Earth Angels can use library resources to plan a crop planting calendar, find recipes to use with crops grown, work out sustainable crafts and learn more about worm farms and composting systems.

Crafting Group:

Students will enjoy working on craft projects in textiles, glass, ceramics, jewellery, wood, paper, leather and the art of photography, which empowers students of all ages to take ideas from within themselves and give those ideas artistic form.

Remember:

Start with what you have and what you know.

Start with ‘guided’ making then invite students to begin their own ‘making’.

Remember too ... not only use- #hightech but #lowtech

Not all learning opportunities in a makerspace environment need to be high tech. In fact, some of the very best of learning experiences in a makerspace environment are created with e.g. cardboard construction!

• Tynker - Years 1-6 http://www.tynker.com
  
• Code.org - Years 1-12 http://studio.code.org
  
• Code Combat - Years 4 -12 https://codecombat.com/
  
• Scratch - Years pp - 12 http://www.scratchjr.org and https://scratch.mit.edu/
• Blockly Games - Years 1 to 8 https://goo.gl/5sAvG9
• The Foos - Year PP - 3 https://goo.gl/CrlMGY

• Create Technology
• Makerspace Projects

• Maker Space In Education Series… 10 Sites To Start Making In The Classroom

• Makerspace Resources
• Learn to Invent
• Digital Resources
• CS Unplugged Resources
• Symbaloo Resources
• Makerspace Lab
• Makerspace Ideas
• Makerspace Ideas on Pintrest

• Makerspace Resources and Programming ideas

• Makerspace in the Classroom

The Artifactory

http://artifactory.org.au/

This was Perth’s first “hackerspace.” It’s got a very industrial flavour to it and blends design, technology, the arts, and broad-spectrum tinkering.

Enkel Labs

https://www.enkel.co/spaces/

Enkel is a collective of innovators. Their focus is centrally on exploration of new possibilities, and they span some pretty broad ideas. The Victoria Park space is a 12 month project, with negotiations under way for a permanent space in Fremantle.