Page 8 - THE Journal, March 2017

FEATURE |STEAM
Eva Ferries-Rowe of Indianapolis watches the MakerBot 5th generation Replicator as it prepares to print a 3D object.
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| MARCH 2017
The conceptual boundaries of maker spaces are also expanding to encompass multiple subjects beyond the familiar science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) realm to include the arts, or even social studies.
“A real shift for us is teachers being able to set up maker-focused work spaces in their classrooms, so you may find a history teacher who is bringing ‘making’ into the history class,” said Moran, a recipient of the 2016 Superintendent of the Year award for the state of Virginia. “Our music construction studios have also grown and developed, and we have really defined ‘making’ beyond what some people see as traditional, with more kids using shop equipment, 3D printers and/or laser cutters.”
The musical component is one way to put the “A” (for art) in STEM to make STEAM, and it even includes rap and beat boxing — elements outside traditional music classes. “We now have those spaces up and running in our high schools, using things such as the Raspberry Pi Music Making Suite,” Moran said, “and we are starting to move those into our middle schools.”
Addressing practical needs of the community is fair game in Albemarle’s maker spaces, with many students coming up with creative ways to help people. “We wanted to bring a strong sense of empathy into the work that kids were doing,” Moran said. “One boy made a carrying case that could attach to his grandma’s cane so that she could carry her cell phone with her and not lose it.”
The Maker Mindset
J.D. Ferris-Rowe has seen the conceptual boundaries of making expand over the years at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. “Making is a mindset, not a location,” said Ferris-Rowe, who serves as chief information officer at the Indianapolis-based private school.
The latest additions to Brebeuf maker spaces include virtual reality products such as the HTC Vive, Unity Development Platform computers and Sphero products.
There is one 3D printer in the maker space and two in the digital learning lab. “The biggest challenge with 3D printing right now appears to be the time length,” Ferris-Rowe said. “Students are comfortable with the design environment once they understand how it works, but it’s just a matter of an instant gratification society. The idea that every single kid is going to get a printout with a classroom of 25 people, you’re talking days of printing unless you have access to many 3D printers.”
Ferris-Rowe contends that 3D printing
is most effectively used for independent studies in 3D design. Students can combine the technical assessment of 3D printing with the learning process of iterative design. “We pair up with one of our art teachers,
so that the art teacher is giving feedback in terms of design, artistic interpretation, and from a technical standpoint, we are always looking at getting better through iterative design,” Ferris-Rowe said. “We’ll have students come back with refinements even past the time when they are getting a grade, and that means we just created internal motivation in students, which is amazing.”
One way to solve 3D printing’s limited access problem is slotting the printer’s use for small group work through a maker club. Ferris-Rowe explained: “Club members decided they were going to do a classic Sphero obstacle course, but it was going
to include all obstacles created with a
3D printer. They basically ran an entire month of design iteration and determined what they wanted to print, what it would look like, and then we started running the printers constantly for a week, churning out the obstacles that we were going to
be using.”
Samantha Edwards, a media specialist at Fogelsville Elementary School, Parkland School District, Breinigsville, PA, recently added a 3D printer to the school’s media center maker space. Edwards was determined to use the equipment creatively and effectively and not simply “print random things with no connection to the curriculum.”
To make this a reality, school staff created an opportunity for students to write proposals for 3D printer projects. “If they are interested in a topic that
is covered in the curriculum, they can actually research that topic and create a proposal,” Edwards said. “They are not just clicking and printing .... Now they are using software to design their own creations based off the curriculum integration, and it’s becoming personalized.”
Ferris-Rowe cautioned that teachers should not be too hands-off in the design phase. Well placed guidance can save
a lot of time and frustration, all while