We’ve started a new club, the Library Teen Advisory Group (T.A.G) for students to give input and advice about what their ideal library would offer. With their help and ideas, we hope to move the library into a more student-centered, 21st century library space. We hope to refresh the physical space of library by adding a painted mural, student artwork, a charging station for student devices, a makerspace to support STEM and creative initiatives, and portable furniture to make our space adaptable to teacher and student needs. We also wish to add headphones with mics, digital cameras, and video cameras to assist students with their assignments, clubs, and other initiatives. Of course we would also like to hear from you if you have ideas and suggestions for changes you would like to see.
We would love to work with other teachers interested in being a part of the MakerSpace initiative. Makerspaces promote ITSE standards, Bloom’s (New) Taxonomy, and provide authentic tasks for students to problem solve. We are applying for an LEF grant this fall with hopes of getting some supplies to get the Makerspace started. While we have some plans and ideas for the space, we’d love to have some conversations with you to tailor the space to support your curriculum. Ideas for our makerspace will follow the basic format of asking a question and allowing students to imagine, plan, create and improve. Our lists include lots of problem solving questions, such as recycling items into something useful, completing challenges to build small structures, incorporating school spirit and character pillars into creations, and selecting items (characters, settings, equations, models, notes, symbols) to transform from 2D to 3D.
If you’d like to learn more about Makerspaces, check out the sampling of links below. We also subscribe to the magazine Make Magazine which you can check out in print or online.
Edutopia article on Makerspaces
makezine article
ITSE article - an overview
Maker.org article - value of makerspaces
We would love to work with other teachers interested in being a part of the MakerSpace initiative. Makerspaces promote ITSE standards, Bloom’s (New) Taxonomy, and provide authentic tasks for students to problem solve. We are applying for an LEF grant this fall with hopes of getting some supplies to get the Makerspace started. While we have some plans and ideas for the space, we’d love to have some conversations with you to tailor the space to support your curriculum. Ideas for our makerspace will follow the basic format of asking a question and allowing students to imagine, plan, create and improve. Our lists include lots of problem solving questions, such as recycling items into something useful, completing challenges to build small structures, incorporating school spirit and character pillars into creations, and selecting items (characters, settings, equations, models, notes, symbols) to transform from 2D to 3D.
If you’d like to learn more about Makerspaces, check out the sampling of links below. We also subscribe to the magazine Make Magazine which you can check out in print or online.
Edutopia article on Makerspaces
makezine article
ITSE article - an overview
Maker.org article - value of makerspaces