T he impulse to create is one of the most basic human drives. As far back as the Stone Age, we
were using materials in our environment to fashion tools for solving the
problems we encountered. And in the
millions of years since then, we have
never stopped creating. In fact, the
rise of civilization is largely defined by
the progress of technology of one kind
or another.
Today, the availability of affordable constructive technology and the
ability to share online has fueled the
latest evolutionary spurt in this facet
of human development. We stand at a
crossroads marking the end of decades
of thoughtless consumption and helplessness and the beginning of a new
age of personal empowerment, creation, and mastery of our world that
results from using technology to solve
personal problems and amplify human
potential.
New tools that enable hands-on
learning—3D printers, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computers,
e-textiles, “smart” materials, and new
programming languages—are giving
individuals the power to invent. We’re
not just talking adults. Children of all
ages can use these tools to move from
passive receivers of knowledge to real-world makers in their own right. This
has the potential to completely revolutionize education as we know it. And
the movement has already begun.
Welcome to the Maker Movement
The key to the explosion of the maker
movement is accessibility. We have
arrived at a point in time when ingenious new inventions are affordable
and often free. Anyone can easily find
and share tools, instructions, and ideas
online, where a vibrant community of
hundreds of thousands of global prob-lem-solvers congregates—when they’re
not collaborating face to face.
In 2013, there were more than 100
Maker Faires—“the greatest show-and-tells on earth”—and Mini Maker
Faires across the globe. At last year’s
Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, more than 150,000 children and
adults gathered over a weekend to
make things, show off, challenge one
another, laugh, play, invent, tinker,
solve problems, and inspire.
At a Maker Faire, everywhere you
look, children and adults are working together in formal and informal
settings. In this magical environment full of fire-breathing sculptures; cupcake cars; bicycle-powered
rock bands; soda and Mentos–
propelled fountains; and workshops in
programming, soldering, welding,
lock-picking, knitting, crocheting,
and robot making, it is expertise—
rather than the age of the expert—
that is the coin of the realm. Makers
are constructing knowledge as they
build physical artifacts that have
real-world value.
Making in the Classroom
Fortunately for educators, making
overlaps with the natural inclination of children to learn by doing.
The maker movement values human
passion, capability, and the ability to
make things happen and solve problems anywhere, anytime.
Classrooms that celebrate the process of design and making, which includes overcoming challenges, produce
students who start to believe they can
solve any problem. Students learn to
trust themselves as competent problem
solvers who don’t need to be told what
to do next. This stance can be a crucial
change for children who are used to
getting explicit directions every minute of every day. It can also illuminate
for teachers how authentic assessment
can really work in the classroom.
The learning-by-doing approach
also has precedents in education:
project-based learning, Jean Piaget’s
constructivism, and Seymour Papert’s
constructionism. These theories explain the remarkable accomplishments
of young makers and remind educators that every classroom needs to be a
place where, as Piaget taught, “
knowledge is a consequence of experience.”
Constructionism. Papert’s theory of
learning provides the theoretical
basis for making, which is a stance
toward learning that is predicated on
the active construction of a shareable
Give your students access to the latest hands-on technologies and permission to invent something
that interests them. Then stand back while they transform from passive receivers of knowledge to
real-world makers who are empowered to design, build, and share their own amazing artifacts.
