Learning & Leading Through Technology

What If Every Kid Could Learn through Tinkering?

Quin Etnyre has been a featured speaker at Maker Faires in the United States and abroad, invented a product, founded his own company, and taught introductory electronics classes to alumni of MIT— a school he one day plans to attend once he finishes middle school and graduates from high school.

The 13-year-old first became interested in electronics after attending a Maker Faire, an exposition based on the DIY maker movement that promotes hands-on learning.

Shorty after that, Quin started making things with Arduino, an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. He tinkered around with the platform and invented ArduSensors, plug-and-play components for making electronic devices. He launched his own company, Qtechknow, in 2012, and sells Ardu-Sensor kits through sparkfun.com.

Quin is perhaps most passionate about teaching others about electronics and promoting hands-on learning as an education model. That’s what prompted him to approach officials at his school district last year. Arguing that typing was the only “technical” class offered at his school, Quin and his father pitched the idea of teachers using electronics kits in their classes.

Impressed by his presentation, the district now plans to have a DIY electronics program up and running by the time Quin enters high school as a freshman in September.

Eventually Quin would like to start
his own STEM school based on the
Montessori model. According to his
plan, elementary, middle, and high
schools would be situated on the same
campus so that older students would
be available to mentor the younger
ones. “It would focus on kids just
building things themselves in groups,”
he said. “The teachers would occasion-
ally have a lesson, but the kids should
learn on their own a little bit too.”
Although technology would be the
school’s primary focus, Quin has ideas
about how teachers could also incor-
porate other curriculum areas.
“I think they could teach most
everything, but blend it with tech-
nology—like for language, maybe
build an application,” Quin said. “For
some of the science or the leadership
classes, they might find problems in
their community and use technology
to solve those. And for social studies,
you could definitely research and go
on Google Maps and look around and
view visually from really far away, but
you could still see about 360 degrees
around you so it kind of feels like
you’re in that place.”
Between homework and sports—
Quin loves volleyball, swimming,
cross country, and track—maintain-
ing a healthy balance is a bit of a
challenge, according to his dad.

“He is constantly coming up with
new ideas,” Ethan Etnyre said. “He
has multiple projects going at the
same time. I’m not sure how he keeps
them straight, but he does.”
And despite his hectic schedule,
Quin also finds time to do kid things
like hang out with family and friends.
Of course, he’s already planning his
project for next year’s Maker Faire:
robots controlled by text messaging.