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"Few trends in K-12 ed tech are as hot-or as under-researched-as "Maker" education. The term generally refers to using a wide variety of hands-on activities (such as building, computer programming, and sewing) to support academic learning and the development of a mindset that values playfulness and experimentation, growth and iteration, and collaboration and community.  Typically, "Making" involves attempting to solve a particular problem, creating a physical or digital artifact, and sharing that product with a larger audience. Often, such work is guided by the notion that process is more important than results. The Maker Movement has its roots outside of school, in institutions such as science museums and in the informal activities that everyday people have taken part in for generations. It began exploding about a decade ago, thanks in large part to the enthusiastic audience of Make magazine and the popularity of public events such as Maker Faires (the most well-known of which was hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House in 2014.) The rise of cheap digital tools, including microcontroller platforms such as Arduino and rapid-prototyping tools such as 3-D printers, has in recent years lent the movement a decidedly techie flavor. Efforts to bring Making and "Maker spaces" into K-12 schools are still "nascent," said Erica Halverson, an associate professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a leading researcher into Maker education. But that's changing fast."

"The maker movement and maker education, in my perspective, are such great initiatives - really in line with what student-centric education should be in this era of formal and informal learning. Maker education (often referred to as "Maker Ed") is a new school of educational thought [at least in terms of having an "official" educational label - JG] that focuses on delivering constructivist, project-based learning curriculum and instructional units to students. Maker education spaces can be as large as full high school workshops with high-tech tools, or as small and low-tech as one corner of an elementary classroom. A makerspace isn't just about the tools and equipment, but the sort of learning experience the space provides to students who are making projects. (9 Maker Projects for Beginner Maker Ed Teachers) Social media has helped me gain a more global perspective and become aware of some of the problems associated with the maker movement. The two I discuss in this post are: Maker movement initiatives are often driven by more affluent white males. The maker movement is too often being associated with the tech stuff - Arduinos, Littlebits, Makey-Makeys - stuff that less affluent schools and community programs can afford."

"Tickle (Tickle Labs, Inc, free) is a free app that lets you program a wide variety of robots through a simple programming language and drag and drop visual interface, then control them from an iPad. Just some of the 'bots and systems controllable by Tickle include the Sphero robotic ball, a wide variety of flyable drones, the Arduino open-source electronic prototyping platform and Philips Hue smart home lighting. You can also program interactive stories and simple games using a library of animated characters and sounds."

"littleBits are ingenious snap-together magnetic elements used to create whimsical machines and prototype complex electronic circuits. It's impossible to short-circuit the littleBits or create a syntax error in your physical "program" since they only snap together the "correct" way. Kids from 5-85 love inventing with littleBits. We recently created two "Quick Start" guides for the trickier aspects of working with littleBits. You may download them here: littleBits Quick Start Guide littleBits Arduino Bit Quick Start Guide (for programming your littleBits-based machine) littleBits Cloudbit Quick Start Guide (for Internet of Things) Download our complete 20+ page workshop kit"

"IPads, maker spaces, 3-D printers, and coding skills top the tech wish lists for 1,259 school librarians across the country, according to School Library Journal's (SLJ) 2015 Technology Survey. Educators are hungry to bring their students even more-whether that's robotics classes or Arduino kits."

"According to Google Trends (see photo), a new term came into existence and quickly became synonymous with progressive education and a resurgence of STEAM education in America. That term is maker education, or makered for short, and can be seen in the graph as "born" according to google searches, around September of 2004. Although the exact number of makered programs is not currently known, schools that employ a progressive pedagogy (insert the word innovative for those working in the 21st century) or schools that make claims regarding the importance of differentiation, constructivism or experiential learning have built or are building makered programs. At first these programs seemed to be dependent on having state of the art Maker Spaces or FabLabs and high-tech tools, as most were found in well-funded private schools. That picture has changed rapidly in the past ten years since the makered movement has gained popularity, however. More and more public/charter schools and nonprofit programs are building programs for the average American child, that rival many private school programs. In fact, programs with limited budgets and space have reminded us that scarcity or "disability," are invaluable teachers in any good maker culture, as they breed creativity and self-reliance. Many of the makered programs serving lower income communities have access to mentors who never stopped working with their hands, even when it fell out of status in a consumer driven America in the 1980's (Curtis 2002). While lower income mentors may not know Python or what an Arduino is, they are skilled carpenters, mechanics, seamstresses, cooks and know what it means to be resourceful. "

Today was Dr. Davey's first Maker Day, and an amazing one at that! Here's a look at our day. All of the Grade 1-Grade 7 students participated in today's Maker Day. Students attended two of seven different sessions based on their interests: Minecraft/Coding, Collaborative Art, Beautiful Junk, Positive Graffiti, Making Music, Lego/Blocks, and Egg Drop. Staff members paired up together to facilitate the learning at each of the sessions, and the students directed most of the learning based on their interests. I (Aviva) worked with an amazing Grade 4 student that led the Minecraft/Coding session, and even worked with small groups of students on coding the Arduino. It was really quite incredible! After two sessions, students reflected on the day and on their learning, and then extended the "Maker Learning" back in the classroom. Today was all about the Learning Skills, problem solving, creativity and critical thinking. As you can hear in our video reflection, there were also links to our classroom learning including Science (Structures) and Math (shapes, figures, and non-standard measurement). There was also a lot of Arts learning today (with creating music and creating works of art including the elements of design). What an amazing day!"

"Eighth-grader Quin uses his passion for electronics to teach fellow students about 3D printing, arduinos, and other hands-on lessons in STEM skills. "

"Eighth-grader Quin uses his passion for electronics to teach fellow students about 3D printing, arduinos, and other hands-on lessons in STEM skills."

"Sixth-grader Quin uses his passion for electronics to teach fellow students about 3D printing, arduinos, and other hands-on lessons in STEM skills. "

"Making things with electronics is tough, but if you're just starting out, littleBits are an easy way to start experimenting with all kinds of projects. You can connect real world components to the cloud instantly, program If This Then That recipes, and even connect it all to an Arduino. Here's how to get started using them. "

"The renaissance of self-reliance has brought about such things as a flood of creative ideas on Pinterest, Arduino projects, popular YouTube DIY Channels, and the Raspberry Pi movement. But why should grown-ups have all the fun? Kids are born into technology, so why not include them in the experience? Teach them to fix and create things and you teach them to take control of their world."

""One thing we can bet on is that 'making' engages kids," Dale Dougherty, Maker Media founder told Engadget. Anyone that's ever been to a Maker Faire knows that's a solid wager. Children routinely crowd around booths and attractions at the event peppering proprietors with questions about how their devices work. They drag their parents to the marketplace to buy Arduinos, soldering guns, and DIY kits. Getting littles ones excited about science and crafts is easy when it's right in their faces, but then what? That was the question on Dougherty's mind, "what happens on the Monday following a Faire?" The initial answer to keeping kids interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education) topics was an online summer camp. A virtual meeting place for kids looking to expand their DIY skills and connect with other like-minded makers. Of course, once summer is over, those same kids are left in the lurch. Some schools have implemented a by-the-book rote memorization curriculum with very little hands-on opportunities. So now Maker Camp is leaving its summer roots and going year round with weekly projects."

"Guidelines and instructions are not the enemy of makerspaces.  Working through guided projects can help students to develop the skills that they need to further explore creatively.  It's true that some students can just figure it out, but most need that gentle push to get them started.  While things like LEGOs and K'nex are intuitive, many other activities are not.  If you just sat me down in front of an Arduino with no guidance, I wouldn't have a clue what to do.  But after following some example projects, I can start to feel more comfortable with branching out on my own. The problem comes when all we ever do are guided projects.  Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager warn against the "20 identical birdhouses" style class projects, where there is zero creativity involved.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of focusing too much on standards, rubrics and guided projects and zapping all the fun and creativity out, turning a makerspace into nothing more than another classroom.  It's tempting for many educators to just print out a list of instructions, sit students down in front of a "maker kit" and check their e-mail while students work through the steps one by one.  This is obviously not what we want in our makerspaces."

"Over the last couple of years, the Maker Movement has ushered in a new wave of low-cost hardware that enables anyone of any age and skill level to begin tinkering. Easy-to-use boards like the Arduino continue to lower the barriers to entry, while simplifying the prototyping process. Ultimately, this allows kids to explore basic electronics, learn coding, pursue STEM-related disciplines, and in some cases, even start their own business. Here are a few young Makers from 2015 that prove age is just a number when it comes to innovation…"