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"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. "

"As a high school math teacher, it was important for me to create a learning space that welcomed on-demand wonder and exploration. I knew that I planned to have a few essential hands-on math tools, and in the last few years, I also knew that I needed to have other items that were essential for providing kids more creative freedom. With a few containers, manipulatives, and supplies, along with some technology, I created a space that my students would go on to name "the wonder shelves." What you are about to read was not an overnight process, but one that grew over an eight-year span."

"For our last day of class with a "normal" schedule (today), I met with my students in our school's 21st-century learning space. There's a sampling of flexible furniture, a corner with stadium seating, iMacs, a big-screen TV, an Apple TV, tables that also serve as white boards… chairs on wheels, couches with charging stations… it's a great space! Screen Shot 2014-05-27 at 6.32.43 PM Students' first task today was to finalize their multi-touch math books and submit them to me. Since some student groups were able to virtually turn in their books last Friday, I was able to embed their .ePub files on my teacher website, and use each unique URL to share all of the books in a ThingLink. Student groups downloaded and read no less than five books authored by their peers."

"It's an exciting time to be a maker educator. It seems like everywhere I look, there's inspirational work happening in community fab labs, a school launching a new innovation program, or a library incorporating STEAM into its space. At St. Gabriel's in Austin, Texas, we entered the fray last fall with STEAM by Design, an approach to constructivist learning that uses classroom space in conjunction with a dedicated fab lab."

"We live in an era where robotics and artificial intelligence will replace many of our current jobs. Global connectivity will continue to allow companies to outsource labor to other countries. Our students will likely change jobs every five to seven years. The corporate ladder is gone and in its place, is a complex maze. They will inhabit a world of constant change. But how do we help students navigate that maze? We often hear that our current students will work in jobs that don't exist right now. But here's another reality: our current students will be the ones who create those jobs. Not every student will create the next Google or Pixar or Lyft. Some students will be engineers or artists or accountants. Some will work in technology, others in traditional corporate spaces and still others in social or civic spaces. Some of them will work in high-skilled manufacturing. But no matter how diverse their industries will be, our students will all someday face a common reality. They will need to be self-starters and self-managers. This is why metacognition is so vital. Metacognition happens when students analyze tasks, set goals, implement strategies and reflect on what we're learning."

As a school librarian, I try to offer spaces where students can create, make, and innovate. Trying to offer a makerspace to 100% of the student population can quickly become limiting due to space. Offering a mobile classroom makerspace solves this problem. A mobile classroom makerspace library program allows classroom teachers to check out 6 to 8 makerspace activities with the needed supplies packed together in one cart. Teachers can check-out a cart for their classroom for a week. During that week teachers can unpack the activities, and create a pop-up makerspace in their classroom when it fits into their schedule.      Last year I tried this at Ed White E-STEM with kindergarten and first grade classes. The teachers and students loved the mobile classroom makerspace carts so much we added a cart for 2nd grade this school year. The 2nd grade teachers want to take it a step farther. They want the library to supply a book with each activity, so they can use the cart as part of a Literacy Station. The students will explore, make, read, and then write about their experience.   The second year of this program has been a learning experience. This year we were able to fine tune the offerings in each cart by teachers expressing what worked, and what didn't work last year. We used teacher input as one measure to create this year's inventory list for the mobile classroom makerspace carts. 5 things to think about when creating a mobile classroom makerspace."

"Last year I had the chance to try out a 3D printer for the first time. I chronicled my journey in a few posts including how easy it was to get started and how I was able to print a virtual reality headset. The team at MakerBot has just announced the brand new MakerBot Educators program. This program is designed to bring together teachers who are passionate about using 3D printing in their classrooms. The goal is to create a community of educators who share their experiences and best practices using innovative technology with students. MakerBot has already set up Thingiverse Education as a collection of 3D printing lesson plans for teachers. So it is no surprise that they've created a space for educators from lots of different backgrounds to share the way 3D printing has changed the way teaching and learning happens in their school. I love when companies create special spaces for educators to show off their accomplishments and share their expertise with other teachers."

"With so many Raspberry Pi projects to choose from, it can be tricky to find the one you really want to build. Our advice is to find a way to marry the Pi with something you really love. One great example is TV and movie robots - iconic characters from popular sci-fi that can be rebuild at home with a Raspberry Pi built in. Once constructed, your robot might be able to utter commands when a condition is met (perhaps a sensor detects motion). Or it might move around, learning about its surroundings, or reading information to you from Wikipedia. Whatever you have in mind, it should be relatively straightforward to plan and execute. It may take some time, however. Here are five example projects that show how you can combine a Raspberry Pi 2 or later with your favorite fictional robot. 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do The latest edition of the pint-sized computer is awesome. So awesome, in fact, that there's 5 things you can only do on a Raspberry Pi 2. READ MORE 1. R2-D2 We've all wanted our very own astromech droid, haven't we? Sure, no one on earth is (currently) operating a light speed drive, but Star Wars droid R2-D2 has far greater abilities than onboard spacecraft maintenance. For instance, he can hold torches, carry a tray of drinks, and launch lightsabers across pits in the desert. Okay, it's unlikely you'll manage to get your own R2-D2 robot to do that… but don't let that put you off. Check out this little guy, controlled by a Raspberry Pi. While this project was based on an existing R2-D2 toy, that shouldn't limit your ambition. You'll find plenty of R2-D2 builds on YouTube. There's a massive R2-D2 building community online. Finding one that has a drive unit should be ideal for integrating a Raspberry Pi (and perhaps an Arduino, which you can use the two together) and developing a more realistic R2-D2 experience. Arduino vs Raspberry Pi: Which Is The Mini Computer For You? Arduino vs Rasp

"I have a 45-minute commute to Knapp Elementary School each morning. Aside from sipping on my coffee, I'll tune into Philly sports radio, some Mumford & Sons or maybe even some local news. However, in December, my commute took a more reflective turn when I discovered an edu-podcast called #EdChat Radio that is now helping me think deeper in a quiet space away from the presence of students, teachers, parents and community members. As an educator and learner, making time to reflect on where your learning community is hitting or missing the mark is invaluable. "

"The revolution that began with the web in the mid 1990s has exploded with the advent of small, ubiquitously connected devices in every space and size. The kind of technological changes that took a lifetime in previous centuries has occurred in the span of a decade, and this rate of change is accelerating, not slowing down. With the turn of this new century, this digital revolution took another increasing pitch transforming thus the way we live and do business."

"As a female middle school STEM teacher, leveling the playing field among my boys and my girls in both their love of science and their beliefs about their potential success as scientists has always been one of my highest priorities and one of my biggest anxiety-inducers. Now, while developing a school-wide makerspace for every preschool-through-8th-grade child in my school, I feel a great responsibility to create both a physical space and a program that is welcoming and encouraging for all students. Coming from my roots in molecular biology research and learning sciences research, I of course turned to the scientific literature as I crafted my plan (in addition to my extensive visits to existing makerspaces). Following are some of my plans followed by the research supporting each plan."

"Maker Faire has been a hot topic at ISTE 2014, with education leaders from across the world discussing how the maker movement has embraced education and how we can gain so much from it as educators. The democratization of learning via the Maker Ed movement has made it an extremely exciting time to be an educator. Maker Spaces in education nurture innovation, experimentation and independence. Learners are no longer consumers, but active participants and producers of content in their own right."

"Since its introduction, Skype has gained more than a little traction in the communications space. While Google+ has added Hangouts and Facebook video chat that accomplish essentially the same thing, due to its pioneering effort, Skype has become the industry standard by being its own verb, in the same way Google has for search, and Coke has for soft drinks. It'd only be a little confusing to ask someone to "Skype," and then hope on Google+ for a Hangout. Or maybe it wouldn't. Nonetheless, Skype has a potential role in the 21st century classroom. (In fact, in August of last year we looked at 50 ways it could be used in the classroom.) To help in that regard, langwitches has created a helpful taxonomy to guide teachers on how to plan, evaluate, and execute a Skype conversation for learning. It starts off at the bottom with forced, awkward conversations, and eventually grades to the top, where authentic, free-flowing conversations occur. You can download a pdf version on her site."

"Created by Microsoft's Research group, TouchDevelop is a touch-friendly app creation environment that allows students to build apps using their phone, tablet or desktop machine. The environment has been designed with a detailed focus on providing a safe and enjoyable space for students to learn coding basics, progress their skills and publish their very own apps to run on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux."

"A week ago, I didn't think I knew anything about code. I could handle HTML and tinker with javascript, but my technology interests have always been in classroom implementation. So for me, #HourofCode is a new experience, and one that I had sort of turned a blind eye towards before. I knew the big idea--introduce students to coding and computer science in a fun and accessible way, but hasn't been a part of it before. While I recognize that coding could be meaningful in my English classroom, it was never a priority for me, and I simply didn't think I had the time.  One of my goals this year is to try new things and step out of my technological comfort zone. I want to learn more about STEM, coding, maker spaces, and everything else in our ever-growing field of edtech, both for me and for my students. So this year, when two of my colleagues in the math department offered to help facilitate lessons, I jumped right in. And it was great. "

"With technological breakthroughs, we have replaced certain aspects of our society with new tools, all while creating new opportunities for people to take up. While there is undoubtedly much debate as to the ethics of replacing man with machine, there is no denying the usefulness of using technology and devices to enhance our world space. Education is one such sphere of society that we are still trying to enhance with technology. As we have made progress, education and classroom learning have been slow to accept change, but it's getting there. In fact, with the comparatively small amount of progress we've made, we are already asking the question - will we even need physical classrooms in the future? We'll answer this question by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning and seeing if it's something that could replace traditional classrooms. Look here for a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages."

"After visiting dozens of makerspaces in preparation for our design, and now a year into our newly-built makerspace, I can offer the following recommendations to those beginning design for new builds. Not just the equipment and materials, but the architectural design. Some elements that we fought for turned out hugely important, and we found that there were some elements we missed."

"This article has been making its rounds in social media. I tend to agree with the idea that heavily-decorated, cutesy classrooms are distracting. I've never been a fan of a barrage of brightly-colored signs, Garfield posters and motivational phrases. However, I also see a real danger in district-mandated use of wall space. Here, the issue is less about bright and cutesy and more about things like word walls and anchor charts designed to create visual cues for learning. I see the point to it, but often this creates a text dump that students have to navigate (rather than having a simple notebook or website with tutorials they can access). It starts to feel like an encyclopedia had vomited on the walls. "