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There is growing interest from schools in the Maker Movement and Maker Education but with this have come some subtle misunderstandings about what it is all about. For one the modern maker movement is all about the mindset of the maker rather than developing a set of specific skills for making. The second confusion stems from a belief that the maker movement is all about the tools and the makerspace and that as such it involves large budgets.

The Institute of Making is a multidisciplinary research club for those interested in the made world: from makers of molecules to makers of buildings, synthetic skin to spacecraft, soup to diamonds, socks to cities. Annual membership of the institute is available to all UCL staff and students. Our programme of symposia, masterclasses and public events explores the links between academic research and hands-on experience, and celebrates the sheer joy of stuff. Its mission is to provide all makers with a creative home in which to innovate, contemplate and understand all aspects of materials and an inspiring place to explore their relationship to making. At the heart of the Institute of Making is the Materials Library - a growing repository of some of the most extraordinary materials on earth, gathered together for their ability to fire the imagination and advance conceptualisation. A place in which makers from all disciplines can see, touch, research and discuss, so that they can apply the knowledge and experience gained to their own practice. Alongside the collection is the MakeSpace - a workshop where members and guests can make, break, design and combine both advanced and traditional tools, techniques and materials."

The movement for more hands-on, student-driven learning is going mainstream, migrating from museums and garages into the highly regulated world of K-12 education.

Resources and information about the Maker Movement

The maker movement and with it maker-centered learning brings new possibilities and challenges into the classroom. It has spawned makerspaces and students are busy designing and making products. The danger with all this frenzied making is that it is very easy to miss the point, to focus on the product and not the journey.  

There is a change taking place in how schools approach ICT, one that has been coming for some time but is at the point of moving into the mainstream. A subtle but powerful shift that sees ICT build connections with the Maker Movement as a tool for solving what Bronwyn Moreton speaking at the ICT Educators of NSW conference describes as the 'I wish it would . . .' moment where a learner discovers that their technology doesn't do everything they wished it would.

Great article on research on the maker movement and learning

How will schools evolve in relation to the disruptive change inspired by expansive availability of informal learning networks? This blog post shares some considerations around the maker space movement.

What to do on a maker-workshop? Here some ideas for organizers. Make music with Makey Makey CNC cut marble track Program with Arduino Illustrate your dreams Build your own microscope and test the Berlin Water Quality A video game about the city's future development Grow roots and wings with Toywheel Furniture design with a laser cutter Dancing drones (a Dronenschwarm through a Web browser program) Robots upcycled A video game about the city's future development Kids have a dream Grow roots and wings with Toywheel

Get their hands dirty!