ABSTRACT
The teacher sits with another team, discussing their third cardboard prototype, and a scattering of students are engaged on computers and tablets together, leaning over each other’s elbows, whether they’re creating graphics for a story, debugging code, or researching background information. A few are quietly and individually focused on building and tweaking. A confluence of factors has given rise to a maker movement that finds sturdy ground and compelling uptake in education. Our traditional approaches to teaching and learning serve a time and place that we no longer live in. For many educators, maker education starts with an open-ended activity with simple materials. Yet others link school and life, by leveraging familiar, culturally relevant ideas and bringing them into the school day, from gardening to audio production, woodworking to sneaker design to electronic textiles and fashion. Overall, these efforts result in a shift in educational vision, culture, and systems.
