I got my first taste of “making” in April 2015, when I attended a session on makerspaces at South Dakota’s Technology and Innovation in Education conference. For those who don’t know, making is a type of education that has gained a lot of steam in recent years (pardon the pun). The movement is all about providing students with hands-on learning experiences, and makerspaces are the places where the magic happens.
At the conference, participants were given an opportunity to learn about makerspaces first-hand by going from station-to-station and creating. I remember feeling challenged, creative, and engaged—and knowing my students would feel the same if given a similar chance. I also knew creating such a space could be pricey, especially when you start talking about robots, advanced software and 3D printers.
