They go by names like littleBits, Makey Makey, Squishy Circuits and Makeblock, and their goal is to get kids thinking like inventors instead of passive learners. Aligned with the maker movement—which focuses on using hands-on activities like building, sewing, assembling and computer programming for learning—the kits provide a foundation that teachers can use for guided projects both in and out of the classroom.
But are pre-packaged kits really in the spirit of the maker movement, or are they just leading students down a narrow path without allowing them to be truly creative, inventive and genius?
Sylvia Martinez, co-author of “Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom,” says the answer to that question depends on the kit itself….
