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Creation-based tasks promote higher-order thinking, encourage collaboration, and connect students to real-world learning. Whether you're teaching in a project-based learning classroom, engaging students with authentic assessments, or committed to pushing students to analyze and synthesize, providing opportunities for creation is a must.

Students who are "making" to demonstrate their learning can produce content that is shareable and valuable. Their creations can be geared toward a specific audience and viewed outside of the classroom. The sense of purpose that students have as creators can be leveraged to increase engagement and get learners of all ages excited about content.

There are a handful of dynamic iPad apps that can turn your students into creators. This doesn't happen magically when they launch the apps. Combined with thoughtful planning, rigorous tasks, and clear expectations, your students can create powerful products that show you -- and the world -- what they've learned.

Book Creator

What better way to have students show their understanding of a topic than to write a book about it? Using Book Creator, students from kindergarten through high school can demonstrate their understanding of butterflies, ancient Rome, or the scientific method by creating their own iBook. This app gives students just enough options to make it friendly for young learners and dynamic for older students.

Shadow Puppet Edu

This narrated slideshow app is perfect for student creators across the content areas. If you've heard me speak about my favorite apps, I'm always stressing quality over quantity. Shadow Puppet Edu can be used for tasks in all subjects and is especially useful in younger grades. The combination of voice recording and images promotes speaking skills and is a great choice for classrooms with students of mixed abilities.

Explain Everything

A list of creation apps would not be complete without a mention of this powerful iPad app. Explain Everything is already used in classrooms across the world because of its creation potential. Students can record their voices in this screencasting app and produce content that demonstrates their understanding of a topic -- and can be easily shared with authentic audiences.

Adobe Voice

Adobe Voice is one of my favorite apps to share with teachers in workshops, because the classroom applications for this storytelling tool are immediately apparent. Users of any age can combine images, icons, text, and music with their own voices. It keeps students in a closed ecosystem where they can easily search for the perfect picture to add to their presentation. The final product is of such a high quality that you might not imagine how easy it is to use until you dive in.

Thinglink

Students live in a world where they must make meaning from a variety of media. Gathering information from websites and videos is the new normal for students, and it's crucial that we prepare them to navigate the digital landscape. Thinglink gives children the ability to layer media on top of an image, turning them into curators of resources. These might be video clips that are connected to information about different parts of the digestive system, or maybe links to deeper information about Brazil placed on top of a map of the country.

Buncee for Edu

With this creation app, students can make a variety of digital creations straight from their iPad. They can build a presentation or tell a story with a single or multiple slides. The interface is kid-friendly, and Buncee for Edu makes it simple to share final creations with classmates or a larger audience.

Pages

I'm a big fan of the Apple iOS apps for student creators. Pages has tons of templates for students looking to create a variety of content. Whether they start from scratch or work from a pre-made design, students can make professional-quality products that show what they've learned about a particular topic. This app gives them plenty of options for customizing content -- and it's easy to use on an iPad.

I've highlighted some of my favorite iPad apps for student creators. Add your favorites (and share how you use them) in the comments section below!

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Creation-based tasks promote higher-order thinking, encourage collaboration, and connect students to real-world learning. Whether you're teaching in a project-based learning classroom, engaging students with authentic assessments, or committed to pushing students to analyze and synthesize, providing opportunities for creation is a must. Students who are "making" to demonstrate their learning can produce content that is shareable and valuable.

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces | Common Sense Education

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Digital Resources for School Makerspaces is a list of 18 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

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Makerspaces, sometimes also referred to as hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs are creative, DIY spaces where people can gather to create, invent, and learn. In libraries, they often have 3D printers, software, electronics, craft and hardware supplies and tools, and more.
definition by
3D Printing - A 3D printer is a common piece of equipment in makerspaces, but getting kids' original designs on it can be tricky. Effective use of the 3D printer as a learning tool allows kids to make their own designs to print, rather than just finding files from other designers to use. For young kids, many CAD (Computer Assisted Design) programs are too complex or sophisticated, but below are some apps that will make 3D design simple enough for kids as young as 7 or 8. And others can now turn student drawn work into a printable file as well.
- Blokify is a 3D modeling app that allows kids to create using cubes. It is very accessible to even younger students, so kids can create and print toys to play with. The creations are comprised only of cubes, making it very similar visually to Minecraft.
Production/Presentation Part of the design process that we focus on in a makerspace is sharing your work with others. Presentation and Production apps allow students to explain their learning, narrate pictures of their work, or share their final products through digital portfolios or slideshows. This is also so helpful when a student is using equipment in the makerspace that needs to be returned (Legos, for example). These apps allow them to document their work before they have to take it back apart. Coding There is a push to have all students learning how to code. As a result, developers are coming out with some very user-friendly coding apps for students of all ages. Once students understand the basics of coding, they are able to program much of the equipment found in makerspaces - MaKey MaKeys, Arduinos, Spheros, Lego WeDo motors, and more.
Wendy Harrop is the Learning Resource Teacher at Summit Elementary Shcool ,in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. She teaches Library/Technology classes in the library and the Makerspace for students from K through 4th grade. She also helps integrate technology throughout the building and is the gifted coordinator for Summit School. Wendy is in her 21st year of teaching. When she's not teaching, or making/exploring new technology, she loves traveling, cooking, reading, being outdoors, and playing with my her two sons.

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Makerspaces, sometimes also referred to as hackerspaces, hackspaces, and fablabs are creative, DIY spaces where people can gather to create, invent, and learn. In libraries, they often have 3D printers, software, electronics, craft and hardware supplies and tools, and more.

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Resources & Apps for Digital Makerspaces

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Resources & Apps for Digital Makerspaces

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In 2013, I wrote a brief blog post about a new technology elective class I had created. At that time the class was called Digital Media, but over the years it has evolved into a digital maker space we call Design Lab. It has been five years since that blog post and I am still receiving emails from teachers who have questions about my Design Lab class. How does this class work? What kinds of programs do you use? What are the assignments? How is the class organized?

So here it is: a crash course on my middle school Design Lab class.

I started by gathering resources from conferences: the CUE conference , the ISTE conference and an EdTechTeam Google Summit . I knew our budget was lean, so I focused on free programs.

These conferences opened my eyes to the wide variety of digital programs available online for free. I wanted my students to be able to choose which of these programs they would like to use, rather than me teaching one program to all of them at the same time. Similar to my English class, where students choose the books they read and the topics they write about, I knew students would be more engaged in and enthusiastic about their work if they could make these choices themselves.

To facilitate this student-centered classroom, I created a website with a page for each project option. I added video tutorials so my students could work at their own pace. The new Google Sites makes it easy to build a class hub and embed just about anything our students need (click image below to view our site).

Most days my students work on projects that they have chosen, and they decide when they are ready to turn in their final work and move on to their next project. Some students work on one detailed project for a month or more, while other students complete a new project every week.

For instance, one year a group of boys formed their own company and spent an entire year teaching themselves so they could design, code and market their own app game.

Another student produced over a dozen stop-motion animations with Stykz, while her friend drew cartoon animations with Pencil2D.

Another student spent months using to code this calculator program , which he revised every time he learned a new math concept.

When students are given the freedom (and responsibility) to choose and manage their own projects, they discover that with enough time and access to resources, they can learn anything. If I hear a student say, "That'll take forever to learn," I remind them that they have 90 minutes every other day for a whole semester, so why not give it a try? This freedom also allows students to abandon a project if they decide it isn't working for them. A lot of valuable learning still happens, even if they decide to move on to another project.

Since most of our time is spent working on individual projects, we start each class period with a shared experience. We might watch a career-related video from PBS Learning Media , or one that shows the powerful potential of the programs they are using, like these 3D-printed or . Some days we watch a new tutorial together, and often we start class by looking at a student's project and hearing what they have learned.

Managing the workflow of 32 students working on 32 different projects at their own pace was a new challenge for this veteran English teacher. I decided to set up a system where students would submit a project proposal to let me know what they planned to make, and when they were finished, they would answer reflection questions about their work. (The reflection questions come from Whitfield Career Academy's 21st Century Learning Academy, which adapted them from High Tech High in San Diego.)

After completing a project, my students choose to answer one of each kind of reflection question: backward-looking, inward-looking, outward-looking and forward-looking. This work helps students identify what they learned, better understand how they work through difficulties, and reinforces the many new skills they have developed throughout each project.

I embedded these Google Forms on our website for easy access, and the students complete them as needed for their projects.

Another step in completing a project is to add it to their digital portfolio (also a Google Site), along with a paragraph about the project. This portfolio work builds my students' skills in digital literacy, as well as writing and graphic design.

After experimenting with a variety of programs over the past five years, we now offer these free options, which we have downloaded on our classroom computers:

We also use free online programs, which work well with Chromebooks:

We have iMac computers in our Design Lab classes, so our students also create and GarageBand projects. For PC or Chromebook film production, is a great online option.

My students may also choose to work through tutorials to learn computer science skills like coding. Free online tutorial options include:

The choices offered on Khan Academy can be overwhelming, so I like to start with the Pixar in a Box series . The behind-the-scenes videos of the Pixar work spaces are especially inspiring.

Around the same time I created this class, Dale Dougherty 's Maker Education movement was taking off . Our librarian set up a Maker Lab in the library, and I wrote a grant for a 3D printer. Although my Design Lab students weren't tinkering in the Maker Lab with hands-on projects, I realized that the work they were doing was a digital version of the maker philosophy:
Maker education is an interactive, open-ended approach that is learner-driven and allows for the time and space needed to develop diverse skills, knowledge, and ways of thinking. By harnessing the power of making, maker education allows us to create engaging and motivating learning experiences. ( http://makered.org/frequently-asked-questions/
Similar to the tinkering that goes on in a maker space, my Design Lab class is always evolving. Students suggest new programs to add to our website, and I change the name to better represent what we do. First we were Digital Media, then we were Digital Design, and now we are Design Lab. "Digital" is a given, but what my students do with it is up to their own Design.

Even if you aren't teaching an elective technology class, your students could use digital programs to demonstrate learning in your academic classes. Here are some ways:

Whether in a hands-on Maker Space or online in a Design Lab, the experimentation, creativity and ownership of making offer powerful learning opportunities. As Dale Dougherty says, "Through maker education, youth develop new perspectives, a belief in their own abilities, and a passion for learning. Maker education can also assist educators with moving towards a more comprehensive educational approach that better reflects and incorporates the diverse, complex, and ever-changing nature of our world." How might you offer your students opportunities to design, create and make as part of your content area curriculum? Just like I tell my students when they are working on their projects, the possibilities are endless.
If you want to learn more about how to incorporate digital making in your classroom, take our free, online course Digital Portfolios with Maker Ed on KQED Teach.
Editor's Note:

My Design Lab Class: A Digital Maker Space

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My Design Lab Class: A Digital Maker Space

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In 2013, I wrote a brief blog post about a new technology elective class I had created. At that time the class was called Digital Media, but over the years it has evolved into a digital maker space we call Design Lab. It has been five years since that blog post and I am still...

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Blog posting from a scrappy mobile Makerspace educator

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Blog posting from a scrappy mobile Makerspace educator

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This article is in our guide sponsored by Adobe:
What's Next for Maker Education
More articles from this guide:

Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant. When you're building a makerspace on a budget, you learn that resources are everywhere-and they aren't always what you expect.

Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant.

For three years I and my fellow cofounders Kim Martin and Beth Compton, have created, developed, and run Canada's first mobile makerspace- the MakerBus. As an entirely community-driven (pun intended) makerspace, we have had to master doing a lot with very little. As we have learned, while money is extremely useful, no amount of it can replace the value of an engaged, creative community. Below I share some ideas for creating makerspaces at various price points, offering advice for building a $100 and a (nearly) $0 community makerspace.

Creativity is priceless

When it comes to creating a makerspace, large amounts of creativity can easily overcome not having large amounts of money. With the proper mindset, even a ream of office paper can provide a makerspace with endless possibilities. In our experience, makerspaces come in three main varieties-library makerspaces, school makerspaces, and community makerspaces. No matter which type you're building, with a little creativity you can outfit it with amazing, low-cost everyday items.

If you don't have a specific use for a piece of technology, don't bother spending your money on it.

Library makerspaces have access to old books and can create community drop boxes for donations of unwanted technology. If you're building a school makerspace, turn to your parent community. From donations of cardboard, to old cellphones, to veterinary-grade animal lubricant (that's another story), we've seen parent communities play vital roles. When planning a community makerspace, approach businesses for unwanted materials, collect unwanted technology, or, when all else fails, go dumpster diving.

A Budget Mindset

When creating a makerspace on a budget, ask yourself this question: Do you really need that _______? The Maker movement is about more than technology; don't feel like you need iPads, laptops, or 3D printers to create a successful makerspace. If you don't have a specific use for a piece of technology (or the time and drive to learn how to use it), don't bother spending your money it. Instead, spend your money on essential things that be can used again and again; scissors are always needed, and a having a soldering iron is a good idea.

If money is tight, focus on things that you can buy a lot of for very little money. Sites like eBay and AliBaba will quickly become your friend. As I write this article, you can buy 100 assorted color LED lights for $2.20 (including delivery). There is a degree of risk using these sites. (If a deal seems to good to be true, it might be.) But it's safe to gamble $2.20 if you have a good chance of receiving 100 LEDs. Pre-assembled kits (like those from littleBits, makedo, and BrushBots) are attractive because they save the time of finding the individual parts, but it's often considerably cheaper to buy the component pieces. Think about whether you can afford convenience or if you'd rather spend more of your time to save more of your money.

How to build a $100 makerspace

If money is tight, focus on things that you can buy a lot of for very little . . . As I write this article, you can buy 100 assorted color LED lights for $2.20 (including delivery).

With a little time spent searching for materials and a lot of creative thinking, you can stretch $100 pretty far. After scouring deals on the Internet, I created my dream equipment list for a $100 makerspace. Please keep in mind two things. First, the MakerBus is located in Canada, so the equipment listed may be more or less expensive in your region. (That said, my editor made me list everything in US dollars.) Second, and most importantly, there is no right way to create a makerspace. My equipment list is filled with things that I feel comfortable using and find inspiring. The best foundation for a makerspace is passion-choose equipment that you are passionate about.

110V Soldering Irons (x2) - $15.98: Soldering irons are important because they allow you to take electronics apart, build new electronics, and teach people a skill that they can use in their daily lives. This is a foundational piece of equipment that opens up a world of possibilities.

Hot glue gun (x3) - $9: I would rather have 100 hot glue guns than a single 3D printer in my makerspace. In our community, we can buy hot glue guns for $3 at our local dollar store. With creativity, you can find amazing uses for hot glue guns. Check out this list of hot glue gun hacks for some inspiration.

MaKey MaKey GO (x1) - $24.95: If you want to see someone's face light up, show them MaKey MaKey. This is the less expensive mobile version of the classic Makey Makey ($49.50), which features a small circuit board that runs a 2V electrical current through conductive objects and allows you to turn anything that conducts electricity into a button for your computer. MaKey MaKey has a fantastic video on their website showing off the device's near-magical ability to turn everyday objects into musical instruments. (Note: You will need a computer.)

I would rather have 100 hot glue guns than a single 3D printer in my makerspace.

Dollar Store Budget - $25: When you're building a makerspace on a budget, dollar stores will quickly become your friend. Save some money in your budget to buy critical supplies like scissors, construction paper, tape, and hot glue guns. Dollar store are also a hacker's paradise filled with inexpensive objects that can be taken apart and remixed. Go to a website like Instructables and search their many amazing dollar store maker projects; you'll be amazed by all you can do in your $100 makerspace.

200 LED diodes (red, blue, white, yellow, green) - $10: LED lights can be used and reused in a number of projects. You can teach people how to make throwies, light up LEDs with homemade batteries, or have workshops on soldering skills.

100 3V batteries - $13: While batteries are at best a temporary investment, having a number of batteries on hand is never a bad thing. They can be used with the LEDs to make throwies, combined with unwanted electric toothbrushes to make brushbots, or used in any number of different projects.

The above items total $96.25. This means you could buy all of those things and still have nearly $4 left over for things like tape, glue sticks, paper, or pens/pencils.

How to build a (nearly) $0 makerspace

Make friends with interesting people . . . Learn your city's garbage schedule.

This is where things get interesting. If you want to build a makerspace for next to nothing, you'll need to get used to begging, borrowing, and sometimes stealing (also know as long term borrowing) any equipment you can get your hands on. Since beggars can't be choosers, you might end up with some strange things in your makerspace. (For example, 3M donated 300 purse-shaped Post-It note holders to the MakerBus.) But necessity is the mother of invention and a creative maker can find a use for nearly anything.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your (nearly) $0 makerspace:

Neverware is your new best friend. It's a free version of Chrome OS that will not only run on nearly any computer, but will actually make old hardware useable again. This software is free for individuals and has been used by underfunded school boards to breath new life into their aging computer labs. If you receive donations of old computers, this software can help make them worth using again.

Get creative with cardboard. Free cardboard is everywhere, from recycling bins to people's garages. Using cardboard, you can build structures, marble mazes, boats, and even furniture.

Check the Classifieds every day. Classified ad sites like Craigslist and Kijiji (as well as your local newspaper) have community listings for free items. Check these sites daily because you never know what you're going to find. For example, now that most people have switched to flat screen televisions, you can find older big screen TVs for free. Big screen televisions offer a wealth of materials for different maker projects-you can even turn one into a death ray.

Big screen televisions offer a wealth of materials for different maker projects-you can even turn one into a death ray.

Make friends with interesting people. If you don't have much money, focus on finding people with interesting skills to share with your makerspace. The MakerBus team has a friend who worked as a locksmith for a number of years. He has generously offered to lend us his time and equipment several times to teach lock picking classes. By drawing upon your interpersonal resources, you can quickly find fun, interesting, and educational things to do at your makerspace.

Learn your city's garbage schedule. One person's trash is another's treasure. Figure out when your city has garbage collection and scout different neighborhoods for treasures. From furniture, to cardboard, to unwanted electronics, you'll be amazed at what you can find.

Necessity and creativity are the two strongest forces in the world. Don't view a small budget as a barrier, view it as a challenge to build the coolest makerspace you possibly can.

The Maker movement is built around taking chances and risking failure. Don't let money get in the way of creating a vibrant maker community. Passion, creative thinking, and an engaged community are worth more than any amount of money.

If you have creative low-cost solutions you'd like to share with the MakerBus, send us a tweet @DHMakerBus or a Facebook message (look for The MakerBus). We would love to learn from your ideas.

Ryan Hunt is a Maker and educator living in London, Ontario, Canada and cofounder of the MakerBus, Canada's first mobile makerspace.

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How to Stock Your Makerspace for 100 Bucks or Less; Plus, an Essential Equipment List from the MakerBus Driver (EdSurge News)

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Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant. When you're building a makerspace on a budget, you learn that resources are everywhere-and they aren't always what you expect. Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant.For three ye

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Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes. Don't be discouraged by a lack of space or budget, the most important part of your space is the mindset you establish for it.

The idea is to create a welcoming, engaging space for students where they can explore different ideas, employ self-directed learning, and solve problems using whatever tools are supplied.

Here are a few items you can reuse or recycle (meaning you can hopefully get them all for FREE). Send this list home with students and have them collect from their own homes, if possible.

Have a small budget on hand? Great! Here's a list of items you can get at your local dollar store:

Remember to make a donation list for parents or your local PTA, and ask if they can help out.

The above list is from Meredith Martin's training session, Getting Started with Makerspaces and STEAM, which I encourage you to view in full inside the Teacher Learning Community.

Do you feel more prepared for getting started with your own Makerspace? Let me know if you found this list useful in a comment below.
About the Author
Kimber Thompson is a Lead Moderator for SimpleK12 webinars and a Contributing Editor for SimpleK12.com. She writes frequently about education topics and is passionate about tools and techniques that inspire young learners. You may reach her with ideas and comments at editor@simplek12.com.

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47 Free and Cheap Makerspace Supplies - Simplek12_

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The idea is to create a welcoming, engaging space for students where they can explore different ideas, employ self-directed learning, and solve problems using whatever tools are supplied. Here are a few items you can reuse or recycle (meaning you can hopefully get them all for FREE).

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Listing of Makerspace supplies from starting simple to a more robust space

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Listing of Makerspace supplies from starting simple to a more robust space

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This article is in our guide, sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:

What Personalized Learning Looks Like Across the Country: The 2017 Fifty States Project
More articles from this guide:

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.

Ultimately, anyone can create a dynamic makerspace-all it takes is a little creativity.

But although I was intimidated-and unsure how to pay for everything-the idea of a makerspace remained on my mind. I realized I needed to stop wishing and take action to make the Spearfish Middle School Makerspace a reality. So with some research and resourcefulness-and generous donations-I launched our makerspace for the 2015-2016 school year. Two years and many experiments later, it's now one of the best parts of our school.

Every school's makerspace is unique. But for those interested, I would like to share how we got started, what materials we used, and how we paid for it all. Ultimately, anyone can create a dynamic makerspace-all it takes is a little creativity.

Humble beginnings

Our makerspace started off in my classroom. We would meet Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 pm, and students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade were welcome to attend. I displayed the daily choices on a SmartBoard (a list on a projector, blackboard or poster would also work) and had a few stations set up for students. Most materials were stored on a rolling cart in my room.

We created simple activities and supervised the sessions. We challenged students to build obstacle courses using wooden blocks, cardboard, fuzzy sticks and tape. With a piece of string taped across the hallway, students created straw balloon rockets with paper, tape, and a single balloon and straw. Using donated LEGOS, attendees could build whatever they desired.

[Creating a makerspace] is a team effort...I would encourage getting as many people on board as possible.

We were able to move our makerspace into the library for its second year. Our new librarian, Monica Waugh, helped create a designated maker area and worked throughout the year to make the library an inviting place for everyone. It was a team effort, though, and I would encourage getting as many people on board as possible.

Getting the good stuff

As the makerspace grew, I knew we needed to invest in better materials, and for that I needed help. Funding for the start of our makerspace came from a grant I received from the Spearfish Foundation for Public Education with support from the Spearfish Community Foundation.

I also relied on Donors Choose, where teachers can get materials donated. One of the most popular items we received through the site were our Sphero SPRK robots ($130/ robot). Free apps are available for multiple platforms to program and control these robots. They can handle drops, jumps, water, and paint. Our learners love to create obstacle courses and chariots for the Spheros.

At the end of the first year, we surveyed our makerspace attendees to find out what was working. Based on survey results and discussion with learners, we selected new items and my team and I wrote two additional grants to the Spearfish Foundation for Public Education.

Through those donations, we were able to create a robust space, with plenty of options for students. Here are some of our tried-and-true favorites:

Ozobot. We started off with the Ozobot 2.0 Bit duo pack ($110). Students love to draw separate code and then try to connect them.

Makey Makey ($50). So many great project ideas for the Makey Makey are posted online. Some of our favorite builds are the banana piano, pencil pacman controller, and cardboard guitar.

littleBits. A great product for circuitry and limitless building potential. The kits vary from $40 to $5,000. In our Makerspace, we started with the STEAM student set ($300), a Space set ($149), and a basic student set ($274).

LEGOs or K'nex (try to get a donation from families!). LEGOs are great for building and are also a great tool to use with stop motion animations (we use Stop Motion Studio).

Cubelets ($160 for six cubes). Great because connecting the cubes and seeing how pieces interact is easy.

Bloxels ($250 for 5 pack set). With Bloxels, we are able to design games, apply coding skills, and be creative. Learners love creating the pixelated characters, backgrounds, and items. As the game designer, you can choose any content you want--informational or adventurous.

Squishy Circuits kits ($60 per kit). This is a great item to introduce learners to circuits. At our Makerspace, the dough material draws people in, and they are able to easily figure out how the lights or buzzers work.

HyperDuino kit ($95). Enables physical-digital interactive student projects with all the software, LEDs, touch sensors and a microcontroller to make it all work easily grades 2-12 and beyond. Here are some example projects made with the HyperDuino kit.

Polar 3D ($900). A cloud based 3D printer. We used our grant money to purchase this because so many students were designing prints with Tinkercad.

You don't need a large budget to pull a makerspace off. What you do need is space, materials for a few stations, and input from your learners.

To provide more materials for open-ended projects, we also purchased duct tape, DC motors, a variety of batteries, LED lights, and copper tape. We also relied on digital favorites:

Worth the wait-and effort

The biggest thing I learned is that you don't need a large budget to pull a makerspace off. What you do need is space, materials for a few stations, and-most importantly- input from your learners. Last year at our middle school we had a little over 500 students. We recorded tracking and at each session until the end of the year, we had learners who had never been to makerspace before. Across all 22 sessions, our attendance logged over 400 entries of both newbies and regulars alike.

As we ended our second year of makerspace, students were requesting to have makerspace activities out in the library all the time and to be able to meet after school every day of the week. I think our students' investment in our makerspace and its success demonstrate what a powerful impact making can have on a school. So even if you don't start with robots, grab some LEGOs, tape, or paper and start making!

Teri Bauerly (@mrstbauerly) is a STEM Educator at Spearfish Middle School in South Dakota. For those who want to learn more about Making, Teri says Laura Fleming is a great resource. She highly recommend her book Worlds of Making: Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School, a short but great read. She would like to thank John Dagit, Monica Waugh, Sarah O'Donnell, and Leslie Wangeman for their help and support with the makerspace.

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What to Put in Your Makerspace (and How to Pay for It) - EdSurge News

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This article is in our guide, sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: What Personalized Learning Looks Like Across the Country: The 2017 Fifty States Project More articles from this guide: 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.

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Blog: By DEMCO Company on Ideas & Inspiration for Makerspaces

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Blog: By DEMCO Company on Ideas & Inspiration for Makerspaces

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Makerspace Activities and Programming Archives - Ideas & Inspiration from Demco

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When Cabot School District in Arkansas decided to focus on STEM learning in their makerspaces, they wanted a solution that would not only provide engaging, student-driven learning opportunities, but that would also make it easy for educators to get started. Discover how the Demco Maker Collection is getting kids and educators alike excited about STEM learning.

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Creativity Lab's Project Guides for Prompts and Activities

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Creativity Lab's Project Guides for Prompts and Activities

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Our projects are tried and tested in grades K-12 in the Creativity Lab at Lighthouse Community Public Schools, a family of public K-12 schools in Oakland, CA.

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For more information on the Lighthouse Creativity Lab and our projects, email the Lighthouse Creativity Lab team at creativitylab@lighthousecharter.org, or register for one of our professional development sessions for educators, free to OUSD and Title 1 teachers.

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Projects for grades K-12 | Making in Schools

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Our projects are tried and tested in grades K-12 in the Creativity Lab at Lighthouse Community Public Schools, a family of public K-12 schools in Oakland, CA. Collapse All Expand All For more information on the Lighthouse Creativity Lab and our projects, email the Lighthouse Creativity Lab team at creativitylab@lighthousecharter.org, or register for one of our professional development sessions for educators, free to OUSD and Title 1 teachers.

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Creativity Lab's External Guidebooks for Prompts and Activities 

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Creativity Lab's External Guidebooks for Prompts and Activities 

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External Project Guides | Creativity Lab - Making in School

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This is a resource list of guides for creating maker spaces, finding projects, and integrating projects into curricula. Multiple sources cited.