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Throughout the school year, I am constantly in conversation with teachers, dropping in on classes, talking to and observing students, to see what everyone is interested in or working on currently. The way I choose resources and activities for the library is usually based on how learning is being directed at the school at the time. Most times, resources that pique my interest connect with learning or interests that have been expressed in my school.

In addition, I have been trying to find ways to foster a culture of inquiry in my current school as it has been sparse thus far. In my previous school, there was a very strong culture of inquiry and the grade 4/5 students would have a showcase at the end of the year presenting personal open-inquiry projects and it was fabulous! At my current school, there is limited inquiry and I have noticed that grade 4/5 students get easily frustrated and are afraid to make mistakes without having practice with inquiry-based learning starting in earlier grades. It is my goal to start teaching inquiry-type skills starting in kindergarten and continuing to build on the skills in the hopes that when those students reach grade 4/5, they will be more inclined to be successful with inquiry-based learning. As well, with teachers now being expected to teach ADST curriculum, many have expressed that this is a challenging area for them. Therefore, the module 9 reading and exemplars were very interesting to me as "Supporting Learners as Inquirers and Designers" is a particular focus in my teaching now and I will discuss the readings that I feel will help me meet my current goals for this school year.

Connections:

Just recently, in the week leading up to Halloween, for library storytime, I was inspired by the multi-modal text examples and multi-literacy learning as of late so I decided to tell oral stories with paper props with primary students. The results were more than I could have hoped for! I was hoping to surprise and delight students with a different kind of story, which it did, but also, students were directly reporting to me that they were retelling the stories and trying to reproduce the paper props with others at center time or at home! So, I was already considering what other ways I could inspire students to create, re-create or retell stories using other types of visuals and then the module 9 readings supplied some answers and suggestions for me.

I found the example of "Story Studio" inspirational as I was thinking of creating an area of the LLC with loose parts for students to create their own stories. My school has an oral storytelling kit with loose parts such as small rounds of wood and small animal puppets but I have not seen it used in classes for a while so I thought it could be incorporated into my own "Story Studio". I appreciate how the presentation states that the intention of the project is "....how this creative, 'playful literacy' structure can enhance oral language development and children's identity as author's, artists and storytellers in other learning contexts, such as school libraries" (Good et al., 2019). It was just so great seeing the excitement and surprise from young students at their own success in storytelling that I want to keep the momentum going and foster that feeling for those students. In the presentation, I also like the suggestions for how to start because that is a part I was struggling with; deciding on where to go with this idea. I thought I needed more stories like the Halloween stories but I like how the "Story Studio" lays out "Providing prompts or provocations for storytelling through anchor books or a new material; setting an intention for the session; creating stories by gathering materials, playing with the materials and making a story through collaboration or independently and finally, sharing and/or recording the story" (Good et al., 2019). As well, I appreciate that a reflection is included because in my understanding, reflecting is one of the most important aspects of inquiry-based learning. Finally, with this presentation, I like how they shared the focus topics for different age levels and explained that the grade 5 students were just as excited as the early primary students to explore the story studio. The presentation explained that they used digital storytelling as part of the sharing process but I wish they had given some examples of what kind of digital storytelling or specific digital tools that they used.

Another useful reading from this module that connects to this idea is the book Storymaking : the Maker Movement Approach to Literacy for Early Learners. Even in the module notes it expresses that this book is already creating a buzz in BC Early Learning Networks and I also feel like there are teachers on my staff that would find this book very interesting and useful as well. Of course, most teachers already acknowledge the importance of learning through play especially in primary classrooms but I feel like the part that will be of particular interest is the sharing and communicating of "completed" stories. I found this book to be so full of great ideas that I would like to try and implement in the LLC. For example, with primary students, I already like to do "wonder" lessons with anchor texts and thought-provoking pictures so I can see adding in "wonders of the week" to a "story making" corner that could inspire story ideas for students. I like the chart on page 49 with suggestions for "Wonder of the Week":

In addition, I can see teachers using the suggestions for how to easily incorporate "Story making" in the classroom such as students sharing stories from something that happened the day before while waiting for others to finish morning routine.

One concern I had when thinking about how to use props in story making is how to make it structured so that it is not simply play but play with a purpose. Several times throughout the text, it reinforces the importance of students having a plan before beginning "Story making", at one point stating, "One of the best strategies we have taught our early learners is how to imagine before they play (or make) their stories" (51). It seems so simple but it would seem to solve many potential problems and give students direction before "story making". There are a lot of good suggestions on how to help students plan before making.

This text is so rich in information and suggestions about how to implement "story making" that it felt a bit overwhelming in reading it but it helped me come away with a better grasp about how I could purposefully carry out "story making" to practice inquiry in the library through story-telling in the LLC. The text also gives evidence to back up the claims which is always good to have if ever needing to justify why an activity is chosen.

The last article that I would like to reflect on is "Mindful makers: Question prompts to help guide young peoples' critical technical practices in maker spaces in libraries, museums, and community-based youth organizations". Like the two previous articles, this article focuses on maker space, which I have expressed is a current point of interest of mine. As I also expressed earlier, I find that without the opportunity to practice inquiry skills from very young, it can be difficult for older students; however, I like the suggestions in the article as ways to foster inquiry skills with those learners. In this article as well, it makes good points to support the use of maker space activities such as "Proponents of maker spaces argue that such environments address a unique package of complementary 21st century skills and aptitudes such as creativity, innovation, transmedia navigation, visual literacy, and (if based in technology) computational thinking..."(Bowler & Champagne, 2016, 117). In addition, I like how the article states that, "Production offers value beyond an end product for makers; they develop new literacies by engaging with tools and processes that may not surface in conventional learning environments" (Bowler & Champagne, 2016, 118). I found it interesting to read that the questioning process is important to the maker process and that there was found to be specific questions: "These questions can, collectively, serve as a tool kit for scaffolding critical practices in maker spaces for youth: * What will make me happy? * Who is my audience? * What resources do I have and need? * What will inspire me to give my time and effort to a project? * What do I know? * Can I let myself make a mistake? * How will my creation affect other people? * What kind of maker am I?" (Bowler & Champagne, 2016, 120-121). Like I said, sometimes it can be challenging to guide students that are a little bit older in inquiry-based learning if they do not have much prior experience and it can easily get frustrating for students and the teacher which can lead to giving up on the idea of inquiry. Therefore, it is good to have these specific focus questions for both teachers and students to keep in mind for any inquiry-based teaching and learning because, as the article argues, "The central instrument is the relationship and dialogue between mentor and youth maker. Although certainly not the only solution, question prompts that occur within the framework of a conversation can be a useful tool to help scaffold deeper thinking about making and support a disposition toward a mindful and critical technical practice" (Bowler & Champagne, 2016, 124). These are the kinds of tools I need to supply teachers to encourage more inquiry-based teaching and learning at my school.

Conclusions:

Over the years of being a TL, I have tried a few maker space and/or STEM activities in the LLC but I have yet to set up a permanent or even semi-permanent dedicated space. I am always considering where to put it, what it should contain and how to implement it for students to purposefully use. I think I have been putting it off because I knew I should do it but didn't really have a concrete understanding. So, I am grateful that these articles are included as reading for this course and module as now I feel like I have a starting place and specific goals to begin my maker space. Finally, I feel like having a focus of oral storytelling for my makerspace will be more manageable than trying to create a makerspace with materials for every purpose imaginable.

Works cited:

Bowler, L., & Champagne, R. (2016). Mindful makers: Question prompts to help guide young peoples' critical technical practices in maker spaces in libraries, museums, and community-based youth organizations. Library and Information Science Research,

Canva. (2020). Four-panel photo montage store header [Image]. Retrieved 7 November 2020, from https://www.canva.com/design/DAEM3KU_plQ/DdMt5L6188HhxaVxVM5i_Q/edit?layoutQuery=story+website+header.

Good, S., Araujo, J., Shuster, L., & Meredith, A. (2019). Story Studio: Collaborative Inquiry. Presentation, Burnaby School District.

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Inquiry using makerspace in the LLC: Learning Log #3 - prompt from module 9

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Throughout the school year, I am constantly in conversation with teachers, dropping in on classes, talking to and observing students, to see what everyone is interested in or working on currently. The way I choose resources and activities for the library is usually based on how learning is being directed at the school at the time.

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Learning Problem Solving and Growth Mindset in a Makerspace

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Makerspaces build students' cognitive abilities while fostering independence, perseverance, and self-regulation.

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-oral story telling kit (puppets, props)
-area in the classroom with loose parts for students to create their own stories

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The Story Studio Writing Society began in 2011 with the hope of bringing creativity and confidence into children's lives by giving them the tools to tell stories of their own, in their own words and with their own illustrations. The aim was to remove boundaries and allow children to lead their stories wherever they wanted. And we have done just that for almost 10,000 youth.

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The Story Studio Writing Society began in 2011 with the hope of bringing creativity and confidence into children's lives by giving them the tools to tell stories of their own, in their own words and with their own illustrations. The aim was to remove boundaries and allow children to lead their stories wherever they wanted.

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Delta, BC Resource

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At the Story Studios we learn by merging the elements of place with the power of story to invite, inspire and include ALL learners. The Hive is a demonstration classrooms open to any elementary group in Delta SD 37.

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Real Examples of makerspace written by teachers

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A PICTURE OF PRACTICE BY 2018-2019 AGENCY BY DESIGN OAKLAND TEACHER FELLOW Liz Cruger

Liz works at EnCompass Academy, a K-5 elementary school in the Woodland neighborhood in Oakland, CA serving a student population that is 96% students of color. 60% of the students at EnCompass Academy are classified as English Language Learners.

"What have you learned from working on our Maker projects?" was the first question on the student reflection. Within minutes the room got quiet as students were writing reflections about their work. "I learned to be kind to people, be helpful, and also use my tools," wrote Noah. "I learned I can do everything if I try," said King. "I learned to persevere when I'm sewing," Sasha responded. Reading these reflections was incredibly gratifying because it meant this work was reaching deep within my students and hopefully will have a lasting impact on their lives.

For thirteen years, I've had students within my classes who were struggling with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which result in toxic stress that can harm a child's brain. For the 2018-2019 school year, however, the serious traumas and toxic stress my students are experiencing is overwhelmingly high. As much as I try to create a safe and positive learning environment, my students continue to struggle with healthy interactions. They have difficulty managing their emotions, communicating their feelings and needs, and thinking calmly and clearly to become problem solvers. I had to do something MORE to support my students to build resilience, confidence, and learn strategies for a healthy emotional life. This need led me to my inquiry question:
"How can I use maker-centered learning projects and routines to help support and heal the social and emotional learning needs within my classroom?"

We started by having a discussion about emotions. "Everyone has emotions," I said. "They are completely natural...we don't have to think of them as good or bad, but rather, we might feel them as comfortable or uncomfortable." I began like this to take judgment away from the emotions that my students may feel are difficult. We brainstormed emotions and put them in categories of comfortable and uncomfortable. For our first maker project, each student created an Emotions Book, which included their self portraits. Using TOOLBOX (our school's SEL curriculum), the students also integrated tools from the 12 featured TOOLBOX Tools or other strategies that they could use when experiencing uncomfortable emotions.

Our emotions exploration led to a second project in which each student created a three-dimensional cardboard toolbox or fabric toolbag, in which to put physical tools that they also created. I The materials I provided were cardboard, masking tape, glue guns, fabric, fabric markers, paint, and other art materials. This was an open-ended project. Students used their design and construction skills to build and make what they wanted to create. I started to see my students really owning and enjoying the maker process. They were excited about creating. There was a productive hum in the room. Collaborations developed and students who didn't always get along were choosing to work together. Students were engaged, persevering with the difficult tasks of construction and sewing -- using materials to create their personal visions. They were sharing ideas and even making toolbox gifts for others.

"Collaborations developed and students who didn't always get along were choosing to work together. Students were engaged, persevering with the difficult tasks of construction and sewing - using materials to create their personal visions."

We then had discussions about the TOOLBOX Tools that we could make to go inside our toolboxes and toolbags. For example, some students created stuffed hearts to hold and remind them of the Empathy Tool. I saw toolboxes and toolbags that included replicas of the tools, pillows to hold, and pictures. The TOOLBOX Tools have become much more real and meaningful to us through making.

This project has had a big impact on my class. They love time spent making and creating and ask to do it every day. I'm reminded, again, that students need and deserve art and making-centered learning in school. For my students, art and making is an act of healing and critical to their emotional well-being. It is helping them to feel creative and calm. This is only just the beginning of a much longer process of building resilience.

"Maker-centered learning invites people to be creative within a huge array of disciplines. It is an invitation to express yourself, find your voice, work with others, teach, learn, fix things, transform materials, think, reflect, problem solve, look closely, collaborate, persevere, and often have fun. For young people it is often very empowering, which makes it important. It can help shape identity..."I am a Maker". This empowerment, capacity to be creative and problem solve is a perspective that can guide a person through life."
Liz is from Detroit, and feels lucky to be from a Maker family...her dad is a found object artist and automobile clay modeler and her mom creates quilts and pottery. Liz studied Theater and Interdisciplinary Arts in Chicago, working as a waitress, actress, director and writer. Liz is currently part of the Collaborator Staff at Brightworks, a K-12 learning community in San Francisco, CA. During her time as an Agency by Design Oakland Teacher Fellow, Liz was the 2nd/3rd Grade Inclusion Teacher at EnCompass Academy in Oakland, CA.

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Strengthening SEL Skills Through Maker-Centered Learning - Agency by Design Oakland

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A PICTURE OF PRACTICE BY 2018-2019 AGENCY BY DESIGN OAKLAND TEACHER FELLOW Liz Cruger Liz works at EnCompass Academy, a K-5 elementary school in the Woodland neighborhood in Oakland, CA serving a student population that is 96% students of color. 60% of the students at EnCompass

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There's so many amazing books coming out now related to starting a school makerspace, and many of them are fantastic. But for this post, I want to take a look back and focus on the five books that had the biggest impact on me as I was planning and creating my makerspace at Stewart Middle Magnet School. This was back in late 2013/early 2014, when there wasn't a ton of stuff out there that specifically focused on school makerspaces. Even without a direct focus on library makerspaces, these books still had a profound impact in shaping my thinking about creating an innovative, playful learning environment.

Maybe this one is obvious, but it still has to be here. My copy of this book is heavily highlighted, dog-eared and sticky noted (and signed by both authors!). If you only have time to read one book on the Maker Education Movement, this should be the book. Martinez and Stager do an amazing job of covering everything from the history of making in the classroom to practical ways to incorporate making in everyday instruction. They help you to critically think about what types of projects kids will make and how to make them more effective and creative - no 24 birdhouses that look exactly the same here. There are ideas for how to help students with project design, prompts to get them thinking, creating a physical space conducive to making, etc. There are fabulous lists of resources to check out and supplies to consider. The section on advocacy and research is an excellent resource for grant-writing.

This book comes from The Exploratorium, an amazing hands-on science museum in San Francisco. They created a makerspace for their patrons called The Tinkering Studio and they also run a fantastic MOOC every summer.

The Art of Tinkering looks at over 150 different artists and makers and how they weave science and technology into their work. It's a beautifully designed and inspiring work that clearly demonstrates the important part that art, whimsy and creativity play in making. Each chapter focuses on a different technique, from aerial photography to cardboard automata to wearable circuits to toy take apart. The chapters each feature an artist or professional who uses that technique in their work, with an intimate look into their design processes, studios and tools. The chapters then follow up with step-by-step instructions for a DIY activity, which are often excellent for maker stations. I'm eager to try out the DIY wind tunnel and the marble run with my students.

When I was getting started with Makerspaces, I kept hearing over and over again that I needed to read this book. It focuses more on the learning environment as a whole rather than just on makerspaces, but there's lot of amazing ideas for creating spaces that inspire creativity.

At first, it took me a bit to get used to the design of the book. There's a lot of different typefaces, pages of nothing but quotes, and articles that get interrupted by shorter pieces. But once I was able to get into the flow of the book, I loved it! It was such a wonderful reaffirmation for me on the importance of creating physical spaces that are conducive to learning, of taking care of the health of our students through things like clean air and good food, of creating opportunities for students to be exposed to nature. Over and over, The Third Teacher emphasizes that our learning spaces need to change to reflect the way that students learn today. Rows and rows of desks set up as a lecture theater are not helping our students to learn and grow. We need to be willing to invest time and money to create spaces where students can develop the skills they will need to become productive citizens: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, inquisitivenss. See more of my review of this book on Renovated Learning.

This book is a phenomenal look at how design and creativity are essential for success with today's students. Each chapter had a different author and focused on a different aspect. At the front and center of much of the book was the Maker Movement and Maker Education. I think this book would be great both for those who are already in deep with the Maker movement and those who are just getting started.

Several chapters offer wonderful anecdotal examples of what is going on in the Maker/design/STEAM world of education. From museums with makerspaces, to science-y fun block parties in NYC, to tools like Squishy circuits, Scratch coding and MaKey MaKey. The final chapter helps to give a vision of what this can look like in actual schools, by telling the inspiring story of Manor New Technology High School in Texas. All in all, this is an amazing book, and definitely worth the read by anyone in education who thinks that we need more creativity and play in our education system.

This book, created by the Stanford d.school, is an amazing source of design inspiration. While it tends to be geared more towards open office spaces and college environments, there's plenty of ideas and resources for educators as well. Make Space tells the d.school's story - it's need for flexibility and economy when being shuffled all over campus, what worked and didn't work for their collaborative spaces, and how they finally figured out how to get it right.

Interspersed throughout the book are projects and action steps that you can take to immediately change your space. There's so many practical ideas, and the stories throughout the book give you a better sense of what students need in collaborative spaces, even if they don't know it themselves. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to change up their learning or work space.

Categories: Blog Topics, Makerspaces/Learning Commons, Professional Development, STEM/STEAM

Tags: makered, makerspace, professional development, professional reading

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5 Makerspace Books You Need to Read | Knowledge Quest

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There's so many amazing books coming out now related to starting a school makerspace, and many of them are fantastic. But for this post, I want to take a look back and focus on the five books that had the biggest... Read More ›

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So You Want to Start a Makerspace? | Science lessons elementary, Makerspace elementary library, Makerspace elementary

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Mar 7, 2019 - My most frequently asked question in emails and blog posts is how to start, schedule, and manage an elementary Makerspace. I've had a Maker area for K-2nd Grade in my classroom for the past five years, and for almost two years, my room has served as a full blown Makerspace for two days per week, serving close to 300 ea…

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Sep 21, 2016 - Are you an educator?  Do you care about making your teaching engaging, innovative and memorable?  I homeschool my kids and one of the reasons I do that is so that I can customize learning, make

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K-12 Makerspaces Archives - Ideas & Inspiration from Demco

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Makerspaces are tailored to the community that uses them, so everything, including storage and cleanup procedures, is based on that community's needs. Here are some best practices for organizing your makerspace that can be modified as needed to support broader makerspace learning communities.

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Some makerspace components are so commonly known that I can even use them to explain my job to non-educators:

"I'm our makerspace coordinator. You know, the person who supports the kids with 3D printing and basic electronics and stuff like that."

Then they know exactly what I mean. (I can tell because they respond with "Wow! That sounds like the best job ever!" They're right!)

Educators planning makerspaces know they can start small with simple circuitry materials, cardboard and hot glue guns. Or they can go bigger with soldering capabilities and power drills. Or they can go to the bigg est with 3D printers and laser cutters.

For makerspaces incorporating digital technology, a green screen and an iPad with green screen apps are no-brainers, whether they go for a green bedsheet or a fancy installation. Whiteboard tables are widely known to be hot, as well as clear bins and neutral organization, pegboard and labels, craft sticks and straws and velcro tape.

The level of sophistication/extravagance of the space will vary enormously depending on each institution's choices and funding ($20K Epilog or $5K Glowforge or no laser cutter?), but there were a few surprises as we developed our space, noticing or finding unexpectedly critical makerspace components that have made our space more successful.

Here are our top 10 unexpectedly critical makerspace components, clickbait countdown style!

10) Materials From Home: Cereal Boxes

You probably already know that you need packing boxes. Hefty corrugated cardboard is like gold in a makerspace, but lightweight cereal box cardboard is even better for many applications.

Cereal box cardboard is nice and stiff, but still easy to cut with basic scissors. It also cuts and engraves beautifully in the laser cutter. Boxes that are white cardboard on the inside are particularly prized. Families at our school responded in droves to my call for their empty cereal boxes, and with a bit of training-don't fold up and bend the cardboard to make it "easier" to store, don't bother with boxes that have cut-outs-we've build up a significant supply of cardboard that kids can pillage as needed.

9) Materials From Home: Corks

Corks are a popular material in general crafting circles. Probably everyone has seen a Pinterest picture of a home corkboard made from actual corks. I included corks in my all-call for materials from families thinking they would just be handy to have around, but I've been astonished at how heavily the kids use them for their various building projects: columns for Greek temples, bodies and heads for oxen pulling Oregon Trail wagons, backings for pins sticking through posters, etc. I've had to issue a second all-call for corks to replenish our supply from the beginning of the year, and luckily many families had gotten into the habit of saving their corks!

Of course, there are dozens of other materials that are valuable to have families bring from home: toilet paper and paper towel rolls, egg cartons, shoeboxes and plenty more. Cereal boxes and corks have been our biggest surprises, and so our biggest needs!

"Craft Cutter" is such an absurd and generic name for these scissors. At some point, I said to a kiddo, "Grab those big blue-handled huge scissors...the monster scissors!" and the name stuck. With a very heavy-duty blade and a built-in protractor to check your cutting angles, these scissors snap right through craft sticks, skewers, chopsticks and our beloved corks. They have a safety latch and are easy for upper-elementary kids and above to use.

Like the Monster Scissors, these cutters prove that even your basic titanium scissors are NOT all-purpose tools-sometimes a different cutting tool is needed. The electric cardboard cutters make incredible fast work of deconstructing corrugated cardboard boxes into smaller sizes to use as building bases, to fit into the laser cutter or even just to get to a smaller, more-easily-manipulatable size for further cutting with normal scissors. There have been times when I unexpectedly ran out of project "bases" and churned out another 20 from whole cardboard boxes in less than two minutes.

6) Pre-cut Cardboard Pieces Library

With all that cardboard, kids might spend hours and hours just trying to cut the simple shapes needed for their projects. 90% of the time kids need to do that sort of dirty work themselves, but when it comes to plain cardboard squares I'd rather the kids use their time building and adjusting a stable structure than trying to cut a just-right square of cardboard. So we keep a library of project "bases"-flat pieces of corrugated cardboard about 30cm x 15cm-as well as small (5-10 cm) basic shapes like circles, squares and triangles that kids can snag as needed. We also keep a library of basic gears designed on geargenerator.com!

This is an area where a laser cutter comes in incredibly handy. We can churn out bins full of our library of shapes in about an hour. In the absence of a laser cutter, it would be hard to produce circles or gears, but the electric cardboard cutters would greatly simplify churning out squares and triangles.

5) A Wind Tunnel

If this feels sort of silly and random, that's because it is! A student built a PVC-pipe-and-plastic-sheet windtunnel for a science project last year, and I'm so glad we held on to it. Testing in most design scenarios is pretty hard for any conditions other than a"typical room" (or if we're lucky, "whatever the weather is outside"). But we've already used the wind tunnel for two different projects, and I anticipate using it more as we develop more opportunities for design, testing and iteration. We also have a very large sink that we use as a testing environment, and I hope we'll be able to add others. A hot box? What else?

This is a hack stolen directly from my husband's electronics prototyping lab. Spools of insulated wire are expensive and it's easy for a class of 20-30 kids to go through a 100 foot spool in one class period. But a 1,000 foot bulk spool of cat5 cable costs only about three times what a 100 foot spool of typical stranded hook-up wire. That 1,000 feet of cat5 actually contains 8,000 feet of wire. That's not a typo: Eight Thousand Feet!

Because cat5 wire is comprised of eight twisted strands of pretty high-gauge (thin) wire, you can easily strip off the outer plastic jacket to remove whatever lengths of (color-coded) wire are inside. Stranded and solid-core cat5 are both available on Amazon. Stranded wire is generally more flexible, and I've found it to be easier for kids to manipulate.

This is a HUGE money saving hack!

3) Google Drive (and a general account dedicated for the makerspace)

Files being sent for laser cutting, photos and videos collected, 3D files awaiting slicing...a lot of digital fabrication means a lot of file transfer. For our iPad Minis in particular, having a dedicated Google Drive account for our makerspace has been critical. Our iPad Minis stay logged in to that account, and students upload their "Garage Band" recordings, green screened photos and videos, and other digital resources from the iPad directly to that Google account, and then share it with their own Google accounts. (Yes, we're a GAFE school.)

This way, kids don't need to log in or out of their own accounts on the iPads. They can upload and share laser cutting files that are then accessible to any of the teachers who operate the laser cutter, and I have a base email address for creating communal accounts on programs like Scratch or Tinkercad.

2) A Wall-Mount Drying Rack

Cable management is a nightmare, and there are lots of solutions on the market and hacks on Pinterest for managing all the various wires that are needed in working with electronics. But alligator clip jumper wires are in a special category all on their own. They're in constant use, moving in and out of projects, are delicate (kids yank off the alligator clips easily) and get hung up on each other. Here's where a drying rack comes in.

When I visited Adrienne Gifford's fantastic space at Open Window School on the east side of the Seattle metro area, I spotted her brilliant solution of hanging alligator clip wires from a clothesline. We took this idea one step further (and denser!) and incorporated a drying rack into the IKEA shelving system we used for our general storage. Clipping the alligator clips onto the rack rails keeps them organized, un-knotted, easily accessible and has the ultra bonus of adding some nice color to the wall-o-bins.

1) A Mantra/Shared Vocabulary/Shared Expectations

Like I mentioned in my earlier post on makerspace leadership, our big "rules" of the makerspace arose somewhat organically/reactionarily, and I wish I'd thought that need through more ahead of time. We had clear rules like "Must Wear Safety Glasses In The Woodworking Room" and "No Supermanning On The Rolling Chairs," but we were lacking the more cognitive rules around trying and what "help" looks like. What arose was:

You have to try. And when it doesn't work, just try again.

"Help" doesn't mean "do it for you."

These just arose, sort of in the same way the term "Monster Scissors" arose. I said them a few times and they stuck. And I don't think "that's what stuck" is the best way to establish kid-friendly common language around habits of mind.

Given another shot at launching a makerspace, I might try to use introductory projects as opportunities to more explicitly explore and reflect on the habits of mind growth in a makerspace.I would introduce the ideas of perseverance and independence before starting the projects rather than only in response as I run into "requests for help" that are actually a kiddo trying to give me their materials to do for them.

Although, maybe not. Maybe introducing those ideas in response was a more effective way for the kids to absorb it? In any case, the kids are now only rarely "helping" their friends by doing whatever task for them! Now that we have that mantra, it gives teachers, other adults and peers a consistent response to students who are getting frustrated.

Do Your Makerspace Materials Matter?

In a makerspace, planning out the "stuff" you need definitely feels daunting. In many discussions about school makerspaces, many will assert that the equipment/materials in the space don't matter and that the atmosphere and mindsets in the space are what truly determine learning success.

While I agree with the latter, I don't agree with the former. The equipment/materials DO matter, as does the physical space itself ( see Sapna Cheryan's research). Organized materials and the right tools for the job will allow students to develop that critical thinking, tinkering, prototyping mindset and perseverance that are the true desired outcomes of a school makerspace. Hopefully these ideas can help you launch to those ends more easily!

For more, see:

Lindsey Own teaches science at The Evergreen School in Shoreline, WA. Follow Lindsey on Twitter, @LindseyOwn.

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Top 10 Things You Didn't Know Your Makerspace Needs

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Some makerspace components are so commonly known that I can even use them to explain my job to non-educators: "I'm our makerspace coordinator. You know, the person who supports the kids with 3D printing and basic electronics and stuff like that." Then they know exactly what I mean.

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Ultimate Makerspace Guide For Schools and Libraries | Makerspaces.com

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101+ Makerspace Resources For Starting and Running a Maker Education or STEM Program. Learn about Makerspaces,Projects, Ideas, Materials, Tools and more