LibGuides: Professional Resources: Makerspace

Makerspace Defined

Makerspace is an initiative to bring exploration, creation and hands-on learning into the lives of students - both during and after school. Children and teens build circuits and robots, learn about coding and work on other engaging crafts.

Teenagers at a computer workshop writing code and learning to program Raspberry Pi simple single-board computer - Britannica ImageQuest On this page:

MakerBridge
Makerspace Resources on OER Commons
Articles on Making
Coding
Stop Motion Animation
Books in the WSA Library

MakerBridge

MakerBridge
Resources, reviews, and articles with answers and advice for anyone interested in the maker movement and makerspaces, focusing especially on those in libraries and schools. Sponsored by the University of Michigan School of Information,

Makerspace Resources on OER Commons

OER Commons is a digital library where educators can find resources to develop, support and amplify their maker space practices. The site is searchable by subject, grade level or standard. Users can also filter results to include topics, such as activities and labs, games, videos, lesson plans, and interactive tools.

MAKERSPACE-RELATED RESOURCES ON OER COMMONS (Activities and Labs):

Articles on Making

How Making Makes Us Happy and More Creative
Discussion of the findings of Alton and Carrie Barron, both MDs and co-authors of 'The Creativity Cure: How to Build Happiness with Your Own Two Hands' on current psychological research on the value of making. “Using our hands feels good and is good for us,” A School Library Journal article.
How to Ensure that Making Leads to Learning
There’s no doubt that students find making to be a creative and engaging activity. But as they tinker, design, and invent, are they actually learning anything? A School Library Journal article.
Seven Surprising Benefits of Maker Spaces
Article on how making contributes to well being, listing the ways making can help with personal happiness, health, and mind expansion - "boosting moods as well as minds." Authors: Carrie Barron, MD and Alton Barron, MD, co-authors of The Creativity Cure: How to Build Happiness with Your Own Two Hands.

Coding

Coding Skills Empower Us All
This article addresses two questions: 'What is coding?' and 'Why code?' "We’re not coding in schools to make sure every kid gets a job in technology; we’re doing so to give all kids the chance to understand and interact with the technologies—including the social ones—in their lives." A School Library Journal arcticle.
Ready to Learn Coding? Here are resources.
This article reviews sites with online coding lessons, physical computing (combining material objects with digital code to produce tangible projects), face-to-face coding workshops, and teaching with Scratch.

JavaScript for Kids by Nick Morgan
Call Number: 005.13 Mor
ISBN: 9781593274085
Publication Date: 2014-12-12
Gr 4-8– A guide for kids on programming using the JavaScript computer program language.
Python for Kids by Jason R. Briggs
Call Number: 005.13 Bri
ISBN: 9781593274078
Publication Date: 2012-12-22
Gr 4-8 – Introduces the basics of the Python programming language, covering how to use data structures, organize and reuse code, draw shapes and patterns with turtle, and create games and animations with tinter.
Ruby Wizardry by Eric Weinstein
Call Number: 005.13 Wei
ISBN: 9781593275662
Publication Date: 2014-12-18
Gr 4-8– A guide to using the Ruby programming language, for students ages 10 years old and up.

Stop Motion Animation

Stop Motion Animation 101 Webinar
A librarian and makerspace veteran shares her presentation to educators on how to do stop motion animation projects with teens. Examples of animations made using different apps are shown. Links to other related resources are given, including lists of stop motion apps, instructions on how to do stop motion animation using an iPhone or iPad, and more. A School Library Journal article.

Books in the WSA Library - Professional Reading

Make Space by Scott Doorley; Scott Witthoft; Hasso Platner Institute of Design at Stanford University Staff; David Kelley (Foreword by)
Call Number: 729 Doo
ISBN: 9781118143728
Publication Date: 2012-01-03
Presents tools to enhance teamwork, configurations to enable activities, insights about communal behaviors, design templates and first person stories.
Worlds of Making by Laura Fleming
Call Number: 371.33 Fle
ISBN: 9781483382821
Publication Date: 2015-02-17
A guide to imagining, planning, creating, and managing a cutting-edge makerspace for a school community.
Invent to Learn by Sylvia Libow Martinez; Gary S. Stager
Call Number: 371.1 Mar
ISBN: 9780989151108
Publication Date: 2013-05-01
Presents a guide for teachers on how to turn the classroom into a center of innovation and promote hands-on learning.
The Art of Tinkering by Karen Wilkinson; Mike Petrich
Call Number: 500 Wil
ISBN: 9781616286095
Publication Date: 2014-02-04
Looks at over 150 creators of art using science and technology and their work. Includes advice on how to tinker.

Books in the WSA Library - Robotics & Electronics

15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius by Simon Monk
Call Number: 621.38 Mon
ISBN: 9780071755672
Publication Date: 2011-05-24
Gr 8 Up– Geared toward older students and adults, this book offers step-by-step instructions for advanced electronic projects such as a touch-activated laser sight, an LED strobe, and a surveillance robot. Mad scientist approved.
Gaming the System by Katie Salen Tekinba; Melissa Gresalfi; Kylie Peppler; Rafi Santo; James Paul Gee (Foreword by)
Call Number: 794.81 Tek
ISBN: 9780262027816
Publication Date: 2014-10-10
Demonstrates the nature of games as systems, how game designers need to think in terms of complex interactions of game elements and rules, and how to identify systems concepts in the design process. The activities use Gamestar Mechanic, an online game design environment with a systems thinking focus.
The Lego Mindstorms EV3 Discovery Book by Laurens Valk
Call Number: 629.8 Val
ISBN: 9781593275327
Publication Date: 2014-06-13
A guide to using the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 set to create robots, including a wheeled vehicle with sensors, a race car, a six-legged walking creature, a robotic arm, and a humanoid robot.
Script Changers by Kylie A. Peppler; Rafi Santo; Melissa Gresalfi; Katie Salen Tekinbas
Call Number: 371.33 Pep
ISBN: 9780262027823
Publication Date: 2014-10-10
Shows the ways that stories offer a lens for seeing the world as a series of systems. It provides opportunities for students to create interactive and animated stories about creating positive change in their communities. These projects utilize the Scratch visual programming environment.
Short Circuits by Kylie Peppler; Katie Salen Tekinba; Melissa Gresalfi; Rafi Santo; Christina Cantrill (Foreword by)
Call Number: 688.7 Pep
ISBN: 9780262027830
Publication Date: 2014-10-10
Offers students opportuniteis to undertake physical computing projects, providing tools and methods for creating electronic puppets. Students learn how to incorporate microprocessors into everyday materials and use them to enhance their language and writing skills with shadow puppet shows featuring their own DIY flashlights.
Soft Circuits by Kylie Peppler; Melissa Gresalfi; Katie Salen Tekinba; Rafi Santo; Leah Buechley
Call Number: 646.4 Pep
ISBN: 9780262027847
Publication Date: 2014-10-10
Introduces students to the world of wearable technology. Using Modkit, an accessible DIY electronics toolkit, students learn to create e-textile cuffs, 'electrici-tee' shirts, and solar-powered backpacks. Students also learn the importance of one component to the whole -- how, for example, changing the structure of LED connections immediately affects the number of LEDs that light up
Sylvia's Super-Awesome Project Book by Sylvia Super-Awesome Todd (Illustrator)
Call Number: 629.89 Tod
ISBN: 9780989151160
Publication Date: 2014-11-20
Gr 4-8– Twelve-year-old Sylvia Todd, the whiz kid who creates STEM videos at www.sylviashow.com, here offers her preteen fans a fun and easily digestible intro to Arduino, the popular open-source electronics platform.

Books in the WSA Library - DIY

Tape It and Make It by Cory Beemish; Rachela Fabian Morgan
Call Number: 745.57 Mor
ISBN: 9781438001357
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
A staple in the toolbox of every Do-It-Yourselfer, the fix-anything adhesive now comes in a delightful variety of colors and patterns. This eye-catching book will help crafters create wallets, neckties, masks, purses, and more. Provides instructions for 101 craft projects.

Books in the WSA Library - Paper Arts

Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine? by Esther Pearl Watson; Mark Todd (Illustrator)
Call Number: 070.5 Tod
ISBN: 9780618563159
Publication Date: 2006-06-26
Gr 7 Up– Unique and personal self-published mini magazines, zines offer myraid avenues of creativity for tweens and teens. Watson introduces 21 zine creators, whose works and enthusiasm will inspire the next generation of indie artists and authors.