For educators, especially those new to classroom tech and STEM in general, the Makey Makey is an excellent starting point. Besides its catchy name, the Makey Makey is an appealing teaching tool that boosts student engagement and streamlines in-class instruction. What does it teach? Just about anything you want, though it's designed to help kids grasp the principles of conductivity and circuitry by making functional touchpads out of everyday objects. Sound good? Keep reading to learn more!
The Makey Makey Helps Makers Join the Maker Movement
If you are a Web-surfing teacher, you've probably heard of the Makey Makey. You may have seen it in use with bananas or other fruits and thought, ‘What is that’? Now, you’re finally ready to learn what makes the Makey Makey so popular. It’s not just that it can be connected to a bunch of different bananas to create a musical fruit spread. The Makey Makey is a powerful tool for teaching elementary students STEM concepts through interactive activities and collaborative projects.
It takes only minutes of tinkering to realize that Makey Makey is a dynamic way to encourage maker-focused learning. It lets kids construct innovative projects using the conductivity of the human body and other organic objects. The Makey Makey is a tiny computer, so when kids (safely) connect jumper cables to its ports, they can control computer functions using the electricity that’s present inside them! Kids can accomplish anything they would normally be able to do with a directional key and mouse, including playing computer games, but the Makey Makey allows them to go a step further and actually build usable controllers. Due to its versatility and interactivity, the Makey Makey is a great way to introduce kids to the Maker Movement. Being part of the Maker Movement is all about using common materials to build, tinker with, and customize creative projects that serve a legitimate purpose in the world.
Using Makey Makey in Different Settings
No matter the subject, the Makey Makey fits into classrooms and makerspaces, so students can create projects in flexible settings. The board processes many different types of inputs, allowing students to add interactivity to their Makey Makey projects. The project possibilities are almost immeasurable, but the Makey Makey is so engaging that it can keep students' attention in ways that traditional learning cannot always accomplish. Like the Maker Movement, the Makey Makey promotes adaptability, creativity, and versatility from an early age. Kids can build tools for practical purposes, then easily transform their projects into a fun-focused game as a reward. The Makey Makey gets kids started on the path to not only becoming certified makers, but also certified change-makers!
How to Use the Makey Makey in Math Class
The Makey Makey's versatility means that it can enhance any subject throughout the school day. Students can use the Makey Makey to try basic programming in various classes, including math, without any complex set-up. When coding, students learn across math standards instead of in isolation, giving them the opportunity to fail safely and productively. Coding projects allow students to take risks and solve problems while they build computational thinking skills through hands-on learning rather than with a textbook. Hands-on making enables kids to get creative with how they learn, which makes learning fun rather than repetitive and concrete. The Makey Makey can help kids learn a variety of math concepts like probability, sequencing, and even factoring, giving students the opportunity to add physical interaction to their education on a regular basis.
One easy math activity for students do with Makey Makey is create their own calculator. Though there are hundreds of different Makey Makey activities to try, this project enables kids to explore fundamental concepts in math, coding, and design in order to program their personalized calculators. First, they'll craft a paper calculator using conductive tape and brass fasteners to form the numbers. Once the Makey Makey's alligator clips are attached to the conductive tape, students can remap their Makey Makey's key inputs. For example, they could remap the left input key to function as the number one on their new calculator. Finally, students will code a calculator project in Scratch using the inputs they just assigned. This project is just one of the many ways that the Makey Makey fits into elementary and middle school subjects.
Lesson Plan Ideas for the Makey Makey
The beautiful thing about using Makey Makey in education is that it’s suitable for all grade levels, offering children the chance to engage in an immense variety of customizable projects. Teachers can use the Makey Makey to create quick in-class activities to supplement their lessons. Or, they can construct a lesson plan that uses the Makey Makey to illustrate concepts like electricity, conductivity, and circuitry. If teachers are running out of ideas (we know, it’s tough), there are hundreds of innovative lesson plans available online. Some of the lessons require extra pieces, but the main piece of equipment you’ll always need is a computer. Once you’ve got that, the possibilities are pretty much infinite.
Not only is the Makey Makey appropriate for any grade level and subject, it’s exceptional at illustrating specific concepts, too. Basic projects include testing different objects for their conductivity—something that often results in younger students tearing the classroom apart in search of unique items to test! Students have been known to test things like pens and pencils, clothing items, foods, water, books, and other school supplies to see if they can be used to complete their circuits. Another fun thing to try is to not only test a pencil, but to also test the lead specifically. Students can do this by drawing on a piece of paper and clamping the alligator clips right onto the graphite. The answer to whether or not the graphite is conductive might surprise them!
Makey Makey Is Perfect for Makerspaces
There may be nothing trendier in education right now than makerspaces. With such a large focus on hands-on, experiential, and technology-enabled learning, makerspaces give kids the chance to tinker with technology, fail freely, and get their hands dirty in a safe space that encourages learning. Kids learn best when the technology they have keeps them on their toes. Since technology is always changing, it’s important for teachers to keep tabs on what’s new and useful. Fortunately, the Makey Makey has been a stronghold in maker education for a few years now, as it consistently delivers a meaningful learning experience for students.
As its name suggests, Makey Makey is one of the first tools that tech-savvy teachers think of when building a makerspace. It fulfills a few key criteria that makerspace tools should possess, including ease of use, a technology component, and the ability to become something functional. The Makey Makey's functionality is especially significant, since the goal of makerspaces is not only to get kids building. Makerspace students should focus on making things that they or others can use to solve a problem or enact a change within the community. And no other EdTech tool will give kids the chance to learn functional programming in such a unique way. They probably won't realize it, but by controlling objects with Makey Makey, they actually are programming at a basic level.
Makey Makey Is Affordable
Aside from its functional possibilities, the Makey Makey offers other advantages for educators, especially those constrained by budgets. At just $49.95, the Makey Makey offers an affordable option for teachers who need to cut costs but still want to deliver an exceptional learning experience. The Makey Makey is also expandable, as it includes enough jumper wires to connect to every port on the board and then some, making it perfect for collaborative projects. It’s a pretty small piece of technology, but students can create interactive materials of almost any size when using it. Makey Makey is also 100% reusable, which is important for teachers who don't have the budget for single-use products. Most importantly, the Makey Makey brilliantly encourages creative thinking, designing, and making, giving kids the opportunity to develop important skills while they try brand new types of fun and meaningful learning.
Even More Activities to Do with the Makey Makey
You’ve learned so far that Makey Makey is a creativity-boosting tool that turns ordinary objects into interactive touchpads. You’ve also learned that its magic is based on conductivity and electricity. Any object (people included) that can conduct electricity can be used to complete Makey Makey circuits. Of course, there are some classic examples that show the awesomeness of the Makey Makey (like bananas), but there are many foods, liquids, and even fabrics that allow electricity to pass through them as well.
Since its 2012 appearance on the EdTech scene, makers have been finding innovative ways to make magic using Makey Makey. Its creator prides himself on showing that his invention works with pizza, which, yes, is apparently conductive. Another idea is to replace the bananas in the popular Banana Piano project with bobblehead dolls. They should be conductive, and it’s a pretty funny way to put the Makey Makey to use. Even sandwiches (and most of the contents) are conductive, so if you don’t feel like finishing your lunch, you can turn it into a productive learning experience!
The creative uses of Makey Makey keep getting better, and we’re confident that we’ll continue to see new ones. Got a dog? Its fur should get the job done. You can even draw touchpads using pencil since the graphite is conductive, or paint a circuit with conductive Electric Paint. Just attach alligator clips to the painted part of the paper and press the other end of the line to make it work. Finally, an old-time favorite, Play-Doh, is a great conductor of electricity. This enables students and makers to get incredibly creative as they sculpt the Play-Doh however they want. And just in case you were wondering, other conductive objects include paint brushes, a drill, silverware, alphabet soup, paintings, guitars, and necklaces—bringing amazingness to everyday learning!
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