Maker education is a purposeful, popular, and unique division of STEAM learning. Born from the Maker Movement that various inventors and hobbyists have helped become more mainstream in cities all over the world, that ingenuity they display translates exceptionally well in K–12 classrooms. Especially as makerspaces are popping up in various academic spaces, maker education helps students apply their creativity in useful ways. Maker education also does not require expensive materials or complex technology. While it's beneficial to incorporate these resources in the right circumstances, however, it's far from necessary. Using simple makerspace supplies, like paper, cardboard, and tape, kids can experience the benefits of MakerEd. And, once they become more comfortable with this way of learning, they can progress up to some more intricate projects.
In terms of maker education in schools, there are so many different avenues teachers could take. One of the most popular and impactful, for example, is introducing students to 3D printing. Using these eco-friendly machines, students can generate their own ideas for solving any problem, create a digital rendering of a prototype with a design program, and sit back to let their 3D printer bring their visions to life layer by layer. This also helps them make tons of connections to the STEAM world and innovative problem solving. But, beyond just 3D printing, maker education might involve 3D scanning, 3D laser printing, arts and crafts, electronics-based projects, vacuum forming, and even constructing robots. As long as children are thinking like inventors, maker education can help them develop into true 21st century problem solvers.
In case you missed it, the shift with the former STEAM supplier, littleBits, to Sphero now seemingly came full circle. Last week, social media posts from all of the former littleBits channels indicated that everything would soon be moving over to the Sphero channels and, a little bit earlier this week, that’s exactly what we saw happen as this merger
For a long time, we sold New Matter’s MOD-t 3D printer on our store until that company shut down a few months back. There is one way, however, if you know how to do so, that you could still make use of a MOD-t printer. In this twist on our Tips & Tricks series, we’re going to help break it
For the month of November, we’ve awarded the grant to Jason Kissel, who works with students and teachers at over 30 schools! Jason is the Tech Liaison from the South-Western City School District in Grove City, Ohio and he is responsible for helping teachers at the district’s 32 schools integrate new tech into their instruction.
Educators are always wondering about the best technology for their classrooms and there isn’t always a definite answer. What’s best for one teacher and group of students depends on learning goals, classroom environment, and previous experiences with EdTech. Watch the video to learn why our Irina Tuule believes EdTech is simply like a pencil.
The littleBits team recently released four expansion packs—two for the Code Kit and two for the STEAM Student Set. And, for this week’s Eduporium Experiment, we’re getting into the Code Kit Expansion Packs, the additional components they include, and the bonus projects students can make!
To celebrate the start of summer vacation, we’re offering 50 percent off these select items while supplies last and there are some pretty good deals to take advantage of. To see what EdTech items are a part of our sale, click the link above and remember to keep an eye out for future announcements regarding special sales and deals from
The month of May is just about over and that means we have selected another recipient of our monthly $500 EdTech grant. This month’s awardee is Renee Wells, a STEAM teacher at Zephyr Lane Elementary School in Bakersfield, California! Renee and her students have a very intriguing project planned and one that should definitely inspire everyone.
Though Instructables has been around for quite a while now, it’s still a very valuable resource for STEM teachers or any educator who is looking for some inspirational project ideas. Instructables is home to an online library of various projects completed by students, teachers, hobbyists, and everyone in between.
While library makerspaces are a great way to advance and promote 21st century learning, we’re not exactly advocating for overthrowing the library in your school completely. Just want to make that perfectly clear. In fact, school libraries and library makerspaces have been known to complement each other, making one reason they’re so popular.
We found some time to research and try a different version of the 3Doodler 3D printing pen, the 3Doodler PRO. Compared to the 3Doodler Start and 3Doodler Create, the PRO version is a bit more advanced and a bit more powerful, making it a great ‘next step’ option in maker education. Keep reading to learn more about the 3Doodler PRO!
