At Eduporium, we take pride in providing customized STEAM, EdTech, and makerspace solutions to fit whatever teachers need. We know that some educators spend the majority of their time in the classroom, others are often working in the library, and that there are those who have carved out new roles for themselves in school makerspaces. It is these innovative educators who we might be able to offer the most assistance to. Our MakerEd experts are well-versed in the latest makerspace tools, technologies, budgets, and design—something we’ve really been focusing on. So, whether you already have a makerspace at your school and are looking to make it better or you need some help with getting started, our makerspace team can help you out.
A Personalized Plan
In all our years of working with educators and school leaders, we’ve never seen two makerspaces that have looked exactly alike or heard two educators describe spaces that are exactly the same. When it comes to makerspaces in education, they are somewhat like snowflakes—totally unique. Every educator has different goals for their makerspace and different resources available to them for making things happen. What’s important to one makerspace leader might be something that others have never considered or even needed to think about. That’s why, as part of our makerspace consultation service, we work directly with the educators who will be teaching in the makerspace to learn about their hopes, needs, and resources to craft a personalized plan for success!
Having worked with school and district leaders nationwide, we understand what it takes to design a successful makerspace. They might have a ton of makerspace ideas, but one key thing for educators to do is to stay true to their learning goals and stay within their space. In creating a personalized plan for you, we’ll take into account everything from budget restraints and the size of your space to how skilled you and your students are when it comes to working with different technologies. If you’re interested in getting some techy equipment, like a 3D printer or a CNC machine, that’s great! If you’re more interested in gathering some random craft materials and incorporating some low-tech learning into the makerspace, that’s great too! Whatever's important to you is important to us.
Every makerspace has a touch of uniqueness to it and that’s something we don’t take lightly. In the consultation process, we like to speak directly with teachers (and students, too, if possible) so that we can get a clear idea of what the space should include. From the initial conversation, during which we'll discuss your needs and goals, to the actual implementation of the MakerEd tools, we’re here to help ensure launching your makerspace goes as smoothly as possible. Our online store contains hundreds of dynamic and engaging makerspace tools that we recommend to educators. By learning your goals, we can easily come back with a list (as short or as long as you’d like) with technology that supports the development of those goals. We also make it a point to build on what you already have and help you try new things!
Eduporium Expertise
When we offer makerspace recommendations to teachers, we’re not just trying to make a quick sale. We've done our research on STEAM solutions that work best in today's classrooms. In fact, our team vets every single product line on our store to confirm its viability in today’s educational environments, which, as we know, include makerspaces. While there's no limit to the size of our store, we’re not willing to put just anything on there. The technology we recommend and endorse must be easy for educators at all levels to integrate, easy for both them and students to understand, and actively help teachers advance 21st century learning. We don’t want teachers and students struggling with how to work a certain piece of technology and we especially don’t want them left wondering how it helped them learn.
A lot of the time, we use our expertise to recommend one or more STEM tools for teachers to use in their makerspace. While this kind of guidance is great because it helps them see what they could be offering for their students or what they might want to stay away from, it’s not the only advice we provide. Take the layout or placement of a makerspace, for example. An educator may have been given the green light to create a makerspace, but her or she may have to come up with the location on their own. And, for some teachers, this means converting an empty classroom or an old closet. Sometimes, however, it might even end up being somewhere else. Whatever leeway or restrictions you're working with, we can help in every phase of the process.
Since they're found pretty much anywhere in school buildings, one place makerspaces tend to pop up is the library. This has led to many school librarians taking on new and exciting roles as the makerspace facilitator. If that's you and you're a bit overwhelmed, we can certainly help ease that transition. We can help educators with designing or converting this area into a functional makerspace by providing guidance on everything from the types of tables and chairs that work best to technology that’s small enough but powerful enough to get kids innovating. We know it can be tough when starting a makerspace, especially since teachers tend to have so many exciting ideas and a specific vision for how they want it to turn out. And, for that reason, we’re here to help!
Budget Flexibility
One of the main points we’re trying to make is that no two school makerspaces are the same. In addition to that, there’s a pretty good chance that no two school makerspace budgets are exactly the same. We’ve worked with educators at all different types of schools—private, Title 1, public, inner-city, rural, and so on. From experience, we can definitely say that they pretty much all have their own sets of budgetary freedoms and restrictions. And, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. With schools that have different demographics come different kinds of budgets. Some are large enough to help them accomplish everything they want to do while others are sometimes even nonexistent. The point is that makerspaces aren’t defined by the amount of money that’s spent on them.
With that being said, we have experience working with educators who have all sorts of different budget requirements and we’ve been able to learn a lot about making their needs a reality. Though tough, it is possible to start a makerspace for free (or at least a very low cost). We often hear about educators appealing to the families of each student, asking them to spare any extra supplies and materials from around their homes. This is one way to launch a makerspace for free and it could help educators acquire reusable materials, like scissors, chairs, tables, yard sticks, and more. It also could lead to acquiring non-reusable materials, however, like cardboard, tape, glue, and you name it. So, if you think about trying your hand at this strategy, remember to keep that in mind.
We’ve seen makerspaces cost only a few thousand dollars and some top out at over $100,000. The important thing is that spending more money doesn’t always equal more success. It’s important to research technology and develop a vision for what you believe will work well with your students. Budgets are a big factor in makerspace design, but educators should never feel like their budget is preventing them from accomplishing their objectives. As part of our consultation service, we’ll also talk with educators about their funding needs. If you are applying for a grant for makerspace materials, we also offer our own $500 monthly grant program that’s open to everyone in the education world. Essentially, if you want to start a makerspace at your school, money shouldn’t make or break its success. Reach out to us and we’ll help you maximize your dollars and provide valuable input on potential solutions.
High Tech Makerspace Options
High tech tools are great for makerspaces because they empower students to design and create almost anything. Low tech tools are also useful, but let’s start off by discussing some of the high-end options. In terms of technology, when we think about how technologically advanced something is, we tend to associate that with it being more expensive. When it comes to makerspaces, the most commonly used high-tech items include 3D printers, CNC machines, 3D formers, and laser printers. If you don’t know much about these technologies, you could be misled and believe they’re much too expensive. Fortunately for educators, these devices won’t necessarily break the bank, especially if you know how to research them, the features you want them to have, and know where you can find alternative options that are more affordable.
In makerspaces, 3D printers are actually pretty common at all levels of education, offering different levels of power and complexity. There are small, more affordable, and less complex printers that educators can use to introduce students to 3D printing in the earlier grades, like the LulzBot 3D printers, for example. As students get more comfortable with 3D printing and 3D design, the MakerBot printers offer a lot more opportunities for innovative design and engineering. These printers are more expensive, but their power, precision, and reliability are at the top of the list in education. The Glowforge 3D laser printers are also great for use in high school and even college makerspaces. We always hear about students using these 3D printer brands in makerspaces, including one project related to the pandemic we helped with!
Another type of high-tech makerspace tool is a CNC machine. Whereas 3D printers help enable additive manufacturing (creating objects out of designs), CNC machines do the opposite. They're used in creating smaller, more intricate objects out of larger objects. In using CNC machines, students can develop technical and design skills—even in high school makerspaces. Students can use these types of machines to engineer creations out of a bunch of different materials. There are many types of CNC machines that work well in makerspaces, but we don't offer any at the moment. As of now, out top picks for high-tech makerspace tools remain the 3D printers, vacuum former, and 3D laser printer, but we're always on the lookout for new tech tools.
Low Tech Makerspace Options
Sure, the high-tech stuff would be great in a perfect world. The reality, however, is that many school leaders can’t afford them or lack resources to train teachers in proper use. While we could offer assistance in each of those departments through grants and other instructional sessions, we understand that some educators might not think it’s worth it. For those reasons, we’re not shy about recommending some of the low-tech options for makerspace use as well. They work just as well, they’re usually more affordable, and they’re usually easier to learn how to use. Making in today’s sense does not need to be filled with high-tech challenges and complex technology. As long as students can use materials to design and build something, that gets their brains working.
We’ve glossed over resourceful ways to make a makerspace fun and educational, including some low-tech options. You might already know that cardboard is a staple in makerspaces. It’s everywhere, it’s oftentimes free, and it doesn't require a lot of technical skills. Students can also manipulate and customize cardboard, which makes it great for makerspaces. They can cut, fold, shape, and bend it for their designs. They can also build with it. One of our favorite recommendations for low-tech makerspace tools is MakeDo and even the Matter and Form 3D scanner and Mayku vacuum former (these last two are technical, but nothing too complicated). With the plastic MakeDo tools, students can use screws, screwdrivers, and other components to hold cardboard creations together. With the Matter and Form, students can photograph physical objects and turn them into digital renderings. Finally, with the Mayku FormBox, they can create molds using tons of different materials.
While there are so many directions makerspace learning can go, it really comes down to your goals and budgetary resources. If you’re willing to go all in, we’re ready to recommend some top-line technology. If you want to just dip in one toe, we’re here to offer affordable options as well. Plus, our experts will answer any questions you have from start to finish. Designing a makerspace can be challenging—we get that—but we hope to make it more enjoyable for you! For any questions about makerspaces or to learn more about the assistance we provide, please get in touch with us.
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