At this year’s conference at The University of Texas at Austin, I presented “STEM Lesson Plans for Course-Embedded Academic Library Makerspaces”. This presentation provided an overview of the UTA Libraries’ Maker Literacies website, including STEM curriculum developed during our IMLS-funded “Maker Competencies and the Undergraduate Curriculum” pilot program. I walked through the website as I explained its history and development, future direction and improvements, and requirements for adding course-integrated makerspace lesson plans from other institutions.
Month: July 2019
Nation of Makers 2019 Conference
In June 2019, Morgan Chivers (UTA’s FabLab Librarian) and I attended (by invitation) the Nation of Makers 2019 Conference in Chattanooga, TN. Each of us sat on separate panels, and we also co-presented on our Maker Literacies work at UTA Libraries.
I sat on a panel titled “Making in College: Educational Pathways.” This panel was about how college and university makerspaces are changing the rules for higher education by implementing making into students’ college experiences and opening the door wide open for all the opportunities students have after graduation. The goal of this panel was to bring together a range of voices from college makerspace champions and from former students turned into makerspace organizers. Micah Lande (Arizona State University) moderated the panel, and I was joined by John Grout (Berry University) and Amanda Jarvis (George Mason University ) on the panel.
Morgan Chivers sat on a panel titled “Makerspaces in Libraries,” and he also won a raffle for a CNC router, soon to be installed in the UTA FabLab shop room.