Introducing the Making Culture in Teacher Education: The eCraft2Learn Project

Abstract

This paper presents the capacity building workshops for teachers that took place in the maker space established in Athens in the frame of the eCraft2Learn project. The aim of the workshops was to familiarise the teachers with the eCraft2Learn ecosystem that provides tools from robotics, DIY electronics, visual programming, 3D modelling and 3D printing in order to enable them to take on the role of the coach for their students in an environment inspired from the maker movement. The paper presents the training sessions and reports the trainees’ feedback focused on the strong and the weak aspects of the eCraft2Learn tools, the challenges they faced, their understanding of the pedagogical ideas underpinning the eCraft2Learn initiative, and finally their confidence and preparedness for their role as coach.