Makers with a cause: Fabrication, reflection and community collaboration

Abstract

The potential of using maker and DIY approaches for collaborative learning is widely recognized. Maker techniques such as rapid prototyping are being increasingly adopted by schools, universities and colleges in order to effectively teach core design and science concepts. We describe our approach to facilitating a series of “MakeShops”, maker workshops, for undergraduate engineering students, in which we used a maker atelier model to facilitate the design and implementation of self-directed maker projects that combined making and tinkering with reflection and community collaboration.