Making is one of the main ways I interact with the world and express myself, & I teach a course on making and makerspaces in information organziations.
The Course
This master’s degree course focuses on 3 main areas:
User-centered makerspace services, especially in libraries, that go BEYOND learning and skill-building to meet other user needs, such as joy, love, regeneration, play, self-expression, and community building
Instructional communication, including creating tutorials and assisting with peer-based and informal learning practices
Learning to be a maker (or continuing one’s maker journey) with many kinds of STEAM-based making, with an eye toward supporting other makers in these creative places.
Most of the projects in the course are created and taught by the students, but below are a sampling of things I teach to help them get started.
Some projects from the course.
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LED flowers.
A simple circuit to introduce people to eTextiles or “soft circuits.”
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Soldered badge.
We start by soldering a simple badge.
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Knitted bag.
Needle craft is one of the most requested activities in library creative places, despite an institutional focus on digital production.