Planning a makerspace? Fill out this form to help your reflect and plan your vision. Upon completion, a team member will reach out with more information about how we might support you. We’ll provide a list of tools custom-built to fit the needs of your maker vision, if applicable! Fill it out to the best of your ability to get started.
Introduction
The maker movement is propelling school communities into a true 21st-century culture where learners of all ages are encouraged to come together to create, tinker, discover, invent, learn, fail forward, engineer, deconstruct, build, remix, and more. Students as early as pre-K to those ready to cross the stage for their diplomas are learning to code, use micro-controllers, build circuits, create prototypes, and so much more. Ultimately, learners are taking their ideas all the way to tangible products.
No two makerspaces are alike, as these environments are as unique as the learners they serve. A makerspace is never done. It is an ongoing, living pursuit that reflects the ever-changing culture and life of the school.
The process of empowering a maker mindset in your community begins with asking WHY and creating a mission statement for your makerspace. The more an educator knows about his or her school, students, and community, the more clearly these goals will take shape. MackinMaker is here to partner with you to design, create, implement, and revise your environment to fashion a space where students, teachers, and community can come together for innovation.
Help us assist you by answering the following Needs Assessment questions. Do the best you can. We understand that this is a process and your answers are likely to change and evolve throughout the journey.
This Needs Assessment was developed by a team of maker educators from a variety of backgrounds.
Contributor Information
Todd Burleson
Toddburleson.com | @todd_burleson
Resource Center Director
Todd Burleson is a Teacher-Maker-Librarian at the Hubbard Woods School in Winnetka, IL. He was chosen as the 2016 School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year. He is an author, international speaker, and a passionate picture book advocate who constantly seeks to find the balance of books and bytes in his library and makerspace.
Ellen Stolarski
https://middleschoollibrarianfromtheblacklagoon.wordpress.com/ | @emstolar
Middle School Librarian, Saint Marys Area Middle School
Ellen Stolarski is a librarian at a rural school library in Pennsylvania. As a librarian, she works to promote collaboration, technology, a love of reading, and information literacy skills in her school. Ellen was the 2018 recipient of the ISTE Librarians’ Network PLN Award. She has participated in several programs outside of her library including PSLA’s Emerging Leader Program (2014-15) and ILEADUSA (2016). She is also the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award committee.
Heather Lister
@heathermlister | Independent Educational Consultant of Maker Education
www.heatherlister.com
Heather Lister, M.Ed, is an international speaker and blogger on the topics of maker education, educational technology, and innovative leadership. Formerly a school librarian, Heather is an Independent Educational Consultant of Maker Education. Heather is a certified library media specialist, instructional technology specialist, and a certified K-12 administrator. As a connected educator, Heather is a mentor for Year in the Making, an Advisory Board member for the Transform Your School Library (TYSL) initiative, a Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Star educator, a PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator, and a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator. She is also a certified Makey Makey Trainer and an instructor for the Bureau of Education and Research. She is the President-Elect for the ISTE Librarians Network.
Zoe P. Midler
@zmidler | Digital Literacy Specialist, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD)
Boulder, CO 803030, Not A Rocking Chair Librarian Podcast |Make@BVSD
Zoe is an evangelist for meaningful integration of technology at all levels of education. She is a former K-12 teacher librarian, successfully implementing library programs and initiatives designed to foster technology infused, student-centered learning environments characterized by discovery and collaboration. As BVSD’s Digital Literacy Specialist, Zoe supports 48+ teacher librarians as they navigate seismic shifts taking place in K-12 librarianship and libraries.
Dr. Jen McCarty Plucker
@jenplucker | Director of Professional Learning for Mackin Independent Literacy Consultant www.mackinlearning.com
Jen received her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with research focused on adolescent engagement/motivation and accelerated literacy growth. Her research has been recognized in ASCD’s Ed. Leadership, by ILA, and the SREB’s High Schools That Work. Jen has over 20 years of education experience as a teaching and learning coordinator, ESL coordinator, K-12 intervention specialist, English/speech teacher, reading specialist, speech coach, past president of the Minnesota Reading Association, adjunct instructor for Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, and literacy consultant.
Elissa Malespina
@elissamalespina | Teacher-Librarian, Somerville Middle School
Elissa is a Teacher Librarian at Somerville Middle School in Somerville NJ. Elissa is Immediate Past- President of the ISTE Librarians Network. She is a speaker, author, and blogger on the topics of school library advocacy, makerspaces, and innovative technology. She is the recipient of ISTE’s Making it Happen Award, a Bammy Award winner, and a finalist for AASL’s Social Media Superstars.