Makerspace

Having Makerspace in our school would definitely promote an innovative school culture, support educators in implementing authentic learning experiences for students, and ultimately help empower students to think critically, collaborate, communicate, and develop creative solutions. In a world where technology is consumed, in an educational school setting, Makerspace allows technology to become a tool for creativity and the development of cognitive abilities and skills. As new technologies emerge in the world on a day to day basis, it is only for the student’s good, being given the opportunity to be exposed to Makerspace and work hands on with new technology. It prepares students for the future and gets rid of all fears as they use the equipment and are exposed to it. Using Makerspace as a way to assess students is a fantastic option for teachers as it shows the students’ cognitive abilities while working collaboratively with other students or individually. They are skills that are hard to be assessed or seen with a standardized test score. We need to “bring cultures of innovation and deeper learning approaches to our school and reimagine our learning spaces and advanced assessment strategies as they are important to the increase of innovative impact and offer learning that goes beyond surface-level knowledge” (NMC Horizon Report 2). As a student, I would like to explore the 3D printer. I believe that it opens the door to explore many different designs and options and you definitely have to use your brain power to make sure the dimensions are correct and the end result will come out as you plan it to be. And if not, problem solving will come in handy to make the appropriate adjustments so your product is the way you want it.

Coding

I remember in middle school, 8th grade to be exact, I was briefly taught about coding and we made our own websites. To me then, it wasn’t understandable and for someone who picks up foreign languages quickly, coding just still seems so foreign to me. It’s far beyond a foreign language. Having the chance to practice and try creating different codes for this assignment sparked a bit of interest and got rid of some of my preconceived fears and uncertainties about it. It amazes me to see that children are learning how to code at a young age and Code.org uses bright colors and a simple and understandable layout to code and create different things. I wish I was exposed to this at a younger age. Code.org can be useful for all students especially to ensure creative skills and abilities. They will learn logical skills such as sequencing as well as cause and effect and techniques for solving problems as they code.

While trying out coding on Code.org, I was able to experiment with the Star Wars code and Coding with Elsa from Frozen. To be honest, the codes for Frozen seemed a lot easier for me to understand and to successfully maneuver. I was able to have her make a spiral snowflake, create a circle, and turn right 90 degrees. The codes were written in a different way that was easier to understand. Although, I did see mathematical operations unlike with Star War, it was more difficult to work with.