Maker Spaces

Maker spaces for the always-on generation? Kenton County Public Library's space is perfect!

The expert showing us the VR ropes

We got to see a 3-D printer in action (my own design of a chair printed out), Virtual Reality explained and demonstrated with some of the other students in class, a laser cutter, paper cutting, and some available video equipment.

We all get to see what they see, though only in 2D

The VR was the most impressive of the grouping, offering everything from games to remote travel, seeing things we might never get to see in person.



In practical matters as an ELA teacher, I can see my students working this space into several projects of their own.

With the VR, they could experience places around the world with literary significance, like visiting the castle that the novel Dracula was based upon or Shakespeare's Globe Theatre or Thoreau's cabin.

Using the pixel builder and app, students could create characters from Lord of the Flies and build a short game representing one of the scenes in the book.

With the wood-cutting laser, students could design and build small, wooden models of scenes of novels like Dimmsdale's confession in A Scarlet Letter. 


With the imagination of any student, these available tools could turn into anything, and by introducing the tools and stating only that they use something to present a project, we give them both voice and choice.

And while unrelated to ELA or the Maker Space, I was fascinated that the library also lends out robust telescopes. I'm going to have to think on that a bit, but I'm sure there is a way to work that into a lesson too.