Making Center of Practice
NACCE hosts an annual Make/SHIFT conference to advance making!
As a technical assistance advisor, NACCE completed a three-year grant with Sierra College and CCC Maker to support the formation of 23 new makerspaces in the State of California. A showcase and conference – make/SHIFT – was held in April of 2019 with 250 attendees. In July of 2020, we hosted make/SHIFT Virtual and in May of 2021 we hosted make/SHIFT 2.0 Virtual. Make/SHIFT 2022 was held in San Diego, CA. The 2023 Make/SHIFT conference will take place on June 14 -16, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts on the campus of MIT .Interested in getting involved? Fill out the below form.
Josh Zaslow was NACCE's AmeriCorps Maker Fellow for 2021-2022, working to expand NACCE's capacity for maker-centered learning activities. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music. His focus this year has been to create a guide to integrating music and making.
"The guide describes the history of music in STEM, it's many benefits, and the ways music can be used to enhance the making experience. It will be available for download by June of 2022."
Makerspace Guide: The Power of Making
This guide has been created in collaboration with a multitude of individuals and organizations all focused on the common goal of increasing maker-centered learning in traditional and non-traditional ways across all disciples.
The makerspace ecosystem in higher educationis thriving! Makers + Mentors Network and their parent organization Citizen Schools is partnered with educational organizations and NACCE to launch the Makers Fellow program.
Maker fellows will be hosted by organizations in the communities they will serve. Fellows will work in direct service and capacity building roles. They will be involved in a range of activities that include implementing programs, teaching making, and building local communities of practice centered on making.
NACCE will host a Maker Fellow that will function as a capacity builder and help expand upon NACCE’s current work in makerspace ecosystem building to develop a community of practice in North Carolina. This community of practice will include a NACCE Student Ambassador program that will invite a cohort of students from NACCE member schools to represent NACCE, their schools, and their communities as a new generation of makers, dreamers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. These students will be provided professional development opportunities and mentorships to help them become advocates for maker-centered learning and develop their own maker-centered practices. These students will also be supported as they become liaisons between their colleges and the k-12 systems in their communities.
The community of practice will also include the Maker Education Member Engagement Program. The NACCE Maker fellow will work to support this program to expand on NACCE’s current work which offers forty plus member schools professional development that supports them in partnering with k-12 schools to bring maker centered learning to middle schools boys and girls from underserved communities. Specifically, NACCE will share best practices, frameworks, and models for providing maker education in higher education to a broader scope of partners. NACCE will also develop and run a commitment model and leverage a series of conferences and workshops to continue to expand the makerspace ecosystem in higher education.
2020-2021 Maker Fellow Host Sites
Screen capture from makersandmentors.org/makerfellows
Further Resources:
- Making Culture is an informative deep dive of the findings that Drexel University conducted in the first ever K-12 makerspace examination.
- This Boston Globe article reports mask-making projects are popping up all over as crafters mobilize against coronavirus.
- Instructables.com is an online community resource for people who like to make things. Get step-by-step guidance on everything from crafting to cooking to outdoor design.
- Do you have Disney+? Check out their new show, Shop Class – a competition series where teams of young builders are tasked with designing, building, and testing new creations.
Photo from make/SHIFT which was held in April of 2019