Category Archives: Workshops

Awesomesauce, e-textiles, Education, maker spaces, STEAM, Things to Do, wearables, Workshops

STEAM-y Summer Library Programs! Meet our educators

summer-library-program

For Vermont Kids and Families
July + August 2014

This summer Vermont Makers and its partners are producing 28 programs at 14 Vermont libraries all across the state of Vermont! Programs for kids of all ages will showcase hands-on STEAM-y (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects.

Programs were created for middle school kids and older. Please preregister with participating libraries.

For the program schedule and descriptions of programs, visit STEAM-e-ZINE!

Meet our Educators:

Rebecca Schwarz works across disciplines to enrich health through art on individual, collective and Earth based levels. Her art is inspired by patterns in nature with technology as one more layer of patterning. She has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture and an MFA in interdisciplinary arts focused on community engaged art, teaching and ecological art, link. Rebecca teaches at Champlain College and coordinates Art from the Heart, connecting children, families and caregivers with play and creativity in the hospital. Her work can be seen at rebeccaschwarz.com.

Cecilia Telefus displayed a passion for technology from a young age and enrolled in her first class focusing on electricity at the age of 17. She went on to college to learn more about her passion and subsequently landed a job maintaining semiconductor fabrication and test equipment. Her lifelong interest led her to work in a wide variety of technical roles such as an electromagnetic effects lab technician, a professional pyro-technician, and most recently as a Product Support Analyst at a web solutions firm. As the daughter of an artist she is excited about the endless possibilities the Maker Movement will present for the fusing of two of her favorite interests.

Dayle Payne has been a teacher for almost thirty years, the last eight as a technology teacher at Georgia Elementary and Middle School. A self described joyous nerd, she loves dabbling in all things technology related. Special interests currently include eTextiles, laser cutting odd shapes for jewelry making and Arduino processing.

Lynn Motschman formalized her need to know how things work with a BS in architecture and engineering at Norwich University, but her real education came about raising four children with unbridled curiosity. Helping out in Vermont libraries’ STEAM-powered summer offerings seemed like a natural place to extend the excitement she felt working with her own kids and more recently, as a student herself in the U of Vermont FabLab. Lynn is really looking forward to meeting the next generation of makers and inventors, to see what they can teach her.

Jenn Karson
Bio

Beverly Ball is a long-time teacher of art, craft, welding & technology at Denver Academy where she established the Saipe Family Metal Arts Studio, the TinkerBelles girls’ maker club, and the schoolwide Craft/Tech/Art Lab. Her specialty lies in blending art-making, academics, skills and mischief.

Caleb Clark is the director of the EdTech master’s program at Marlboro College, where he also teaches and coordinates academic technology support. He has been a Web geek since 1994 and an educational technologist since 1999. Caleb’s interests include: eportfolios, online media production for teachers, physical computing, citizen journalism, and humanizing technology. Caleb’s passion for Internet technology and media began when he joined the dot com revolution in San Francisco in the mid-1990s. He went on to work in educational technology in corportate (Netscape, Maxis), K-12 (High Tech High) and higher education (SDSU, NYU, Antioch) organizations before settling down at Marlboro College in 2008. Caleb regularly presents at conferences and publishes.

hacker spaces, innovation, maker spaces, STEAM, Things to Do, Workshops

Vermont Libraries to Transform into Maker Spaces This Summer

June 23, 2014
For immediate release
Contact: Erica Houskeeper, Erica.Houskeeper@uvm.edu, 802-498-5495

Vermont Libraries to Transform into Maker Spaces This Summer
UVM CEMS supporting development of library STEAM programs

The University of Vermont is supporting the development of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts + Math) programs for Vermont public libraries this summer.

Fourteen public libraries from Craftsbury to Charlotte to Castleton will offer summer maker workshops for K-12 students as part of the new “Vermont Makers and Libraries: Sparking a Culture of Innovation” project. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Vermont Department of Libraries, Vermont Makers, the University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Vermont Library Association and CMF Innovations.

“By teaching and sharing technical literacy, we can help empower students through valuable and fun learning experiences,” said Jennifer Karson, founder of Vermont Makers and instructor with the University of Vermont FabLab at the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. “The project encourages individual creativity, collaboration and lifelong learning.”

The three-hour workshops will be held June 25 to Aug. 9 and will be taught by local educators trained by Karson. The libraries are each offering two of the five modules: Creative Creatures, Squishy Circuits, Toy Hacking, E-Origami and E-textiles. Participants will learn how to use digital and physical tools to help strengthen their deductive reasoning, logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

A $20,000 Vermont Community Foundation Innovations and Collaborations Grant and a $5,000 grant from UVM CEMS are helping to fund the program. UVM CEMS is providing space for the train-the-trainer workshops for educators as part of the Vermont Engineering Initiative, and the Vermont Department of Libraries is helping coordinate and implement the program in libraries around the state.

“The maker movement is alive and well in Vermont, and like the rest of the nation, public libraries are an important player in providing opportunities to engage in these hands-on creation programs,” said State Librarian Martha Reid of the Vermont Department of Libraries. “I love the ways that maker programs can foster intergenerational learning, introduce novices and experts alike to technology and STEM, and promote teamwork and collective problem-solving.”

Modeled after hacker spaces, a maker space is a place where young people have an opportunity to explore their own interests, learn to use tools and materials and develop creative projects. In recent years, libraries across the country have embraced the trend to create maker spaces for communities.

Librarian Susan O’Connell of the Craftsbury Public Library, who was instrumental in getting the summer program off the ground, said she first witnessed the power of maker spaces at the Champlain Valley Maker Faire two years ago.

“As a librarian and teacher, too often I see children’s scientific curiosity extinguished when science is taught as a set of facts to memorize without the thrill of exploration and discovery,” she said. “At the Champlain Valley Maker Faire, people of all ages were experimenting with trajectory with a pumpkin-chucking trebuchet, learning how to solder, and watching electricity play along a tesla coil. People were trying, sharing and exploring new ideas, and kids were incredibly excited.”

O’Connell said the idea was also inspired by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which creates programs and activities designed to encourage children to learn and read during the summer. This summer’s theme is science.

Communities participating in the initiative include Bennington, Barre, Charlotte, Craftsbury, Castleton, Fairfax, Groton, Jericho, Poultney, Quechee, Richford, Warren, Westford and Williston.

“Our goal is to make it possible for children who might not have access to this kind of programming in rural areas to engage in fun, hands-on activities and discover how science works in everyday life,” O’Connell said. “While all of the participants might not become scientists, they’ll be better prepared to thrive in our technological world.”

For more information and a list of participating libraries, visit http://steam-e-zine.com/index.php/spark-a-culture-of-innovation.

Two images are available for download (courtesy of Vermont Engineering Initiative), one of educators training for the Toy Hacking STEAM program and an image of a toy. Toy Hacking is one of the STEAM and Maker programs offered this summer in Vermont public libraries. Download the images here: http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/high_res/STEAM/

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UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS 
86 South Williams Street
Burlington, VT 05401-3404
Phone (802) 656-2005 • Fax (802) 656-3203
E-mail: newserv@uvm.edu
Online: www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr
circuit design, conductive thread, design, e-textiles, lilypad arduino, STEAM, Things to Do, wearables, Workshops

Do, Make and Create! Exploring Creative Ideas for the Classroom

On May 15, 2014 Vermont Makers will present at

DL_Official_LogoDo, Make and Create!
Exploring Creative Ideas for the Classroom
The 15th Annual VITA-Learn and VSLA Ed Tech Conference!

For and by Teachers, Librarians, Administrators and Technology
Specialists.  At Champlain College, Burlington, VT. 

Vermont Makers sessions include: 

Spark a Culture of Innovation: Making-it in Your Community
Register and Learn More

Come and see what the kids will be making and learning this summer!
A grant from the Vermont Community Foundation was awarded for children and teens in Vermont’s public libraries to support this summer’s Collaborative Summer Library Program theme, Science.

From Space Suits to High Fashion: A Hands-on Introduction to E-textiles
Register and Learn More

e-textiles

Elegant and sophisticated wearable technology from cutting edge fashion designers Pankaj and Nidhi. Their glowing geometric dress from the SS12 show at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. More on their website pankajnidhi com.

The emerging field of e-textiles is exciting, fun, beautiful and overflowing with opportunities for innovation. E-textiles are articles of clothing, home furnishings, or architecture that include embedded computational and electronic elements (Berzowska 2005). They are also found in smart military uniforms, sportswear that monitors health indicators and portable medical devices.

Check out both Vermont Makers programs!

Sponsored by:
VSLA and VITA-Learn
Co-Sponsored by: Vermont Agency of Education

Awesomesauce, Education, Good Ju Ju, innovation, Vermont Makers, Workshops

Vermont Makers: A Short History

Image

This is the time of year to reflect on the past, present and future – where we’ve been and where we are going.  And so, we present this graphic timeline to give context to the first two exciting years of Vermont Makers.

View the graphic timeline below or view or download the pdf here. Note that the pdf is much easier to read.

For a glimpse of the future check out programs for 2014.
vermont_makers_timeline

 

View or download the pdf here. Note that the pdf is much easier to read.

Arduino, Careers, Education, maker spaces, STEAM, Workshops

Vermont FabLab Workshop – Spring 2014







An Exciting New Course at UVM Explores Innovation through Art + Technology Projects
CEMS 095 + CEMS 295
Instructor: Jenn Karson
University of Vermont | Spring 2014 | 3 Credits
Wednesdays 5:10 – 8:10pm
Download Flyer
Vermont Training Program Grant funding is available – see below

This course is open to non-degree students including:

•  Professional creatives and artists who want to explore the use of contemporary art + technology materials and methods.

•  Entrepreneurs and business professionals interested in innovation and product development

•  K-12 teachers who need to implement common core engineering + design curriculum

Vermont FabLab Workshop is an overview of the convergence of art + technology in engineering, contemporary art and the DIY maker movement. Through live demonstrations, hands-on projects and complementary readings students will gain technical skills and engage in critical reflections on aesthetics, material culture, technology and society.

Class teachings and projects will introduce design thinking, ecological thinking, handmade electronics, microcontrollers, physical computing, e-textiles, circuit bending, how to use Vermont FabLab’s rapid prototyping equipment and STEAM educational approaches. Students will be taught practical skills and class presentations will give context to how artists, scientists and technologists are using new technologies and rapid prototyping methods.

If you are interested in enrolling contact UVM Continuing Education:
Phone: (800) 639-3210 or (802) 656-2085. Click the “learn more” button below to ask a question.

The State of Vermont has approved the FabLab Workshop for Vermont Training Program Grant funding – yes, the credit course – for Vermonters work in Manufacturing, Health Care, Information Technology, Telecommunications, or Environmental Engineering. This means a 40% reduction in the cost for those qualifying for the grant.
Here is a link to more info about the grant and the application