Sunny, you will meet her when you go to any of the Making with Ms. Dobras postings on YouTube.
Hi WinkWorld Readers,
This post is Part Two in a three-part series on Amy Dobras, as she shares her talents with “making” in the classroom. In Part One, I shared a few specific examples of Making with Ms. Dobras on YouTube. Since that posting, Ms. Dobras has posted more videos on YouTube; all are listed at the bottom of this blog.
In this issue of WinkWorld, I want to share what Making means (generically) in a classroom. Please bare with me on my definitions, because as you know, I am a languages & literacies person, and I am now dangerously close to science for the future.
Making or makerspace is just that: It is a space in schools where students make things with their hands, brains, and heart. The thought of kindergarten kids using power tools catches my attention, but that is exactly what happens. Ms. Dobras teaches making classes for elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Her classes include art, design, prototype design, design thinking, taking creative risks, revising mistakes, and testing their own creations often. For example, elementary students might learn to create mazes, and older students would extend this concept to designing mazes. As elementary students move through the grades, makerspace classes tend to morph into STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) classes.
Think: integrated learning and creating. All content areas are experienced simultaneously. It may seem simple at first, but soon the students are coding and programming, as they build, make, create.
Makers think with their hands.
What is Makerspace?
What is a Makerspace?
What is making at Ms. Dobras’s school?
What is making? The following blog comes from Lighthouse Community, where Amy teaches. In this blog, the schools provide the what/why/how of making.
Making with Ms. Dobras on YouTube
#1 Making with Ms. Dobras: 3D Sculptures
#2 Making with Ms. Dobras: Tetrahedrons
#3 Making with Ms. Dobras: Marble Mazes
#4 Making with Ms. Dobras: Origami Ninja Star
Subscribe to Making with Ms. Dobras–it is available on any of her pages.
