Developing a makerspace

Our goal is to remove barriers to participation in technology spaces.  We are building a space that is universally accessible to all learners. It is important to capitalize on learners' interests in emerging technologies and honor a learner's desire to be independent and self-directed.  An important objective is to attract learners needing to find a place to belong.  Another focus is to guarantee learners the opportunity to be successful and develop skills for the 21st century workplace.

We are preparing learners for jobs that haven’t been created yet. It is imperative that we foster learners who approach tasks as problems to solve, as challenges to overcome. This requires an active approach to education --a “Let’s do this!” model-- where teachers and learners are part of a team that works and discovers together.

“Play” is one of our keywords for CREATE. Learners are encouraged to play until they reach middle school, when recess disappears and academics become “serious”. High school doubles down on that approach, as grades and test scores --outcomes, not process-- become the motivation. We want to re-orient learners to a mindset where focused play is a part of a process that leads to learning; where the play and the process are just as important as the outcome. When creating, a learner's journey cannot be separated from the destination.