Difference between revisions of "Resource:How to engage the campus community in the design of a makerspace"

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After determining the needs of your campus, goals should be set so you can meet the identified needs and determine which needs take precedence over others. Collaboration with students of all types and majors will help ensure that the needs are met. Additionally, it is important to have regular meetings when students can voice their opinions, share their ideas with fellow students, and offer a different perspective.
 
After determining the needs of your campus, goals should be set so you can meet the identified needs and determine which needs take precedence over others. Collaboration with students of all types and majors will help ensure that the needs are met. Additionally, it is important to have regular meetings when students can voice their opinions, share their ideas with fellow students, and offer a different perspective.
  
== Section 3 ==
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== Faculty Support ==
 
 
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Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge. <br><br>
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The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.
  
 
== Faculty Support ==
 
== Faculty Support ==
  
 
Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge.<br/><br/>The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.
 
Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge.<br/><br/>The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.

Revision as of 05:05, 6 January 2017

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A makerspace can provide a social and creative outlet that brings together a campus community. Many schools are enthusiastic about the possibility of a makerspace, but the logistics of designing one can be intimidating. Each location presents its own set of needs, resources, and challenges. This article describes the process of designing a community-focused makerspace using insights shared by Brad Turner.

Filling Needs and Setting Goals

When designing a makerspace, you should consider the needs it can meet. A UIF Landscape Canvas may be helpful for assessing the gaps present on campus and the tools that may be used to fill them. These gaps can also be identified through observations made during day-to-day school life as well as conversations with fellow students and faculty. If there is no particular target audience, it’s imperative that you get a variety of perspectives in order to objectively look at what the campus needs as a whole, rather than just your specific college or department.

After determining the needs of your campus, goals should be set so you can meet the identified needs and determine which needs take precedence over others. Collaboration with students of all types and majors will help ensure that the needs are met. Additionally, it is important to have regular meetings when students can voice their opinions, share their ideas with fellow students, and offer a different perspective.

Faculty Support

Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge.

The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.

Faculty Support

Though it is beneficial to have a student-led makerspace, faculty support is crucial for the initiative to be launched and sustained. In the case where only one advisor is selected to oversee the entire space, it may be helpful to choose someone with a passion for innovation over someone with great technical skills. An advisor’s role will largely be to consult with and advocate for the makerspace. Though it would be ideal for the advisor to know how to work the tools in the makerspace, the advisor will not likely need this kind of knowledge.

The implementation of a makerspace panel, with advisors from various disciplines and areas of the school, is an efficient and productive system used by schools such as Michigan Tech. The panel includes people from computer science to biology to engineering as well as people from facilities management and campus safety. A panel dynamic nurtures collaboration for decisions regarding the makerspace. Because the panel can have face-to-face meetings set at a predetermined time every month, this setup cuts down on seemingly infinite email strings of communication. The combination of perspectives from different areas of the school bring a fresh and productive dynamic to the makerspace.