MANITOWANING—Sometimes it seems that technology has taken over our lives as we travel through our day, eyes focused on smartphone, tablet or computer screen. But a host of skills abound that do not revolve around screen, keyboard or mouse and a local school has launched a pilot program that seeks to introduce students to that “retro” skillset.
Assiginack Public School has embraced the concept of having a Makerspace in their library. “A Makerspace,” explains teacher Allison MacNeil, “is a physical location where students gather to share resources and knowledge to expand their learning through hands-on exploration, on projects they are passionate about.” Joining Ms. MacNeil in spearheading the initiative is her colleague teacher Joanne Peltier.
“Makerspaces are all over the Twitterverse these days,” noted Ms. MacNeil. While students heading into the computer sciences and university studies are important, that isn’t a route for everyone. “Maybe this will encourage students to consider entering a skilled trade,” she said.
photos by Michael Erskine
Principal Maria Bouwmeester added that the area has been “slowly evolving over the past few months. Books in the library have been shifted to make an area for the Makerspace resources and tools to be set up.” Principal Bouwmeester went on to explain that the “Makerspace will be used for students to work on their Genius Hour activities.”
Genius Hour, she noted, is “when students’ passions come alive. Sixty minutes a week is dedicated to hands-on learning for the school’s older students in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts or mathematics. Students are expected to choose a topic of great interest, research it and then produce a product or practice a skill to share with their class. Students document their journey through blogging, journal writing or making a slide presentation.”
The teacher’s role in this is to facilitate the students’ projects to ensure that they are on task and have a goal in mind. Principal Bouwmeester said that she feels that Genius Hour “is an engaging way for us to help students become lifelong learners.”
To launch the Makerspace concept into reality, a letter was sent home to parents earlier in the yearasking for donations of supplies such as wool, material, electronics, Lego, pieces of wood, and smallappliances, among other things needed to equip the Makerspace area. The owner of Barney’s Bargain Barn read that letter, recalled Ms. Bouwmeester “since he believed this initiative was something students needed, he wanted to do more. To help get the Makerspace started, Rodney Deforge presented the staff and students of Assiginack Public School with a donation of $1,000 from Barney’s Bargain Barn.”
To complement that donation, Mr. Deforge went on to supply the school with small appliances (with the cords cut off) for students to disassemble in order to discover how they work. When student Jocelyn Kuntsi interviewed Mr. Deforge he stated that he “loves the idea of students learning hands-on activities.” When Jocelyn asked what else he would like to see in the school’s Makerspace he responded, “some culinary arts and how to cook activities, as well as more community involvement.” Principal Bouwmeester agreed that she would love to see community members come in to share their expertise with the students and in an effort to generate more community involvement, Assiginack Public School began a Ministry of Education funded initiative entitled the Community Partners S.T.E.A.M. Project.
creation during a Makerspace Day at the school. During the day students got an opportunity to use their minds in conjunction with their hands.
Local artisans, journeypersons and tradespeople were invited to present workshops to students in Grades 3 to 6. In these workshops the students have opportunities to engage in hands-on activities led by those expert mentors. Last week, Assiginack Public School welcomed Elaine Nahwegahbow, who taught the students moccasin making, Bill Sawyer and Barb Schneider, who taught the students woodworking, Mark Seabrook, who took the students through the basics of painting, and Chris Mara and the Wasse Abin Robotics Team, who explained how they use computer programming and mechanics in robotics.
Principal Bouwmeester said that the student response was “overwhelmingly positive and they areexcited to continue learning about their chosen topic independently over the next three weeks.”
There will be another four or five experts coming to the school to conduct workshops next month, allowing students to learn about topics of interest to them. The culmination of the project will be an exhibition of all of the students’ products and artifacts of their learning.
