Lessons Learned from a National Education Tour
SparkFun Electronics spent six months in 2013 driving an RV across the United States. Our goal was to bring technology and resources to educators, students, hackerspaces, and libraries interested in adding tinkering and making programs to their institutions. We want to encourage critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving through hands-on, project-based learning that offers students the opportunity to engage and explore without fear of failure. Hacking and tinkering in the classroom brings the fun back into mathematics, technology, and science. Adding art, design, and communication into these projects provides real life experience for students to understand the entire process of a project. When educators collaborate, these projects can be woven through all areas of study, fading the distinct borders between subject matters and classrooms. Our hope is that students will build, create, sew, solder, and program their way through Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
- What does hacking and tinkering actually look like in a classroom?
- What are some examples of hands-on projects that correlate with existing standards?
- Where can educators find the resources to confidently integrate tinkering into K-12 curricula?
- Lindsay Levkoff, Director of Education, SparkFun Electronics
Lindsay Levkoff, Director of Education, SparkFun Electronics
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