The Kickstart Guide to Making GREAT Makerspaces: (Corwin Teaching Essentials)

Creating powerful learning environments The makerspace phenomenon has taken education by storm, but many educators still have questions about how makerspaces can be created and used for deeper learning. Anyone can create a makerspace. This is the guide to creating a GREAT makerspace. Written by makerspace pioneer Laura Fleming, The Kickstart Guide to Making GREAT Makerspaces is filled with step-by-step, practical ideas that demystify the process of planning and creating a makerspace. Its workbook style ensures that by the time educators are done reading, they have a ready-to-implement plan personalized for their classroom, school, or district. Readers will find A wealth of examples of great makerspaces in action Activities and strategies for inspiring making across the curriculum Plenty of room and guidance for brainstorming and developing a personalized plan Building on Fleming’s Worlds of Making, this guide will help educators plan and create a makerspace learning environment that students need, want, deserve, and value.

Table of Contents:
About the Author Acknowledgments Introduction Part 1. The Seven Attributes of a GREAT Makerspace Part 2. Making GREAT Makerspaces Part 3. No Cookie-Cutter Makerspaces Allowed! Part 4. Get the Most Bang for Your Buck! Part 5. Creating the Conditions to Inspire! Part 6. Assessing Creativity Without Squashing It! Index

About the Author :
Laura Fleming has been an educator in the state of New Jersey for 17 years. She has been both a classroom teacher and media specialist in grades K-8 and currently as a Library Media Specialist for grades 9-12. Laura is a strong advocate of using New Media and Vanguard Techniques for Interactive and Transmedia (multi-platform) Storytelling. She has played a prominent role in education as a writer and speaker and has served as an educational consultant on next-generation teaching methods and tools. Laura has also consulted on Transmedia properties, working with producers to help maximize the value of their creations and toolsets for teachers and students. She is also the author of Worlds of Learning:  Best Practices for Establishing a Makerspace for Your School (Corwin, 2015). Laura’s goal is to create learning experiences that empower and equip students with necessary skills to effectively produce and consume content across multiple media platforms. She is also driven to enable educators and cohorts in applying these innovative methods and cutting-edge technology in their fields of expertise. She is an educational consultant, thought leader and speaker on education, librarianship, and technology.   Recently, Laura created a digital badge-based professional development platform in which educators all over the world earn badges in acknowledgement of their informal professional learning. Her library Makerspace has garnered national attention and has served as an inspiration for schools across the country. She is also a recipient of the National School Boards ‘20 to Watch’ in Educational Technology Leadership for 2014. Her goal is to create learning experiences that empower and equip students with necessary skills to effectively produce and consume content across multiple media platforms. She is also driven to enable educators and cohorts in applying these innovative methods and cutting-edge technology in their fields of expertise. Laura is an educational consultant, thought leader and speaker on education, librarianship, and technology. She is also the host of the BAM Radio Show "Movers and Makers."

Review :
"The ideas for makerspaces that are presented in this proposal are easy to follow and could be implemented in some cases, with little prep. This is a bonus!" "This book is an AMAZING hands-on tool for planning and implementing a culture of making in schools. Fleming provides direction, support, and inspiration for educators starting their journey into making!" "There are makerspaces and then there are GREAT makerspaces. Laura Fleming, a makerspace pioneer, has written another must-read for anyone wanting to create a great makerspace for their school community. Read this book - and learn from one of the best. Anyone involved in the development of makerspaces will treasure this text because it takes readers on an interactive journey through the process of planning and creating a GREAT makerspace.  Look no further than this book." "′Making′ is a powerful way to engage students and observe their learning process with the product as evidence. Creating space for that to happen is ′making space′ for our 21st century learners." "In the worlds of makerspaces, nobody speaks with a more credible voice than Laura Fleming. In her highly anticipated second book, Laura lays out a clear blueprint for those who wish to create a makerspace, and she provides countless inspiring examples that beautifully illustrate what a thriving makerspace looks like in action! A must-have!" "Fleming’s book offers a clear, student centered, and step-by-step approach for all educators eager to implement "Making" in their classrooms or schools. It brings practical information and her experiences to ensure a successful outcome!" "If we are going to prepare tomorrow’s problem solvers and innovators, we must empower them to design and create today. In this book, best-selling author Laura Fleming has done it again! This hands-on guide moves readers from brainstorming and planning, to selecting resources, and ultimately to the needed concrete steps to designing the makerspaces today’s modern learners need! This dynamic guide will undoubtedly serve as a centerpiece for your authentic learning toolkit."