There’s a lot going on. Academic Dean candidates are on campus and bringing with them a lot of interesting ideas and challenging questions. One candidate said (more eloquently than I’m about to write) that she wants students to be dissatisfied with the world so that they are compelled to change it. I’ve been thinking about that and what it means to ask questions and make things. Mick Ebeling was also recently in Richmond, so there’s been a lot of buzz about Not Possible. I’ve been thinking about dissatisfaction, the pressure of bettering the world, the TED-ification of things, play versus “purpose” and “intentionality.”
I want to carve out a little time to reflect on it all and write things down, just because I think reflecting/writing will help me figure out some conflict I’m feeling.
But that will come later (I hope).
Maker kids keep making, and this is what they’re up to:
Students come up with ideas to put in a Bored Jar. There are plans for both a physical and virtual Bored Jar.
Ideas for a “Bored Jar.”
With some borrowed materials from the science department and cafeteria, students work on candied LEDs.
Candied LEDs in the works
After re-working her circuit, this student gets the lights for her skyline going.
City Lights
A reverse geocache box is in the works.
Reverse geocache box in the works
This student teaches himself to knit while waiting for a model to print on the Makerbot. A visiting middle schooler (bottom right) looks on. No time wasted. Texting not allowed!
While waiting for something to print on the Makerbot…
A student has watched a ton of Unity tutorials. She created the landscape and added her first character. In a blog post a student recently wrote:
I would first of all like to take the first bit of this blog post to thank the inventors of ‘how-to’ videos for simple origami structures. Aaron Rodgers may be the NFL MVP, but you know what? You’re the real MVP to me.
So true. Tutorials are the MVP.
Unity
Some students have christened the small rehearsal/recording studio. It is now “The Beats Lab.” Some students are working with Ableton Live and an Akai midi pad to make some “sick beats.” They’ve been calling on Bruce from the cafe to walk them through some of the software. Bruce has mastered coffee and audio production.
In the Beats Lab
Onward!