
Experiential Ed Models: Labs and Makerspaces
Kyle Dickson, Director adn Associate Professor of English, AT&T Learning Studio, Abilene Christian University
In the fall of 2012, faculty, librarians and educational technologists at ACU began looking at bringing new desktop fabrication technologies into the university library. The initial problem: few faculty had heard of the maker movement and fewer still had thought deeply about the value of a makerspace to the undergrad curriculum. So we spent the spring semester planning and shooting a short documentary on makers from many contexts in museums, design schools, and community centers. The film project helped us accelerate campus planning so we could be ready for our first pilot courses being taught in the new Maker Lab by the fall. We'll introduce key considerations at each step, from vision to implementation, with some idea of next steps.
The Duke Innovation Co-Lab: Advancing Innovation through Experiential Education
Michael Faber, IT Innovation Program Manager, Duke University
The Duke IT Innovation Co-Lab's mission is simple: engage students in the evolution of the ever-changing technology environment of higher education. The execution of that mission, on the other hand, can be a little tricky. Duke has created a new kind of learning environment by providing a combination of incentives, events, challenges, and regular engagement to support innovative students, effecting meaningful change on both the IT ecosystem and their own educational experience.
OUTCOMES: Learn how a centralized IT organization can take an active role in the experiential education of students * Define a set of technical and nontechnical resources that makes a program like the Co-Lab work * Understand the high-level rationale for a student-based innovation program through examples of specific outcomes and benefits that can be used to justify starting a program at your institution