Making Makers: Students at the Center of Education, Technology, and Innovation

Makerspaces in academic libraries have introduced new methods for teaching, learning, and research that place students at the center of innovation and knowledge creation. While collaboratively engaging with cutting-edge technologies, students are encouraged to take intellectual risks that promote individual confidence and growth. Iteration through mistake-driven learning yields different outcomes from a traditionally academic notion of success and failure. This participatory session will explore the mindset that students develop while working in academic digital fabrication and design labs, as well as strategies for organizational support and instructional programs that help create the theoretical space for students to prosper.

Outcomes: Identify key characteristics of and common strategies for supporting the "maker methodology" that students are using to explore academic makerspaces * Discuss administrative strategies for supporting physical and conceptual space for students to drive meaningful learning and innovation * Create new learning opportunities for students using both emerging and long-standing maker technologies your institution