Maker Space Course Coming to St Kate’s

I am so excited to be teaching a brand new course at St Catherine University.  The course is focusing on maker spaces and digital media labs in libraries.  Thanks to St. Kate’s I will be purchasing a 3D printer and Silhouette Cameo.  The working course description is:

This course is intended as an introduction to DIY culture and the maker movement. It focuses on developing creativity and learning through play and tinkering.  This is a hands-on course in experiential learning. Students will explore both physical and digital content creation including: music production, video production, 3D printing, computing, laser and vinyl cutting, and other tools.  Emphasis will be placed on the implications of the maker movement in libraries and the library’s role in STEM education.

We will explore 3D printing, paper and vinyl cutting, music production (Audacity), video production (iMovie), graphic design (Inkscape), photo editing (Gimp) and apply all these lovely skills to libraries.  Much of this class will be geeking out with this cool equipment so we can help patrons create the world they interact with.

These are the books I think we will use:

Anderson, C. (2012). Makers: The new industrial revolution. New York: Crown Business.

Hatch, M. (2014). The maker movement manifesto: Rules for innovation in the new world of crafters, hackers, and tinkerers.

Itō, M., & Antin, J. (2010). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Lang, D. (2013). Zero to maker.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, Ky: CreateSpace.

As I haven’t found a similar course anywhere, I’m very eager to hear peoples impressions, ideas, and suggestions.  Please feel free to share them with me.