Lighthouse Community Charter School is home to a Creativity Lab, a community space welcome to all, a buzzing hub of maker education. Aaron Vanderwerff and the folks of the Creativity Lab offer access to maker guidance, space to work, tours, professional development, and supplies for all who come. Some of those supplies include 3D printing technology and a vinyl cutter, which is where the KIDmob team came in. Our brief: How might educators (not just Creativity Lab teachers) in the school community integrate these existing on-campus tools into their curricula? KIDmob, in partnership with Lighthouse Community Charter School and made possible through a grant from the eBay Giving Foundation, created a one-day professional development workshop aimed at exploring that question, as well as familiarizing Lighthouse educators to working with the on-campus resources (in particular the 3D printer and vinyl cutter). We had a fun and intensive day of brainstorming ideas and getting to know the machines. It was incredibly fascinating to observe how different teachers envisioned the tools fitting into their classes, from 12th grade Science to 2nd grade Art. A big thank you to all of the great Lighthouse teachers that we had the opportunity to work with - you guys are an inspiration!
