"Education must shift from instruction to discovery... to probing and exploration." This quote from Marshall McLuhan explains the way our library Makerspace works. Our students learn best through independent discovery and creating things themselves. And they love our MaKeyMaKey kits.
We are a Title I magnet middle school with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
We are located in the inner city; many of our students come from low-income housing. A full 70% of our students are on free or reduced price lunch. Our students come from all over the county and represent all races, colors and ethnicities. For many of our students, their only exposure to modern technology comes from the school and public libraries.
We are seeking to help bridge the digital divide by exposing our students to modern technologies which will be essential for them when they enter college and the workforce. Our students already love video games and electronics. This project will help them to see explore a whole new world of how electricity can be used in creative ways. By learning how to code in Scratch and creating unique controllers with their MaKeyMaKeys, Play-Doh and conductive materials, our students can learn about conductivity through exploration and discovery.
My students need Play-Doh, alligator clips, copper foil tape, conductive ink and aluminum wire to create new controllers with our MaKeyMaKey kits.
My Project
MaKeyMaKey helps take projects from the digital into the physical. MaKeyMaKey is a device which plugs into a computer and allows you to create a controller from anything that conducts electricity, like Play-Doh, aluminum wire, conductive ink and copper tape. Look for YouTube videos to see it in action!
Picture this: a maze where touching a Play-Doh wall will help you solve it. A music game where touching a piano key made from copper tape plays a note.
Our students learn to create their own games by coding in basic computer language called Scratch. This type of coding makes it easy and fun for students to learn. These creations can then be controlled using a MaKeyMaKey and conductive materials.
We already have 10 MaKeyMaKey kits. The supplies we are now requesting with allow us to make even more awesome creations by adding materials for our students to tinker with. Play-Doh, copper tape, conductive ink and other conductive materials work beautifully with the MaKeyMaKey.
Exposing students to hands-on technology will engage them and will help to ensure their success in the future.
Giving our students opportunities to make and create will transform them from consumers of things into makers of things and will foster their sense of creativity. By providing our students with these materials we can prepare them to be the engineers, inventors and scientists of the 21st Century.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Rendina and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
