Analysis Of The Maker Movement Connects To The Classroom

Where It Is Now

As technology integration and new 21st century movements continue to permeate education debates, current teachers have been taking steps towards creating 21st century classrooms with further technology integration through the birth of the Maker Movement, responsibility shifts, and inclusion of new literacies. The desire to lead more technologically savvy classrooms definitely exists, according to Greg Thompson (2014). In his article, “The Maker Movement Connects to the Classroom,” he explains the natural move classrooms are taking when we writes, “American classrooms of the past regularly fueled this type of creativity, and now is the time to bring back that spirit of innovation,” (Thompson, 2014). Further, the reliance on technology

For instance, more social resources and public maker spaces will be available for children to learn from, especially within museums and libraries. Both of these venues are beginning to incorporate digital resources and may become a place where students can freely use innovative tools to create rather than just gather information (Peppler, 2013, p. 24). Also, classrooms will function differently in their strategies and routines. For example, Vander Ark (2012) explains the need to include students, especially those within urban communities, in the “idea economy” in order to assist them in entering a different society as explained previously. He suggests accomplishing this task by teaching students to “sort, verify, synthesize, and use information to make judgments and take action,” helping them developing a “working knowledge” usable after high school, teaching them to “gather evidence and construct an argument,” training them in advanced language skills, and providing opportunities for autonomy (p. 25-26). Further, Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel (2009) highlight the importance teaching strategies that balance traditional instruction methods with hands-on and collaborative learning. They argue that classroom traditions, such as direct instruction, facts-based instruction, competition, text-centered learning, summative tests, etc., void of opportunities to apply knowledge, create change, engage globally, and participate in a number of other higher order, collaborative learning experiences do not