My kids make stuff. They’re not geeks, they’re girls. Sure they know how to make an LED light up, run a laser cutter job, yep. Yet, even with all of this, their go-to material is still paper, and tape –lots of tape. I think we may be making making too complex. For years I taught… Read more »
Author: Mark Schreiber
The American School in Japan,
United States -
Mark is the Director of Design and Innovation, Innovation Consultant, an educator, and a happy father of 3 incredibly creative girls.
Earth Day- Free Upcycling Curriculum
Earth Day 2015 is coming so celebrate it by having your students upcycle! And to help you out, I’m giving you a free upcycling curriculum. Here are the 4 easy steps: Download the free Design Case Curriculum PDFs using this link. (I’m making this opensource under the creative commons now so feel free to pass… Read more »
Global Space Balloon- Engaging Kids in Something Big
It may be snowing right now but that doesn’t mean that my kids are idle by any means…. We’ve only got 6 weeks left until we launch a balloon to space! Yup, that’s right its Global Space Balloon Challenge time! If you haven’t heard about this great project, or just want to know more then… Read more »
Make a Techno Ugly Christmas Sweater Project- Part 2
Let me let you in on a little secret… that ugly sweater from the Part 1 guide was my sweater from last year. Yup, that right. I’ve had a year to refine, learn and hack a new sweater. And I have to say that I’m pretty proud of this little project. And, I want you… Read more »
The Techie Ugly Christmas Sweater Project: Part 1
Ugly sweaters seem to be pretty hip these days. Wal-Mart sells them, Target sells them. There‘s even a shop in my town where you can “uglify” your very own Christmas sweater. And yes, we have an ugly sweater contest at our school (that I plan on winning by the way). Last year I made a… Read more »
Make Space: Read it.
I’ve been reading Make Space lately and this book has some great ideas on how to layout a design lab. I have especially enjoyed the authors ideas on what type of furniture to put in the various spaces. Modified Z-racks, cocktail height prototyping tables and flip-top storage/brainstorming tables have all be inspiring. I’ve actually taken… Read more »
Reflections on Freire: Pedagogy of the Oppressed
To be quite honest, I really had a hard time getting into the Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. Maybe it was my mood, maybe my brain was just full from all of my other projects but it was initially a tough read. I felt a bit oppressed myself as I slogged through chapter 1… but… Read more »
Salty, Messy Fun: Mindstorms Reflection
Seymour Papert was definitely ahead of his time when he wrote mindstorms in the 80s. Unfortunately he still seems to be ahead of his time some 30 years later. Instead of hands-on and minds-on education, the current trends in education have pushed us towards accountability, standards and a common framework for education. I think… Read more »