Midway ISD in Region 12, a Consortium Associate, or one of 80-plus school districts that partners with the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium and shares a mission of preparing future-ready students, has joined the “makerspace” movement, turning school libraries into workshops where children can get hands-on, tinker, and prototype their ideas in cardboard, plastic, or pixels.
According to the Waco Tribune, the district began by using Midway Education Foundation grants to create flexible creative spaces at Speegleville Elementary and Woodgate Intermediate School. And, as of November 2015, the district was preparing to renovate Midway Middle School’s library.
Midway administrators say the maker movement aligns with their emphasis on engineering and technology.
“We’re preparing our students for the workforce,” said Seth Hansen, Midway executive director of technology. “It will better equip them for the real world and hit on some of those ideas of collaboration and creativity and allow them to break the mold and be the innovators and the trend setters.”
The concept of “makerspace” is to bring together the high-tech and the hands-on, combining computer programming and circuitry with craft skills such as soldering, sewing, carpentry and model-building. New technologies, such as 3D printers, laser etchers, and computer numerical control routers, help turn digital dreams into physical creations.
Read more from the Waco Tribune.
