After interacting with the Maker community, especially those who are not college students, I learned I am an incredibly fortunate person to have the resources that I have available to me now.  For example, if I want to work on a project, there are many places that I could turn to, such as the Foundry in the art building at UT and the UTeach workroom in Painter Hall.  I realized that not everyone has the luxury of having easy access to a place where they can make. 

 

Patrick Benfield and the rest of the CO.LAB team has begun to combat this issue by creating a collaborative space available for the community.  I do not think that I have the resources or the expertise to open and manage a space like that.  However, I definitely think that I can at least start by making making accessible to students in my own classroom. 

 

I think that as someone who initially did not want to join the program because I was intimidated, I can relate to students who doubt their abilities.  For this reason, I would first start by trying to create a non-intimidating environment that welcomes people of all levels.  I would do this by having my students explore what growth mindset is and what steps they could take to adopt that mindset.  By doing this, they would see that failure is an essential part of learning, so they would not feel bad about not accomplishing tasks the first time. I would also give my students low-tech and high-tech options so they can ease into the world of making at their own pace.  After they become comfortable with the idea of making, I would encourage them to challenge themselves and try new things.

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Another way I would try to promote making is by acting as a role model.  As a female STEM and maker educator, I have the power to positively influence my students' views on mathematics and making.  I would share my story about how I became a Maker, which hopefully would inspire them to try making.  Basically, I would tell them, "If I can do it, you can do it too."