Articles tagged with: ESL

  • Problem-based learning in the Makerspace

    Thursday, July 20, 2017 | By

    Connecting to the CURRICULUM

    The Accelerated English Language Program (AELP) as part of their curriculum were assigned a problem-based learning task on a bottled water company.  Using an inquiry-based approach, students developed their own question about sustainable design and researched the topic using the library database.  The students developed a business case for their innovative design and prepared a 25 minute business presentation.  As part of the presentation, students produced an actual infused, flavoured sparkling water along with the innovations in the design of the water bottle and water bottle holder.  Once the design was produced, the students went to the Makerspace to produce a prototype of their water bottle holder design.  Students worked on a number of programs before printing their prototype on a 3D printer.  After printing, the students presented their 25 minute business case presenting with the innovations they designed.

    I think the project was successful, as it gave them not only the ability to talk about their ideas, but also insight into the process, which gave them a little more to work with.

    Hand drawn images to 3D models

    Project steps:

    Students took their hand drawn image and scanned it using the Doodlefab.ninja website.  We converted the scanned image into an SVG file and imported it into Tinkercad.  We took our new 3D logo and impressed it into a 3D model of a bottle holder 3D model file.  After exporting the new design we sent it to Makerbot Desktop to prepare it for printing.  Below are the images for each stage.

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    Categories: Makerspace

  • Makerspace and EAP at OAIE conference

    Friday, June 23, 2017 | By

             

    It was such a pleasure partnering with Brock’s ESL Services to participate in the OAIE Conference, June 18th – 20th, 2017. This annual conference was filled with great workshops that explored the challenges and celebrated the accomplishments experienced by International Education all over Ontario. The OAIE conference welcomes educators, administrators, and recruiters who work in EAP programming. 

    As a representative of the Library Makerspace, I really wanted to share some of the collaborations with the Brock IELP students and highlight benefits of the project and inquiry-based learning approaches used in our makerspace. The presentation was well-received by the approximately 30 participants in attendance. For many, this was the first opportunity to hear about Maker spaces and culture in an academic setting. We received a lot of great feedback about our presentation and people were excited about the possibilities for future experiential learning projects they could incorporate within their institutions. 

    One of the conference themes was interdepartmental and community collaboration.  I believe that our proposal showcased a unique collaboration that speaks to the needs of the 21st century learner. One of the benefits of presenting to a diverse group was it gave us further insight into how to better design collaborative programming for the future. 

    EAP & Makerspace Projects: A Unique Collaboration

    Our interactive presentation introduced four novel collaborations especially designed for international students as they transition into undergraduate studies. The focus was on best practices that can be adopted by participants looking to develop projects that appeal to creativity and add learner engagement, or to departments looking to establish connections across campus.

    PRESENTERS: James Papple, Academic Coordinator, Brock University / Tabitha Lewis, IT Support Technician/Makerspace Coordinator, Brock University

    We hope to share more as we learn and try more.

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    Categories: Makerspace