A Maker-in-Residence Program to Build a Community of Makers

Jewell Amanda Brey; Danianne Mizzy; Richard Goldberg

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Design and Making
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--27475
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/27475
Download Count: 692

Paper Authors

biography

Jewell Amanda Brey University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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Undergraduate biomedical engineering student at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, graduating May 2017. Heavily involved with the BeAM University Maker Spaces and president of MakNet, the student maker organization on campus.

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Danianne Mizzy University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

biography

Richard Goldberg University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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Richard Goldberg is a Research Associate Professor and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He teaches several instrumentation courses and a senior design class. His primary interest is in rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology for people with disabilities.

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Abstract

The Makerspace at University X hosts a Maker-In-Residence (MIR) program. Through this program, undergraduate students participate in design-build projects under the guidance of expert Makers who are skilled in a particular technology or craft. The goals are to foster interdisciplinary student collaboration and to provide students with the opportunity to learn and apply the hands-on skills promoted by the Maker culture. Each semester, a different Maker is selected through an application process. The Maker leads a small group of students through a series of hands-on fabrication workshops during the semester. When the final project is complete, the program culminates in a capstone event that shares the project with the larger University community.

The MIR executive committee, which consists of 6-8 undergraduate students, leads and administers the program with faculty support. The committee issues the Call for Proposals for both Makers and student participants; conducts interviews and reference checks; helps to schedule and staff the build sessions; and plans and runs the capstone events. Makers receive an honorarium, project materials, a capstone event budget, and a small travel stipend. These expenses are partially funded by a small grant from the Parents Council.

Recent MIR recipients include an amateur astronomer who led students in the fabrication of a telescope. Using this telescope, more than 500 students and community members have been able to view the moon, planets and stars during the capstone event as well as other events at the planetarium on campus. Another recent MIR recipient is a local engineering professional who led workshops in the fabrication of Arduino-based musical circuits. Students played their resulting musical instruments together and exhibited them during a capstone event in the Makerspace.

The program has been meeting its goals. Students from across the UNC community have participated in the workshops, coming from a variety of academic majors. Students have gained new Maker skills by participating in the program and have continued their involvement in the Makerspace. Student participants filled out an evaluation survey and the results demonstrate that they had a positive experience that provided them with valuable fabrication skills. In addition, the capstone events have had high attendance and been well received by the community.

Citation
Format

Brey, J. A., & Mizzy, D., & Goldberg, R. (2017, June), A Maker-in-Residence Program to Build a Community of Makers Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27475

TY - CPAPER
AB - The Makerspace at University X hosts a Maker-In-Residence (MIR) program. Through this program, undergraduate students participate in design-build projects under the guidance of expert Makers who are skilled in a particular technology or craft. The goals are to foster interdisciplinary student collaboration and to provide students with the opportunity to learn and apply the hands-on skills promoted by the Maker culture. Each semester, a different Maker is selected through an application process. The Maker leads a small group of students through a series of hands-on fabrication workshops during the semester. When the final project is complete, the program culminates in a capstone event that shares the project with the larger University community.

The MIR executive committee, which consists of 6-8 undergraduate students, leads and administers the program with faculty support. The committee issues the Call for Proposals for both Makers and student participants; conducts interviews and reference checks; helps to schedule and staff the build sessions; and plans and runs the capstone events. Makers receive an honorarium, project materials, a capstone event budget, and a small travel stipend. These expenses are partially funded by a small grant from the Parents Council.

Recent MIR recipients include an amateur astronomer who led students in the fabrication of a telescope. Using this telescope, more than 500 students and community members have been able to view the moon, planets and stars during the capstone event as well as other events at the planetarium on campus. Another recent MIR recipient is a local engineering professional who led workshops in the fabrication of Arduino-based musical circuits. Students played their resulting musical instruments together and exhibited them during a capstone event in the Makerspace.

The program has been meeting its goals. Students from across the UNC community have participated in the workshops, coming from a variety of academic majors. Students have gained new Maker skills by participating in the program and have continued their involvement in the Makerspace. Student participants filled out an evaluation survey and the results demonstrate that they had a positive experience that provided them with valuable fabrication skills. In addition, the capstone events have had high attendance and been well received by the community.

AU - Jewell Amanda Brey
AU - Danianne Mizzy
AU - Richard Goldberg
CY - Columbus, Ohio
DA - 2017/06/24
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A Maker-in-Residence Program to Build a Community of Makers
UR - https://peer.asee.org/27475
DO - 10.18260/1-2--27475
ER -