3D Printers and Printing

Maureen Borgeest is the Library Media Specialist and Debbie Kearney is the library assistant at Oliver W. Winch Middle School in South Glen Falls, NY. The middle school recently created a makerspace in the library, where they use the H800 3D printer. Making the Makerspace a Reality As the Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Borgeest is always looking for ways to improve students’ access to technology and information. Thanks to her, along with the approval and resources of district officials, Oliver W. Winch Middle School opened their makerspace in October 2015. “Makerspaces have been in existence in the library world for quite a few years, and I had read a lot [Read more…]

Travis Lape is the technology integrationist at Harrisburg South Middle School. Lape strongly advocates using new technology to enhance and engage students in learning. His goal is to create learning experiences that empower and equip students with necessary skills to effectively produce and consume content across multiple media platforms. Using Tech to the Fullest As the Technology Integrationist at Harrisburg South Middle School (HSMS), Lape works mainly with teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. “I team up with teachers to collaborate on lesson plans, ensuring technology is being used in a way that provides teachers and students its maximum benefits. I also brainstormed with the media specialist to create [Read more…]

Lis Bokt is the Executive Director of The Geek Group, a 43,000 square foot makerspace in Grand Rapids, MI, where individuals can work on projects, regardless of scope. Geeks of the World: Unite! Since we last spoke with Bokt in April, The Geek Group has grown from about 25,500 members to nearly 30,000. “Our members span the globe. We have a lot of members in the UK and Australia, and even have members in Bulgaria, Scandinavia, and Brazil,” says Bokt. Even though using the facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan is not an option for these international members, they are able to take advantage of other opportunities. “Distant members get access [Read more…]

Gene Sherman, Founder/CEO of Vocademy, a makerspace open to all ages, seven days a week. Their focus is to close the skills-gap by teaching the most state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and providing the community with access to over a quarter-million dollars worth of equipment. Inspiration “The Vocademy was a long time coming. I thought about it for at least a decade. It’s 15,000 sq ft, which is much larger than the typical makerspace. To me, it still isn’t big enough. I’d like the next one to be at least 25,000 sq ft.” “The biggest factor that inspired me to create the Vocademy was the demise of hands-on skills in this country. [Read more…]

Greg Herker is the Fab Lab Program Coordinator for Gateway Technical College. He designs and coordinates the programs and is in charge of Fab Lab operations. Herker describes the Fab Lab as “A movement. A place where ideas and innovations happen.” The Lab is open to students, businesses, and the entire community. Fab Lab: The Movement “Our Fab Lab was started over a year ago. Fab Labs started in a class out of MIT by Dr. Neil Gershenfeld, the class “How to Build Almost Anything” and quickly found, that through digital fabrication, there would be a revolution allowing individuals to make all kinds of items for personal use. This sparked [Read more…]

“Our story begins when a few educators in Baltimore learned that the city was closing the nearby Rec Center. The closings were due to the financial constraints of the Baltimore school district budget. Two blocks from one of the most recent Rec Center closures, however, a technology teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools had a vision of revitalization. His vision found a way to re-imagine the role this underutilized space could fill by converting it from a Rec Center into a Tech Center, where youth could learn a wide variety of high-growth, tech-sector skills such as digital fabrication, web or app development, and electronics. To turn this dream into reality, [Read more…]