makerspace

EC School Board Gives the Go Ahead for Two Makerspace Labs

The Ellwood City school board granted conditional approval for makerspace labs at Hartman Intermediate and Lincoln High School in a 6-2 vote yesterday. The motion, as passed, approves the administration’s plan for two workshops and will provide the necessary funding to adopt the programs for the 2016-17 school year. In addition, the board will hire a teacher for the Lincoln workshop. This is a significantly different wording than originally proposed, which would have committed to providing $150,000, which the administration said is the minimum cost required to have two functional workshops. The board plans on launching a community fundraising campaign,…


Ellwood City School Board to Vote on Makerspace Funding Tonight

The Ellwood City Area School Board will vote on a motion tonight that will give approximately $150,000 in funding for makerspace workshops in Hartman Intermediate School and Lincoln High School. As of now, the board appears to be split 5-4 into two factions. The larger faction supports the full amount and the smaller faction, a reduced amount. However, the motion will be presented to the board for the full amount. A makerspace workshop is a creative space with high tech equipment such as 3d printers and robotics. Unlike a traditional classroom, students guide the learning through trial and error with…


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Meet the Wolverine Workshop Facilitator

[This is Part 3 in a series on the Ellwood City Area School District’s Makerspace program. The previous articles can be read here and here.] At the beginning of August, everything was set for Perry School’s Wolverine Workshop to be fully operational for the 2015-16 school year. The room’s construction was almost complete, and the technology ordered. The one thing missing was the faculty member. The position was filled at the school board meeting on Aug. 13 when the board hired Scott Setzenfand, of Economy. Unlike the equipment, which is a one time cost paid for by an innovation grant,…


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Ellwood City School District Plans K-12 Hands-On Technology Workshops

[This is Part 2 in a series on the Ellwood City Area School District’s Makerspace program. Parts 1 and 3 can be read here and here.] Perry Lower Intermediate School will be equipped with a Wolverine Workshop for the 2015-16 school year. The workshop will have high-tech equipment such as a 3D printer and robotics. However, the Wolverine Workshop is one of several planned Makerspaces in the Ellwood City Area School District. The administration plans to create one at Lincoln High School. An old computer lab next to the library will be renovated and the wall between the room and…


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Perry School to Create a Makerspace Workshop, the Future of Education

[Part 1 in a series of articles exploring the Ellwood City Area School District’s developing Makerspace program. Parts 2 and 3 can be read here and here.] The Ellwood City School District is on its way to having a fully operational makerspace workshop serving the K-12 student population. That’s fabulous, but what is a makerspace? A makerspace is loosely defined as an area where people can make things. It is a workshop area with various high-tech and low-tech equipment where people work on projects, collaborate, and problem solve. The endeavor is the collaborative vision of several of the school district’s…