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Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE
NBOA President and CEO
Business officers heard a great deal about makerspaces in 2016, and my guess is you will continue to hear about them in 2017. And why not? These hands-on learning spaces fit with everything we know is important in a 21st century classroom pedagogy, including creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and the high-demand technical skills employers (and parents) want.
The trouble is, I think you have been down this road before. Let’s break it down a bit. Enthusiastic faculty come to you and say they absolutely need XYZ “because it will help our school be cutting-edge.” Or “The school down the street has it,” or “Parents have been asking about it,” or “The kids will love it.” Then, when all else fails, “The head of school loves this idea.”
As you well know (and as I have written before), too often business officers respond to these appeals only to see the latest and greatest new piece of technology still sitting in its box in the corner months later. More frustrating still, you may see entire actual spaces that have been dedicated to “making, tinkering and innovating” go under-used.
The question for business officers is a perennial one: How can I support this effort with confidence that our school is making the best investments with its financial resources?
The appropriate answer begins not with a shopping list, but with your school’s vision for what it hopes to achieve with its makerspace. Simply loading up on the likes of 3D printers is a recipe for replicating other schools’ makerspaces, writes educator and library media specialist Laura Fleming in EdSurge News. She recommends a five-step framework for developing “a much more critical lens when selecting products for your makerspace.” Keep in mind the five letters of the word MAKER:
- Mobility: Does it liberate learners from the limitations of a physical space?
- Does it Allow for open-ended exploration?
- Does it reflect Knowledge of student needs, wants and interests?
- Does it support Empowerment and Engagement?
- Is it Relevant not only to your school community, but also to the wider world?
I wholeheartedly agree with Fleming’s common-sense framework as another reason to avoid jumping aboard popular educational bandwagons without thinking through the long-term implications, financial or other. I especially like how she ties expenses to mission. That’s advice we can all live by, in 2017 and beyond, as caretakers of our schools’ finances.
P.S.: NBOA will continue to cover the maker movement from the business officer’s perspective this year. Besides in-depth articles like this one on NetAssets.org, I encourage you to follow our carefully curated news updates. We’re tracking hundreds of sources and updating daily!
Follow NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields @shieldsNBOA.
