DIY

Read these Blogs- Educator Innovator and School Leaders Now

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If you remember my post about writing and making after the National Writing Project, you’ll enjoy this article discussing  “Why the School Library is the Perfect Place for Maker Education” on the Educator Innovator blog.

I’m still thinking about the thought process by my collaborative group session where teachers discussed the idea of revision as debugging and writing drafts as iterations. This combined with the cyclical nature of both writing, making, and inquiry are a great way to teach educators new ideas about incorporating making into their classes.

I was also interviewed for School Leaders Now blog about makerspaces for the free download “7 Ways Schools Will Change by 2020.” I stressed the importance of speaking with the community before making big purchases, and starting simple with the intent of expanding over time.

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Head on over and check out both articles:

 

#Crowdsourcing Copper Tape Organization

/ gravescolleen / Leave a comment

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I love conductive tape. Copper tape, fabric tape, adding double-sided sticky tape to aluminum foil, foil insulation tape, and more. However, after my last workshop for educators, my super skinny copper tape ended up like the above. I don’t mind unraveling and recoiling since it’s like unraveling a ball of yarn and a similar zen is reached while you roll it up… However, I knew there had to be some good solutions out there.

S0 right before the winter break, I posted this picture asking for copper tape management ideas from other maker educators. I got a lot of great ideas and wanted to share them with you all to help keep your makerspace mess a little bit neater.

Instagram Responses

  • mypaperlessclassroom – I ration it. Only I touch it. There must be a dispenser you could print. What would Jay Do? What would Josh do? @joshburker
  • joshburker – I put the fresh roll in a ziplock bag with only the end poking out. Turns the bag into a dispenser of sorts.
  • essente – I had colleagues share this 3D printed copper tape holder with me: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1170781
  • kzawodny – I cut it into ~3″ pieces and hand those out
  • dbpeins  – I slit 1/4 to 1/8, cut to about 30 inches length, carefully orient them same-side up, roll them around my hand and gently stuff in a small ziplock, about 15 per bag.
  • nstifel01 – Ziploc bag works for me, and I distribute precut pieces to the kids

Twitter Responses

Educators on Twitter had lots of inventive ideas too!

 

Updated 1/14/17:

What a cool tape rack from Make Shop Pittsburgh! Thanks for sharing, Lauren!

Your Ideas?

I love the zip lock bag idea because it’s a quick and easy fix, but I’d love to create a roll dispenser to include all my favorite tapes on one holder.

So how do you keep your copper tape organized?