Krause Center for Innovation (KCI), as part of Foothill College, is in the process of developing a Makerspace to serve the Foothill College community. As part of this process, we have done a self-study of what already exists at Foothill and what we could potentially offer in a Makerspace that would support students and community members and create a "making community" at Foothill. We found that the three overarching themes of KCI's mission (innovate, educate, empower) were a great starting point, but we wanted to make sure we engaged students and community members in the process.
On April 28th, we held a focus group of 30 Foothill College students to ask them what they would want in a "Makerspace?" To set the stage for the discussion, we showed, Caine's Arcade, a quick 2 minute video of a young maker in Los Angeles, who created his own arcade out of cardboard boxes in his father's Auto Parts store.
After viewing the video, we asked the students a series of questions about their wants and needs in a "Makerspace."
1) How much does your school work connect to the things you really want to learn about?
2) Have you ever been in a makerspace before? If so, what were your experiences?
3) What do you want to learn that Foothill doesn’t provide for you at the present time?
4) Have you ever built something or tinkered on your own? What did you like or dislike about it?
5) How could a makerspace help you learn more about the things you want to learn about?
The students in the focus group provided some great insights for us to use as we planned out the Makerspace. They told us that they liked the education that they were receiving at Foothill, but many of them wanted to be able to go deeper. As we followed up with them, they wanted additional opportunities to create something that would provide proof of what they had learned to their teachers. Many said that there were expanded opportunities in some classes, but not in others. The most important part of what they said was that having a place where they could do some of the creative, hands-on work on campus would be a huge benefit. They were also specific regarding the tools that they would want in a Makerspace.
A little more than half of the students in the focus group had been in a Makerspace before, although only about a third had actually created something there. When we followed up with those who had been to a makerspace, but hadn't created anything, their responses fell into two categories. One was a curiosity of what goes on in a Makerspace and the other was that they didn't really know what they wanted to make at that time, but would definitely go back.
Another factor that the students in the focus group identified was the lack of access to some of the tools and equipment that would allow them to be more creative. They specifically identified the institutional barriers that prevented them from having access to 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines. "At Foothill, you can't get access to any of these tools unless you passed a certain class or have a specific project you are working on for a class." When we explained that one of the goals of the Makerspace was to provide for "Open Make" times, the students all showed signs of approval and interest.
The last question we asked, provided us with some great information about our grant. "How could a makerspace help you learn more about the things you want to learn about?" A large number of students said they wanted a place that they could use as a "Fix it shop" or where they could learn how to fix their own things. When we asked how they did this now, they said that their primary source of learning was YouTube. When I want to learn how to fix or do something I search for a YouTube video to show me how to do it. One student shared his story of how he was able to replace the broken glass on his cell phone, while another talked about learning how to fix the charger to his laptop by learning how to solder, both from watching a YouTube video.
Towards the end of the session, the students brought up the idea of community. Many of the students wanted there to be experienced people in the Makerspace to help them when they needed assistance. Even more students wanted to "learn from and teach others at the same time." Several students mentioned the establishment of "community experts," that they could schedule a time to sit down and talk with them about specific skills or tools.
At the conclusion of the session, we asked the students if they would use the Makerspace if it was created and over 2/3rds of the students answered that they would use the Makerspace if it was open and available to them.
In the time since the focus group session, I have had several students who were part of the session ask me when the Makerspace would be available for them to use, I told them that we are hoping to have it available for students in the Fall 2017 quarter.
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