Maker Culture and Aha Moments
This week the University of Western Ontario MakerCulture gang had a long discussion about what they've discovered about Maker Culture so far. So far being comprised of research; interviews and enterprising, far-flung fieldtrips. It was a great, heart-felt exchange. It was the first time, as their instructor, that I felt we really connected about the project and were all beginning to see it through the same lens. One student said she had come to understand that Maker Culture wasn't just about people making things, it was about the community that evolves when the process of making things is communicated.
"We're moving from a culture of selfishness to a culture of sharing," she said. Another student explained that it wasn't enough that each group explain how 3D printers, or broom making or zine creation works. "We just can't do a series of Wikipedia entries," he said, urging the other students to see how what each of them is discovering fits into the larger fabric of Maker Culture. Other students noted that we just aren't researching a story about Maker Culture, we're actually helping draw the community together and discover other facets of itself. This is certainly true of the EduPunk Team, which is creating a unique EduPunk panel as part of its work.
The students discovered, together, that we are making a difference, already, before we've even officially "published" anything. By using the collaborative, cooperative spirit of Maker Culture to cover the movement we are helping the movement and others find the very thing we're unpacking.
Listening to the students, one-by-one, share their insights, their discoveries and their "aha" moments, I was savouring the best hour of the class so far - one where I said very little and let the best minds in the room reveal what was unfolding inside them. They were finding, by themselves, the spirit of sharing that makes Maker Culture such a fascinating subject for budding journalists - and for all of us.
Posted by Wayne MacPhail
