top of page

A Higher Level of Engagement

The month of October is typically the transition month at the Foundry. All of the Fellows have gone through the initial connections with teachers through September and lined up many of the fall projects. For this month’s blog, I wanted to expand on some of the topics that I picked up on at the World Maker Faire in NYC back in September. (World Maker Faire NYC 2017 unofficial overview video by nerdyviews).

If I could isolate one key thread in all the presentations and discussions I had with individuals, it would be that of Tech Equity. MakerEd has been noticing this as I spoke with a few people during last year's WMF. Other specific organizations are Tech Equity Collaborative out of Oakland, CA. I appreciate this organization because it focuses on 3 key areas; Housing, Workforce Development, and Access to Tech. There are some other national parallels with the Resolution Revolution: An Equity Summit that occurred on February 6th & 7th in San Francisco, CA (see image on the right). During the week of April 20th-30th, there was the launch of the Tech EQuity Week.

The purpose of the Tech EQuity Week is:

"dedicated to creating a more

inclusive tech ecosystem by gathering

emerging movements and leaders in

tech company diversity

and STE(A)M education."

Recently, I was having a deep discussion with a Foundry colleague and I spoke "Tech Desert." It was the best way I could describe what I continue to find in Central PA. I was borrowing from a well known phrase "food desert" in which there are areas within urban and rural places that lack access to healthy food. While the connection isn't the same as I find that local access to technology isn't an issue (phones, local computer stores, libraries and schools - however I realize this is still an issue not to be ignored). It is more of an issue of application. I know there are individuals out there working in technology and STEAM related industries, but what I find missing is a general awareness of strong technology skills. It seems that students can use phones really well and specific web apps, but when creativity is needed in creating new things, confusion arises. I attribute this to the lack of a base foundation of Digital Citizenship. I recently setup QR codes for creating VCards on a phone/tablet and this is still something off of people's radar. To me that is strange because I was using these back in 2010 when I first discovered them while teaching at HACC. Wow, that was 7 years ago. LMGTFY.

So throughout the Maker Faire I saw connections to Digital Citizenship. This concept is outlined by Dr. Mike Ribble's Nine Elements. There are two great resources for this information is on the Digital Citizenship website, which connects to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). From those early resources, the Digital Citizenship Institute developed. The Nine Elements look at important operational areas where our digital and analog lives overlap. This is extremely important relating to Tech Equity. We need a common approach to how we should interact online.

"What is Digital Citizenship?

the norms of appropriate,

responsible behavior

with regard to technology use.”

"we are all human, on screen and in real life."

  1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society.

  2. Digital Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods.

  3. Digital Communication: electronic exchange of information.

  4. Digital Literacy: process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology.

  5. Digital Etiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure.

  6. Digital Law: electronic responsibility for actions and deeds

  7. Digital Rights & Responsibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.

  8. Digital Health & Wellness: physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world.

  9. Digital Security (self-protection): electronic precautions to guarantee safety.

All of the Nine Elements can be connected to 3 guiding principles:

  • Respect

  • Educate

  • Protect

 

Okay, I feel I need to provide a bit of backstory before getting back to Tech Equity / Tech Deserts. Within the Foundry we talk a lot about who is making and for why are things made. When I first heard about Makerspaces back in 2010 while teaching at HACC I had been watching this from studying consumer level 3D printing and CNC milling. I have traveled to many makerspaces around Philadelphia (Nextfab (https://nextfab.com/), Baltimore (FabLab - http://www.fablabbaltimore.org/ Openworks Baltimore http://www.openworksbmore.com/, Boston (Boston Makers - https://www.bostonmakers.org/ and Altona (Catalyst - https://www.catalystspace.org/) to name a few. A side note, here is a list of Hackerspaces in PA. This seemed to be on the mind's of individuals back in 2013 as I dug up an Archived Reddit Feed. Living in Central PA, I feel that collectively, we are desperately trying to catch up to standards that are set elsewhere. This can be exhausting because it is sometimes like swimming upstream. There were people talking about these things, but it wasn't until there was a shift in the market as described in these Suqeuhanna Style (131013) and Lancaster Online (170410) articles.

During my time at HACC I developed the idea to create a Makerspace, which would harness the unused equipment of the Woodshop at Midtown #1. Fortunately, since that time several local makerspaces have birthed in Central PA:

And from that, several Coworking Spaces started (as of 171031):

In all of this discussion I remember back to my first visit to MIT back in 1996, when I stopped in the MIT Press Bookstore. In the bookstore I discovered the 2600: The Hacker Quarterly magazine. This was way before Make: magazine, which started in 2005. The 2600, was an odd world magazine. Upon seeing it, I was taken back to my teenage years of working with the Commodore 64. I couldn't believe that something loaded with all kinds of fascinating information was legally published. The magazine was published in 1984, and I don't know if I remember ever seeing mention of it in any of my regular computer magazines. Which by the way, can be accessed through this amazing archive: The Computer Magazine Archives.

 

I mention all of this because my current work with the Foundry Makerspace and what I do within the community, seem to intersect with my personal history of computers and urban place making. All of my life I've found myself as a hybrid. I see my work as "technotherapy." I help others develop ways to progress in using technology. I couldn't find the exact origins of this term. I think I picked it up while watching Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World. In the early day of the Makerspace idea, I would have loved to startup any one of the fantastic places listed above. Currently, I take a perspective that resides from the side of those without. I try and search out those who are not in the know. It takes a growth mindset. Oh BTW, remind me to talk about that concept in the future.

This is how I would like to end this month's blog meandering through big picture issues as they relate to everyday making in the educational setting of Harrisburg School District schools. The next 5 years are crucial in allowing others equal share at the "technology table."

The key is that Harrisburg has the ability to correct a typical 2-5 adoption gap, by recognizing these issues in the local tech scene now, as these are playing out at the national level. It is almost 2018 and we can keep pace with this critical issue.

The last thing relating to the Tech Desert is that a base knowledge of computers is a necessity. Not everyone needs to learn coding, however everyone should be learning how a computer thinks. The important ratio to remember is 1:2:7. This extremely helpful for teachers as a way to talk about career-technical education.

On 171018 I attended my 4th grade daughters Career Breakfast at Ben Franklin. They showed a 150128, Youtube Video by Substance Media, Inc., titled "Success in the New Economy (OFFICIAL)." I recommend that EVERY STUDENT / PARENT / EDUCATOR / ADMINISTRATOR watch this video to understand the situation over the next 5 years. My only critic of the video is the wild card of automation or AI. That is another discussion for the December Blog - NPR TED Radio Hour, The Digital Industrial Revolution. The overview is that past industrial revolutions followed an S-curve of growth. With the advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), in theory computers/machines would be able to build in an exponential way, solving problems outside the limits of human capacity.

With these things, I believe that anyone who has access to a computer and Google should consider what working might be 10 years from now. One last consideration is an image pulled together by Nicolas Colin, in the Salon article Another 100 Days: a Digital New Deal for Workers. I've edited the famous image by David Graeber, to be kid friendly, however most of the youth who employed in entry level jobs, probably have a good concept of these types of jobs.

"Huge swathes of people

spend their entire working lives

performing tasks they secretly believe

do not really need to be performed."

(David Graeber)

REFERENCE:

Summary of World Maker Faire Presentations with the "tech equity" Focus:

SAT:

SUN:

 

STEAM Making @ SciTech Campus High School

SCIENCE:

Trout in the Classroom (Sunada Roberts)

In early October, Sunada's students helped to setup the TIC Fish Tank. The 55 gallon tank is one of 4 in the District. We've had a bit of an issue with the Tradewind's Chiller as it wouldn't chill the water to the required temperature of 50-52 degrees. We have to send it out to CA to be repaired. In the mean time, the fish are scheduled to arrive at the schools on 10/31/17T or 11/01/17W. Each school will receive 300 eggs.

The eggs have arrived 10/30/17.

TECHNOLOGY:

SciBOTS Robotics Team​ (Robert Steps)

Over the past month, students have been working through the FIRST Tech Challenge 4 Phases of Robotics Design: Design It, Build It, Program It, and Drive It. There are two robots that have been assembled, however currently only one is running. Students have build a mock robotic model to use as practice as they develop the design to pick up the 6" foam cubes. Everyone is getting all the practice they can for the FIRST SCRIMMAGE in OXFORD on 11/11/17.

 

STEAM Making @ John Harris Campus High School

TECHNOLOGY:

STEM Lab (Mr. Gigac)

The STEM Lab is in full operation. Period 1 & Period 4 students have been working through 3 different projects for the First Marking Period, which ended on 10/24/17.

Carving the Cougars's logo with the Carvey.

ARTS:

A/V Studio (Mr. Cooper)

Students have been practicing their skills in front of and behind the camera in the areas of Reporter 1 & 2, Tricaster 1 & 2, Teleprompter 1, and Director. Period 1 and Period 5 students are learning how to operate and produce a school broadcast. The Period 1 students are also building their skills in video editing using Sony Vegas to highlight various school events. They were on site capturing the activities of the 10/21/17 Pancake Breakfast and University Day at John Harris.

 

Making @ Community w/ Foundry Makerspace

On October 18th, the Foundry (Chad, Ross & Rob) worked with Matt Sweitzer of the ephyra group, and Charles Palmer of Harrisburg University to discuss the details of 3D printing to the UpNextFest crowd. Topics included the use of 3D printing as a source of income, educational tool, and prototyping for a hobby.

On Friday, October 20th, the Foundry held a Launch Part at StartupHbg. This event was a way for the UpNextFest folks (technology), StartupHbg folks (coworking community), Third in the Burg folks (larger community) and curious individuals (random visitors) an up close glimpse of 3D printing, scanning and what an educational makerspace is doing within the 8 of 10 Harrisburg School District schools.


bottom of page