Have your heard about the recent discovery of a new shape? The “Einstein” is a 13-sided aperiodic monotile that is creating quite the buzz. A 3D design is available on Thingiverse and we have been printing them out in the Makerspace. The pieces are fun and relaxing to arrange and re-arrange. Drop by the Makerspace […]
Cricuit in the Classroom
The Cricut, an electronic cutting machine, has multiple uses. The latest project we piloted was creating jigsaw puzzles in collaboration with Professor Christine Wong. Dr. Wong designed the puzzle to support student learning in cholesterol conversation in HLTD20. The Cricut machine was able to cut the puzzle on light weight chipboard.
More than just building a robot
The Library’s Makerspace program “You Can Build a Robot!” is a wonderful informal learning opportunity for participants on many levels. Program participants will develop competencies in 3D printing, microcontrollers and programming basics within a supportive learning community. However, more than just the gains in technical skills, participants will develop confidence in their abilities to tackle […]
Small Gestures of Welcome
The Makerspace has been utilizing its Cricut machine and 3D printers to create stickers and 3D printed key chains to welcome everyone back to campus. These items have been distributed through the various orientation events. As many maybe feeling a little overwhelmed or anxious at the beginning of a new semester a small token of […]
The Maker Mindset. What is this and why ...
Sarah Nagle, Creation and Innovation Service Librarian at Miami University, explains in a short video how a maker mindset is a shift of thinking away from consuming to creating. This shift helps engage learners with concepts such as design sensitivity and failure positivity, while honing interdisciplinary soft skills like decision making and fluency of ideas. If you […]
COVID Creative Response Collection
ICYMI: the UTSC Library in collaboration with the Health Studies Department has launched a COVID Creative Response Collection. These creative expressions will help future generations more fully appreciate what it was like to study, work, play, love, struggle and live through these challenging times. Do you have students that maybe interested in contributing to this growing […]
Playing with Prototypes
Makerspace staff joined the MGSC35 “Innovation” class to demonstrate and discuss various methods for prototyping. Prototypes are an important step of the design process. Prototyping enables creators to quickly visualize and validate their ideas as well as continually improve their design. During the session, students worked with a variety of mediums to construct nameplate prototypes, such as card stock, Play-doh, […]
Citizen DJ
Citizen DJ by the Library of Congress is a super cool interactive resource. You have the amazing ability to become your own DJ with access to hundreds of free-to-use audio and video clips provided through the Library of Congress. Brian Foo, Innovator-in-Residence at the library, is the lead creator of this innovative project.
Innovation Lab @ UofT
Two years ago this January, I was introduced to the Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto. Although this unit is housed at the St. George campus, I was welcomed at their 10-week, Design Thinking Experience Program. This program which invited both staff, students and faculty members provided a wonderful “deep-dive” into the design thinking […]
Critical Making – Checking our Biases
This week, I was browsing Stanford’s dSchool web site. Lots of interesting resources and inspiration. One section I gravitated to was a tool called the Critical Lens Group Protocol. This sound-based tool guides teams in analyzing a prototype or any design through an equity-focused lens. Intended for small groups, the prototype is reviewed by the group with the aid […]