Purposeful makerspace access is becoming increasingly important in the upper primary years (Resnick, 2017). However, there are many OHS issues and emerging sustainability concerns that must be addressed before students can have (supervised) access to more than just loose parts, recyclable items, Lego, scissors, and room-temperature adhesive.
In response, my proposal is to develop a digital text for Year 5 and Year 6 students interested in learning how to use more technically challenging resources. This could include sewing and felting equipment, a 3D printer, robotics components, a vinyl cutting machine, badge press, etc. It would comprise of an interactive procedural/narrative text and a short quiz, completed as a flipped learning unit (Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Bretzmann, 2013). Once theoretically competent with the tool, students would ‘book in’ to complete a simple task in the makerspace while supervised by a staff member to demonstrate practical competency.
While this would be for use within an extra-curricular context, it has links to the Digital Technologies and Design and Technology achievement standards (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2024).
I plan to use Google Slides to develop the project. An acute frustration I have experienced with multiple digital texts has been the inability to display just one whole page at a time when projecting onto a screen, or for a student to be able to do the same on their personal device without having to resize or fiddle with the scroll bar. While I have used Slides before to produce simple digital texts, I am not proficient with the more advanced features such as embedding voiceover and linking interactive features – so this will be a ‘stretch’ area for me.
References
Bergmann, J. & Sams, A. (2012) Flip Your Classroom – Reach Every Student in Every Class in Every Day. International Society for Technology in Education.
Bretzmann, J. (2013) Flipping 2.0 – Practical Strategies for Flipping Your Class. The Bretzmann Group.
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2024). P-10 Technologies. Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/aciq/version-9/learning-areas/p-10-technologies
Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten. The MIT Press.
5 Comments
This sounds absolutely amazing! I think using digital literature to convey instructional information in an entertaining and memorable way is brilliant. And I think using Google Slides is a great idea because it leaves room for you to modify the story as the technologies in your maker-space grow. Good luck!
I like your thinking. Digital texts offer the independence that supports a flipped classroom model and empowers students to participate in inquiry-based learning. Students will make new discoveries through the pursuit of their own interests and as suggested by David (2015) will construct new knowledge by making connections to previous learning and their own curiosities. A study by McGeown in 2023 emphasized how improved student access, choice, time, connections, social interactions and achievement are key principles that can motivate reading for pleasure (Jang, p.32). With this considered, the use of a digital text that provides choice and allows students time to access and explore will motivate their learning. The novelty of an interactive text could also socially engage students when they work collaboratively to problem solve or share their new learning from the text you develop.
Wall and Banano (2014, p.25) highlight that future technologies have an impact on the growing need for skill development that is lifelong. What better way to facilitate this than by providing them with a digital text to investigate new skills at their own pace and refer back to as needed.
I like you have considered the Cross Curriculum Priority of Sustainability. Whenever students are working in a maker space, they can treat the resources as if they are infinitely available. You could run a competition between classes, adding a graph to your GoogleSlides that creates a visual of the waste materials from each class.
Catherine Hicks reviewed my BLOG and shared James Cook University’s APA referencing EscapeRoom, which I found insightful way of integrating non-fiction/learning in a storylike format. It may offer an inspirational start point.
Google Slides can be clunky when inserting hyperlinks and may limit the ability to quickly flick back and forth between instructions. Google Sites may offer your students more control over the information they are learning about. I found this tutorial helpful when I was tasked with creating my first Google Site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BhCVvFWEtE
The great thing about Google Suite is that all its components are interconnected, so hyperlinks remain linked when exchanged between software. I recently created a Google Site designed to support Stage 3 teachers to deliver a Robotics Unit. The STEMT4L library is terrific in the amount of resources it provides. However, teachers felt overwhelmed and were seeking a simplified site where they could easily access specific resources suitable to their knowledge and class context. I can share a link to the site if you need further inspiration.
Good Luck!
References
David, L. (2015, June 20). Constructivism. Learning Theories. Retrieved May 15, 2024, from https://learning-theories.com/constructivism.html
Jang, M. (2025). Navigating literacy in the digital age: motivations of fifth graders in choosing between digital and print materials for pleasure reading: a case study. Atanta
Massey, S. (2023, May). 5 Benefits of collaborating with your school librarian. https://iste.org/blog/5-benefits-of-collaborating-with-your-school-librarian#:~:text=By%20working%20together%2C%20teachers%20and,and%20collaborate%20on%20special%20proje
Angela, this is such a purposeful project, and I like how you’ve connected your digital text to both makerspace safety and curriculum requirements. Combining narrative and procedural elements with a quiz is a strong way to embed interactivity (Lamb, 2011). The flipped learning model is also a well-suited pedagogical approach for this context.
You might consider exploring platforms like Genially or Book Creator instead of Slides. These are designed for multimodal storytelling and more easily integrate audio, video, and clickable interactivity (Robin, 2016). This could help overcome your frustration with display issues and create a smoother learner experience. Accessibility is another point to keep in mind—adding captions or alternative text for visuals can help make your resource more inclusive (Burgstahler, 2020).
Overall, your project has strong potential to scaffold students’ confidence and safety before entering the makerspace. It is a well-considered proposal that thoughtfully balances creativity with responsibility.
References
Burgstahler, S. (2020). Creating inclusive learning opportunities in higher education: A universal design toolkit. Harvard Education Press.
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12–17.
Robin, B. (2016). The power of digital storytelling to support teaching and learning. Digital Education Review, 30, 17–29.
This is a fantastic idea that clearly addresses a need in your Library. Incorporating varying media formats, like audio, visuals and written words and then a tactical demonstration ensures that your digital media reaches all students of varying abilities.
The concepts of educating students on how to access other resources in the Library have become important as post-COVID, the function and purpose of the Library have transformed (Soulen, 2022). You are also providing them access to resources that “meet a variety of needs and interests”, which reflects your passion and care for the students in your school (AASL, 2018, 15).
I also like the incorporation of a form to ensure they have understood what they have learnt. This is a simple and effective way for students to demonstrate their understanding and ability to use the wonderful resource they have available to them. (142 words)
American Association of School Librarians (AASL) (2018) National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.
Soulen, R. R., & Tedrow, L. (2022). Students’ frequency of access to school library materials in transformative times. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(4), 622–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211037721
I like your thinking. Students will make new discoveries through the pursuit of their own interests and as suggested by David (2015) will construct new knowledge by making connections to previous learning.
Catherine Hicks reviewed my blog and shared James Cook University’s APA referencing Escape Room, which I found an insightful way of integrating non-fiction/learning in a story like format. It may offer an inspirational start point.
Google Slides can be clunky when inserting hyperlinks and may limit the ability to quickly flick back and forth between instructions. Google sites may offer your students more control over the information they are learning about.
I like you have considered the Cross Curriculum Priority of Sustainability. Whenever students are working in a maker space, they can use the resources as if they are infinitely available. Your digital texts provide opportunity to explore sustainable practices in makerspaces.
Feedback #1References
David, L. (2015, June 20). Constructivism. Learning Theories. Retrieved May 15, 2024, from https://learning-theories.com/constructivism.html
Feedback #1 Bibliography
James Cook University’s APA referencing Escape Room
Apologies for 2nd comment. I wanted to ensure the abridged version was accessible to ensure I met the word count criteria. Happy for you to delete my earlier comment.