5 W's and the H of Maker Space

Slice 9 of 31
#sol15

Join the Two Writing Teachers

for the Slice of Life Challenge

(writing & posting your slice) every day for the month of March

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Betsy and Dana

for hosting!

A special thank you to Stacey for asking me to share my inspiration via Bitstrips!

Over the past week, I noticed different posts about Maker Spaces.  I thought a lot about my "Maker Space" and my work.  I had a bit of a revelation.  This could be a slice to tell since we're all working on slices at some favorite spot in our dwellings.

Where?  

Where do you like to work?

I reflected on where I work.  The more I thought, I noticed a theme emerging.  If I am doing things just for the "fun of it"-play but not real serious, I tend to be around where everyone else is hanging out.  If I have serious work to be done, I tend to hole up in the upstairs office with the door closed to stay focused.  Where are you inspired as you write?  I love looking out my windows on the world no matter where I am.  Looking through windows helps my mind to drift and dream.  I also thought about our students' writing.  Do we give them the freedom to choose a comfortable place as they write?

What?

What tools do you use as you're creating?

I thought about my tools.  I mostly use my laptops.  I have one for work (that I love) and our own for home.  I also now use my phone (iPhone 4S-which I've had for 3 years and now I don't know how I lived without it).  I sometimes snag the family ipad to work on too.  And, my new fav is my own mini-ipad.  I am using blogger for my platform, but I also love Twitter and my new favorite, Google+ as tools to share what I learn.  What tools are we letting students use?  Do they have a choice in tools for composing?

When?

When do you work in your space?  

I have learned that my favorite time to work is after everyone is retired for the evening.  I seem to work better in the quiet of the night or early in the morning when no one is up yet except maybe the sun.  I like to read comments on other slices throughout the day.  For students, do they have a choice in the time?  Is it open ended?  Could it be?

Why?

Why do you Slice or Make?

I thought about what is driving me to do this creating.  I want to write because I want to tell my story...I saw a quote on a planning brochure earlier in the evening that captured what this adventure is really about: "The magic is in the story."  I love knowing everyone's stories.  If I had more time, I would love to read every person's slice every day!  Do students have an authentic purpose for writing or making?

Who?

Who inspires you in your making?

I am grateful for some inspiring individuals who spur me on to try new adventures in my maker space.  I am grateful to all of the creative thinking that the slicers and writers are sharing @ Two Writing Teachers as well as Ruth Ayers, Cathy Mere, Julie Johnson, Kevin Hodgson, Bonnie Kaplan and Margaret Simon to name a few.  If you don't know them, please check them out!  How do students find others that inspire their work?  How do they learn from each other?

How?

How do you make your work?

Over the weekend, I made a video of my maker space.  I used the iMovie app to create the video.  I used the trailer format that already has an outline and a story map created.  The hard part is choosing the pictures and the zooms to create it.

Here's my "Maker Space".    

What can you share about your Maker Space? or students' Maker Spaces?