School of Public Policy 597M - ST- MakerspaceLeadership&Outr

A makerspace is a physical location where people gather to share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build. The `Maker Culture? emphasizes learning through doing-it-yourself, or doing-it-together, in a social environment and utilizing open access licensed materials available on the Internet. This course is designed to provide students an opportunity to learn about the underpinnings of makerspaces and maker culture, and then work on a makerspace project in a team (ideally) or as an individual, if you so desire. Students can choose to work on one of three types of projects: (1) "longitudinal projects" - projects that have already been started by students in earlier versions of the course but are being continued this semester (a chlorine in water sensor working with a company called DAI; an autonomous boat); (2) new projects that are being proposed by the faculty coordinators (e.g., a research project on how to move UMass to net-zero energy by 2030; a video documentary project working with an organization called Solutions Journalism; the development of a workshop for children on a maker toolbox called "microbit" and an organization in Singapore); and, (3) a project or "maker workshop" that the student proposes for themselves, working in conjunction with the instructors. For all projects, students will be asked to (1) initially develop a project proposal including an equipment list and a submitted goal for the semester; (2) research (e.g., literature review) the topic; and (3) work on the project throughout the semester, striving for the goal they set in #1. During the semester there will be several progress report sessions, and a final public presentation requirement on their project at the end of the semester in the new All-Campus Makerspace.

3rd floor Digital Media Lab in the library