Maker Ed Contributes to the National Week of Making, Announced by White House

PRESS RELEASE

Maker Ed Contributes to the National Week of Making, Announced by White House

Maker Ed launches campaign to gather support for making from leaders at schools and districts nationwide, hosts a making workshop for educators, and participates in key events

Washington, D.C., June, 2015:

Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) is thrilled to contribute to the national Week of Making, a weeklong celebration from June 12 to June 18 that was recently announced by the White House. Maker Ed is engaging in the national Week of Making in several different ways, including launching a campaign to gather support for making from school leaders, hosting a workshop for educators, and participating in key events throughout the week.

As part of its contributions to the national Week of Making, Maker Ed launched a campaign with Digital Promise and AASA, The School Superintendents Association to identify school administrators committed to taking concrete steps to expand making in their districts and schools. Through this campaign, more than 100 school administrators reaching more than 3 million students across the country have signed a joint letter that will be presented to the President during the national Week of Making. Select participants have also been invited to attend a next steps event on making and education on June 15, in order to discuss ways to increase K-12 student engagement and learning through making. Additionally, Maker Ed is supporting the efforts of school leaders through its own commitments.

In addition to this campaign, Maker Ed is contributing to the national Week of Making by hosting a free half-day hands-on workshop for educators on June 14, in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This workshop will provide the opportunity for educators and school administrators to explore various approaches to implementing making as a strategy to engage youth in science, technology, engineering, math, arts, and learning as a whole. In addition to inviting educators to collaborate with hands-on making experiences, the workshop will foster discussion and collaboration and provide an interactive exploration of concepts surrounding intellectual property, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

According to USPTO Director, Michelle K. Lee, “Programs like the professional development workshops for teachers and administrators hosted with Maker Ed are designed to empower educators to encourage students to engage in the process of turning their ideas into reality, essentially creating intellectual property by becoming the makers of things. USPTO believes that is good for our children, good for our economy, and good for our country.”

Maker Ed’s Executive Director, Warren (Trey) Lathe III, will also be engaging in key events at the National Maker Faire, including participating in a panel on education and making in communities on Friday June 12 at 1 p.m., and giving a presentation on broadening participation in maker education on June 13 at 3 p.m.

“Maker Ed is proud to be a such an integral part of this national celebration of making in all its forms,” said Lathe. ”Through our contributions to the Week of Making, we hope to further the national conversation on the importance of making, and its potential to help all youth develop confidence, creativity, and an interest in learning.”

Through its contributions to the national Week of Making, Maker Ed hopes to draw attention to the potential that making has to positively transform the way youth learn.

Maker Ed

Maker Ed is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating more opportunities for all young people to develop confidence, creativity, and interest in science, technology, engineering, math, art, and learning as a whole through making. Through its support of educators and communities, Maker Ed plays a national leadership role in both broadening access to and deepening the impact of meaningful making and learning experiences for youth. Maker Ed is a project of the Tides Center, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit public charity.