Maker Ed Presents First Annual Making Possibilities Workshop

PRESS RELEASE
Maker Ed Presents First Annual Making Possibilities Workshop

Engages 100 Educators to Bring Innovative Learning Through Making to 1000s of Youth 

Santa Clara, CA, May 2014: The Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) is delighted to host the first annual Making Possibilities Workshop for educators on Thursday, May 15, 2014 at Intel’s Headquarters in Silicon Valley. This day-long workshop will bring together 100 formal and informal educators, particularly those in Title 1 public schools or at youth serving organizations that serve low-income communities, to explore approaches to implement making as a strategy to engage youth in science, technology, engineering, math, arts, and learning as a whole.

Maker Ed was created by Dale Daugherty, CEO of Maker Media and founder of Maker Faire, as the non-profit, educational arm of the maker movement. Dale states, “We see educators playing an important role in the maker movement, helping to introduce the practice of making into classrooms and bringing creative and engaging learning experiences to more children. The Possibilities Workshop will not only inspire educators, but also provide practical guidance on how to facilitate hands-on learning in schools.”

The Making Possibilities Workshop is one step towards meeting the demand for high quality experiences to train educators who want to incorporate making into their classrooms, libraries, or afterschool settings. “We know there is tremendous need for this type of workshop as more than double the amount of educators applied than we had slots,” shares Maker Ed Interim Executive Director Dr. Lisa Regalla. “Making has the potential to transform the lives of youth, and this workshop is an important opportunity to provide free, hands-on, accessible training for educators to incorporate innovative making experiences in their learning environments.”

Maker Ed is able to present this incredible workshop to educators for free due to the tremendous support of Intel. “Intel is a proud supporter of Maker Ed and the maker movement. By supporting programs that inspire youth and giving kids access to the tools, instructional support and educational resources necessary to start making, Intel can help foster the world’s next generation of innovators,” said Carlos Contreras, U.S. Education Director at Intel. “Young people are the key to solving global challenges and our research and experience shows that students become more engaged and more proficient in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, when they are learning by doing.”

Besides the incredible support of Intel, Maker Ed is grateful for the sponsorship of Adafruit and in-kind support of Maker Media, JoyLabz, littleBits and Google for Entrepreneurs.

Maker Ed

Maker Ed is a project of the Tides Center, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Maker Ed’s mission is to create more opportunities for all young people to develop confidence, creativity, and spark an interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts, and learning as a whole through making. Maker Ed plays a national leadership role in developing a maker network of educators, youth serving organizations, statewide afterschool networks, corporations, foundations, and makers seeking to accelerate and deepen the maker movement.