SCOPES-df Project: Call for Educational Content from the Fab Lab Network
Dear Fab Educators,
With your assistance, the Fab Foundation is launching SCOPES-df: Scaling a Community of Practice for Education in STEM through Digital Fabrication. The SCOPES-df project is made possible by the generous support of Chevron and The GE Foundation. The goal is to catalyze STEM learning in formal educational environments through digital fabrication technologies and practices found in a Fab Lab or Makerspace. During this initial phase, we will collect great activities and projects from the network and our partners that will be further developed and refined into digital fabrication lesson plans that are aligned to national U.S. standards, with plans to extend to international standards in the future.
We are calling on the Fab Lab and Maker networks to contribute projects and activities that you have developed for K-12 learners. A team of your colleagues with digital fabrication and education expertise will review and refine the projects to be published and freely available online for our networks and for educators across the world. This first call for content will generate a sample of practitioner-generated lessons to be released on a new content-sharing, community platform at FAB13 in August 2017.
Though the final published SCOPES-df lessons will be organized in a single format, submissions will be accepted in your format of choice, but should:
- Include clear learning objectives, and STEM-related content for K-12 learners
- Utilize digital fabrication tools and/or practices
- Attribute original content and sources, and be open for release under a Creative Commons license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. (We are recommending CC by SA.)
Submission could also include:
- Facilitation / procedure details
- Materials / fabrication tools used and design files
- Identified standards such as Common Core, NGSS, and 21st Century skills
- Finished project examples, including photo documentation or student work samples
Your contribution to this project will help the network respond to the growing need for curriculum and activities in schools that use digital fabrication as a catalyst for STEM learning. The demand for formal educational activities, curriculum and professional development is growing exponentially, as the Fab Lab network is growing exponentially, and your work will help advance learning opportunities for K-12 students in the US and across the world, while cultivating a stronger pipeline for future fabricators and makers.
In appreciation, SCOPES-df pioneering contributors will be recognized by name and organization and given an opportunity to mentor and support other educators on the new sharing platform, as well as providing feedback to us on the overall project.
To sweeten the deal, the first 25 submissions will automatically be considered for the 2017 Chevron STEM Awards. Award prizes range from $3,000 USD to $5,000 USD. Winners will be announced in June and recognized at FAB13 in Chile this August.
To contribute please email your project or activity files to SCOPESdf@fabfoundation.org or submit through the online form at https://goo.gl/dpMxgB.
Contributions will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting on May 1st with a final review of submissions eligible for the initial community website launch on May 31, 2017.
Please feel free to contact Sonya Pryor-Jones with any questions at SCOPESdf@fabfoundation.org.
Best,
Lass
Sherry Lassiter
President & CEO
The Fab Foundation
http://fabfoundation.org