The Maker Movement is dazzling teachers and students all over the world.

And that worries me a little, to be honest.

Does it worry you, too?

I know. I know. I know.

We need to be intentional about our influence, here. We need see past the gimmicks. We have to ensure that our students do, too

What I uncovered about the connection between making and writing didn’t simply change my practice. It changed all of my perceptions about teaching and learning inside of my writing workshop. It made me question everything that I thought I knew. It made me a far better learner, and that’s how I became a better teacher.

I’m Angela Stockman. Nice to meet you.

The first changes in my own practice were subtle. It all started with one important awareness: I was a writing teacher who prioritized print over all other mediums and modalities.

And that was a problem.

You see, print is just one language, but making? Well, making is a universal language. And it’s one that our students are using, whether we choose to make space for it in our classrooms or not.

Quite a while ago, I began wondering how many writers I was silencing by demanding their use of print. 

As it turns out, I silenced many writers this way.

And maybe you are, too.

We all do.

When we know better, we do better, right?

And I’m trying. I learned to do better by listening to kids who told me they hated writing. I followed their lead. I simply gave them permission to use their own tools and processes. And they filled my world with gadgets and materials and supplies and ideas that I would have never imagined. Then, they taught me to write better with them, too.

Some of my students transformed my writing classroom. Others created a studio. And over time, we learned just how much environment, tools, and supplies matter.

It’s not about cute. It’s about complexity.

And I’d love to share my learning with you. It all starts right here, on the welcome page for this course. Once you’ve registered, all of the modules will appear at the very bottom of that page. You will also be able to return to your course anytime you like from the home page. 

Participants in this course will explore: 

• A three layer process that transforms traditional spaces into makerspaces for writers
• Protocols that enable intentional design and redesign
• Strategies for including students in the design process
• Diverse approaches for maximizing opportunities and working creatively with constraints inside of their very unique systems
• Money-saving hacks
• Small scale shifts: Tinker trays, tinker totes, and tool buckets
• Blueprints for building big makerspaces for writers on a dime