1. Making Change through University Maker Spaces
Keywords: maker space, retention, creativity, innovation, design cognition, design thinking
Making Change through University Maker Spaces
Julie Linsey
Georgia Institute of Technology

2. What is a Maker Space?
Makerspaces are places, where users have access to manufacturing tools and machines to build physical prototypes and objects. (Weinmann, 2014)
Creates informal learning
Allows for hands-on building, testing and learning

3. Goals Enhance engineering creativity, invention, and innovation
Increase commitment to engineering
Improve Life-long learning skills
Increase retention
Increase gender diversity
Increase design confidence

4. Why University Maker Spaces Might Work?
Supplements the traditional curriculum with non-linear, open-ended, student-driven projects that require hands-on designing, prototyping, modeling, and testing
Creative fields appeal to students
Engages students

5. Georgia Tech’s Maker Spaces
Fundamentally different flavor than other hands-on based or design and build approaches
Appears to be a perfect storm of smaller changes that ignite into a flame of change
New technology has low learning curve for many machines
Student-led and run
Informal Learning and Development of Life-long Learning Skills. Georgia Tech’s Invention Studio likely forms a community of practice that is engaging and developing the students as engineers.
Elements of enjoyment and play: The motto on one of the Invention Studio tee-shirts is “Design, Build, Play”. There is a strong element of play, passion, and fun within the Invention Studio environment.

6. Challenges in Maker Spaces
Welcoming a diverse group of student. Preliminary data indicates students, especially women, are very apprehensive
Empirical evidence of its effectiveness or lack thereof, must be obtained
Best practices
Example Hypothesized Best Practice- Glass doors and walls are more inviting, encouraging students to enter
Current Project Collaborators: Dr. Robert Nagel- James Madison University, Dr. Kimberly Talley, Dr. Araceli Ortiz, Dr. Shaunna Smith- Texas State University, San Marcos, Bryan Levy, Ricardo Morocz, Dr. Wendy Newstetter, Dr. Craig Forest- Georgia Tech