During the past decade, many K-12 schools have established makerspaces with 3D printers, digital die cutters, and other fabrication tools. To facilitate effective use of school makerspaces, an open-source ecosystem is being developed to provide students and educators with curated, carefully reviewed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models. The ecosystem will be structured around an existing open-source Educational CAD Model Repository developed through prior NSF support. The long-term ecosystem includes a clearinghouse for CAD models with (a) peer-reviewed articles describing classroom use, and (b) the models linked to associated downloadable files in the repository. Accepted practitioner-based articles will be published in a new journal, Educational Fabrication & Design (ED&F), established as one component of the ecosystem. Educational CAD models will be externally reviewed, tested, and validated before they are added to the repository. The widespread availability of design and fabrication tools in K-12 makerspaces offers the potential to create new objects and remix existing designs. Science, mathematics, and engineering educators and their students will potentially benefit from access to carefully curated models and associated instructional materials. The resulting open-source ecosystem’s impact is intended to increase effective use of K-12 makerspaces across all of the relevant disciplines and lead to broader literacy in design and fabrication. This work is supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. 2229627 – POSE: Phase I: Establishing an Ecosystem for Open-source Educational CAD Models. 

Organizations

  • International Technology and Engineering Education Association (ITEEA)
  • Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE)
  • eduFAB Foundation
  • MathHappens Foundation
  • PinkSpace Theory

University Initiatives

  • Make to Learn Laboratory, University of Virginia
  • Remaking Teaching for Mathematical Learning, Montclair University
  • STEM Center, New Mexico State University
  • Joseph Henry Project, Princeton University

Participating Journals

  • Educational Fabrication and Design
    sponsored by the International Technology and Engineering Education Association
  • Contemporary Issues in Technology and Science Education
    sponsored by the Association for Science Teacher Education
  • Contemporary Issues in Technology and Mathematics Education
    sponsored by the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
  • Journal of Interactive Learning Technologies sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology

Note: The first three journal listings are sections within Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.

Glen Bull is the principal investigator for the NSF Phase I POSE initiative, Establishing an Ecosystem for Open Source Educational CAD Models. He is a Professor of Education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia and co-director of the Make to Learn Laboratory. He is a founder and past president of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), founder of the National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) coalition, and founding editor of the journal, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal).
Ryan Novitski is co-principal investigator for the NSF Phase I POSE initiative, Establishing an Ecosystem for Open Source Educational CAD Models. He is Director of STEM Learning at the International Technology and Engineering Education Association (ITEEA) and has responsibility for on-going development and support of ITEEA’s Engineering by Design curriculum, used by more than 5, 000 technology and engineering education teachers
Elizabeth Whitewolf is the founding director of the eduFab Foundation based in Pittsburg, PA. Liz served as Senior Director of STEM Education at Carnegie Science Center and previously was a classroom teacher. She directed development of the Fab Foundations Scopes D-F educational model repository and is serving in similar role for development of the Educational CAD Model Repository.
John Maloney served as lead developer for the first implementation of the educational computing language, Scratch. He subsequently developed MicroBlocks, a language for microcontrollers inspired by Scratch. He is serving as an advisor for support of interactive physical models that incorporate microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators.
Michael Littman is a professor of engineering at Princeton University and director of the Joseph Henry Project. Joseph Henry taught at Princeton and subsequently served as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The goal of the Joseph Henry project entails reconstruction of pivotal inventions reconstruction of transformational inventions in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, focusing on inventions and teaching apparatus developed by Joseph Henry.
Dr. David Rutledge is an associate professor of Educational Design and Learning Technology at New Mexico State University (NMSU). He is a leader in the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), currently serving as co-chair of SITE’s Consultative Council. He is coordinating efforts to build up the work of NMSU STEM Outreach Center. The STEM Center currently collaborates with and supports more than 500 teachers in New Mexico, assembling STEM kits for classroom use developed with prior NSF support.
Cecil Short is co-Vice President of Communications for the Teacher Education Division of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology, and Co-Editor in Chief of the openly licensed Journal of Technology Integrated Lessons and Teaching (JTILT). The journal publishes technology-rich learning representations (e.g., unit and lesson plans, activities, micro-credentials, badges, professional development) for PK-16+ professionals.
Lauren is co-Founder and Executive Director of MathHappens. She has an undergraduate math degree from University of Chicago. She later completed the UTeach Credential Program at University of Texas at Austin. She served as Head of Math at Ace Academy for five years. Lauren is principal co-author of the article: Teaching Algebra Concepts by Modeling Telescope Optics. She provides oversight for development of physical models designed for mathematics teaching and learning and directs the extensive outreach program of the MathHappens Foundation.
Steven Greenstein is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at Montclair State University and co-director of the ReMaking Teaching for Mathematical Learning initiative and the related repository of physical models for mathematics teaching. The audience for these models is preservice teachers in the mathematics education courses that he teaches. These future teachers often collaborate with in-service teachers on use of these models in their teaching internships.