The Maker Movement: A Learning Revolution

The May 2014 issue (updated online February 2019) of the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) magazine, Leading and Learning with Technology’s feature article is The Maker Movement: A Learning Revolution by Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez, authors of Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom.

“The impulse to create is one of the most basic human drives. As far back as the Stone Age, we were using materials in our environment to fashion tools for solving the problems we encountered. And in the millions of years since then, we have never stopped creating. In fact, the rise of civilization is largely defined by the progress of technology of one kind or another.

Today, the availability of affordable constructive technology and the ability to share online has fueled the latest evolutionary spurt in this facet of human development. We stand at a crossroads marking the end of decades of thoughtless consumption and helplessness and the beginning of a new age of personal empowerment, creation, and mastery of our world that results from using technology to solve personal problems and amplify human potential. 

New tools that enable hands-on learning—3D printers, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computers, e-textiles, “smart” materials, and new programming languages—are giving individuals the power to invent. We’re not just talking adults. Children of all ages can use these tools to move from passive receivers of knowledge to real-world makers in their own right. This has the potential to completely revolutionize education as we know it. And the movement has already begun.”

Read more of “The Maker Movement: A Learning Revolution“. We understand that this is the last issue of the magazine that will be in print format. We look forward to seeing what the editors of Leading & Learning will unveil in the coming months!