source: www.keepaustinweirdhomes.com

As we plan for the upcoming school year, I feel we are on the cusp of making remarkable changes in kids lives… There are a few ideas that may help us on on our journey… Makerspaces and Genius Hour….

Let’s face it, we have all but taken the hands-on learning out of schools and replaced it with a focus on standardized assessment preparation…. No wonder that some students are turned off when they enter the building…In their eyes, they are not “doing” anything… For the most part, they are right… Even though research has pointed out time and time again that we learn by doing, how often do we give kids the opportunity to tinker, think, research, collaborate, design, fail, replicate? Simple stated, Makerspace, can be an excellent use of space in the Library for kids to make and experiment!

Based off of Google’s infamous 80/20 rule (80% of the time you spend on Google, and 20% you spend on you) Genius Hour has emerged as another innovative activity to provide opportunities for students. In researching Genius Hour, I came across this video that shows the potential impact this could have on your school!