How Can Makerspace Help Your Students Succeed?

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A major priority for U.S. schools is STEM education, which means teachers need tools that facilitate STEM learning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of STEM-related job openings is expected to increase by 10 percent before the end of the decade. This demonstrates the demand for more engaging math and science education. Makerspace is one tool that can drive that engagement in a classroom setting, using cleverly designed furniture, carts and modules. With Makerspace products, teachers can:

• Improve collaboration - Makerspace tables and desks are modular and mobile in design, so they can be quickly rearranged for group work or lab work. Students can also bring their workstations with them as they move around the room, which is helpful for hands-on lessons like robotics.
• Integrate popular robotics and engineering teaching tools - Makerspace carts and modules are designed to work with respected classroom robots, including Cubelets, Photon, Sphero, Dash, Dot, Evo, Bit and more. With Makerspace products, teachers can keep these tools organized, charged, and accounted for.
• Deliver more engaging lessons - Makerspace also produces classroom furniture designed for the teacher, to make their job easier. Teacher workstations are technology driven, with space for digital displays, connection ports for additional devices, charging stations, pull out dry erase boards, and more space in general for handling teaching materials.
• Organize creative play better - At the heart of effective STEM education is making something, and Makerspace helps students make more. Makerspace’s building stations, for example, allow teachers to store a variety of creative and STEM-focused tools, including magnetic blocks and letters, Legos, and other small creative toys. Better yet, teachers can store these pieces in mobile carts, so students can explore wherever there’s space to do so.
• Integrate exciting new technologies in your classrooms - Makerspace products are built for the modern classroom and the future classroom. Emerging teaching tools like 3D printers offer a wealth of opportunities for students, and Makerspace desks and carts ensure these valuable technologies are easy to manage.

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Five Makerspace Products That Make an Instant Classroom Impact

There are dozens of solutions available through Makerspace, but here’s five that most classrooms could benefit from right away:

1. Aspire tables - The Aspire table is versatility in table form. They are available in an array of shapes, including rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, round, and half-round. They’re also available in an array of widths, from 32-inch to 72-inch, and a couple of depths, including 24-inch and 32-inch. A feature not found in most classroom tables, though, is the ability to adjust height, up to 9 inches. Put it all together, and the Aspire allows teachers to configure their learning spaces however they prefer and adapt the classroom to the lesson.
2. Flex Active tables - Makerspace offers several varieties of its Flex Active table, including its Flex Active Electric Sit-to-Stand and Flex Active Flip tables. The Electric Sit-to-Stand table offers close to 20 inches of height adjustment without any manual configuring necessary. The Electric Sit-to-Stand can also save four height settings, with rapid selection between them as needed. The Flex Active Flip offers excellent space economy. When needed, the Flex Active tabletop can be flipped into a nested position, minimizing the amount of room needed to store the table. This gives teachers flexibility in dealing with different class sizes and different lesson content.
3. TechCenter - The TechCenter is a teacher workstation that allows educators to combine traditional and high-tech teaching tools. The TechCenter includes a surface that can support up to a 70-inch display like the Clevertouch and a display stand that can support a pair of displays at once. Further, the TechCenter offers 12 RU of space for AV technologies, as well as several pull-out surfaces for additional workspace. In any classroom, the TechCenter can become the center of lesson delivery.
4. Pathway Cart - Makerspace’s carts combine mobility and function to drive all kinds of STEM lessons. The Pathway cart is one of Makerspace’s most popular, as it acts as an all-in-one solution for robotics and AV management. With the Pathway, teachers can store, organize, and charge robots, laptops, tablets and more. Also, the Pathway is mounted on a pair of 5-inch balloon wheels, which cushion while they roll, ensuring everything inside is kept safe.
5. 3D2GO Printer Cart - 3D printing is gaining steam in STEM coursework, as students can use it to produce anything they can imagine. The technology is still a challenge, though, for most classrooms to handle. With the 3D2GO printer cart, however, 3D printer management can be greatly simplified. The 3D2GO fits most 3D printers and comes with several drawers and cabinets for easy storage. Optionally, it can be fitted with an overhead filament rack for reliable, constant filament feed.

This is only a small part of the Makerspace product portfolio, and some of Makerspace’s products can be enhanced with the use of modules.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Makerspace Modules Can Add Even More Functionality

Makerspace carts already bring impressive function and mobility, but with one or more modules, their functionality can be expanded upon. Some of these modules include:[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_column_text]

The S1, S2 and S3 coding modules -

The S1, S2 and S3 modules improve organization for most small robots and come with extra storage bins and shelves for additional organization. They are available with six or 12 USB port charging stations and also provide easy cable management to keep things neat and tidy, no matter how many robots your class uses.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_column_text]

Phone, mobile device or VR modules -

Makerspace modules can also be formatted for more than just robotics. In addition to educational robots, the modules can be used to charge mobile devices, phones or VR headsets like Class VR.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Modern classrooms demand modern technological solutions, and Makerspace is built to fit into those modern solutions. Whether your classrooms need to switch to a STEM focus or just need better organization and flow, Makerspace tables, desks, carts and modules can provide them.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]