Digital Learning Support for Makers: Integrating Technical Development and Educational Design

Claudia Kaar,Christian Stary

doi:10.3390/info12050209

Abstract

Makerspaces have gained momentum, not only due to novel manufacturing technologies but also the need for qualified workforce in production industries. Capacity building should not follow ad hoc procedures or arbitrary project designs to qualify for digital production, but rather should still leave room for creativity. As such, the quest has arisen for structured while empowering guidance of additive manufacturing. This can be of benefit for timely education, not only for qualifying existing workforce in production industries but also to attract students in production-related domains. In this paper, we aim to develop an integrated understanding of technical development and capacity-building support activities. We exemplify the proposed design science approach with a regional makerspace. This provides us with the user-centered evaluation of structuring additive manufacturing along an individualized education scheme. Thereby, additive manufacturing capacity building starts with individual goal setting and structuring requirements for an envisioned solution, which becomes part of a learning contract of a specific project. Learning steps are framed by design science and its stages and cycles, since artifacts can be of various kinds, stemming either from construction, modeling, material selection, or manufacturing. The evaluation study revealed essential benefits in terms of structured planning and individualization of capacity-building processes.

Highlights

In 2005, when Make: magazine was founded by Dale Dougherty, his idea was to help people start a hobby and learn new skills [1]
We report on a field study evaluating project-based Business Informatics student experiences on additive manufacturing (AM) and reflect on the results in terms of a structured digital learning support framework
The findings showed that all students, regardless of the kind of project they were working on, completed at least three cycles of the Design Science process

Summary

Introduction

In 2005, when Make: magazine was founded by Dale Dougherty, his idea was to help people start a hobby and learn new skills [1]. Thenceforth, more and more people, including children, became interested in sharing their ideas, constructing, and building their individual products in such collaborative settings [1]. This starting point enabled the establishment of the maker movement, engaging people in creative processes of producing something while learning and collaborating. The maker movement has become manifest in so-called makerspaces all over the world These provide space for makers to participate in creative production processes, blending “digital and physical technologies to explore ideas, learn technical skills, and create new products” [3] These provide space for makers to participate in creative production processes, blending “digital and physical technologies to explore ideas, learn technical skills, and create new products” [3] (p. 505)

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