Design Do Discover
Design Do Discover is a workshop for educators who are passionate about student-centered, constructionist learning and interested in the practical implementation of hands-on projects in the K-12 setting. In particular, the focus is on empowering participants to become joyful maker educators and to imagine how they can integrate making into the daily life of their school setting.
Participants:
  • Collaborate with others to identify, ideate, and prototype hands-on projects relevant to your teaching, with guidance from our team of coaches
  • Gain hands-on experience with some of the major tools of a maker lab, ranging from "low tech" materials to laser cutters, 3D printers, and programmable microcontrollers
  • Attend pop-up sessions, taught by our wonderful team of coaches, to get an introduction to some maker tools/techniques/skills
  • Meet like-minded educators and become part of a community of maker educators
Note: We welcome all educators, whether they have access to professional development funds at their school or not; therefore, some financial support will be available to those who apply, and we will try to accommodate as many requests as possible.
 
Design Do Discover is not your typical conference.

Rather than sitting and listening to presentations, attendees are expected to be active participants and will be working in small teams to design and build projects for two full days. You DO NOT need to have prior experience with the tools of a maker lab, but you DO need to arrive ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. This conference is for you if you think collaborating with colleagues in a fast-moving, slightly messy, and at times chaotic environment sounds really fun!

During the two days, you also have the option to attend pop-up sessions that introduce various maker tools/techniques/skills. BUT, we are intentionally not releasing a list of topics for these sessions for two reasons:

1) Sessions will be held based on participant interest, i.e. we want to know what you want to learn instead of us telling you what you should learn
2) The point of D3 is NOT to attend these sessions all day long!

The main goal of the two days is to construct your own knowledge through hands-on project work individually or in small groups. We believe that your project should guide what tools/skills/techniques you learn instead of the other way around. Please do not come to Design Do Discover expecting to attend these pop-up sessions for two full days. We have an incredible crew of coaches, and you will certainly learn a lot even if you do not end up taking any pop-up sessions!