Build It and They Will Come…
- Sarah Hodgson
- Sep 20, 2017
- 2 min read
It’s week 7 of the 2017-2018 school year.
Finally, the space I work in is beginning to feel how I wanted it to. It’s taken some time, patience, and sweat (thankfully no tears!)… but now we are open and ready for young minds to come in, create, and innovate. Introducing the…
The Ubunifu Lab. Ubunifi means ‘creativity’ in Kiswahili. A nod to the host culture.
Tinker. Think. Innovate. Unda. Fikiri. Vumbua.
Change. I applied for the ICT Integration Coach position in December 2016, and was offered the post in January 2017. Bubbling in my brain started happening straight away!
Last academic year the space was a computer lab. I knew that I wanted to develop a ‘makerspace’ and move away from a traditional computer lab. By March, I had submitted this proposal, with the big picture thinking behind the changes for the space:
Full integration of technology that empowers students to experiment, to expand their creativity, and to lead innovation.
From April – June 2017 I ran an after school activity for Grade 4 students who set about formulating ideas and suggesting changes to the space. Many of their ideas were reflected in the final design. We left for the long break, leaving the design with the ‘fundi’ (workmen)…
When I returned to school at the end of July, most of the work had been completed. This week, the storage unit arrived and I could REALLY get organised! Transformation pictures below:
I absolutely LOVE this storage unit. Our school carpenters custom made it from a drawing I gave them. All the materials are easily accessible for students… and I’ve hardly spent any money at all. Most of the storage pots are recycled food containers. Many of the resources were already in the school. It’s enough for now, to get started with.
The space is ‘built’ and I can’t wait to see how it grows and changes. It feels ‘lighter’ somehow (they did install new LED lighting in the ceiling). It’s not so ‘desktop device’ heavy, and we have Mac Minis, iPads, Macbooks, Blue Blots, and other robots ready to go!
My vision is that the Ubunifu Lab space will become more of a hub for creativity and innovation in the school. A place where students can tinker, think, and innovate.
I’m starting small. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I’m currently hosting small groups of students to work on iTime/Genius Hour projects for two grade levels.
Next week I will open the Ubunifu Lab at lunch times for ‘Code Creators‘. At first I’ll have just two students from each of the four classes in the grade… and add more as things settle down. I’ll work with the Code Creators on learning to code… another potential area of growth. I also have a meeting planned with one of the Africa Code Week Ambassadors to talk about how we might collaborate. Hoping to raise the profile of coding with our students. I’ll write a separate post about that initiative later!
Exciting times ahead – watch this space!
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