by Martin Wallace
When the concept of “maker literacy” first came to my attention, it was shortly after I began my new job, which just so happened to be right on the heels of a major department reorganization. My new department would now be known as the UTA Libraries Department of Experiential Learning and Undergraduate Research. We also got our fancy new titles, mine being the “Maker Literacies and Engineering Liaison Librarian”. All I knew up to this point was that I would be the library’s liaison to the College of Engineering and my job would have something to do with the UTA Library FabLab. Suddenly, finally, I knew what that “something” was. I would be creating (making!) “maker literacy”.
To be clear, this probably shouldn’t have been such a shock to me. I have a BFA in sculpture and know how to use some tools. I have a fairly good grasp of the design process from being an engineering liaison librarian for the past 10 years. As a patent librarian, I have worked with innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs. I have designed and taught courses online and in the classroom. I have a sound understanding of curriculum design, instruction and assessment. And, I certainly share the maker ethos of experimentation, sharing and collaboration. These are the things that qualified me for my job and most likely the reasons why I’m sitting here in Arlington, TX instead of Orono, Maine. Still, I found the new title and job description alien. I do not consider myself a maker (though I do hope to become one). Before coming here I have not set foot in a makerspace. I haven’t practiced making art in a decade. As a homeowner, I manage to break or further damage just about anything I try to fix. In fact, I’d pretty much written off that I’d ever be making anything, ever again. I had to stop and ask myself, who am I to create this thing called “maker literacy” as an outsider to the larger maker movement? If makers need competency standards, shouldn’t they be the ones to articulate them, just as it was the larger library community who drafted the Information Literacy Competency Standards?
(I’ll admit, those questions still linger in my mind, though I do have some answers to justify my role now. I’ll write more on that in later posts.)
Now I was to lead a team of faculty and create a maker literacy program at UTA. The steps involved: formulate a set of maker competencies, identify courses for integration of the competencies, assist faculty with curriculum design, implement and assess. Nervous? Yes, I was, a little. I was reassured by the facts that UTA’s 2015-2017 Quality Enhancement Plan cycle focuses squarely on “Experiential Learning” and that the FabLab will play a major role in the QEP. President Karbhari was behind the libraries 100%, and that the culture of UTA, not least it’s Libraries, encourages radical ideas for transforming education, taking risks, and that we are rewarded for failure, not punished.
So here I go, making maker literacies! I'd love your help in getting some momentum going. Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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