makecast

Make:cast – Find Your Next Adventure

Make:cast – Find Your Next Adventure

David Lang, author of Zero to Maker, and co-founder of OpenROV, recently decided to stop doing what he had been doing for years and begin looking for something new, looking for his next adventure. During a pandemic, it seems hard to think about your next adventure. Yet I suspect that many are thinking about what’s next, and preparing ourselves for a new challenge. David says it’s just as scary this time as it was back when he walked into TechShop not knowing anything about being a maker. He seems to be following his interest in science and how scientists can learn from the maker movement. There is a need to encourage participation by more amateur scientists — people who do science because it is an adventure, rather than a career.

Make:cast – The Multiple Choice Future

Make:cast – The Multiple Choice Future

Our current framework for multiple-choice standardized testing is about 20 years old, dating back to legislation signed by President Bush called No Child Left Behind. The name has changed but testing still rules, although it has been disrupted by COVID-19. In this conversation with educators, Pam Moran and Ira Socol, co-authors with Timeless Learning with Chad Ratliff, we discuss how our education system responded to COVID-19 and how students have responded by turning off their cameras. Can we imagine a future where instead of multiple choice tests, schools offer students multiple and different ways to learn?

Make:Cast – Ten Years of Open Source Hardware

Make:Cast – Ten Years of Open Source Hardware

Ten years ago, a community came together around a definition of open source hardware to be clear about what it means to share designs for physical things, and doing so in a way that allows others to make, modify, distribute or use those things. This definition has been managed by the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA). In this episode, I talk with Alicia Gibb, Executive Director of OSHWA and board president, Michael Weinberg about the growth of open source hardware, its certification process and the role of open source hardware in the maker response to COVID-19.