Digital Fabrication and Maker Movement in Education: Making Computer-supported Artefacts from Scratch

There is no relevant pedagogical model for personalised learning and teaching within science technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education. Furthermore, there is a skills gap between the skills learned at schools and the skills needed in the ICT sector, which hinders economic growth. Digital technology assets can be used to help create an education and innovation ecosystem to overcome these problems.

The PhD candidate will research, design, pilot and validate an ecosystem based on digital fabrication and making technologies for creating computer-supported artefacts. The eCraft2Learn project aims at reinforcing personalised learning and teaching in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education and to assist the development of 21st century skills that promote inclusion and employability for youth in the UK. The eCraft2Learn ecosystem will support both formal and informal learning by providing the appropriate digital fabrication, making technologies, and programming tools.

This learning ecosystem is designed through the mechanisms for personalised and adaptive learning in STEAM education for assisting the development of 21st century skills, and the appropriate digital fabrication tools and making technologies. The eCraft2Learn project seeks to encourage a paradigm shift in technology education from black box and silo products – avoiding pre-programmed and prefabricated solutions which appear as black boxes – to the white box paradigm, so that learners change roles from consumers of digital technology to designers and makers of transparent problem solving artefacts.

The learning ecosystem proposed in this project will enhance craft- and project-based pedagogies through the integration into, contribution to and taking advantage of existing and successfully implemented technical platforms such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi electronics, cloudbased 3D printer simulators, and maker community generated content. We envision the solid emergence of the eCraft2Learn learning ecosystem suitable to foster learners’ 21st century skills and to shift the role of the teacher to that of a coach.

For information on Evaluation and Criteria Guidance, Funding and Eligibility & How to Apply please click here - https://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=3380