Coming into the course, I was rather excited to learn more about incorporating aspects of DIY ethos and maker mentality into the education and pedagogy, as I felt like the theoretical pedagogy was what I lacked in my current arsenal of tools.
The Provocations and Maker Challenges were great opportunities to think about the application of the theories we have learned in class. It was the perfect time and place for me to brainstorm the ways I can incorporate my personal interests with creating meaningful activities for others to think more deeply about topics relating to EDIDA frameworks and Liberatory Design Thinking, grounding the theoretical concepts and rendering it more tangible and meaningful.
One example of this was reflecting on my visit to Our Community Bikes, and later on, exploring the intersection of identity, accessibility and community building through the Critical Learning Task in conjunction with the Anti-racism Speaker Series podcast. This personal connection also allowed me to embed lived experiences into the narrative, further demonstrating how makerspaces can serve as platforms for storytelling and advocacy.
With accessibility and inclusivity at its core, this course also challenged me to think more thoughtfully about the utilization of technology and creating multiple points of entry for participation. On the no-tech side of things, using recycled fabric to create a quilt, or magazines and scrap paper to create a collage zine, this made me reflect on the the value of resourcefulness in inclusive makerspace to democratize making. On the high-tech side of things, the incorporation of AR/VR elements created opportunities for engagement in digital spaces, which made me reflect on the module of multimedia and multiliteracies, which was an opportunity to consider the ways how technology can enhance access and interaction without overshadowing the personal, hands-on aspects of making.
Constructivist theories, which emphasize learning through experiences, deeply resonated with me in this class, especially when it came to sharing our own artefacts with each other on the discussion boards and providing feedback to each other. I learned a lot about how each of my colleagues implement their maker mentality in their personal and professional contexts, and getting to know one another through this mixing and remixing of ideas was rather fun and insightful! This reciprocal exchange highlighted the power of collective making, and underscores how diverse perspectives can enrich meaning-making, moving beyond individual experiences to create shared understanding.
Along those same lines, our instructor, Keri, provided such detailed feedback throughout the semester, her encouragement and guidance affirmed the effort I put into integrating personal experiences, scholarly frameworks and hands-on practice. This reinforced my confidence in using storytelling and personal insights to make theoretical concepts more accessible and actionable. Keri does not forget to push us further to think about how our work connects with the critical theory, and invites us to refine our work iteratively throughout the course, metaphysically embodying the Liberatory Design Principles that we have learned! Thank you again for your thoughtful guidance through this course, not only affirming my progress throughout this program, but also providing clear pathways for improvement and growth. I look forwards to applying these insights to my future work, and continuing to bridge personal resonance with critical engagement.
Though most of the readings are centered around Makerspaces, I think the biggest paradigm shift for me was requiring us to expand our ideas of what “making” and “makerspaces” can look like — a walk in the park, a craft circle amongst friends, a repair café at the community center, a workshop at school — can all be sites of making and creating. This shift of perspective has made me realize how embedded in “making” I already am, and realizing that has only expanded my ways of participation! These moments reinforced the idea that makerspaces are not confined to workshops or classrooms, they’re embedded in daily life!
This course expanded my understanding of makerspaces as dynamic, inclusive spaces rooted in both theory and personal experience. By embracing the maker mindset in everyday life and projects, I’ve learned to see making as a form of storytelling, advocacy, and connection. Moving forward, I am excited to apply these insights to help facilitate and make spaces that honor diverse voices and foster meaningful engagement.
Safe spaces and brave spaces have often been discussed in the context of creating more inclusive environments for community-building. While both ideas foster understanding and growth, they diverge in their approach to discomfort, accountability and conflict resolution.
Safe spaces often prioritize emotional safety, support and inclusivity, as they were originally created by marginalized groups for marginalized groups. Often they are non-confrontational, providing emotional validation and affirmation, with guidelines often focused on minimizing harm or offensive behavior, language, and ideas.
However, safe spaces can often create echo chambers or discourage confrontation of biases, limiting open dialogue or critical engagement with uncomfortable truths.
From the above Youtube video, Jama emphasizes that “it is a dangerous practice if safe spaces are all that we use”, as it forecloses the opportunity for change, does nothing to address structural issues that exist, and can often help reinforce and maintain the status quo.
On the other hand, brave spaces emphasizes embracing discomfort as a key to growth and understanding, and “calling in” –rather than “calling out”– those with different viewpoints to engage in conversation from a perspective of curiosity rather than assumptions or defensiveness.
“The mark of an educated mind is to entertain a thought without accepting it, listen to each other even if we disagree or have different opinions, without it being a threat on our identity”
— Carol Cabrera in “From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces”
Components for Developing a Braver Space
Based on the provided resources, I think some core characteristics and guidelines include:
Authenticity, Vulnerability and Empathy
Discomfort: normalize discomfort, especially when moving through conflict
Growth Mindset: being open to having your mind changed
Radical Candor: being able to challenge ideas while being personable
Clear Guidelines and Skillful Facilitation
Brave Spaces in the Workplace
Below are reflections based on my current workplace and how it aligns with the characteristics of brave spaces, and some potential solutions to foster a braver space.
There seems to be a divide between the faculty members and union staff members, combined with office politics, there seems to be an unbalance of power dynamics, which may prevent more open-dialogue or equitable collaboration, leading to disengagement or trust from team members.
There seems to be a prioritization of experience over innovation where younger or less experienced voices may feel undervalued or dismissed, creating challenges between team members when it comes to collaboration on problem-solving.
Sometimes the team leader’s lack of approachability inhibits honest communication between team members, and there may be hesitation to express concerns leading to hierarchical culture that stifles feedback and transparency.
I think one big potential solution to foster a braver space is creating more time and space for team-building events or internal diversity, equity and inclusion workshops, which will create the opportunity for reducing hierarchical divides, fostering a more cohesive team dynamic, further promoting an office culture where both experiences and fresh perspectives can be seen as assets, and encourage more constructive dialogue where team members can voice concerns, suggest changes or address workplace dynamics in a safer moderated environment.
Instead of going into BIPOC cultures, I will be reviewing an interactive AR zine based on an artist’s experience with ADHD and my conversation with them about their design process. I believe this topic still intersects with the challenge’s main learning objective of reflecting from an EDIDA framework perspective.
As someone with ADHD myself, it was an refreshing to see a common experience visualized in a way that was thoughtful and creative. I have included the QR code to the zine in the blogpost below, and purposefully excluded any screenshots, as to not detract from the AR experience for the readers.
In a corner, someone was showcasing their zines, which piqued my interest. I initiated a conversation with the artist, Rowan (@keeponcreative), who created an interactive AR zine on their ADHD experience.
Before continuing to the rest of the blogpost, please take some time and experience the AR interactive zine yourself here:
Rowan created this zine to visualize the ADHD experience first-handedly through the interactive dialogue panels of a conversation. They hope to increase the ADHD awareness so that neurotypicals can understand the challenges that ADHD folks have during conversations with others.
They created the experience in Adobe Aero, and intertwined the digital interface of AR with the analogue form of zines and illustrations seamlessly.
In a choose-your-own-adventure type of interaction, the reader can choose from three different paths in a text message style conversation, with an insider view into the internal monologue; visual distractions obfuscating the dialogue bubbles; and rapid fire walls of texts.
Some aspects Rowan chose to focus on was:
Info-dumping: Sharing a large amount of detailed information about a topic of interest is a way ADHD folks connect with others and to express that they’re excited about a specific topic. However, sometimes it may come off as overwhelming or dominating the conversation.
Distractions: Staying on top of the conversation thread can be a challenge for ADHD folks, while overstimulating environments can also effect attention and participation in a conversation.
Interruptions: for many ADHD folks, the mind stays active and often thoughts get left behind and fade away if they do not get expressed as they come along. This can come of as rude or misreading of social cues when they interrupt conversations.
While conversing with Rowan, I felt like they conveyed an AR experience that felt really close to my experiences with ADHD. I learned that they are slowly working on their capstone project, “Visualize”, that addresses the lesser known qualities of ADHD through experiential zine. They created AR simulations to supplement the zine with animations allowing the reader to engage in a more embodied way.
We also briefly discussed the challenges of creating AR experiences; the technical limitations using Adobe Aero; integration of more analogue forms of media, or making users want to engage in “going the extra step” to use technology in hand with art.
This conversation with Rowan has made me reflect more on the utilization of AR with DIY culture values of decentralization of knowledge through analogue media of zines, especially with leveraging the affordance of AR to embed an experience for more embodiment, engagement and interaction.
Critically analyze the impact of ableism on accessibility and inclusivity of makerspaces, while exploring strategies to foster a more inclusive maker mentality and a more welcoming makerspace.
Engaging with this task you are going to disseminate the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities. Disabilities can be visible and invisible.
The task is to engage with required scholarly work, supplementing with own examination of research and academic work to design an accessible maker space (physical, virtual or hybrid) that is inclusive of individuals with (in)visible disabilities from an anti-ableist lens.
Use the checklist below and the liberatory design thinking process as a means to guide your design using any of the educational technology tools listed below (or your own tool of choice). You will include a description and justification of your designed inclusive space using the scholarly work to support your claims, decisions, and configuration. You will want to check out Makers Making Change to provide you with ideas and additional resources to support your design.
Accessibility standards and guidelines for makerspaces have been addressed.
The space was designed using liberatory design thinking principles and practices.
Inclusive vs. exclusive accessibility and usability has been considered.
The design of your accessible makerspace is inclusive of individuals with diverse abilities
Incorporated universal design principles in the design process of this maker space as it pertains to set up, equipment, materials, and navigation.
Addresses physical and sensory barriers in maker space design and activities.
Empowers individuals with disabilities through adaptive and assistive technologies included in the space
Promotes inclusive practices and fosters a culture of accessibility and accommodation
Recognizes and challenges ableist assumptions and biases within maker culture through the design of the space
Space demonstrates an awareness and sensitivity toward diverse abilities.
Implements inclusive policies and guidelines for equitable participation in maker activities
Leverages community engagement and partnerships to support and amplify inclusivity in makerspaces as best communicated through the design.
People first and identify the first language used in space.
Demonstrates critical analysis of the texts through the design of the space.
Preface
After graduating from university, I was working as a BC Autism Funding service provider, working with youths on the autism spectrum. This project was inspired by KK, one of the youths that I used to work with. He would make elaborate builds of the Vancouver skytrain system within his Minecraft world, and we would often hop onto the server to build together during our sessions.
This made me consider online virtual spaces in connection with makerspaces and the potential ways that the Minecraft functions can be leveraged or modified to accommodate for individual user’s needs.
Part 3: What did you notice about these two maps? Notice your observations about your locale, region and area. Name any connections, discrepancies, wonderings, surprises, or alignments. Review the two maps and think about what it means to create a territorial acknowledgement.
CBC put together an article named, What’s wrong with Land Acknowledgements, and how to make them better. This article highlighted the thoughts, advice, and expectations from five First Nations individuals to debunk the notion that land acknowledgements have become a tokenism and performative task rather than a deeply reflective and immersive experience and process of reconciliation.
Mapping Cultural Histories: Map Comparison
In the First People’s Map of BC, I found that it included information on the language, arts and heritage of each Indigenous group. I found it compelling that the Indigenous regions were layered over a contemporary map showing cities, territories and “Westernized” names of places. This approach made it easier to locate my are and understand the relationship to Indigenous lands, blending with historical and modern geographical references in a way that highlights the present-day identities first and foremost before thinking about the land’s Indigenous history.
When exploring the Native Land Digital Map and locating my area, I was struck by the layers of Indigenous territories, languages and Treaties that intersected with each other. The biggest difference when it came to locating my area was how much more challenging it was with the Native Land Digital Map, as it presents the land according to the original territories Indigenous peoples occupied before colonization, offering a distinctly Indigenous perspective. Navigating this map required more effort to locate my area, encouraging a more intentional reflection on land stewardship and my connection (or rather disconnect) to the land. This approach invited me to consider how our contemporary cities relate to their Indigenous histories, creating more awareness of the deeper cultural narratives embedded within the landscapes we inhabit today.
Residential Schools and Impact on Indigenous Languages
With my background in languages and linguistics, I decided to delve deeper into the kinds of information that the map provided about the different Indigenous languages of each region.
While looking through the various languages regions, there are statistics of the total population of each nation, with a count of fluent speakers, semi-speakers and active learners.
Many sleeping languages do not have fluent speakers at all, and those who are re-learning their first languages are considered “silent speakers”, meaning that they understand their languages, but cannot speak it. Often, these silent speakers are survivors of residential schools whose abilities to speak their first language were “beaten out of them” or lost them when raised in non-native foster families.
Cultural Continuity Through Language Revitalization Efforts
Languages are vital for passing down a people’s knowledge of their land and way of life. Below is a Youtube video where Khelsilem discusses the importance of preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages in Canada, as they are crucial for maintaining cultural identity and community well-being for Indigenous communities.
First Voices is a website for communities to share and promote their language, oral culture and linguistic history, promoting linguistic diversity and providing a platform to work with experienced language educators, band councils and language communities to plan language revitalization and preservation programs.
Aligning with Khelsilem’s advocacy for language revitalization through community-driven education and use of technology, efforts towards creating professional audio recordings, physical archives of audio, photos and written sources are being made by younger generations to ensure that their Elder’s voices are preserved.
Land Acknowledgements at Langara College
With my previous position working at the Modern Languages Department at Langara College, I think the following are some potential points that are necessary to incorporate while thinking about Indigenization, decolonization and reconciliation when it comes to land acknowledgements.
Firstly, is to acknowledging the relationship between Langara College and the Musqeam peoples. Langara College is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam First Nation, and Langara College is honored to receive the Musqueum name snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓, which means house of teachings.
Secondly, I believe it is important to acknowledge the privileges that we have currently to be able to speak, utilize, and learn about different languages and cultures freely, some with the intention to connect with their cultural heritage, or with the intention to expand their intercultural and linguistics competencies, as this was not the case for Indigenous children who were put into residential schools.
Lastly, in the context of languages offered at Langara College (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, French and Spanish) it is important to consider histories of these languages as tools for colonization; Chinese Mandarin as the language promoted through regional expansion during periods like the Cultural Revolution; Japanese imperialism imposed across East Asia as an effort to assimilate local populations into the Japanese Empire; and French and Spanish spreading through European colonization of the America’s Africa and Asia, often at the cost of Indigenous languages and local minority languages and dialects.
Highlighting the history of colonization shows the power of language policies and role it plays in colonization, while also emphasizing the power of languages as symbols of cultural resilience, making languages a form of resistance and cultural continuity, reclaiming identity and heritage and incorporation of decolonization efforts into language learning.
The purpose of the task is to critically examine the role of equity, diversity and inclusion within the context of makerspaces, while incorporating decolonization and anti-racism frameworks through the examination of the content in MET’s Anti-Racism Speaker Series. Design a maker challenge or provocation that fosters an environment of equal participation, cultural understanding, and social justice within the makerspace community.
Choose one Anti-racism Speakers Series presentation or podcast to frame the challenge/provocation. Make note of key ideas, theories and research presented in the series. This challenge/provocation should actively promote the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those historically marginalized and under-represented in the field. Integrate cultural sensitivity and awareness into the design process, ensuring the activity is respectful, accommodating, and accessible to all participants. Use the following templates to design the challenge/provocation.
This provocation is designed to encourage students to explore the local bike scene and explore how community, identity and inclusivity intersect in cycling culture.
In Pedal Perspectives, students are encouraged to read some bike zines, visit their local bike shops, meet local riders and perhaps join a biking event, and consider the ways that these spaces are — or are not — accessible and welcoming. How do gender, race and identity shape our experiences in these spaces?
While cycling has surged in popularity as a mode of transport, fitness and community engagement, scholarly research on bike culture remains scarce. Traditional academic circles often overlook the nuanced, lived experiences of cyclists, especially those from marginalized groups.
In conjunction with the Anti-Racism Speakers Series podcast Pervasive Racism and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community, guest speakers Alex DeForge and Meera Dhebar talk about the lack of meaningful representation, the impact of stereotypes, and need for more intentional and inclusive effort to reflect diverse identities. Both speakers emphasize that critical literacy is the key to empower individuals, and to understand the diversity and depth of the bike community, we need to explore beyond mainstream publications and delve into more underground and personal spaces – like zines.
“The history of lack of women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC representation in cycling reveals their marginalization and exclusion, especially in cycling media and sport. And it speaks to a bigger cultural issue of how marginalized groups are continually ignored and misrepresented. We cannot shy away from telling our stories in cycling just because it doesn’t suit the narrative the cycling industry sells.” (Cyclista Zine, 2019)
Zines are booklets (like magazines) that are used to share information, knowledge or experiences with others. They are often made with pen, paper, and collage techniques. They can also be made on computers using digital publishing software.
These DIY publications offer a more authentic look at the voices, struggles and triumphs within biking subcultures, often addressing topics such as gender identity, race, accessibility and social justice that are otherwise absent in academic discourse. By engaging with zines, we can gain more personal and grassroots perspectives that shape biking culture, and illuminate the vital, under-represented voices that mainstream studies miss.
Through guided reflections and interactive exploration, and creating your own zine, this project encourages students to investigate how their own backgrounds and identities relate to the biking community, in hopes to start a conversation about inclusivity, equity and what it means to belong and participate in a community.
Materials and Resources Required
Device (computer, tablet, phone) to take notes or document reflections
Pencil, pens, paper, magazines, flyers, art/craft supplies etc.
Optional: access to a bicycle
Inclusive Maker Provocation Instructions
Part 1: Pre-activity Reflection — Understanding your own positionality in bike culture
Think about your current experiences and knowledge when it comes to biking and bike culture. By reflecting on these questions beforehand, you can better understand your personal lens and become more aware of how your own experiences and identities shape the way you engage with biking spaces and community interactions.
Some questions to consider:
What is your personal history with biking? Do you view it more as a form of transportation, recreation, fitness or something else?
How often do you engage in biking activities, and in what kinds of spaces (i.e. recreational trails, urban commutes, group events)?
Have you experienced barriers to accessing biking spaces, whether economic, social, physical, etc.? How have they shaped your relationship to biking?
Do you see people who share your identity and background in biking spaces you frequent? How does this affect your sense of belonging?
Are there stereotypes or assumptions within biking culture that impact on how people perceive you or that shape how you perceive others?
Part 2: Participate —
Visit your library’s zine section
Visit your library’s zine section, and browse the selection of bike-related zines
Select a few zines to read, pay attention to the different voices, styles and stories represented
Take notes on reoccurring themes, especially in relation to gender, race, accessibility or personal experiences in the bike community
Some questions to consider:
Who is the author and how does their background and identity impact their experiences within the bike community?
How do the perspectives in the zines compare with the mainstream cycling media or bike shops?
What issues or themes appear frequently across the zines? What is something novel or surprising that you’ve noticed about the zines? What are some themes that you can relate to personally?
How do the zine creators express their identities and experiences through their zines? Are there recurring challenges or barriers that they discuss?
How do the zines influence your understanding of the biking community? How does that affect your perspective of your understanding of the bike community?
If you do not have a zine section at your local library, consider reading through online eZines related to bike culture, here are some recommendations:
Cyclista Zine Library : a collaborative zine made from intersectional feminist and DIY culture lens. It is run by zinester Christina Torres and celebrates intersectional feminism through zines, live events and workshops.
QZAP: Queer Zine Archive Project – Dykes and Bykes
Microcosm Publishing Bike Zines : should you have the funds and means, check out some bike zines Microcosm Publishing, a zine publisher based in Portland, Oregon.
Part 3: Create — Record and share your experiences in a zine
Follow the instructions above to make a simple one-page zine as a base to document your reflections from the previous activities.
Embellish your zine with illustrations or make a collage with my arts and crafts supplies that you have available.
How do you feel about entering spaces that may be new or unfamiliar? Are there any assumptions or expectations you hold about bike shops, biking events, or zine culture?
In what ways are you open to letting this experience challenge or expand your existing views on biking culture, inclusivity, and community dynamics?
In what ways could this provocation be adapted to other subcultures or community activities where marginalized voices are underrepresented? How might this broaden students’ understanding of inclusivity in various societal domains?
Background/Additional Information
Inclusivity Focus
This challenge considers the EDIDA framework with emphasis on exploring biking spaces in relation to the student’s own positionality, encouraging students to access who these spaces are designed to serve and who may be excluded or underrepresented.
The activity also includes diverse ways to engage with the biking culture and community (see Extension section below) – whether it is visiting a bike shop, attending an event, or exploration via zines — students with varying physical abilities, comfort levels and preferences can participate meaningfully.
Lastly, I have purposefully included zines as a source of learning as it engages with the decolonization framework by valuing non-traditional, grassroots forms of knowledge production and distribution. Zines often represent marginalized voices and disrupt dominant narratives, offering insight to biking culture and underrepresented voices often missed in academic literature.
No Tech, Low Tech, High Tech Options
Zines are quintessentially low-tech, DIY methods of sharing knowledge and experiences, easily made with pen and paper, and a photocopier if you would like to share and distribute your zines!
Some higher-tech options for sharing similar kinds of DIY content include:
Blogs/Personal Website
Digital Zine/eZine
Social Media
Podcast/ Youtube Channel
Extension
Choose an activity below and follow the guiding instructions to help reflect on your experience. These activities are made to include a broad range of involvement and participation, and are mindful of certain barriers, such as access to a bicycle, different levels of mobility and skill levels, and meant to expand in the different ways participation can look like.
Nonetheless, these activities and questions aim to deepen your understanding of the diverse, often overlooked experiences within biking culture and help you explore how your own perspectives interact with these communities. Enjoy the journey!
Visit a local bike shop
Choose a bike shop near you and make a visit. As you explore space, pay attention to how the space is organized and who the shop seems to be designed to serve.
Observe the shop’s environment, the types of bikes and gears available, and any information displayed about events or cycling groups.
If possible, strike up a conversation with an employee to learn more about the shop’s role in the local biking community
Some questions to consider:
Who does this bike shop seem to cater to? Are there specific demographics that seem prioritized in this set up, product offerings or marketing?
What aspects of the shop make it feel inclusive or exclusive? Consider factors like pricing, layout and accessibility.
How does the shop engage with local community? Do they advertise any events or promote social causes on their bulletin boards?
How did you feel going into this space, what about it made it feel welcoming or intimidating? Did you feel comfortable being in this space?
Participate in a bike event
Find a local bike event that is open to all skill levels, like a group ride or a community bike day.
Participate in the event, look around and make note of the people involved, the event’s purpose and the general atmosphere
Notice how newcomers are welcomed, and whether accessibility (in terms of skill level, gender, background) is addressed during the event
Some questions to consider:
What kinds of people attended this event? Are there particular groups that seem well-represented or under-represented?
In what ways was the event accessible or inaccessible to people with different needs or backgrounds?
How did the event organizers foster a sense of community or shared purpose? Were there any efforts made to address diversity or inclusivity?
How did you feel about participating in this event? How does your own identity and experience shape your sense of belonging or connection? Would you participate in a similar event again?
The intention of the provocation is to build awareness and acceptance of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and communities in order to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
Design a critical and cohesive overview of race, gender, identity, and intersectionality in the maker environment. Introduce others to representational problematics in makerspaces and communities.
Choose your means of presentation so long it is multimodal.
This is an interactive text-based story surrounding a group of diverse makers that challenged the space’s gender norms and definition of “making” in the local makerspace the Iron Forge.
There are two main aspects of inclusivity that I focused on, specifically on gender and culture.
The story draws upon themes mentioned in the lecture by Kimberly Martin on Centering Gender: A feminist analysis of makerspaces and digital humanities centres especially the notions of the difference between “Making vs Crafting” and how that often is intertwined with the idea of “New Domesticity” when it comes to “softer” forms of making with sewing, knitting, weaving, etc. having it be dismissed as mere “craft”.
Another theme that really resonated with me in that lecture was the idea of “invisible labor” of women when it comes to expectations within makerspaces and the stereotypical gender roles affecting how work is organized into private and public spheres that in turn shape how we categorize tasks into “men vs women’s” work.
The narratives I have included are completely fictional and made with the help of ChatGPT. I wanted to utilize AI in this project as I was curious to see what stories it creates and the underlying biases and stereotypes that arises when it comes to inclusivity and diversity in makerspaces.
Below is an excerpt that I did not use in my story, but was given to me after prompting.
As the weeks passed, the dynamic between the men and women evolved. The men, who had been skeptical, began to respect the women’s leadership, learning new techniques and embracing projects they had never considered. Meanwhile, the women appreciated the technical knowledge the men brought, weaving it into their more holistic, creative projects.
By the end of the month, the makerspace had become a true melting pot of ideas, where gender was no longer a barrier to creation. Men and women worked side by side, designing everything from wind-powered kinetic art installations to smart home devices that responded to voice commands. They learned from one another, breaking down stereotypes and building something even stronger: a community that thrived on diversity and collaboration.
The women had taken charge, not by forcing the men out, but by expanding what was possible in the space—and in doing so, they had created a makerspace that belonged to everyone.
It felt like it was perpetuating the gender binary, even though there was one non-binary character in the story, and it felt like it was lumping “non-men” into one category of “women”. The erasure of non-binary-ness was somewhat surprising to me, and it played into a conundrum that I had when I was creating this project. Namely, the challenge of wanting to “break gender stereotypes” but needing to lean into and “exaggerate” the stereotypes in order to highlight that gap. I felt like that was the case when I was reading some of the papers, like by talking about under-representation first entailed the re-enforcement of gender stereotypes!
In terms of culture, I think the story reflects the kinds of cultural assumptions nested within the creation tools used in makerspaces, especially the recent tendency for integration of Arduinos, circuit boards, e-textiles to add the “Art” into STEM. Many papers seems to place an emphasis on empowering girls to participate more in science and computational activities, but it feels like there is less of a push to empower boys to lean into their artistic side. Seo and Richard (2021) mentioned that bidirectionally responsive design (BRD) activities were shown to “dissipate gendered preconceptions, and the learners across gender equally saw value of crafting, coding, sewing and design”, which might be a start, but I am curious to investigate more into such design-thinking and the more practical aspects in a broader context.
Ideally, I would have liked to include characters that are based on lived experiences, and to make sure that the representations of the characters are reflective of people with such positionalities that the characters themselves occupy. Potential development would be by asking friends with culturally relevant maker experiences to be part of the storytelling.
Should I have more time, I would have liked to explore more into disability and accessibility aspect of makerspaces in terms of content and subject matter.
In terms of the making of this artifact, I would have liked to find ways to embellish the story with more visual elements, such as photos of the makerspace, the characters, the kinds of projects they are making, etc. to create a more immersive and visual experience.
Norris, A. (2014). Make-her-spaces as hybrid places: Designing and resisting self constructions in urban classrooms. Equity & Excellence in Education, 47(1), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2014.866879
Parekh, P. (2024). Girls’ reluctance and intersectional identities in STEM-rich makerspaces. Education Sciences, 14(6), 628.
Seo, J., & Richard, G. T. (2021). SCAFFOLDing all abilities into makerspaces: A design framework for universal, accessible and intersectionally inclusive making and learning. Information and Learning Sciences, 122(11/12), 795-815.
