Students “need to be able to engage in iterative thinking, creative thinking, critical thinking, they need to know how to pivot, how to change, how to revise, how to persevere. They need to solve complex problems. They need to think divergently… The [maker]space is just the platform that facilitates it.” – Spencer, qtd in Gonzalez, 2018
When I started as the TL in my current school in September, I was surprised to find that there was a set laptop schedule where each class had devices booked once per cycle, rather than booking them on an as-needed basis. I went in thinking, okay, I won’t fight this in my first year, but this has got to change. Over the past school year, however, my perspective has gradually shifted. For some, especially those with busy classes, this is essential assessment time where they are able to with smaller groups of students. Other teachers carefully plan curricular research or creative ways for students to share their learning. And when I work with classes, it takes only a few minutes to get everyone logged in, since the students get regular practice.
I still don’t think we are always using the laptops well, but maybe the set schedule is an opportunity rather than an issue. I began toying with the idea of a virtual makerspace after seeing this one during a previous course. A virtual makerspace could be like the passive programming you find in a library, engaging students and building skills while allowing teachers some extra flexibility. I thought there was no way I would have time to make it this year. Enter LIBE 477B! Click the image below to see the virtual makerspace.
There were two other significant moments in the development of the virtual makerspace, both during professional development days. One was an exploration of play-based learning, while the other was called “Future Innovators” with Daphne McMenemy. Daphne spoke about how robots and computer science are not part of our curriculum, but they are excellent ways to teach Manitoba’s Global Competencies: Creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, connection to self, and citizenship.
At one point my group was exploring some robots, and we were talking about coding the robots to have a conversation. We asked Daphne about getting them to interact and she threw in, “of course, I would probably have partners work on this and have each of them write the code for one of the robots. That way they have to collaborate on the timing” (McMenemy, 2026). This was a light bulb moment for me: we can target specific skills by putting a constraint on the task.
This meant that a collection of tech tools would not be enough. I needed some prompts that added constraints. The virtual makerspace is fun and pretty, but the prompts are where the real magic happens (I hope – I haven’t tested them yet!). The prompts are for what Dale Dougherty, creator of Make: Magazine, calls open projects (2016, p. 189), allowing students to use their own ideas or teachers to tailor the task to their specific curriculum. Most of these do not say what to make, but rather how to make it. Teachers can certainly have students use the makerspace without the prompts, but my hope is that the prompts will add an extra layer to make the learning richer and to target some of those global skills that come up in every subject and every stage of life.
Geist and Webb point out that time is one of the factors limiting teachers from using more play-based learning in the classroom (2024, p. 45). The openness of the prompts will allow teachers to explore curricular play-based learning in a very accessible way, using time that has already been reserved. The prompts can also be used with tools and activities outside the makerspace (like physical blocks).
I began a list of prompts to share with teachers and added some notes. This evolved into a spreadsheet:
Decisions, Decisions
I chose Canva as my makerspace platform at the recommendation of our divisional technology consultant. Although it’s not focused on building websites, it was easy to make something simple and accessible. It has a huge library of photos and graphics available. Additionally, it has been reviewed and approved by our school division. The makerspace can be published online in a way that allows students to click links but not edit the design. I can make and publish changes, and I can add collaborators. I’m also able to see analytics on which links have been used the most, so I can use the data to inform any changes I make.
As the Manitoba Framework for Learning points out, when students can be “co-designers of their learning experience”, they practice connection to self, one of the six global competencies (Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning, n.d.-b, Reflective Questions section). To give students choices, I included multiple tools for each category and made sure each category had something simple enough to be used with younger students. These are labelled with a “K-2” sticker. (When I introduce this to students, I’ll be sure to let them know that there are many interesting things older students can do with those tools, too.)
When deciding which tools to include, I set the following criteria:
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- Can be used without signing in (or with a Microsoft account, which our school already uses)
- Open enough to be used for a variety of tasks
- Intuitive/easy to use
- Minimal & appropriate ads
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I also added a Padlet for sharing screenshots of student work, which I will moderate. I am hoping that this will build community, help students come up with ideas, and serve as some documentation of how the virtual makerspace is being used. This also fits with recommendations from the MB Framework for Learning to teach about a “positive digital footprint” by creating opportunities for students to share their work online (Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning, n.d.-a, Culture section).
Launching the Virtual Makerspace
Many of the tools are ones I’ve seen students use before, but the prompts are untested. I am planning to ask 2-3 teachers to pilot the makerspace with me before we release it to the whole school. During a pilot, I might:
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- Let students explore the makerspace briefly without instruction
- Teach basic skills like drag and drop, copy, paste
- Teach how to take a screenshot and add it to the Padlet
- Teach students how to switch tabs in a browser
- Have students collaboratively create some expectations or norms for the makerspace that could be shared with the rest of the school
- Teach students to recognize and ignore ads
- Have students try out some of the skill-building prompts
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The pilot will give me insight into how much prior knowledge students need to use the tools well and how much explanation is needed for the prompts. That will then inform my recommendations to teachers who are interested in using it without my direct support. Perhaps I need to go into each classroom to introduce the makerspace before they can use it independently, or perhaps they need a few how-to videos (such as how to add to the Padlet).
In considering how to launch the makerspace with students, I appreciated the advice from The Passive Programming Playbook. While the book is intended for physical programs in public libraries, much of it applies to my situation. They recommend keeping staff informed about the programming and even having staff join in to model and encourage participation (Willey & Amaral, 2021, p. 30). I would love to have some time during a PD day to introduce the makerspace, share the results of the pilot, and have staff try it out, then post their creations in the Padlet. They could also brainstorm ideas for new prompts or ways to tailor the existing prompts to their grade level.
Looking to the Future
Additional next steps include translation into French (we are a dual-track English and French Immersion School) and making the prompts into cards that teachers can keep in their classrooms. Willey and Amaral attest that “programming has replaced circulation as the gold standard by which we measure the effectiveness and reach of public libraries” (2021, p. 53). While circulation is still a very important standard in the elementary school library, the virtual makerspace as passive programming allows for a new kind of participation and interaction. Willey and Amaral recommend making connections between passive programming and other things going on in the library (p. 32), and suggest participatory options such as collecting book reviews from patrons (p. 34). (Accordingly, the book review tool is a simple Mircrosoft form which will allow me to print off the reviews students write and post them in the library.)
Data to indicate how things are going might come from site analytics, the Padlet and Microsoft form, surveys for teachers, and informal conversations and observations. The most difficult thing to measure will be whether students are actually developing the Global Competencies because of the virtual makerspace, and I would be interested to hear ideas of how best to do this.
Feinstein et al describe several “hallmarks of making” that are elements of Maker culture. Maker culture is (among other things) communal, interdisciplinary, empowering, a form in open-ended inquiry-based learning, creative, and playful (2016, pp. 5–6). It is my hope that the prompts and Padlet will make students’ free laptop time more communal, that the tools will make it easier for teachers to incorporate interdisciplinary and play-based learning activities, and that the choice and accessibility of the tools will be empowering for students. When we begin to develop our physical makerspace, I hope that many of these elements will already be in place. But that’s a project for another day.
References (for both the blog post and maker prompts):
Bourassa, M. (2026). WODB. Talking Math With Your Kids. https://talkingmathwithkids.com/wodb/
Feinstein, L., DeCillis, M. D., & Harris, L. (2016). Promoting Engagement of the California Community Colleges with the Maker Space Movement. Californial Council on Science & Technology. https://ccst.us/wp-content/uploads/2016makerspace.pdf
Geist, E., & Webb, D. (2024). Where Are the Blocks? A Case for Blocks in Primary and Elementary Classrooms. Childhood Education, 100(6), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2024.2425269
Gonzalez, J. (2018, May 20). What Is the Point of a Makerspace? Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/makerspace/
How To Use Six Thinking Hats In The Classroom? (2019, January 6). Edugage. https://edugage.com/how-to-use-six-thinking-hats-in-the-classroom/
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning. (n.d.-a). Communication. Government of Manitoba. Framework for Learning: Manitoba’s Global Competencies. Retrieved June 13, 2026, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/framework/elements/global/communication/index.html
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning. (n.d.-b). Connection to Self. Government of Manitoba. Framework for Learning: Manitoba’s Global Competencies. Retrieved June 13, 2026, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/framework/elements/global/connection/index.html
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning. (n.d.-c). Creativity. Government of Manitoba. Framework for Learning: Manitoba’s Global Competencies. Retrieved June 13, 2026, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/framework/elements/global/creativity/index.html
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning. (n.d.-d). Stories of Practice. Government of Manitoba. Framework for Learning: Manitoba’s Global Competencies. Retrieved June 18, 2026, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/framework/sop/index.html
McClintock Miller, S. (2020). Our Virtual Makerspace Is Open! The Library Voice. https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2020/07/our-virtual-makerspace-is-open.html
McMenemy, D. (2026, May 5). Future Innovators [Divisional Professional Development].
Starr, A. (2023, January 20). Inspire Your Students With 28 Creative Thinking Activities. Teaching Expertise. https://www.teachingexpertise.com/classroom-ideas/creative-thinking-activity/
Victor, L., & Fusco, J. (n.d.). Collaborative Learning Toolkit. Digital Promise. Retrieved https://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MC2-Practitioner-Toolkit.pdf
Willey, P., & Amaral, A. L. (2021). The Passive Programming Playbook. Libraries Unlimited. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798400695452