Publish at November 17 2021 Updated November 26 2021
Is the education system promoting laziness? The question may seem provocative, but it has been asked by various stakeholders in the educational community. The conventional approach instills knowledge in learners who demonstrate their acquisition by repeating it. As we begin the 2020 decade, some experts feel that this approach prepares youth for repetitive tasks. That's why many are strongly advocating for a more active pedagogy that could be achieved through, among other things, creative labs.
Better known by their English name "fablab," these seek to add dynamism to learning. For example, it is quite possible to approach the question of chemical reactions with diagrams on a black or white board. Wouldn't it be more exciting for learners to experiment with this type of phenomenon and then add a layer of theory? This is why schools across Canada and elsewhere are opening more and more labs. In order to add engagement to science education or simply to provide a place where students can create multimedia content.
The beauty of "fablabs" lies in their versatility and the goals pursued by the school. It can be a place of fabrication, as the English neologism means, especially with precision tools or 3D printers. Here problems or needs expressed by the teacher are solved so that the children work on language, programming, geometry, etc.
The setting up of laboratories even has humanitarian virtues. For example, in Mogtedo, Burkina Faso, gold miners benefit enormously from such a workspace. It takes their children off the gold panning sites and instead teaches them computer skills, object modelling, sewing and soilless farming. The workers, for their part, take advantage of the spiral machine created by the WakatLab laboratory, which processes ore concentrates gravimetrically. This way, they recover the gold without having to use polluting and health-damaging chemicals.
The benefits thus largely outweigh the drawbacks of these creative spaces. These environments allow forlearning, the right to make mistakes, and creativity that are clearly lacking in traditional training. However, this means changes in the organization of a school. These labs are neither classrooms nor after-school clubs. They should be used without discrimination for any discipline or grade level. Thus, the institution must adapt its schedules and ways of doing things around this "fablab" and not the other way around.
At the end of December 2020, a report published by the Laboratoire de formation et de recherche sur la littératie numérique de l'UQAC (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi) explained how to implement such an environment in the school setting.
It starts with proper planning. A common vision must emerge from both teachers and administrators. What will the lab be used for, what kind of activities will be possible there, what resources are essential to start with? Whether it's a science "fablab," a media "fablab," or a maker space, this must be clear.
Then the search for funds, materials and also the space must be set in motion. Then will come a phase of experimentation where teachers will create the first lessons using the place, the establishment of safety rules, technical support, etc.
Once these initial adjustments have been made, the school can move on to standardizing the lab. More classes will go regularly. New uses will be formed and with it other demands. It will therefore be necessary to manage financial and material resources while offering new pedagogical possibilities. Finally, it will be possible to evaluate the mechanisms put in place, to modify them, to remain on the lookout for recent technologies and also to improve the offerings in the creative space.
The establishment of a creative laboratory is by no means easy since it requires change in pedagogy. Yet, all can benefit when the project is well thought out. Its use has the potential to go beyond the walls of the school so that local groups can use it as well. What if the "maker" philosophy behind "fablabs" helped us develop more imaginative and less passive communities?
References :
Boro, Rodolphe. "When FabLab And Humanitarian Conjugate!" WakatLab. Accessed November 12, 2021. https://wakatlab.org/education/quand-fablab-et-humanitaire-se-conjugent/.
Exshaw, Valerie. "Opening Of The School's New Fablab, On Its Minatec Site." Grenoble INP - Phelma. Last updated March 2, 2021. https://phelma.grenoble-inp.fr/fr/l-ecole/ouverture-du-nouveau-fablab-de-lecole-sur-son-site-de-minatec.
"Fablab at School." Canopé Network. Last updated: 29 June 2021. https://www.reseau-canope.fr/academie-de-rouen/atelier-canope-27-evreux/actualites/article/fablab-a-lecole.html.
Giroux, Patrick, Nicole Monney, Isabelle Brassard, Audrey Pépin, and Vicky Savard. "Laboratoires Créatifs En Milieux Scolaires - Guide D'implantation." Constellation - UQAC Institutional Repository. Last updated in December 2020. https://constellation.uqac.ca/6167/.
Newman, Leroy. "New Lab Aims to Get Moers Students Excited About Science." CA News Ottawa. Last updated: June 30, 2021. https://www.canewsottawa.ca/new-lab-aims-to-get-moers-students-excited-about-science/.
"Our Current Education System Was Designed to Prepare Youth for a Lifetime of Repetitive Tasks." Do Better | Esade Insights & Knowledge Hub. Last updated: January 29, 2021. https://dobetter.esade.edu/en/fablab-esade.
"QUID #3: Setting Up A Fablab." Archiclass. Last updated: April 20, 2021. https://archiclasse.education.fr/QUID-3-Mettre-en-place-un-fablab.
Rectorat de l'Académie d'Amiens. "FABLab at School: Experimenting And Cooperating To Create." Ac-amiens.fr. Last updated: 14 January 2021. https://www.ac-amiens.fr/3030-fablab-a-l-ecole-experimenter-et-cooperer-pour-creer.html.
Rochette, Yannick. "Marie-Rivier FabLab Allows Students To Create." IHeartRadio. Last updated: November 26, 2020. https://www.iheartradio.ca/energie/energie-drummondville/nouvelles/le-fablab-marie-rivier-permet-aux-etudiants-de-creer-1.14033556.
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