Who am I designing for? I think I’ve been struggling with this because I’ve been coming at this from an educator solution perspective. Is this educator a classroom teacher? A STEM coordinator? A makerspace manager? A Girl Scout group leader? The answer is maybe all, or maybe none. A classroom teacher is going to be hemmed in by curriculum requirements and lack of class time and resources. The STEM coordinator or makerspace manager may present directly to students but may just work with teachers. The extracurricular group leaders feel like they are working the closest to where I want to be, but they are also usually not trained as educators.

We know that well-designed hands-on learning experiences are valuable for students and lead to deeper understanding, but they are also time-consuming and difficult for educators to implement. How can we create tools for students and/or teachers to help facilitate experiences which offer deep learning in multiple areas? What are ways we can more effectively develop future-looking skills and help prepare students for a world which is changing rapidly?