KOLLABORA

A Maker's Community

“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist … using technologies that haven't been invented … in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet” (p.3).

Anyone in the Education industry is probably familiar with the above quote by Richard Riley (former US Secretary of Education). Whilst there is debate over whether or not this is a true reflection of the state of education and the future job market of our students, the sentiment that our students are entering a vastly different world to that of their teachers and parents is undeniable. Many forward-thinking secondary schools are promoting innovative thinking skills and building connectivity in order to prepare students for a world that is far more globally connected, with careers requiring vastly different skills and knowledge, than that taught in traditional curriculum.

The Maker Movement is a social movement, sometimes referred to as the ‘DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Revolution’, which emphasises learning by making and doing. There are many subcultures to the maker movement, such as technology-based robotics and hacking; metalwork and woodwork; or arts and crafts. As outlined by Mark Hatch in his influential book The Maker Manifesto, a social movement such as this has the underlying principle of humans encouraging others to connect and participate through making and sharing in order to learn, give, play, support and change. Multinational leadership advisory powerhouse, Egonzehnder, utilises the principles of the Maker Movement in developing future leaders and states that it “… is a cultural phenomenon that celebrates shared experimentation, iterative learning and discovery through connected communities that build together while always emphasizing creativity over criticism” (Singh, 2018). The global phenomenon is becoming an embedded part of our school curriculum through subjects such as STEM, which is recognised by the British Council’s Creative Economy Team who believe, “The movement is changing how we think about education, our relationship with technology and the underlying way we understand the world” (Cassidy, 2014).

For more on the Maker Movement, watch the short article below, courtesy of SBS The Feed.

Clip courtesy of SBS The Feed via YouTube

I have been interested in the creative arts for some time now, but do not see myself as a naturally creative person. Give me a calculator and some Maths to do and I’m happy, but hand me a paintbrush or sewing needle and I am totally lost. However, some years ago my sister and I made a patchwork quilt together (more honestly, she made it and instructed me on how to help); it is one of my favourite things I own and I am so proud of it.

The website’s welcome statement summarises how they situate nicely within the Maker Movement:

My patchwork quilt - photograph by Author

As an educator, I am becoming increasingly interested in encouraging innovation and learning through making. With my professional interest also in Positive Education and the concept of mindfulness (often achieved through craft or making), I have been eager to sink my teeth into more of the creative arts. As part of my Maker Movement quest, I stumbled across a making community called ‘Kollabora’.

Welcome to Kollabora

This is a new kind of maker community.

The root of Kollabora is “working together” - we unite makers, crafters, and DIY enthusiasts of all skill levels to get inspired, share projects, buy and sell PDF patterns, and connect with each other and their favorite brands. At the forefront of the maker movement, our diverse community of creative influencers includes some of the most well-known and innovative DIYers sharing high quality, fashion-forward content.

Kollabora was founded in 2012 by Nora Abousteit and its community is managed by Lindsey Ibarra.

The following clip provides a short summary of what Kollabora is and how it can be used to connect, learn and inspire.

CRITICAL COMMENTARY

As I moved through the Kollabora website, I discovered the ability to connect to others both within the website and via various social media platforms and other sharing websites. There was a huge amount of content, expertise, skill development and peer support being shared, all of which formulates a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) of makers (Garcia, 2014).

A PLE should contain essential key components, which Ito et al. (2013) outline in their framework for connected learning. The first part of this framework focuses on how to extend meaningful and continual learning by amalgamating the skill set, content and inspirations from social, interest driven and formal education spheres (p. 63). They summarise this as the three spheres of learning: how peer supported, interest-powered and learning oriented it should be (p.62).

When these spheres of learning are at play, the three core properties form the remaining half of the framework to analyse the connected learning experiences; if it provides opportunity for production, if there is a shared purpose across all ages and if it is openly-networked to allow for sharing and publicity (Ito et al., 2013, pp. 73-74).

Kollabora as a connected learning environment will be analysed against these six elements of the framework.

The Kollabora PLE (click on the image to enlarge).

Click here to see an animated version. Hint - click on the Play button at the top left to begin. You can change the speed of the animation with the slide bar down the bottom right.

Three Spheres of Learning

Each of these spheres describes the manner in which the PLE can enhance and extend a user’s understanding, knowledge or skill base in an area of interest. It is important to note that connected learning works to connect these spheres in a purposeful manner but not to fully integrate them (Ito et al., 2013, p.65).

Click each of the links below to continue the critical commentary.

Three Core Properties

With the above three spheres in action, three core properties should emerge to identify that a PLE has been initiated – that the learning is Production Based, the peers have a Shared Purpose and the PLE is Openly Networked (Ito et al., 2013, pp. 73-74). These properties should also highlight four design principles that Ito et al. (2013) believe connects the entire framework and thus results in an effective connected learning environment - if it encourages participation by everyone, if learning happens by doing, if there is a constant challenge and if it is all interconnected. These will be discussed in reference to the three core properties.

From the three spheres of learning and the subsequent emergence of the core properties and design principles, the entire connected learning framework therefore comes together.

Click each of the links below to continue the critical commentary.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The six elements of a connected learning framework can clearly be seen within the Kollabora community with all four design principles being addressed. This maker community’s lifeblood is the participation, connection and shared passion of its members to learn and develop their knowledge and skills. The core website is also well structured to help the entry of new members of any skill level, particularly novices, to find the exact type of project they would like to embark on and match it to their skill level. Challenges and competitions are frequently set to propel interest and attract a variety of participants, who appear to engage in a friendly and supportive manner, based on the comments underneath some of the contests. The user-friendly nature of the website also encourages new users to persevere in starting their project.

However, a forum on the website, where users could ask questions and receive tips would further promote the connectedness and learning experience of the users. The forum could be similarly arranged into projects and communities to make finding a discussion easier, and although it would require monitoring by the site manager, the benefits of enhancing peer support, production and learning would far outweigh this.

Encouragement of a face-to-face connection for users is not apparent within Kollabora and would benefit the community – local craft or DIY groups could promote upcoming events or hold workshops to further enhance learning experiences and connect users in a different sharing platform, in order to make this wonderfully collaborative learning environment even more connected.

- By Karyn Kybus