Recently, students in the STEM program at Templeton Secondary School in Vancouver got a crash course on all things making assistive technology.
Taking part in our STEM With Purpose (new window) workshops, the students — in grades 10 and 11 — first had the opportunity to build switches and adapt toys that would be donated to kids with disabilities. They learned hands-on skills and applied them to a good cause during a build event in their classroom.
“They really enjoyed the soldering and getting to practice that skill,” shares Templeton STEM Program Teacher Natasha Philibert-Palmer.
After the build, the class took on a more intensive challenge. Over the course of a few weeks, the students split into groups, and each had to learn how to adapt a different toy, and then write instructions explaining how others could adapt that toy.
As the students worked on their documentation, they also reviewed each others works, making sure that the instructions were easy to understand and use by other groups.
When they were done, the Templeton students headed to Neil Squire’s Makers Making Change (new window) office in Burnaby to present their work. The instructions the students developed will be used for toy adaptations in our upcoming Hacking for the Holidays (new window) campaign.
For Natasha, the STEM With Purpose workshops were a perfect fit for the STEM program at Templeton Secondary, where students take on various projects using applied skills throughout a semester.
“I think the biggest thing is how tangible it is for them, and that’s the big reason why we like doing project-based learning and sort of the whole impetus behind the program here at Templeton is them actually getting to see what they’re learning and see it in application,” she explains. “And the really cool thing with Makers Making Change is what they built actually goes out into the real world, and they have the knowledge that what they did actually goes out into the world and helps someone.”
While at the Makers Making Change office, the students got to trial various assistive technologies, including Adaptive Gaming set-ups that help gamers with disabilities play the games they love.
“Getting to see the different gaming systems really connected with a lot of the kids because they do enjoy playing video games,” Natasha says. “And I think it’s really valuable for them to get to see the variety of options that are out there and different ways that designers and engineers work to make the real-world work for everybody in ways that you don’t necessarily think of right away.”
Natasha says she “definitely” recommends STEM With Purpose workshops to other teachers.
“We just had a really positive experience with Makers Making Change,” she explains. “[MMC BC Outreach & Operations Coordinator] Kris is great. It was great how she brought everything with her. Because we do have a lot of tools and stuff here, but we don’t have a full class set of soldering irons. It was very plug and play. She came in, ran the workshop, and it was all able to go very smoothly without a hitch. And she was great at how she presented and explained everything to the kids.”
This post originally appeared on the Makers Making Change (new window) website.