Our Work
We know there is not a turn key solution for schools integrating digital making into their school curriculum for student learning. Each project that we work on is specifically designed to meet the needs of the local setting with consideration for school culture, local governance, existing technology infrastructure, administrative support, budget, and long-term sustainability in the local context. Below are some of the unique projects that eduFAB was involved with.
FAb-lab Manager Training and Professional Learning Community
Cairo, egypt
eduFAB acted as an educational consultant and trainer for this USAID funded project in Egypt. Through the Ministry of Education, 19 school-based Fab Labs were installed across the country from 2017 through 2021, and managers of these spaces were trained in the technology of the labs only. In 2021, Liz began working with the Fab Foundation on this project, aiming to integrate classroom pedagogy and integration techniques. She worked directly with the managers and developed a professional learning community through virtual meetings and workshops. She traveled in person to Cairo for an in-depth 10-day training with all of the Fab Lab managers, taking the TPACK approach to professional development (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge). From the success of this intervention, the Fab Lab Managers helped design and implement a Train the Trainer model to continue the ongoing professional development of this group in their local context.
Methacton School District Strategic Planning and Consultation
Philadelphia, PA
Methacton School District in Pennsylvania contracted eduFAB for strategic planning and inventory curation for their upcoming makerspace in their high school. Liz worked closely with the administrative team using Human Centered Design techniques to identity goals and develop a mission statement for the program and its school-wide implementation. Through in-person and virtual meetings, Liz conducted stakeholder focus groups and interviewed students to develop a plan to meet the needs of the school, its teachers, and its students. Liz developed a detailed implementation plan which included a two-year development cycle and formative feedback schedule. She also shared a curated inventory list for the school to purchase equipment that could easily integrate with previous technology onsite as well as the IT infrastructure.
Fab learning academy
global
Liz began work on this distributed educational program years ago after graduating Fab academy in Shenzen, China. She gathered an international working group to develop content for an international Fab Educator certification program, now know as Fab Learning academy. The first pilot launched in spring of 2023 with seven labs participating across six different countries. With her partners Fab Lab Oulu and Fab Lab Barcelona, this program will expand in 2024 under the Academany umbrella.
Pressley Ridge Technical Teacher Trainings
Pittsburgh, PA
Pressley Ridge School in Pittsburgh, PA had installed a new STEAM room prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, and in 2023 was finally ready to reopen the space. Their teaching staff needed technical training on the machines (laser cutter, vinyl cutter, 3D printer) as well as strategies to use these innovative technologies with their unique student population. Liz worked in person with a small group of teachers and teacher aides and assisted in lesson plan ideation as well as simplifying the technical process for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and also students who are autistic. She continues to be a resource as they expand their makerspace offerings at other schools in the system.
School-Based Fab Lab Assessment and Consultation
Torres Vedras, Portugal
eduFAB was invited to serve on an international panel of Fab Education Experts in an assessment of their new school-based Fab Lab in R. Henriques Nogueira High School. Liz worked with a small group of international leaders to tour the facilities, interview stakeholders, and assess this lab. The Group developed metrics for integration across the curriculum and presented its findings to the mayor of Torres Vedras as well as Lab Aberto. Additionally, Liz presented at the international Fab Lab Bootcamp on the five pillars of Fab Lab integration in formal education. Liz is currently serving on the committee for the next Bootcamp in summer of 2025.