Promoting Inclusive Learning through a Library’s Makerspace

Abstract

The mission of the Makerspace at the University of Toronto Scarborough Library is to support student learning and engagement. The Makerspace staff foster an inclusive, safe and supportive community where all users feel welcome to collaborate, build, invent, iterate and share their ideas and knowledge. We aligned our vision with our campus's strategic plan for "Inspiring Inclusive Excellence". Within this framework, the Makerspace's team delivers programming, workshops and events that inspires belongingness and celebrates the diverse ways of knowing and methods of knowledge translation. This poster will highlight several initiatives led by the Makerspace's team to inspire inclusion through making. Our “You Can Build a Robot” program introduces robotics to an interdisciplinary group of staff and students with limited knowledge of coding and micro-controllers. Although one of the program's objectives is to develop technical skills in these areas, another important objective is to foster resiliency within a “failing forward” framework. We will also showcase our initiative to support podcasting assignments. Instructors are encouraged to seek alternative formats of assignments that support multiple learning styles and expressions. The use of podcasts as an assignment is increasing and the Library's Makerspace provides equipment, space and resources to support instructors and students.