MakeFashion Edu is not just a fun project, it has solid connections to progressive education philosophy and academic musings. For newcomers, this is our project where students choose advocacy issues and then combine fashion and electronics for a public runway, exemplifies Dale Schunk’s (noted education academic) notion that learning and cognition are shaped by a learner’s beliefs, which in turn, are influenced by personal, social, and cultural factors. This project-based approach promotes Social Learning Theory.
MakeFashion Edu places students in a real-world scenario where they present their fusion of fashion and technology at a public fashion show. Simultaneously, they engage with a global audience through our Instagram account (instagram.com/makefashionedu). This authentic learning framework allows students to receive real assessments and feedback from the public – outside the walls of the classroom (Shaw, 2018). Pride or shame comes, not from the teacher, but from the viewers. Consequently, students are not merely absorbing knowledge passively; they learn actively through societal appraisal. I think this aligns very well with the spirit of Schunk’s viewpoints, if not the exact phrasing.
Constructivist Learning Theory also intertwines well within the MakeFashion Edu project’s ‘fabric’. A big goal is the belief that learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge (Schunk, 2012) – learner agency. Students are afforded ample autonomy to define their success, and I as a teacher discuss it openly in class. This choice varies per student and could manifest in a deep dive into electronics, crafting persuasive arguments, or honing craftsmanship to elicit public appeal. The crazy diversity of student paths towards success really shows the constructivist principle of learner-centered knowledge construction.
In line with Schunk’s emphasis on metacognition, the teaching approach taken encourages open discussions on learning strategies. By prompting students to reflect on their strategies and knowledge building process, the project further reinforces their metacognitive skills. It’s a great blend of Schunk’s viewpoints!
Paper as a “fabric” for affordable student wearables projects? It might work out better than you think!
While researching at a textile museum in Prato, Italy, the team at SteamHead visited an exhibit showcasing paper dresses. These dresses, made entirely out of paper, were not only beautiful but also surprisingly durable. Paper dresses have a rich history in America dating back to the 1960s. During this time, paper dresses were seen representing political and cultural messages. Andy Warhol and Harry Gordon, among others, worked with fashion designers to get out new garments quickly to convey the messages of the times.
The teachers with MakeFashion Edu are excited about the potential for paper dresses made from sustainable, eco-friendly materials. They believe that this could be an excellent option for students – for all emerging designers – who often have limited resources.
This summer educators will gather in Calgary at the Fuse33 Makerspace, and testing will commence on a variety of proposed materials, paper and synthetic/paper blends included!
Prato, Italy, it is well known for its textile and clothing industry. It has a large and well established Chinese culture, which was established to drive Prato’s textile industry. Prato is also currently important center for textile research and innovation, making it an ideal location for MakeFashion Edu to discover new uses for this old material.
For our teachers in Arizona, consider checking out the “Generation Paper” exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum!
A big thank you to Melanie Crider and Pam Anderson of Pioneertown, California, who have generously donated fabrics to MakeFashion Edu over the years. Artists themselves in the Western motif and makers in the pioneering way of life, they understand having the right materials can increase the joy of designing and creating. These fabrics have been used in prototyping, student projects, and for learning pattern, construction, and sewing skills.
Thanks to these donations, teachers have been able to redirect their time from fundraising for materials to improving learning content for their students. The ability to tinker, design, and test with these fabrics has allowed students to develop their skills, apply academic knowledge, and expand their creativity through the ability to iterate with proper materials. It has given them the opportunity to fail, explore, and learn in a hands-on and engaging way.
The donations from Melanie and Pam are a powerful example of the importance of community support and the role it can play in providing educators and students with the resources they need to teach, learn, and grow. We are grateful for their generosity and the impact it has had on the thoughtful fashion tech pieces on the MakeFashion Edu runways.
At SteamHead, we exist solely on the generous donations of time and resources. In 2020, we were faced with the challenge of finding ways to continue providing meaningful educational resources and support. We were fortunate to receive two critical donations that helped carry us out through the pandemic and is still impactful today.
The first donation, a safe and reliable truck from media production professional Josh Smith-White. Josh understood the importance of being able to transport equipment. This donation allowed us to deliver materials and supplies to families, including electronics donated from Shenzhen, China. The supplies made their way to educational makerspaces in the U.S. and Canada, ensuring that teachers had access to the resources they needed to continue learning for their students. In a time where public delivery services were particularly challenging and certain supplies scarce, this donation created a big impact.
The show must go on! Powered up with tech supplies, Hollinger K-8 School and Drachman Montessori in Tucson, Arizona were able to prototype projects with the delivered materials and were able to host their annual MakeFashion Edu exhibition virtually!You can find their annual fashion tech book on their pieces and stories here.
The second donation was a cash donation from Shawn Lange of L2F Inc. and BrewGrit. This was our first-ever acceptance of cash as a donation. Shawn, as a father of three and an engineer, understands the importance of providing students with uninterrupted access to materials and experts. This donation ensured the continuation of a course for approximately 150 students when our team members could not be there in person due to travel restrictions. The donation provided a grant for a dedicated local teacher to collaborate with us, and the class was able to continue through the pandemic. This course built upon past work such as this maker education workshop for migrant children.
On behalf of the beneficiaries of their donations, we are incredibly grateful to Josh and Shawn for their support. We appreciate their belief in the power of communities coming together to support one another.
Over the past two and a half years, our team at SteamHead has had the opportunity to participate in, present at, and even host various online events. While it was a difficult adjustment to go from in-person events to virtual ones, we were grateful for the chance to continue sharing and collaborating with others in the education, maker, and hacker communities.
Through this experience, we have learned a lot about what works well in a virtual setting, some of our top examples are:
Big Blue Button conference software builds communities on the fly through new ways for attendees to interact with each other and speakers.
Recorded talks coupled with live interaction boosts production quality AND speaker/attendee interaction.
Well known but worth a reminder: word clouds, polls, and live surveys (such as Mentimeter) help to engage, and to break up long periods of speech.
Virtual environments like Mozilla Hubs can facilitate more interaction between participants.
Making recorded talks accessible after a conference can reach new audiences – different styles of people tune in after hours vs those that attend online conferences!
As the world reopens, we are excited to meet in person again, but we are also grateful for the new remote tools and skills we have acquired. We are looking forward to seeing what new opportunities and connections will come from this experience, and we would like to give a shoutout to all the organizers, presenters, and attendees who have made it possible.
Check out these awesome events and organizations here:
SteamHead and MakeFashion Edu courses have moved to this site, SteamHead.space! Find it under “The Shelf”. The new course has more media and formatting, which makes it super easy to read quickly and pull out the resources you need for your class that day. Teachable has been awesome, but is primarily is for video / talking-head content. On our site, we can deliver printable PDFs and easy-to-read course plans to you! We do love video, btw, and you can see our best videos at YouTube.com/SteamHeadProductions Here is a great set of two videos to watch around Fashion Tech in the classroom, and see the channel for runway videos with amazing student outfits lighting up the show:
The Teaching Plan
The Result
See you on the new platform! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.
believe that this could be an excellent option for students – for all emerging designers – who often have limited resources.
