THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT –Makers of Change Makers of Change

BY PARVEEN LOODU COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING SPECIALIST

This year our Southridge Junior School students took action and applied their knowledge from their units of inquiry to make a positive impact in the world. Students participated in an initiative called Makers Making Change through the Neil Squire Foundation whose mission is to “connect people with disabilities to volunteer makers who can build affordable assistive technologies.”

Assistive technology refers to devices and tools that help people with disabilities perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. Students in our Grades 3, 4, and 7 classes participated in workshops connected to their curriculum that provided unique opportunities to explore innovative thinking and learning.

As part of their inquiry into the ways in which communities develop through innovative thinking, our Grade 3 students learned about how the Neil Squire Foundation and the Makers Making Change program works to provide innovative solutions for people in the community. Students then explored challenges within our school community and designed solutions to help remind students to be quiet and safe when moving through the hallways. The students used modular electronics called Littlebits to create designs such as motion sensor stop signs roving vehicles with sound sensors to measure and volume.

Our Grade 4 students built on their inquiry into energy, circuits, and power. Students built simple circuits and learned about how the circuit functions within an assistive switch to provide an on/off switch for adaptive toys.

The students also learned about how this simple addition of a circuit can provide an opportunity for a child with disabilities to have experiences and play with toys they wouldn’t otherwise be able to enjoy.

During the Makers Making Change workshops, Grade 7 students participated in an initiative called Hacking for the Holidays in which they hacked, stripped, soldered, and built raindrop switches which help children with disabilities control their adapted toys. The devices were connected to adapted toys and donated to BC Children’s Hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre, and Sunnyside.

In design class, Grade 7 students learned about 3D printing and participated in the ‘Make:able’ Challenge through the Neil Squire Foundation – in which participants design and make a 3D-printed product or prototype that improves the day-to-day life of someone with a disability or the elderly.

Over the course of four months, students interviewed friends and elderly family members who may have, either through disability or the effects of aging, lost the ability to do something they used to be able to do, such as holding a screwdriver or a knife independently. They then designed and produced 3D-printed devices to respond to their users' needs.

Our Grade 7 students designed 3D printed devices ranging from a paintbrush holder for a grandparent who lost the ability to grip a paintbrush due to arthritis in his hands, to a hairdryer support tool for an individual who recently had shoulder surgery. Other designs included a vegetable slicer, an adaptive video game controller, and a key turner as well as so many other thoughtful, responsive, and personalized devices.

“I’m so glad our students went through this experiencethey really saw themselves as makers of change, practicing empathy and taking action - realizing that through creativity and innovation, they can create products that support communities and address real challenges,” explains Ms. Jiwa, our Junior School Technology Teacher.

Southridge is fortunate to offer our students these unique opportunities to plant the seed for them to become future makers of change.