Maker Education and STEAM

 For a Maker Studio lesson plan, I believe that I could incorporate something based on technology integrated into music for my students. From what I read in the different articles, what a Maker Studio is in different schools varies. Working with music technology could be a resource in the Maker Studio. Students could explore the intersection of these two areas by designing and creating musical instruments using Maker Studio materials, whether it be a physical thing that you could use or something electronic.

I would start the class off by discussing the relationship between music and technology, especially in the music production scene in the modern day. After giving a general introduction to the Maker Studio, I would lead a brainstorming session where students could discuss different types of instruments and how these instruments produce sound. Materials needed would be any craft supplies that the maker studio has, which could vary from studio to studio. We would also use a sort of music composing software, such as MuseScore, to compose short pieces on the instruments.

After doing some brainstorming, I would give the students time to design and construct. Students would be allowed to explore the different maker studio materials and think outside of the box. While they would have time to build their ideas, they would also be testing out the instruments to see what is working out and what needs to be adjusted. I could see there being some challenges because some sources in the Maker Studio just won't work for an instrument. I want students to be creative with their inventions, so they could blow, hit, or really do anything with the creations, as long as they make some sort of noise.

Once each group is happy with their result, students will be able to compose a short piece of music using their new instruments. Different techniques and sounds would be highly encouraged. After they get their pieces composed, each group gets the opportunity to perform it for the class.

After performances, we would have a brief discussion to reflect on the process of creating their musical instruments and composing their short pieces.

Throughout this whole process, students would be assesssed based on their participation in all aspects of the lesson, which would be the brainstorm session, the creativity and functionality of their instruments, quality of the composed piece, and their ability to reflect on this process.

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