EGLE MARIJA RAMANAUSKAITEEDUCATION POLICY AND CULTURE:

CONSISTENT AND RADICAL TRANSFORMATIONS2016-10-21

TECHNARIUM HACKERSPACE:

COMMUNITY-ENABLED INFORMAL

LEARNING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION• What are hackerspaces/makerspaces?

Source: https://selkirklibrary.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/its-the-new-library-thing-the-makerspace-movement/

Makerspace: space for tech, creatorship, learning

A new big thing in libraries, universities, schools

“hubs for innovation in 21st century”“remaking education”

“transforming the educational landscape”

“pedagogical and physical transformations

of teaching and learning” Sour

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Research is very limited:

• Few researchers have wandered into the field

• Most focus on designed makerspaces, not naturally forming maker/hacker communities

• Looking at learning as goal, but not learning as side-effect

• Limited theoretical approaches (mostly constructionism)

A space is just a space without the people.

• Most research is not exploring the social dimension of learning in these spaces

Hackerspaces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker

Hackerspace: not just a DIY space like any other

Hacking: not just code

You can hack …• Things: make them, fix them, upgrade them. Make

something that has never been made before

• Technology: mix, create, invent new tech

• Even society

• Or education…

• Find a way where there is no way (yet)

Learning is not explicit, but…

The 7 values of the hacker ethic (Himanen, 2001):

• Passion• Freedom• Social worth• Openness • Activity • Creativity • Caring

TECHNARIUM: ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

(2015 OCT -)

• Technarium (Vilnius, Lithuania) – the only hackerspace in the country

• Everything from metalworks & ceramics to 3D printing & biohacking

• Completely non-commercial, self-evolved space

• Survives only from the community contributions

AIM & OBJECTIVESAim: explore Technarium as a community of practice, where learning opportunities arise spontaneously

Objectives: • Define Technarium as a community of practice

• Explore the local “regime of competence” & members’ attitudes towards science and technology

• Explore the attitudes of Technarium members towards learning

• Identify and describe cases of informal learning

Community of practice model – situated learning(Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998)

Observation, interviews & conversations, documentation & artefact analysis

Physical space People

Commu-nication Ethos

Artefacts

Participation typesRoles Links in the community

DocumentationInventory

History & historical purpose of the space

RelationshipsDecision makingDistribution of responsibilitiesAttitude towards science & technologySharing (peer-learning)

InventoryProjectsEventsJokesHistorical artefacts

JargonTerminology

Manner of communicationAssimilation of spec. communication

by new members

• The hacker ethos: do, create, care & share, are prominent

• Desire to understand the phenomena, take them apart, find out everything about the technology before using it etc.

Etika, vertybės

• Intrinsic desire to educate the public, to improve the society

• Learning is never the primary motivation, but is a welcome “side-effect” of participation

RESULTS

Ethos

Komunikacija Communication• Unique jargon – sometimes incomprehensible to outsider• Hacker/tech terminology

• Nicknames – natural to members, but confusing to outsiders: opit, mic, ffwd, mn…

• Barrier to participation (as well as learning) • Old-timers know this and translate

Laser labyrinth / harp

project

Conversation about laser production

technologies

Laser physics discussion with member - laser

physicist

Learning happens in unexpected places:

Laser “peeling” during members’ evening

Spaghetti forgotten in

kitchen

Mold microscopy

Everyday bits & jokes become learning experiences:

Travelling joke of “kitten” spaghetti

Microscopy of unexpected things lying around:

Learning from peers with diverse backgrounds & trades:

Openness regardless of background, gender, age, social status:

• “Starving hacker” membership (10 euros/month) or contribution to creation of the space – for those who cannot afford it otherwise

• No gender-based discrimination, few age-based limits, lots of support & encouragement to new members

• Welcoming refugees: workshops, allowing to learn new things, start a new life

The community of practice model is useful for studying learning in hackerspaces, where it is by definition socially-defined

Technarium exhibits many features of a community of practice, and learning is witnessed in & within these features and dynamics

Learning is not a primary motivation, but almost always a “side-effect” in Technarium

Due to the versatility of the space, the various backgrounds of members & attitude towards knowledge & sharing, Technarium creates favorable conditions to learn about science & technology

CONCLUSIONS:

The uniqueness of the space culture & modes of communication could be a barrier to new members, but this barrier is reduced by the efforts of old-timers

Low barrier to entry – newest technologies at hand

OVERALL: a welcoming community orientated towards sharing their knowledge & improving the world

through hacking.

CONCLUSIONS:

THANK YOU!Special thanks to:

Prof. Lilija Duoblienė The rest of the VU Department of Educology!

&The TECHNARIUM community

EMRAMANAUSKAITE@GMAIL.COM

BLOG.TECHNARIUMAS.LT