MIX Manager and Events Coordinator invited as a Maker Educator Meetup Panelist at NoVa Maker Faire 2024

MIX Manager and Events Coordinator, Dr. Kazemzadeh, was invited to serve as a Maker Educator Meetup panelist at the NoVa Maker Faire '24 to discuss "Nurturing Creativity and Agency through Making."

See below for the complete program:
Gone are the days when a good education was an encyclopedic accumulation of knowledge. The world is changing rapidly and knowledge becomes obsolete almost as soon as it is published. Developing professionals who can improvise, be creative and quickly adapt to change requires teachers who can embrace tinkering, messy projects and hands-on learning. The research supports it, hands-on and student-driven learning seems to be more effective at preparing kids for the type of tasks the future will present. 

Maker Faire NoVa is proud to present its Maker Educator Meetup as part of Maker Faire NoVa on October 20th, 2024 at the Alexandria City High School. The Meetup will be an opportunity for maker educators to network and learn from their peers in the region. This year the Meetup will feature a keynote speaker and a three panelist discussion session. Also, there will be an opportunity to exchange ideas during lunch, where the tables will have ‘themes’ for easy navigation. 

Program
Keynote Talk 10:30 am

Making Learners: Supporting student agency through open-ended hands-on work

Dr. Kimberly Sheridan

https://cehd.gmu.edu/people/faculty/ksherida/

Dr.  Sheridan is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and holds joint appointments in both the College of Education and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University. She focuses her research on the importance of open-ended work in fostering creativity and the strategies educators can use to support agency in young learners. She will also discuss the part frustration plays in the learning process and how ownership of an activity can help offset the discouragement caused by iterative making processes. The sooner a maker learns that ‘nothing works the first time,’ the more enjoyment they will get from trying again. 

Panel Discussion 11:15 am

Panelists

Matt Zigler

https://www.linkedin.com/in/creativemattzigler/

Matt Zigler is an artist, educator, and author of the book Three Modes of Making: Designing Purposeful Projects to Teach Maker Skills, published by MAKE in 2023. He currently serves as the coordinator of the Bullis Innovation and Technology Lab, where he integrates creative practices with cutting-edge technology to foster innovation in education. Matt is passionate about empowering all students, regardless of their background or interests, to develop the creative skills necessary to solve meaningful problems for themselves and others. In 2018 Matt won a Chevron STEM Education Award and has coached two winning teams in the Make:Able assistive device design challenge. Matt holds an MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA.

Patrick Waters

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-waters-75bb2b145/

Patrick Waters is an award-winning educator.  He founded The STEAMworks, a makerspace for individuals with neurological differences at The Monarch Institute in Houston, TX.  He has written on Maker Education for web publications such as SmartBrief Education and Edutopia. He is also one of the founders of the Nova Labs MakerSchool, an educational enterprise dedicated to experiential STEAM learning: entirely hands-on and project-based.  Patrick currently works at NVCC's Fab Lab, the Community College's makerspace in their Manassas campus. As a maker educator, Patrick Waters, celebrates the learning process which occurs when a person makes something interesting. He doesn’t just create robots and cutting boards, he helps craft young people into thinking, problem-solving, engaged adults.

Max Kazemzadeh, MFA, PhD

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkazemzadeh/
Dr. Kazemzadeh is the Manager of The MIX Makerspace and Events Coordinator at George Mason University. An accomplished interactive artist and engineer, Max has exhibited his work internationally and brings over 20 years of university teaching experience in digital and interactive media. He is the founder of Wonderblimp Advertising, with offices in Washington, DC, and Dallas. Max previously directed an Art & Media Design program for 7.5 years, chaired three academic departments for 3.5 years, and collaborated with top firms such as R/GA Interactive. He founded the TinkerLab MakerSpace, which was supported by a NASA Space Grant from 2015 to 2023, and worked with the Kennedy Center on the "Finding A Line / CRATERs" project. Since 2009, Max has served as a consultant for the National Academy of Sciences' DASER events.

NoVa Maker Educator Meetup 2024 - Maker Faire NoVa

Photos to come…