So when my dad asked me about 3D printing, I thought it would be easier to show him than to explain. I took him to a local maker faire, which turned out to be a lot of fun. In addition to 3D printing, we saw robot competitions, leatherworking, electric cars, spinning and knitting, and a whole slew of other interesting things.
Iāve had a lot going on the last year, but aside from some workshop development and content writing, most of it hasnāt been very hands-on. Iāve been teaching or consulting or designing, but havenāt been doing much making. Iāve really enjoyed what Iāve been doing, but I miss the visceral connection with actually building things.
So thatās my New Yearās Resolution for 2015 — to make more stuff (both digital and actual). So, Iām going to try to build some things using some unfamiliar authoring tools, and to experiment with digital publishing formats, and possibly check out some of the maker spaces available locally for some hands on making.
Julie Dirksen is an instructional designer and consultant, and the author of Design For How People Learn. Keep up with her onĀ Usable LearningĀ and onĀ Twitter.Ā