Makerspace Learning with Will

Will’s journey from professional designer to passionate educator provides the perfect foundation for his role in creating an innovative school makerspace. Inspired by his own art teachers, he pursued his long-held dream of teaching after a decade in the design industry, bringing valuable real-world creative experience into education. 

Described by Will as a “technology library,” the makerspace has transformed student learning. This dynamic environment features 3D printers, a laser cutter handling 3,000 jobs annually, VR headsets, specialised computers, and recording studios. Students don’t just use these tools—they master them, developing technical skills while working on meaningful projects across subjects. 

What truly sets this space apart is its student leadership model. The "Makerspace Guardians" programme empowers students to manage the space, mentor peers, and take ownership of their learning. Will shares the story of a Year 12 student who secured a computer science scholarship after independently creating a digital tangram project using skills developed in the makerspace—highlighting how hands-on experiences drive achievement. 

For educators looking to create a makerspace, Will emphasises knowledge-sharing and budgeting, noting they’re no more costly than other specialised school facilities. Excited about future developments, including a UV ink printer for professional-quality colour printing, he sees makerspaces as ever-evolving hubs of industry-relevant learning. 

Keen to transform learning at your school? Subscribe for more innovative education insights or visit Will’s makerspace to see the impact firsthand. 

Hosted by Debbie Ross
Find us on Instagram & Facebook: @nurturingeducators

For more information, guest recommendations, and sponsorship opportunities 
or to chat, please email: nurturingeducators@gmail.com or visit  www.nurturingeducators.co.nz

Thanks for listening! 

Transcript

Welcome to Nurturing Educators

Debbie 0:15

Welcome to Nuturing Educators , the podcast that shares inspiring and insightful conversations with passionate teachers dedicated to education and wellbeing . I'm your host , debbie Ross , and each episode we will explore the personal stories , challenges and successes of educators from all walks of life . You'll hear practical tips and strategies to help them thrive both in the classroom and beyond . To help them thrive both in the classroom and beyond . Hi everyone . Today is episode 9 and I am excited to have Will on the show . Welcome .

Will 0:53

Kia ora .

Debbie 0:54

So before we get started , I just wanted to say a massive thank you to you , Will . I think if it wasn't for you , this podcast probably wouldn't have happened . Will was so helpful in the beginning with helping me to get the right mics , what kind of software to use, and all of that . So I just wanted to say I really appreciate it .

Will 1:11

Glad to be part of it .

Debbie 1:12

Yeah , so good . All right , so do you want to tell us a little bit about your background ?

Will 1:18

I was born in New Zealand , Auckland , and did most of my schooling here . I lived in Sydney for a little bit for about three years around intermediate school age and lived in Wellington with my sister for about 3 mostly lived and worked here . My background is in design , so I got a Bachelor of Design, and then after about 10 years of freelancing , I went and got my postgraduate in teaching .

Debbie 1:43

Oh , that's really awesome . What made you transition across to become a teacher ?

Will 1:48

I've actually always wanted to be a teacher .

Debbie 1:50

I love that .

Will 1:52

It was in year 12 that I wrote it down, and it was one of the questions to get a scholarship, which I managed to get . At the time I realised I needed to get some experience first and just kind of like , enjoy what I trained in . And then I reminded myself I do want to come back to school .

Debbie 2:15

What led you to become a teacher ?

Will 2:18

It was a couple of key teachers that I had when I was at Onehunga , and mainly my art teacher . I took a lot of art subjects, I was really creative , so I just loved being in this space really , yeah , doing creative stuff and seeing what other people are doing and spending time in the dark room and stuff .

Debbie 2:38

And so is that kind of what inspired you to create a makerspace here for our students ?

Will 2:45

A little bit . The person who came up with the idea was actually Sandy Pasley . She wrote it down in her sabbatical report when she went to the US in 2019 . She visited quite a few schools and that sabbatical was all about how to make sure that the curriculums are future-focused . A lot of STEM-based lectures that she went to, and she realised that a lot of schools and universities there were either developing makerspaces or had them going at the beginning stages .

Debbie 3:19

Wow , how fascinating .

Will 3:21

So around that time , of course , the pandemic occurred ,

Will's Journey to Teaching

Will 3:30

and it was sort of a good time for me to sit down and start planning because we were working from home and doing hybrid teaching . So for about two years it was just planning .

Debbie 3:38

Wow big project .

Will 3:39

Yeah , we didn't know like what space it would take up in the school , whether it would be in a prefab .

Will 3:47

We managed to secure this classroom here , which used to be our hard materials classroom .

Debbie 3:51

So how would you describe this space to someone that's never been in here or hasn't seen it before ?

Will 3:58

Well , we've just had the open tours and you know you're always trying to prepare your lines because you're going to get so many people through and I think the easiest way and the quickest way for people to get their head around it is that it's a technology library , because people are familiar with libraries and you can go in and borrow things and use the space and read books . But when you put the term technology in front , it's then the same thing , but just tech .

Will 4:22

You can go in , use the space , you can borrow stuff , et cetera .

Debbie 4:26

I like that , yeah . What kind of technology and tools do the students have access to in this space ?

Will 4:33

We support both like the physical outcomes and also digital . So stuff like what we're doing right now , recording audio , just looking and scanning around the room . We've got like heaps of 3D printers . You know they're running all the time . I did a tally the other day and they run for about 600 hours each machine . Our most popular machine is the laser cutter . That one does about 3,000 individual jobs a year and it runs a lot . I think the guys who come to maintain it say that it's just the highest in every high school they've been to .

Will 5:06

We've got things like the LEGO Spike Prime kits . We've got heaps of VR headsets , computers that can handle CAD and can do any kind of graphical process . We've got all the editing software that you need . We've got a recording studio that we're sitting in right now , an editing studio . We've got some other machines , too that come out every so often , like vacuum form machines and stuff , vinyl cutters , and usually people just come in with an idea and then we start to look at because there are multiple ways to make something . Yeah , and then we'll go like how do you want to approach it ? You know , what skills do you want to learn ? Because every machine's different .

Debbie 5:47

So if someone came in and wanted to make something , what would you suggest depending on the subject area ?

Will 5:54

So from a staff kind of perspective ? yeah .

Will 5:57

Oh , it depends on what they're currently learning . Yeah , because if it's something that they want to share to the world , it's more ideal to do something in the studio , so it might be taking the gimbals the students can attach their phones to and record things , whether it's video or audio . We have the green screen and other coloured screens that we can change around to suit different purposes . We have cameras , we have tripods , and then it's for the digital kind of outcomes . The most popular machine is the laser cutter , so we try to find different ways to use that as well can cut both the wood . I can cut cardboard , acrylic , plastic and then it's sort of like thinking how you can transform that into something else . Yeah , because you can easily cut panels , put them together and then come up with something 3d as well , yeah , so some subjects like to use that aspect to create jigsaws and things .

Will 6:58

The other day I had science come in and they were talking about creating something visual for another way for their learners to benefit . So it's not all just like reading and writing .

Debbie 7:09

Yeah , I remember last year when my students came in and we made those fans .

Debbie 7:13

That was really cool . They loved it they were able to paint them and find out the history behind them .

Will 7:19

We've got some examples sitting there and students are always asking when can I make a fan ?

Debbie 7:25

Have to take Spanish . So how did you put it all together ? What was the process ?

Will 7:32

We all started by creating a list of things that we

Creating a School Makerspace

Will 7:35

kind of envisioned that students could create , so like a list of outcomes really , and the two lists that we had were the digital and the physical . And then it was looking at , um , how to support that , like , what machine , what resources do you need , how much space do you need for that , how much of each equipment you need to be able to support a classroom . And then , once we put that out there for the community to help fundraise , it then started to alter that list a little bit because some things were very expensive .

Will 8:08

And then sometimes you get some really good value for money . After that it was a lot of CAD work , so that's one of the skills that I picked up through my teaching and pretty much measured up the room and figured out how we could transform it , because initially these two rooms weren't here .

Debbie 8:26

Oh , okay .

Will 8:27

We added these walls . We , we added the doors as well and also just all the furniture as well , because it's not a huge space , but everything's been placed so that people can move around quite freely and they can collaborate . So in each computer you'd see two or three students around each one , and that's how they generally work . It's a nice collaborative space . And even the 3D printers in the computers you'll see some are sitting on the top near the windowsill , and then you've got some computers that are down underneath the desk . So it's not taking up space , you know , but it's still there to show the capabilities that we have in the room .

Debbie 9:07

Such an effective use of the space .

Will 9:10

Yeah , lot of measuring .

Debbie 9:12

So was there quite a lot stuff that Sandy brought back overseas that she brought back , ideas , wise of different things that she wanted ?

Will 9:21

No, I did base it off a lot on the unleash space , which is the maker space at the University Auckland . They've started a few years earlier , so they've got a lot of photos and videos online that you can look at and it's um , it's student run as well so students come up with pdfs and things to train other people so that they can come in and use the facility 24/7 . We're starting to to do that now here , where

Collaborative Learning and Student Leadership

Will 9:49

students are creating little booklets so that the juniors can follow and then

Debbie 9:53 Debbie 9:56

Good Idea . Nice being able to delegate to the students, so what do you call your little group that do that ?

Will 10:01

oh so we have a group of volunteers called makerspace guardians . Yeah , and they're like the librarian equivalent . They're rostered on once in a cycle , but we usually see them much more than that .

Debbie 10:10

They enjoy coming in .

Will 10:12

Yeah , they'll come in like before school and they just help . You'll see them helping people one-on-one . They can come in in the breaks as well and after school .

Debbie 10:21

Because it takes the pressure off you a little bit and also gives them the opportunity to be leaders in something .

Will 10:26

Yeah , yeah , they then take ownership as well . We saw Rebecca create the waka for Alex .

Debbie 10:32

Oh , yes , that was amazing .

Will 10:34

I had no input in that . This is a student that was just given a task and over the weekend , came up with a design and cut it on Monday and assembled , constructed and gifted on the Tuesday . And I just see it just happen in front of my eyes .

Debbie 10:48

So clever and I think it's just such a great opportunity to cater for those students who are , like you , creative and enjoy making things . Have you noticed any changes in student engagement since the Makerspace has been introduced ?

Will 11:05

Yeah , it's so busy now , so we get new challenges every year . When we first started , at the end of 22 , it was starting to see a bit of growth and then last year it was really popular in different ways as well , like it can be really busy with the class bookings , it can be busy with just staff coming in to learn more , and then also we have the students who come in in their own time . This year in particular , it's the students coming in their own time At lunchtime, it will be , you know , a class and a bit it's full . Yeah , we need all of our guardians in to help out . Sometimes there's a little bit of disappointment when it's so full and people can't actually do anything . Sure , yeah , but you know we encourage people to share , you know . So maybe come in and have a break , enjoy outside for a little bit and come in the next day .

Debbie 11:55

I love what you're doing, Will . Is there a memorable project or activity that highlights the importance of having spaces like this for our students ?

Will 12:04

I think our biggest success story occurred last year and that was a year 12 student getting a scholarship as part of computer science , and they made that project entirely in the makerspace as well .

Will 12:18

I think the fascinating thing is that this student also learned how to run the key machines that they needed to execute it . So again we're getting to the point where the year 10 students first were introduced to the makerspace and then it only takes a couple of years for them to kind of master it . They can bring in their own files that they create on their own . They don't really need too much assistance because they've been continuously making stuff , and it was a digital tangram that involved an arduino unit . So we're gonna we're gonna publish that in the magazine and it's cool that they're year 12 , that they got it in year 12 yeah , because we still see them at year 13 and they're so proud . You know , every time they walk past they bring in their friends and they're showing the juniors their project yeah , that's just it kind of just lifts the whole space in the school , and it was a first for computer science as well .

Debbie 13:13

And to be able to run that project from start to finish , as you said .

Debbie 13:17

That's something so cool ,

Will 13:18

So it was a student that had a clash and got moved up to my Year 13 class and wasn't really interested in doing scholarship at all , just wanted to do the subject and then kind of halfway through the year I was pushing them to do the scholarship .

Debbie 13:34

Good on her . So , with regards to educators worrying about how technology can be a distraction , how do you make sure that the students are having fun here

Technology and Tools Available

Debbie 13:46

but , at the same time , that they're learning and taking things away from it ?

Will 13:51

Yeah , that's one of the challenges that we have . I think we're doing . We do a pretty good job at it and it really is monitoring , like , for example , if they're , if they're on a VR headset , there are things that we can do to control what they're meant to be doing . Um , yeah , we lock down the games and block certain things, and we make sure that it's all safe for the students to use .

Will 14:13

We have specific rules so that it always is centred around learning . There might be some occasions , like after school , where students can come in and just relax a little bit , use our high-spec computers to play games if it's age appropriate , but in general if it's class booking . We control a lot of that , or we try to anyway .

Debbie 14:36

And for other teachers or other schools out there that might want to start up a makerspace or incorporate more hands-on technology into their classrooms , where would be a good place to start ?

Will 14:48

I've

Advice for Schools Starting Makerspaces

Will 14:49

had heaps of teachers from all over Vickie Ave school have brought a class of their own design students in to have a look and they've had a session here . They've done a bit of laser cutting and they experienced the VR as well . I've had teachers from all other high schools come in and you know jotting down notes and looking at the models that we have . I get emails coming in and calls as well , and I just love sharing and supporting . I actually would just want to see more of this everywhere in New Zealand and I keep in touch with people in Melbourne .

Will 15:22

I remember coming into your makerspace and I saw this piece .

Will 15:27

Do you mind sharing that file ? you know , and then we engage that way .

Debbie 15:32

I didn't realise it's so much bigger now than just our school you're being able to work with

Will 15:37

Sometimes I'll get a call from reception just saying I've got blah , blah , blah from this school . They've just got a few inquiries , yeah .

Debbie 15:44

Good on you . I love that you can actually share your skills and knowledge with so many other people now too , and if a school doesn't have that facility .

Will 15:52

You know , as a way to build community , I always invite them in . So I say why don't you come after school ? It won't take long at all and they really enjoy that .

Debbie 16:01

And so , for teachers here , what kinds of things would you recommend the departments to be able to integrate , using a little bit of makerspace , into the different subject areas ?

Will 16:12

Again , it's to do with the program and unit they're currently teaching . I always encourage staff to come in as well and kind of set aside some of that curriculum stuff sometimes , come in and just experience it for yourself . You know whether that's just bringing something from home or just going, I've seen this somewhere in a shop and I really love this chopping board idea . I want to see if I can make one , because usually what happens is teachers will build on those skills and then decide . I want everyone in my class to do that , whether it's in a smaller form or something that's similar to that .

Debbie 16:47

So what's next for Makerspace ? Have you got any exciting plans or developments coming

Upcoming Technology: UV Ink Printer

Debbie 16:52

up ?

Will 16:52

We have a big one . It hasn't been announced yet . I'm going to announce it in the next couple of days . It's almost as big , not physically , but price-wise . It is to the laser cutter . The laser cutter is our most popular machine . Everyone loves it , and I hope that everyone in the school gets to experience it . I think when you walk around the school you see a lot of things that are made here . This machine is called a UV ink printer .

Debbie 17:20

Tell me more . No idea .

Will 17:21

You may have seen students like to paint in here . Sometimes we call ourselves a painting club . I think it's something that students don't really get to do for fun . You know they pick it as a subject and it becomes a serious thing . Or if they want to do it at home , it's too messy . We let students do that here . But we've started to realise that . You know people love colour a lot and if you've seen laser cut products , you're kind of restricted to wood varnish paint , hand painting or the colour of the acrylic plastic . But this machine allows you to print directly onto flat surfaces . So let's just say you had a design .

Will 18:02

It could be of yourself or your family and you wanted to put it on the lid of your computer . You could slot that into the machine and then it can print a white base coat . It can print all the colours . It can even varnish on top as well . You can apply that to anything that's flat . It supports the laser cutter a lot because you can lay out all of your panels and have all of the colours and labels and things on there first , and then you put in the laser cutter and you cut the shapes out and then assemble it , which means you've now a professional-looking piece . You don't have to hand-paint it anymore .

Debbie 18:37

So is it something that takes up a lot of room , or is it quite small ?

Will 18:41

It's kind of medium size . It can fit on one of these blue tables here and it's going to be located just to the right of that computer there . It's about 100 kilos and it can support the print size is just a little bit bigger than A3 . So you've got A3 and then you've got a lid and it's slightly wider than that . A lot of people make jigs , so a jig with heaps of cutouts so that you can print on merchandise . So you know it could be like a jig where you have like 20 pens , yeah , and then you can then customize what you want to print on directly onto those pens . Just as an example that it could be anything , it could be the your phone case

Debbie 19:18

oh , that'll be fun to have .

Will 19:20

So I'm really looking forward to that one .

Will 19:28

We're going to order in a lot of ink and open it up to the school . Whenever we get new tech , we just go all out . Yeah , you know , everyone come in , I want everyone to walk away with something so that they can go home , hang it up or put on their fridge and they can show it off to the world .

Debbie 19:44

Okay , so I think we probably need to wrap this up , but just to finish off , what do you think would be one key message or piece of advice that you'd like to give teachers or schools with regards to making a makerspace in their own school ?

Will 19:58

I think one of the things preventing schools or people from having a facility like this is that people like to hold on to their knowledge . And this happens in technology faculties as well , where you kind of have like experts and they just hold on to that knowledge and they don't really share it around too much . Well , the idea here is that you've got an experienced technology teacher in many different subject areas , sharing that with the rest of the school so that any subject area can become a practical , you know , technology space as well , even if it's , you know , book work , we can turn that into something else .

Will 20:40

So that that would be my advice really is to just be open , yeah , open to sharing . So if people come in , uh , wanting advice , it's like I can give you advice and more .

Debbie 20:51

Yeah and being able to collaborate across faculties and stuff .

Will 20:55

Yeah , it's all about building relationships yeah .

Debbie 20:57

I do like that . Do you think that lots of other schools will end up having maker space as a future thing ?

Will 21:05

I'd love to see it .

Debbie 21:06

What about the Cost of it , though ?

Will 21:09

I think a lot of people come in and look around and see all the tech and assume that it's going to be really , really expensive . And it is , but it's not more expensive than some other rooms in schools .

Will 21:24

For example , a foods room is more expensive than a makerspace and it is actually more expensive to run , and a lot of schools have multiple food rooms . It could be a music facility or something where a grand piano costs a lot of money . When we fundraised for this space , we managed to get about 70% of what we wanted and we made it work .

Will 21:50

You know , sometimes we had to reduce the size of a machine that we had in mind .

Debbie 21:55

But it's also about teaching the students how to use these machines that everyone uses these days .

Will 22:03

Before we move on to something else or introduce something to the room , we really look at like is it really good value for money ? Yeah , can everyone use it ? Yeah , staff and students , or even just support staff in the school . We have a lot of things going on during the year and it's nice to be able to just utilize the space all year round

Debbie 22:25

No , I love it . I think what Sandy started and you've developed and kept going . It's just such a cool thing . So , yeah , I really appreciate you taking the time today Will to have a wee chat , and I think that it will be a good episode to share with those who are thinking about doing something like this in their schools in the future ?

Will 22:46

Yeah , and they're always welcome to come in and have a look .

Debbie 22:48

Yeah , awesome . Thank you so much . I appreciate your time .

Will 22:51

You're welcome

Debbie 22:52

See ya . Thank you so much for listening . If you enjoyed today's episode , don't forget to hit the subscribe button , leave a review and share it with your fellow educators . Let's keep these important conversations going . For more information , follow us at Nuturing Educators on Facebook and Instagram . Until next time , take care .