Yvonne Ng, an engineering professor at St Catherine's in Minnesota, writes:
I just read The Atlantic article about your "maker ethic" and was just too excited. I'm not normally one to send fan mail, but I wanted to thank you for speaking out about the learning that goes on with making.Having taught first computer science, and now engineering at an all-women's institution, I have tried to incorporate the tenants you list (exhibition instead of competition. Child-driven. [I would say creativity-driven]. Open-ended. Multi-disciplinary) in my class projects and have found great success with a population that normally is not interested in (or even scared of) computer and engineering.
Here's a short clip of what we've been doing in the last decade regarding engineering… I can't tell you how passionate students get when they see something they work on actually work!
http://engineersplayground.blogspot.com/2010/05/step-1-help-them-believe.html
Thanks again and keep up the great press. I look forward to seeing your more of your principles…
Yvonne Ng
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Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Director of Center for Women, Science & Technology
St. Catherine University
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Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Director of Center for Women, Science & Technology
St. Catherine University
Dale Dougherty 