FabLearn 2017: 7th Annual Conference on Creativity and Making in Education
October 21st – 22nd, 2017, Stanford University
2017 Conference theme: Creating a Sustainable Ecosystem for Making in Education
The FabLearn Conference, in-Cooperation with Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI), brings together key influencers and thought-leaders from around the world in education, policy-making, academia, design, research, and maker communities to learn, present, and discuss digital fabrication in education, the maker culture, hands-on learning, and instructional tools.
The two-day conference features:
- World-renowned keynote speakers,
- Panels of cutting-edge researchers and educators,
- Demonstrations of the latest technology, and
- Immersive hands-on workshops.
The conference has two primary goals:
- Establishing the current “state of the field” by gathering information about the work conducted by those in the field, and
- Disseminating information about best practices and tools, and connecting researchers with practitioners, policy-makers, and pioneering educators.
Theme
The conference theme in 2017 is: “Creating a Sustainable Ecosystem for Making in Education.” Even though submissions do no have to be connected to the conference theme, we are particularly interested in papers addressing issues of sustainability in the maker movement. The conference will have several panels focusing on the theme. One panel will be about Making and Community Development, which will concentrate on making in low-resourced regions and/or developing countries, will bring educators and researchers from around the world to share experiences about making in diverse communities and non-traditional settings. FabLearn 2017 will also have a panel about the “industry of making,” bringing together entrepreneurs that are part of the maker ecosystem to discuss the infrastructure of making and its long-term viability.