FabLearn Global Excellence Practitioner Award

Awarded to classroom teachers or lab managers who:

• embody the FabLearn principles,
• show exemplary commitment to high-quality educational practices and equity,
• advance the field through innovative projects subsequently shared with the wider community,
• continually contribute to the local and international community

FabLearn Global Excellence Organizational Leadership Award

Awarded to multi-school, district, municipality, state or national-level organizations which:

• embody the FabLearn principles,
• show exemplary commitment to high-quality educational practices and equity,
• demonstrate excellence in the implementation, scaling, and management of educational organizations, and
• establish best practices in the field and share those with the local and international community.

The 2018 FabLearn Global Excellence Practitioner Award goes to:

Akshay Nagarajan (AMMACHI Labs, Amrita University, India)
For exemplary commitment to outreach, connecting communities, and bringing equity to education in the rural and tribal communities in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. We appreciate Akshay ventured beyond the university, encouraging children to problem solve and connect solutions to real world issues that affect them, setting up several community makerspaces and encouraging the state government to introduce maker programs into a further 400 schools throughout the south of India.

Lindsey Own (BIG Lab, The Evergreen School, USA)
For demonstrated commitment to her students, school, and the broader educational community, all the while being intentional about cross-curricular projects that bring the maker movement and constructionist learning into both STEM and the humanities. We were impressed by the breadth and depth of Lindsey’s work as BIG Lab Coordinator: hands-on teaching, program building from the ground up, curriculum development, training and support of colleagues, and the coaching of faculty at other schools throughout the year.

The 2018 FabLearn Global Excellence Organizational Leadership Award goes to:

FabLab@SCHOOLdk (Denmark)
For their ability to demonstrate leadership and influence in the field, and provide robust training and professional development at a national scale, supporting educational initiatives across Denmark. In affiliation with Aarhus University, FabLab@SCHOOLdk has managed to create a powerful maker community, and has worked extensively with the country’s Ministry of Education. Their work could be a model for other communities and countries, and we hope they continue doing it for several years to come, inspiring leaders and practitioners in Europe and beyond.

Ravenswood Makerspace Collaborative (USA)
For creating a model of organizational and operational excellence at the district level, and a tinker team that has brought to an underserved community a new identity of making and innovation. Ravenswood excels in cross-curricular professional development and teamwork between lab managers, teachers and the wider community. In three years they have built 8 makerspaces across all 8 of their campuses, making makerspaces accessible to all K-8 children across an underserved school district. Even in the heart of Silicon Valley, there are deep inequities with regard to access to maker education, and their work has been crucial in showing that they can be overcome.