Learning Resolutions: Make More Stuff

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.

I’ve had a lot going on the last year, but aside from some workshop development and content writing, most of it hasn’t been very hands-on. I’ve been teaching or consulting or designing, but haven’t been doing much making. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve been doing, but I miss the visceral connection with actually building things.

So that’s my New Year’s Resolution for 2015 -- to make more stuff (both digital and actual). So, I’m 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 on Usable Learning and on Twitter.