Abstract:

The "Makers" movement refers to the growing number of people who are actively involved in the creative production of artefacts, physical and digital, share these products with others and apply them in daily life in creative ways. It has it's foundations in Papert's constructionism theory and, among other, emphasizes on STEM subjects contributing to the development of creativity and innovation of participants. Learners working in such environments employ different digital tools to construct physical works, thereby realizing their creative ideas. Therefore, the education community worldwide seek and propose methods to introduce this movement in formal and informal education across a range of instructional environments, including libraries, museums, home schooling groups, afterschool clubs, and institutions of higher education, with many recorded difficulties however. Arduino technology has been highlighted as appropriate for "making" even for novice learners and many applications regarding Chemistry teaching, have been proposed by researchers. Therefore, our study focused on presenting a framework that gradually introduce "making", based on Arduino technology, from an afterschool group to a formal Chemistry class and across Schools and vice versa. Chemistry related artefacts are implemented by students while working in this afterschool group and the same students participate in the formal Chemistry class acting, as knowledge multipliers, where the artefacts are employed. Some of these artefacts are complex learning environments, like the smart greenhouse and the smart aquarium where students get involved with many notions and Chemistry Laboratory practices. More specifically, students monitor in real-time the physicochemical parameters (e.g. pH, temperature, salinity, light intensity) affecting these environments and implement the appropriate interventions. Other types of artefacts are Chemical instruments that operate as standalone, supplementing Schools infrastructure, or in conjunction with virtual environments. Students by implementing and using these instruments get involved with laboratory processes such as calibration and data management and interpretation. Students' and Teachers' attitudes regarding their participation in the "makers" group are presented.

Keywords:

Makers movement, Arduino, Chemistry, Secondary Education.