“The objective of this module is to learn something new and to learn more about how you learn with digital tools. You will select a topic from the readings and consider a path of your own design that will hopefully turn into a product. Be creative and move beyond your zone of comfort.“
Beyond DIY: Critical Making
The Maker Movement evolved out of a DIY (or Do It Yourself) ethos, morphing into an approach to learning. From YouTube video how-to’s to hacking your electronics, the Maker Movement has reshaped how we interact with our physical environments, beyond software to hardware. But as this movement has evolved, particularly in higher education, we see the power of the Maker Movement to critically and consciously engage with our material world. http://dgst101.net/mod/beyond-diy-critical-making/
Product descriptions:
- Planter box made out of cardboard, plastic bags, and water bottle.
- Booklet/book cover made from cardboard, paint, tape, pressed flowers/plant specimens
Reflection:
At the start of this project, I felt very confused and unconfident in what my end result would be, as the concept of critical making is very broad and can be almost anything. The term “critical making” was coined by Matt Ratto. I didn’t quite understand what critical making was and I had to visit multiple websites and read many texts in order to understand it and start to get some ideas for my project.
I learned that Critical making is a practice that unites critical thinking and hands-on experiments/material production. It focuses on the socio-technical aspect of life and encourages thinking outside of norms. It is less about the end product and more about the material and conceptual exploration that the maker is involved in and can learn from.
The process of designing my projects was at first intimidating, as they were not something I would want to share with people in a digital studies class. But, they were nevertheless opportunities for me to do some critical making. I first made a planter box. I needed a pot for a plant that was given to me. I was worried about not being able to find one large enough- but not too large as it needed to be able to fit in my dorm. I had some cardboard leftover from a box, a plastic bag, a plastic water bottle, and a blade. I remember learning that only about ⅓ of things that we recycle actually get recycled because of the complicated process, trash being mixed in, etc. So I was like, let me reuse these things- it will be cheaper for me and maybe save them from being added to the landfill. I watched a YouTube video on how to make the planter, but she already had a box, so I had to figure out how to make one myself, which was not hard, but still a learning experience. I then used a blade to cut a hole in the side of the box, where the top of a water bottle could fit through. Then I wrapped the entire thing in plastic two times, cut a hole through that, inserted the top part of the water bottle, and then screwed the lid on the outside(i cut a hole into the lid) so there could be drainage for the plant. My second piece was another thing made out of cardboard. It is a booklet cover with stickers that I made on the front. I thought a lot about how these things are so mass-produced (books/notebooks, stickers) and how a few centuries ago, humans were creating all of these by hand. I already press plants and flowers on my own time, so I incorporated some dried pressings into this project. I made the stickers by putting tape on top of parchment paper, then putting the pressed plants on top of the tape, then adding a layer of tape on top of those. The I cut them out, and just like a store-bought sticker, I could peel off the back and place them wherever I wanted. I made the book itself out of cardboard and tape.
At the end of my presentation, I had a question from Dr. Petkov, who wanted to know the difference between DIY and Critical making, in which I explained that Critical making is essentially DIY, but with added critical thinking, a reflection of the purpose and impacts, and emphasis on what you learn in the process of making.
