Fab Lab: shifting e-learning from bits to atoms

Fab Lab: shifting e-learning from bits to atoms

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  FAB LAB: SHIFTINGE-LEARNING FROM BITS TO ATOMS International Fab Lab Association Pieter van der Hijden (The Netherlands) Lindi Mophuti (South Africa) 2012 –Pieter van der Hijden (pvdh@sofos.nl) and Lindi Mophuti (lmophuti@csir.co.za) - This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. 1
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  AGENDA  Introduction  Whatis a Fab Lab?  Our eco-system  Fab Lab Africa  Conclusion 2
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  INTRODUCTION  Movie “Full Printed” by GrafixTV 3
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  INTRODUCTION  How it started  Prof. Neil Gershenfeld  Center for Bits and Atoms  Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Course: How to make (almost) anything  Outreach activity  Set-up some simple and cheap (50k USD) Fab Labs  Autonomous initiatives  Now 140 Fab Labs worldwide  All continents 4
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB  Who are visiting us  What do we offer  What will they find  What will they do  How about costs 5
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: WHO ARE VISITING US  People looking for practical training  Individuals, tinkerers, inventors, crafters  Children and youth, both school classes and neighbourhood groups  Community groups, adults, women  SME’s  Innovation teams, researchers, students  “Tourists”  Etc. 6
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: WHAT DO WE OFFER  Empowerment  Education Problem solving Invention   Job creation Job Creation  Invention Problem Solving Education Empowerment 7
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: WHAT WILL THEY FIND  Free/open access  Fab charter  Tools and processes  Laser cutter (and engraver)  Milling machine  Vinyl cutter  Additive machine , e.g. 3D printer  Video conferencing  Computers  Software  documentation  Skilled staff and volunteers  Cooperation with other Fab Labs 8
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: WHAT WILL THEY DO  Solve local problems with our means for developing technological solutions  Conceptualize, design, develop, fabricate and test almost anything  Prototypes  Unique products  Small batches 9
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: HOW ABOUT COSTS?  Access at some times is free; materials used maybe not  Other services might have a price  Financial; sustainability is a challenge  Set-up costs about 50k USD (machines only) 10
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  WHAT IS AFAB LAB: NEW: THE MINI FAB LAB  Mini Fab Lab for personal fabrication  Set-up costs 5k USD  Examples:  A3 Vinyl cutter usd 300  Simple laser cutter usd 1500  3d printer DIY usd 800 11
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  OUR ECOSYSTEM  Local level:  autonomous (or embedded) Fab Labs  Regional level:  non-profit organizations to support Fab Labs  Global level:  MIT/CBA  Fab X annual conference  Fab Academy  International Fab Lab Association (natural persons) 12
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  FAB LAB AFRICA Current situation  Swot analysis  Perspective 13
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  FAB LAB AFRICA:CURRENT SITUATION  Benin: Porto Novo: Songhai  Burkina Fasso: Ouagadougou  Ghana: Accra  Kenya: Kisumu, Nairobi  Mali: Bamako  Namibia: Windhoek  South Afrika: Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria, Kimberly, Potchefstroom, Sedibeng, Soshanguve, Limpopo, Thokoza 14
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  FAB LAB AFRICA:SWOT ANALYSIS  Strengths  Range of high-tech tools and hand tools  Fixed and Mobile Fab Labs as a platform  Weaknesses  Geographical positioning  Sustainable funding model  Too many visions  Opportunities  Alignment with National Priorities  Integration of school curricula into Fab Lab model  Linkages with other similar initiatives  Threats  Support staff turnaround (retention of capable staff)  Lack of support from identified partners 15
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  FAB LAB AFRICA:PERSPECTIVE Coming soon Fab Lab Africa Network Alliance (FAN) 16
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  CONCLUSION  From bits to atoms, welcome next step in exploring, learning and training  eLearning extended to learning to design, learning to make (worldwide)  Where to start? 17
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  CONCLUSION  Movie “A Fab Lab in three words” by Susanna Tesconi, Fab Lab Barcelona 18
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  REFERENCES  Business model generation; a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers; Alexander Osterwalder et al.; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken NJ, USA, 2010.  CBA - The Center for Bits and Atoms; web site; http://cba.mit.edu/  Design Thinking for Educators; Design Team Riverdale Country School and IDEO; 2011.  Fab Central; website; http://fab.cba.mit.edu/  Fab Lab Locations; FabWiki; website; http://wiki.fablab.is/wiki/Portal:Labs  Fab; the coming revolution on your desktop; from personal computers to personal fabrication; Neil Gershenfeld; Basic Books, New York, USA, 2005.  FabLab Business Models; presentation to the first Artilect FabLab Conférence; Peter Troxler; Toulouse, 20-23 October 2011.  FabYearBook 2011; another year of growth; Ton Zijlstra (ed.); 2011.  International Fab Lab Association; web site; http://www.fablabinternational.org  Open design now; why design cannot remain exclusive; Bas van Abel et al.; Bis Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2010.  Special report: Manufacturing and Innovation; The Economist; print edition 21 April 2012.  Survey of ICT and Education in Africa: A Summary Report, Based on 53 Country Surveys; Glen Farrell & Shafika Isaacs (eds.); infoDev / World Bank, Washington DC, USA, 2007.  The butterfly paper no.1; Sophie Koers; Butterfly Works; 2008.  The futures of technology in Africa; Jasper Grosskurth; STT, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2010.  Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of information and communication technologies in Africa; Education Sector Study; Lishan Adam et al.; African Development Bank, the World Bank and the African Union; 2011. 19
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  THANK YOU! International Fab Lab Association www.fablabinternational.org Pieter van der Hijden Sofos Consultancy, The Netherlands – pvdh@sofos.nl Lindi Mophuti CSIR, South Africa – lmophuti@csir.co.za 20