Nathalie Duponsel is a doctoral candidate in Educational Technology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She is a certified primary school teacher, also teaching at the primary, high school and university level. Nathalie's research focuses on maker education and the benefits of DIY design and maker activities for student learning, as well as how schools can facilitate teachers' uses of maker and design based pedagogies.

We recently spoke to Nathalie about open source and maker education, and here’s what she had to say. (For a more in-depth insight, listen to our podcast with Nathalie here.)

Arduino Education: Hi Nathalie, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to speak with us! We’d like to start by finding out a little more about you, so tell us what it is that inspires you.

Nathalie Duponsel: One of the things that inspires me the most is working with children. They don't have the inhibition that adults have; they think of a problem and they think of these wild, outlandish solutions that adults wouldn’t even consider.

And although a lot of the time it might not work out, it's the enthusiasm that inspires me - the creativity. To sum it up, while we adults might try to think outside the box, children don’t even have that box yet - they’re thinking everywhere!

AE: We love that, it’s like they are just constantly on ‘yes mode’. Are there any other people or sources that inspire you?

ND: There are so many amazing sources thanks to the internet. Ones that stand out include Arduino, of course! But the person who has inspired me the most and who actually got me into making as I understand it today is my supervisor, Ann-Louise Davidson, a professor in Educational Technology at Concordia University.

I was a little dissatisfied with the way teaching is currently approached, so I wanted to get my PhD in order to find better ways of educating - but had no idea about the ‘how’ and ‘where.’ Then Ann-Louise Davidson held an informal Maker Faire. I went to it out of curiosity, and just instantly knew that I found the person I wanted to work with, I found what I wanted to study; and I've been studying it ever since.

AE: That’s a really great insight! On a similar note, what’s one thing you wish you’d have known at the beginning of your career?

ND: What a question! I wish I'd pushed boundaries a little more than I did. I was always that good student doing exactly what I was asked for, but the only way to create change is to be it! If we all stick with the status quo, we’re never going to change anything.

AE: What a great perspective. Are there any common myths in your field or profession that you’d like to set straight?

ND: The general belief that teachers know everything, and must impart all of this wisdom onto their students is something I’d like to change. I believe education is (thankfully) evolving into an environment where children can learn to learn, rather than just recite facts that have been given to them.

AE: We totally agree! So with those questions answered, we’d like to turn to a topic we’re currently exploring in celebration of Software Freedom Day, open source. Can you define open source for us?

ND: So open source actually started with software, and was basically created by people who wanted to make their software freely available to the public, so that the public could use it as it was or modify it, and then use it for their own purposes.

AE: And in terms of your role, do you think there are any benefits to implementing open source into schools?

ND: I think there are just so many benefits! An obvious one to start with is cost. Open source reduces that cost barrier, where teachers can even just purchase open source materials, like Arduino and open source 3D printers.

By bringing open source materials into the classroom, it offers teachers a great opportunity to try to improve the software or hardware with their students. You can’t do that with closed source stuff, you have to work with whatever you have, as it is.

It also gives students real-world examples to work on, which is great for improving their skill sets and brings them around to this maker mindset. In a nutshell, I think open source has a really fantastic advantage for the education system.

AE: We think that’s a really great approach to be taking. Can you tell us more about this Maker Mindset and the Maker Movement you mentioned?

ND: The Maker Movement is a current resurgence of DIYers that has basically arisen due to the existence of the internet. We can now share ideas more easily on a global scale, and open source technologies have made things far more accessible to the average person versus, let's say, only to experts in a niche company. So, in terms of bringing this into education, it’s about teaching children to take a collaborative approach to their projects and learning, and it’s called Maker Education.

AE: What a great way to encourage learning! As a final question, what advice would you give to any teachers who want to create a maker education environment for their students?

ND: Well, Arduino EDUvision is a great place to start (editor’s note - we agree, and you can find out more right here!). I like your program because you have a lot of ideas that range from the very simple to the more complex, which makes it really accessible for beginners who can be intimidated by high tech. Making doesn't have to use high tech.

So if you're a new teacher and you're intimidated by it, or you just want to get started slowly, you can just get started with paper circuits, or sewing in the classroom, or by building something simple out of wood. There’s a huge amount of resources available online for further ideas.

INSPIRED? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED WITH ARDUINO EDUCATION

The Arduino Student Kit can be used for both home learning and classroom teaching. It will help you get started quickly and easily with robotics, electronics, and coding.

Find your country's distributor, or buy the kit online.