“Making” is not just about technology and gadgets.
It is mainly about community.
It is about the people in that community, who are motivated to use technology and education to improve themselves and the world around them.
Since starting Tech Explorations in 2013, I have had thousands of discussions with people from all over the world, Makers, who wanted to tell me about their projects, ask for my opinion, bounce ideas. Most of these discussions happened via email. In so many of them, I could sense the dedication of my correspondent to their project.
School teachers working on a class project, pensioners challenging the perception that retirement is about taking it easy, hobbyists building their own water management system, and so many more people using their minds for learning and solving problems.
I felt that I could not help them all as an individual. Of course, my ability to correspond with so many people is restricted by the amount of time I have available. Past that, the amount of knowledge I have in my head proved inadequate to be of assistance.
In December 2017, I decided that I should do something to connect all these people and unleash the tremendous intellectual energy that we collectively possess.
The Tech Explorations Makers Club on Facebook opened its virtual doors in October 2017. It is open to Tech Explorations students who are enrolled in at least one of our courses, anywhere on the Internet.
Once you are a member of the Club, you can interact with anyone in it, make posts, and respond to other member posts.
Here are some example discussions taking place in the Club right now:
Killer Robots!
Programming
Hardware
These are exciting discussions in their own right, and I have learned a lot by reading and responding.
Apart from these discussions, I often post updates about my work, new courses, lectures, and books.
Here’s one example:
And of course, I post about my bloopers, of which I have many:
Are you enrolled in at least one of our courses? Then, you can join the Makers Club by going to its homepage on Facebook and clicking the “+ Join Group” button. Give me a bit of time to respond.
Looking forward to having you in the Tech Explorations Makers Club!