HOLOMAKERS - Motivating secondary school students towards STEM careers through hologram making and innovative virtual image processing practices with direct links to current research and laboratory practices
The Holomakers project aimed at inspiring secondary school students (aged 14-17) in making STEM fields a career choice by introducing them to the magic world of hologram making and virtual image processing and design. In addition, the project focused on teachers’ professional development and skill-building through a number of teacher training sessions that span the project implementation period.
The objectives for the project were to:
- design and model an active, learner-centred teaching approach for engaging secondary school students into STEAM-related projects through holography
- encourage integration of Art + Design in STEM and combine disciplines which have been isolated from one another under the traditional educational model
- motivate and enhance secondary school students’ interest in STEAM-related disciplines and careers by engaging them in creative and hands-on learning experiences in holography
- enable the making of holograms outside scientific labs in makeshift locations such as school classrooms or any other educational sites
- enact activities and workshops that promote the professional development of teachers in STEAM teaching
- create OERs that will support school community members to apply the Holomakers learning intervention
- build synergies among schools, academia, research and innovation groups towards creative and meaningful engagement in STEAM education
An innovative aspect of the project was the development of the portable holography kits that can be used for hologram making in the classroom by the students and for outreach purposes, during school events, science festivals and teacher training workshops. The portable holography kits were used along with the Open Educational Resources that were developed in the context of the project.
Pilot studies with secondary school students were carried out in Poland, Greece, Italy and Spain.
Basic information
A technical reference guide is available as an Open Educational Resource where the technical aspects and the basic concepts underpinning hologram making are explained: https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/HOLOMAKERS-Technical-Reference-Guide.pdf
A curriculum is also available for those interested in implementing the HOLOMAKERS initiative where issues related to pedagogical aspects are covered: https://holomakers.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/O3-curriculum_final.pdf
A number of teaching materials are available for teachers including projects/activities that can be carried out in the classroom (accompanied by worksheets for students):
- Activities & worksheets. 7 projects have been designed that are interdisciplinary in nature and fall into the area of STEAM. For each project there is a worksheet available for students and supporting material with additional inspiring resources.
- Resources and presentations related to holography
- Interactive animations that allow students to experiment with the concepts of interference
- Holographic attempts (reflecting upon failures and improvements
- Pilot protocol for teachers - how to implement the Holomakers learning intervention
- Full curriculum
- Video gallery (it includes pedagogical discussions, discussions about the "A" aspect in STEM and technical how-to videos)