Collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation part of WiFab Retreat West

powersp — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 18:23:52 +0000

Collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation part of WiFab Retreat Westpowersp July 12, 2021

Teachers network, learn to develop next generation of problem-solvers

Teachers turned students recently in the University of Wisconsin-Stout Fab Lab as part of the WiFab Retreat West, a three-day immersion in design and digital fabrication.

Participants, while at the university’s Fab Lab June 28-30, went through many experiences to learn the difference between completing a “project” and going through an engineering design process

They also were introduced to basic electrical components and completed labs to experience what electrical components do in a circuit. Using this information, they determined the correct components needed to make a light-up dog tag. They also built upon this knowledge and programmed a microcontroller to automate a circuit when making a cardboard advertisement, cut with a Fab Lab laser.

Dane Helnore, a 2020 technology education graduate who teaches at Chippewa Falls High School, attended the retreat to get student project ideas and network with other teachers.

“It’s scaffolding in learning,” Helnore said. “There is an end goal in sight. It’s about process learning, hands-on learning and reflection on the process.”

Mike Cropp / ��Ͽ� photo

WiFab Retreat West last year went all virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 17 middle and high school educators from across the state attended WiFab Retreat West this year. Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton will host WiFab Retreat East Tuesday, July 13, through Thursday, July 15.

Mike Cropp, ��Ͽ� Fab Lab manager, teaches the retreats with Steve Meyer, manager of STEM education and development at Fox Valley Technical College, and Laurence Charlier, fab lab director at Northwestern High School in Maple and a technology and engineering teacher.

“It was great to be back in person again,” Cropp said. “Everyone can sit in the Fab Lab, work on a project and talk about it together. It’s a great networking opportunity and to learn from one another. We want them to be creative in the solutions while they are thinking and problem-solving.”

Meyer said those teachers then take that knowledge back to classrooms to help create the next generation of problem-solvers. “Techniques are changing so quickly it’s hard to know what the technology will be,” Meyer said. “We do know every kid in the future needs to think. We want kids to do continuous improvement and learn how to make things better all the time. This is about collaboration and making sure students go on to be more innovative in the future.”

Charles Nolt, a WiFab Retreat West participant, begins his teaching career in the technology department at Northwestern High School this fall. Nolt has been a mechanical engineer for the past seven years working at Boston Scientific and at a custom lighting company in Utah in research and development.

Nolt was looking for a change and wanted to start a career that would have an impact on and make a difference for future generations.

“The biggest takeaway for me has not been the technical but an introduction to the educators,” he said. “These people are involved. They have passion and compassion. It’s inspiring to me. They are the people I want to become.”

Laurence Charlier, at right, explains the process to create a lighted miniature billboard to one of the WiFab Retreat West participants. / ��Ͽ� photo

Elk Mound High School technology education teacher Lucas Audorff attended the retreat as part of a $25,000 Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. grant the high school received to update the school’s fab lab. The updated fab lab site is expected to be ready for the 2022-23 school year.

“Instead of just doing a project, it’s more of what is the process, ” said Audorff, a ��Ͽ� 1998 technology education alumnus. “It’s using the technology they already know for a purpose. We are cutting the cardboard, to support a sign, that we will use to showcase a project.”

Helnore said he enjoyed returning to ��Ͽ� and making connections with others in the technology education field. He praised the university’s career focus. “The professors here have real-life experience. That’s extremely valuable.”

Fab Lab founded in 2013

��Ͽ�’s Discovery Center Fab Lab was founded in 2013 with the assistance of a multiyear $520,000 Growth Agenda award from the UW System. It features digital fabrication machines that are programmed through computer software. The Fab Lab provides open access to students from all ��Ͽ� programs, further bolstering the Discovery Center's facilitation of collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts.

The Fab Lab provides access to a variety of tools, including computer-aided design and desktop manufacturing technologies, to help bring ideas to life. The open Fab Lab environment removes barriers, such as access to equipment and technology, while serving as an incubator for applied research, innovation, job creation and economic development.

WEDC has developed a Fab Labs resource page for its website that provides districts with information and a video on how to set up, equip and implement best practices. Content was provided by ��Ͽ� and Gateway Technical College.

In addition, ��Ͽ�, with funding from WEDC, has developed a web portal that allows fab lab schools to communicate with one another on issues such as curriculum development and implementation, equipment usage and training. Districts also may request technical assistance.

��Ͽ� offers a technology education degree program on campus and online.

Teachers turned students recently in the University of Wisconsin-Stout Fab Lab as part of the WiFab Retreat West, a three-day immersion in design and digital fa 20210631_wifabeducators_9642_hero1.jpg

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Hero Caption: Teachers turned students recently in the ��Ͽ� Fab Lab as part of the WiFab Retreat West, a three-day immersion in design and digital fabrication. / ��Ͽ� photo by Chris Cooper

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WiFAB Summer Training Series for Fab Lab Teachers

Design engaging, hands-on STEAM learning experiences while optimizing your Fab Lab and its impact on students

Fabrication Laboratories (Fab Labs) empower students with hands-on STEAM skills for today’s global economy while supporting local innovation through community access. Although the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) grant program that supported Fab Lab equipment purchases has ended, many schools across the state have Fab Labs in place. This two-course training series helps educators maximize these spaces with strategies for instruction, operations, and real-world connections:

Learn how to utilize a Fab Lab to foster multi-disciplinary learning and engage students with hands-on STEAM education.
Discover how to use simple problems to teach age-appropriate concepts while optimizing your Fab Lab’s setup, training, and operations.
Gain strategies to guide students through problem identification, solution design, prototyping, and testing.
Explore ways to connect your Fab Lab with industry and community partners for real-world impact.

Learn more about what you will gain from each course below, and register for one or both courses no later than July 5!

training series At A Glance

July 13 – 16, 2026

9 AM – 4:30 PM

In-Person

On-Campus

Cost

Varies - See below for details & discounts!

Registration is closed.

What will you gain?

Introduction to Fab Lab Equipment

Mon., July 13, 2026, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
$199 Discounted Rate | $249 Regular -
See details below

Never been in a Fab Lab, or have limited experience? This 1-day course will introduce you to the equipment and walk you through several projects, from start to finish! All materials provided. Limited to 20 participants. Upon completion, participants will:

Be introduced to a Fab Lab environment.
Understand the operation of each piece of equipment.
Complete an initial project on each process commonly found in a Fab Lab.
Take away a product you have assembled using each process.

Teaching in a Fab Lab

Tues.-Thurs, July 14-16, 2026, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
$599 Discounted Rate | $749 Regular - Details below

This 3-day course focuses on applied learning within a Fab Lab. Some prior experience within a Fab Lab environment is helpful but not a requirement. Participants are asked to bring a personal laptop but all other materials provided. Limited to 20 participants. Upon completion, participants will:

Examine applied learning within a FabLab.
Learn and experience successful methods of teaching in a Fab Lab.
Complete several projects you can utilize in a classroom.
Connect the learning process to learning outcomes with fun activities.

Who should enroll?

This series is designed for K-12 educators and administrators. There are no prerequisites to participate in Introduction to Fab Lab Equipment. For Teaching in a Fab Lab, some prior experience within a Fab Lab environment is helpful but not required.

What will it cost?

Introduction to Fab Lab Equipment:

Early Bird Discount (register by June 29, 2026): $199
Stout Proud Discount (��Ͽ� Faculty, Staff, Student, and Alumni): $199
Regular Registration: $249

Teaching in a Fab Lab:

Early Bird Discount (register by June 29, 2026): $599
Stout Proud Discount (��Ͽ� Faculty, Staff, Student, and Alumni): $599
Regular Registration: $749

Important Notes:

REGISTRATION CLOSES JULY 5, 2026.
Faculty/Staff/Students: Use your ��Ͽ� email when registering to receive discount.
Alumni: Reach out to gieskingj@uwstout.edu to receive a discount code BEFORE completing the registration form.
Waiting List: Each course is limited to 20 participants, so we encourage you register as soon as possible. We will have a waiting list for each course and will notify you if a space opens up, in order of completed registration.
FAQs: For information on Payment and Cancellation Policy, Disability Accommodations, and other issues, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Wisconsin Teachers at the ��Ͽ� Fab Lab / ��Ͽ�

"I knew very little about Fab Lab equipment or how to build a curriculum around it. But after this week‑long workshop, really diving in and thinking through everything, I feel much more prepared as an educator. It’s something I can bring back to my school and share with everyone there."

- Mackenzie Bennin, Granton Area School District

"Digital fabrication is wonderful for students to experience at any age. The idea that you can take your abstract thoughts and ideas and make a physical object out of them is very empowering.”

- Chris Wiemer, Stoughton High School

Who are your instructors?

Mike Cropp

Mike Cropp is the Manager of the Fab Lab. He has a degree in Engineering Technology-Mechanical Design from ��Ͽ�. He has held a variety of positions in his career, from an Applications Engineer at Stratasys, Ltd. to project manager for the Center for Innovation and Development to Lecturer for the Operations and Management Department at ��Ͽ�. His current role is working with digital fabrication technologies in the Fab Lab to push their boundaries, finding new ways to solve challenges or create fun products. He has over 20 years of experience designing new products, training digital fabrication processes, and building machines. 

Laurence Charlier

A ��Ͽ� graduate, Laurence Charlier has been involved with the ��Ͽ� FAB lab since its inception. He has taken advantage of opportunities to visit several fab labs throughout the state performing assessments for ��Ͽ� and WEDC while networking to discern what makes a quality FAB lab and how the unique capabilities inherent to a FAB Lab can be harnessed for teaching and learning. He has taught WiFAB Retreat courses since 2016. In his current position,as a Technology and Engineering teacher in Maple, WI, he is developing a digital design based STEM curriculum for K-12 teachers, students and the wider community.

Basic Philosophy: Quality curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature, employing mathematics, reading, communication, science, technology, and engineering in real-world context. It offers opportunities to exercise critical thinking and problem solving skills to develop solutions using tools such as the design process and experimentation while promoting creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Location & Parking

Courses will be held in the ��Ͽ� Fab Lab, Vocational Rehabilitation (building #7 in the Campus map below), room 120.

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Lot 14, by the south side of Sorenson Hall, is the closest lot to park to this location.
There is also street parking next to the Vocational Rehabilitation building.

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Fab lab training programs for state teachers scheduled in June, July

polingj — Thu, 06 May 2021 14:41:46 +0000

Fab lab training programs for state teachers scheduled in June, Julypolingj May 6, 2021

Registration open for WiFab Training Series, to be held virtually; school districts receive grants

Where do the manufacturing jobs of the future begin?

One of the places is at University of Wisconsin-Stout, which will coordinate two WiFab Training Series events this summer for teachers from across the state.

Registration is open for both virtual events:

WiFab West, Monday through Wednesday, June 28-30, hosted by ��Ͽ�
WiFab East, Tuesday through Thursday, July 13-15, hosted by Fox Valley Technical College.

The training series supports teachers whose schools are developing a digital fabrication space — fab lab — or makerspace.

The WiFab Training Series through ��Ͽ� helps teachers with their fab lab skills. / ��Ͽ�

On May 5, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced its 2021 fab lab grants, totaling $635,090 for 28 school districts. Schools are able to use the funds to purchase fab lab equipment.

Districts in west-central Wisconsin that received grants included Alma Center-Humbird Merrillan, Cornell, Elk Mound, Prescott and River Falls.

The three-day workshop is designed to help train teachers to:

Develop a fab lab curriculum
Understand how a fab lab is used to foster multidisciplinary learning
Learn how to use simple problems to teach age-appropriate STEAM concepts
Consider fab lab setup, training and operation
Learn how to challenge students to identify the problem, imagine solutions, weigh ideas, prototype and test
Learn how the fab lab can engage with industry and community members.

A WiFab participant works on a project at a past training event on campus. This year’s events will be virtual. / ��Ͽ�

The WiFab Training Series through ��Ͽ� is coordinated by the university’s Professional Education Programs and Services, part of the Discovery Center. Mike Cropp, ��Ͽ� Fab Lab specialist, will help coordinate WiFab West and WiFab East.

��Ͽ� has offered the training programs since 2016. They also were virtual in 2020. More than 100 teachers from Wisconsin have participated.

WiFab Cooperative is also an online resource, created in partnership with ��Ͽ�, to help PK-12 school districts collaborate and share information. The resource helps disseminate relevant curricula, champion best practices, address common challenges and facilitate inter-lab communications.

School districts can request technical assistance on the web portal through ��Ͽ� to build and grow their fab labs.

��Ͽ�’s Fab Lab is in the Vocational Rehabilitation Building, 221 10th Ave. E.

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News

Collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation part of WiFab Retreat West

Corporate Relations & Economic Engagement

Where Partnerships Begin

Explore our Centers

External Partner Projects

Manufacturing Outreach Center (WisMOC)

Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Artificial Intelligence

Center for Innovation & Development

Center for Limnological Research & Rehabilitation (CLRR)

Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC)

Fab Lab

Corporate Relations & Economic Engagement

Recent ��Ͽ� graphic design graduate helps alumni business rebrand, prepare for expansion

��Ͽ� gets $19 million federal grant to manage statewide manufacturing program

Wisconsin manufacturing leaders unite to accelerate AI adoption across the state

WiFAB Summer Training Series for Fab Lab Teachers

training series At A Glance

What will you gain?

Introduction to Fab Lab Equipment

Teaching in a Fab Lab

Who should enroll?

What will it cost?

Introduction to Fab Lab Equipment:

Teaching in a Fab Lab:

Important Notes:

Mike Cropp

Laurence Charlier

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