Most folks have to work during the week.
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In the discussion of declining revenue growth, folks were discussing the need for a āintro to Makerspaceā class.
Improved signage was mentioned, also.
It seems that it would be good to have a dedicated thread for this.
A couple of other ideasātry to have something, not necessarily a class going on in various aras on Thurs night.
Since jewelry is not very interesting to folks on a tour, unless something is going on there, I am going to start hosting a Thurs night wonight workshope most Thurs nights
I would love to see more collabrative projects like the dulcimer sticks and the inkle looms happen
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Problem with this plan is that you are now enforcing a specific requirement for regular training, meaning someone has to volunteer time to do that. There might be a period of weeks where all the authorized trainers are too busy to volunteer time.
The on-boarding class is a good idea.
Another idea for everyone: announce training courses on a dedicated Talk group, not just on the calendar. Iāve often missed training classes because I didnāt keep my Google calendar open.
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I donāt think that was a willingness of teachers. I seemed to me that it (training) was wanting to be revamped but was just at a bad time to do so.
On another note, I canāt say much about other makers but I usually keep to myself but try to talk to others. Itās been kinda an issue for me socially most of my life. I have been called an asshole (doesnāt bother me) behind my back just because of it. I have to wonder when I see a mutual acquaintance if they remember who I am. Ahh the awkwardness. At the same token I can get into my āzoneā when Iām thinking of a project or working on a project.
My wife is the more of a hermit than I am. I try to get her more involved as she is a stay at home mom. She could easily teach classes even though she doesnāt think so.
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In most cases, I favor video training as a supplement to in person training and especially as a refresher.
For most committees, I think the following structure would work:
- A mandatory class on safety and how to not break the tools and how to pay for usage if applicable. This can be held in a classroom for a large audience so we do not create a serious bottleneck.
- Supplementary training by video on how to get started with each tool and the workflow for actually using those tools requiring CAD.
- Provide a list of voluntary tutors for those with questions or wanting assistance or a live demo.
- There are a few tools like the table saw which beginners should fear for good reason. Those would still require mandatory hands-on training or a way to test or demo out.
- Additional optional classes to gain proficiency on various tools.
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How about we start by unbanning someone who was working toward creating video training materials?
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In another thread I had recommended video training and putting up systems in the key areas and near critical equipment so that people could watch the videos as a refresher right there in the area. Once the videos are made, we would just have to put up a monitor and a small Rasberry PI to connect to a media server that has the videos. We could also include some āstep-by-stepā instructional PDFs for some of it as well. This would help improve safety, reduce equipment breakage, and get members engaged at the space faster. I have offered to help with all of this and it was also suggested we have a ātrainingā committee to make sure all the material was uniform and accurate.
Ron
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I would be interested in volunteering on video course creation if I could be paired up with someone who has some video recording and editing skills. I have the requisite expertise and access to tools (via my work PC) to create professional-quality course curricula if I can talk to subject matter experts for each area who, given that we have teachers for all the equipment, I would assume are available.
To give some background, I have a B.S. in Technical Communications from a respected undergraduate engineering school, and I am currently employed by a multinational company to create manuals for installation of heavy equipment for use across the country. I have also done environmental health and safety posters and labeling before, as well, so we could toss safety signage in the mix without much extra work.
Unfortunately, I have a pretty tight schedule the next month/month-and-a-half (travel, moving to a new apt., getting my fiancee moved in with me). I would, however, like to start talking to people about it.
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Hi Brandon and everyone else. I am a video maker and makerspace attendee that could easily produce training videos for you. Drop me an email and letās discuss.
Ricky Herrington
[email protected]
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Just as a reference, if anyone wants to look at any of the material we put together for the New Member Handbook take a look here under Reference Material on our PR Trello board. Might help you out on tracking down information.
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(And just for clarification- All PR material will use the voted on, current DMS logo-- anything you see in the PR files with the nixed logo wonāt be printed out again. )
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āhow to geek, alternatively (second line) , How not to feed yourself to any loud steel machine with teethā
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Iām available to help out with documentation and video creation for new members. If anybody has taken the lead on this project and needs some extra help, feel free to message me to coordinate.
Iām out of the āvideo makingā business, but $1000 per finished minute of video is a good ballpark metric for things like training videos. Itās obvious that the real numbers can vary wildly, with quality being the biggest variable, but Iāve done a number of 3-5 minute training videos (as well as hundreds of TV commercials) that took in the ballpark of a week of work-hours to complete. They were generally pretty high in production value, but the subject matter wasnāt as technically complex as many of the things that weād need to do at the makerspace. Iām currently putting in 65-75 hours a week at work so I canāt be of much assistance in creating videos, exceptā¦
I teach the vinyl cutter class and could ostensibly be called a subject matter expert (not really though). With my expertise on creating videos I could effectively do a two-for-one where Iād be the SME for the video and assist anyone who wanted to learn a bit about video production (thereās a lot of social engineering to the shooting aspect) at the same time.
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Iām going to proffer an opinion, that the probability of all these videos becoming available any time in this millennia, is effectively zero.
The shops with actual committees offer quite a few classes, and meet the demand for their basic tool classes. Those that have weak or non-existent committees, offer only excuses.
The solution seems obvious to me.
Iād like to hear more about this āthiefā?
See this post: https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/prosecution-of-the-dms-thief/9439
I suspect there was more than one - but this one got caught on video.
How about a very simple way to get folks engagedā¦have them create their own clip on Makerspace ID Badge. If everyone at the Makerspace had a photo ID badge, it would help with that very first introduction. Iāve been here for several months now, I recognize several regular folks, but their names always evade me. A name badge would sure help. The ID badges could be as simple as a clip on laminated badge or as complex as a laser etched one. Suggest a standard format; Makerspace Logo, photo, personās name, year they started, position title, etc. Folks can then update their own badge using the available resources as they learn how to use the other tools. Keep it simple!
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I am semi face blind and that would be a great help for me and they need to include folks talk names
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I would prefer self paced / self completing training on tools because I donāt make it to DMS often and being able to train myself outside of DMS would be a great benefit.
As it stands now, I only get to DMS a couple times a month, and because of the recent policy and tool changes, I am not authorized to use much of ANYTHING. I have been debating on leaving DMS because of it.
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