Teaching e-textiles in schools and the future of STEAM education (S1E6)
In this Season 1 Episode 6 of The Art in STEAM podcast, we are joined by Dr Paola Guimeráns — an E-textiles education specialist and an Interaction Design and Wearable Technology expert. She is the founder of the Edtech company Aula STEAM and the author of the online wearable tech DIY resources platform PrototipadoLAB.
We dive into the latest developments in STEAM education in which we discuss how educators and parents can encourage more young girls to pursue careers in these fields. Additionally, we explore the fascinating world of e-textiles and wearable technology in the context of tech and how technology is changing how we learn and teach.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.
[Femmes Designers] So the democratisation of technology and the DIY culture started not long ago, in the late 2000s and early 2000s. And 10s offered designers and nontechnical creators many opportunities to innovate and experiment with new tools. How do you see this phenomenon evolving throughout the years? And what does this engineering and design community look like today?
[Paola Guimeráns] I think it's amazing how we have evolved during the last few years. At least in Spain and in Latin America, a lot of schools and kids are learning to programme and are able to be part of how our lives need to be or can be. When we talk about technology, it’s exciting how it has advanced thanks to the DIY community and DIY education. We can see a generation that will be able to not only use technology but also produce technology in the way they want. That is kind of how I see it now. In Spain, there are a lot of new opportunities that teachers are more aware of. The new generation of kids needs to learn with new tools, and they need to be able to be prosumers, not just consumers. Teachers and the government of Spain are more and more aware that they need a generation of prosumers.
[FD] This is teaching the next generation to make what exists in the world. And not just use it. There's kind of a gap in skills between teachers and the young generation because teachers haven't grown with technology. And young people are already way savvier; how do you reconcile this gap of knowledge?
[PG] It's not that the kids know how to use technology. I think it's more that they're digital natives. And, you know, teachers are like immigrants, right? They are not natives in the digital world, and I think it's a huge problem because we need to redefine what it means to educate in the 21st century.
