Chattanooga is a hotbed for technology and innovation. What better place to amplify this growing maker culture than placing access to fabrication space directly in the hands of students. No matter where you find yourself living in Hamilton County, if your child enrolls in a public school, they will have access to the tools and learning to lead our city into the future.
A VW eLab is a space within the school that puts classroom learning into practice. We work alongside teachers and students to create and enhance learning by solving problems and creating goals. This design space is creating a culture to help bridge the gap that can exist between classroom theory and real-world practice.
Not only is this lab open to students, but faculty and community also. We strive to bring in real world problems from the community and use a design thinking model to prototype solutions. The VW eLab focuses on demonstrating the concept of lifelong learning and problem solving.
Broad VW eLab Rules:
Do No Harm
Respect yourself, Respect Others, Respect the tools
ABC: Always be Cleaning
The eLab is scheduled as an engineering class and also independently from the Master Schedule, so that it may be utilized by multiple class disciplines. That schedule is facilitated by the VW eLab Specialist through Google Calendar, Form, or email/in-person follow-up. Teachers/Collaborators are contacted to help facilitate the Lab’s use as it relates to their “Student Engagement Module” (SEM). Working with the Specialists, teachers don’t have to worry so much about knowing exactly how everything will work in order to implement their idea, SEM, PBL or SOLE. Together, we work through planning and facilitating the work students will do to demonstrate and deepen their learning.
The VW eLab Specialist actively recruits classrooms and students to use the facility, as it pertains to applied learning opportunities.