Make It Digital

Make It Digital
Name	Make It Digital
Type	Initiative
Founded	2014
Founders	Tony Wilson; Ada Lovelace Day committee; National Science Foundation
Area served	Global
Focus	Digital literacy, maker movement, STEM outreach
Headquarters	Silicon Valley

Make It Digital

Make It Digital is a global initiative that promotes digital skills, maker culture, and technology access through workshops, curricula, and public campaigns. It connects networks of makerspaces, universities, museums, and industry partners to deliver hands-on learning in computing, robotics, electronics, and fabrication. The program collaborates with major institutions and events to scale training for learners, educators, and policymakers.

Overview

Make It Digital links communities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Harvard University with cultural institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Science Museum (London), and Cooper Hewitt. Partnerships extend to corporations including Google, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Intel, IBM, and Amazon (company), as well as foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. The initiative often appears alongside events like Maker Faire, SXSW, CES, TED Conference, and World Economic Forum gatherings to showcase digital fabrication, coding bootcamps, and hardware prototyping. It emphasizes cross-disciplinary ties with institutions such as Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, European Commission, and UNESCO.

History and Development

Origins trace to pilot programs at organizations including Raspberry Pi Foundation, Arduino LLC, Fab Foundation, and TechShop (maker space), which influenced early strategy and pedagogy. Initial funding rounds involved grants from National Science Foundation, Google.org, and donations from Mozilla Foundation and Knight Foundation. Early public demonstrations were held at venues like Science Museum (London), Cooper Hewitt, and Exploratorium, and conferences such as Maker Faire Bay Area and Web Summit helped expand visibility. Key milestones include curriculum releases aligned with frameworks from Common Core State Standards Initiative, collaboration with Code.org for classroom modules, and accreditation pilots with universities like University of California, Berkeley and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Features and Components

Make It Digital comprises modular curricula, makerspace toolkits, educator training, and public exhibition programs. The curricula integrate platforms and projects from Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Micro:bit, LEGO Group, and Adafruit Industries, alongside software ecosystems including Scratch (programming language), Python (programming language), Node.js, TensorFlow, and Unity (game engine). Hardware resources reference providers like Ultimaker, Prusa Research, Stratasys, and MakerBot. Professional development modules draw from models used by Code.org, Hour of Code, Khan Academy, and EdX. Assessment tools incorporate analytics practices from Google Analytics, learning platforms such as Coursera, FutureLearn, and certification approaches similar to Microsoft Certified Professional and Cisco Certified Network Associate.

Implementation and Adoption

Local implementations have been led by municipal initiatives like City of London Corporation, San Francisco Board of Education, New York City Department of Education, and national programs in Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, and Japan. Corporate adoption includes employee upskilling at IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, and PwC. Nonprofits such as Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, FIRST (organization), and Code Club integrate Make It Digital modules into outreach. Funders and sponsors have included European Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, and The Rockefeller Foundation, enabling rollouts in partner sites such as Fab Lab Barcelona, Makerspace Madrid, Tinkering Studio (Exploratorium), and university makerspaces at MIT Media Lab and Stanford d.school.

Educational and Cultural Impact

The initiative influenced pedagogy at schools like Eton College, Phillips Academy, High Tech High, and public systems including Los Angeles Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools. Museums and cultural programs at Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, and Victoria and Albert Museum hosted exhibitions linking craft and code. Make It Digital has been referenced in policy discussions in bodies such as European Parliament, UK Parliament, and United States Congress on workforce development and digital inclusion. Publications in venues including Nature (journal), Science (journal), Wired (magazine), and MIT Technology Review documented impacts on skills development and community innovation.

Criticism and Challenges

Critiques come from scholars and organizations including Amnesty International, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy International, and academics at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge who raise concerns about surveillance, data privacy, and digital equity. Critics point to uneven access highlighted in reports by OECD, UNICEF, and World Bank showing disparities in broadband, hardware, and teacher capacity. Intellectual property debates involve stakeholders such as Creative Commons and World Intellectual Property Organization. Sustainability challenges arise around funding models similar to those confronting TechShop (maker space) and local makerspaces in Detroit and Bristol.

Related Projects and Spin-offs

Related efforts and spin-offs include collaborations with Raspberry Pi Foundation educational projects, Fab Lab network expansions under MIT Center for Bits and Atoms, regional makerspace networks like Makerspace NYC, and accelerator partnerships with Y Combinator, Techstars, and Plug and Play Tech Center. Spin-off initiatives focus on equity and access, aligning with Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, Digital Promise, and municipal programs in Barcelona, Singapore, and Tallinn. Work in adjacent domains links to open hardware movements spearheaded by Open Source Hardware Association and software ecosystems such as Mozilla Foundation projects.

Category:Digital literacy initiatives