ORT MAKERS is a curriculum initiated by the ORT Israel Network, that aims to incorporate the MAKERS’ mental and social skills in educational pedagogical methods such as: creation, iteration, sharing and autonomous learning. The program also seeks to convey ‘manual craftsmanship’ skills to every student who is required to produce a creative and physical project. The program’s contents focus on skills that combine spatial thinking, initiative, planning and documentation, and technical skills that include working with wood, metal, plastic, textile, Arduino and 3D printers.
The MAKERS’ culture that was developed in California around two decades ago and has spread across the globe in a relatively short time. The increasing accessibility of traditional and innovative means of production, the availability of information via the internet, alongside the criticism of consumer culture and the pleasures of creativity and inventing – whether alone or with friends, meaning: do it yourself (DIY) or do it together (DIT) – all contributed to this phenomenon.