Maker Journal
This is where classroom systems, tech experiments, family projects, and practical tool-building all connect back to the same workflow: make, test, refine, share.
Bambu's R1 laser works with LightBurn, but there is no material library for it yet. I built one from Bambu Suite's own presets: 35 materials, 139 entries, free to download.
Read the postMy Tech Ed students already learn LightBurn for the laser. I am planning to teach them MillMage, LightBurn's CNC router software, on our older shop CNC. Here is why I think same-developer software shortens...
Read the postTech Trails is a free browser word puzzle for Tech Ed vocabulary. Students trace hidden words through a grid, find the rainbow word, and read what each term means. Works on Chromebooks.
Read the postBridge Building Company teaches students to choose a bridge. It never lets them design one. So I built Bridge Lab, and now I use the two together for reinforcement and for early finishers.
Read the postStudents run a small construction company, pick a bridge for each job site, and find out at the load test whether it holds. Free, no accounts, works on Chromebooks.
Read the postGoogle Classroom can't preview STL files, so grading a class set of Tinkercad keychains meant 30 downloads. I built a free Chrome extension that fixes it.
Read the postA private family Minecraft server, a pet-protection ladder, an item-request helper in Discord, and a lot of lessons about keeping things simple while the rest of life is new.
Read the postMost mornings during the summer, the question comes before I’ve even finished my tea. “Can we go on the boat today?” It’s not a bad question. It’s just one my kids ask constantly, and...
Read the postAfter five years, I started thinking about what I'd actually built at my school and how much of it lived inside accounts I was about to lose access to. Clever, Chrome, Google. Here's how...
Read the postAfter a few years of running makerspace challenges with K-6 students, I’ve noticed that most of what gets labelled a “STEM activity” falls into one of two buckets: things that look impressive but don’t...
Read the postIn my last post I wrote about getting a used Promark P70 VR drone and going down a rabbit hole of FAA registration, the TRUST test, and whether drones have any business being in...
Read the postYour 3D printer can do more than make cool stuff. Here are six organizations connecting makers and students with people who need mobility devices, prosthetics, and assistive technology -- all free to the families...
Read the postSometimes the best maker projects start with someone handing you something and saying “here, take this.”
Read the postAfter ten years of babysitting open-frame printers, the Bambu Lab P2S is the first machine that gets out of its own way—and its enclosed chamber with air filtration makes it a serious classroom upgrade...
Read the postHow I used AI to build a complete de-extinction STEAM week project for grades 4-6, with editable worksheets and extension activities.
Read the postA teacher's guide to leveraging Claude AI for educational content migration. Learn how I updated an entire robotics curriculum in less than an hour.
Read the postDisclosure: I’m James Crawford, a K-6 technology teacher and dad of two. I built Pixel Studio myself — it’s free, and I made it because I couldn’t find a pixel art app I was...
Read the postWant to create awesome pixel art like the characters in Minecraft, Pokemon, and retro games? This complete beginner’s guide will teach you everything you need to know to start making your own pixel masterpieces...
Read the postHow a free CLI tool, Cloudflare's generous free tier, and some careful tile optimization turned nightly Minecraft backups into an interactive web map that 'just works'—and what I learned about static site deployment limits...
Read the postThis post has been merged into Fair Playing Time in Youth Basketball: A Coach-Dad’s Guide to Rotations That Actually Work.
Read the postI built the 4v4 Rotation Planner to solve a problem I had as a coach: keeping rotations fair during a fast-moving youth basketball game without losing track of who had played. It’s the same...
Read the postThis post has been merged into Fair Playing Time in Youth Basketball: A Coach-Dad’s Guide to Rotations That Actually Work.
Read the postI coach my kid’s youth basketball team on weekends and teach technology to K-6 students during the week. Both jobs ask you to think carefully about who gets access, who gets a turn, and...
Read the postWhat started as 'my kids want to play Minecraft' became a months-long meditation on building systems that fade into the background. Here's how a 500-line Bash script became the invisible guardian of a family's...
Read the postAs a tech teacher and parent, I spend a lot of time teaching kids that technology is a tool for solving real problems. But there’s a difference between telling students “you can build anything”...
Read the postOne of the best things about teaching K-6 technology is that some of the most effective engineering challenges cost almost nothing. The paper roller coaster is a perfect example. Students build a functional roller...
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