A Possible Ubiquitous Way of Learning within a Fab Lab
The Combination of Blended Learning and Implementation-oriented Learning
Aleksandra Konopek, Lukas Hellwig and Michael Schäfer
Institute of Informatics, Hochschule Ruhr West, Lützowstrasse 5, Bottrop, Germany
Keywords: Fab Lab, Fab Academy, Ubiquitous Learning, Implementation-oriented Learning, Blended Learning.
Abstract: This report describes a possible peak of blended learning and implementation-oriented learning within a
special training concept which can easily lead to a ubiquitous learning attitude. The associated field report
characterizes a special ratio between self-learning methods and active support through an instructor, turning
the combination of blended learning and implementation-oriented learning into a ubiquitous way of learning
proposed to be called mushroom strategy. The idea of a fab lab exemplifies open workshops. Its growing
influence on the educational landscape is specified, highlighting questions and difficulties regarding the
integration of this very special ubiquitous way of learning into a daily routine of a fab lab. An exploration of
this learning strategy leads to a proposal for a learner-mentoring-process.
1 INTRODUCTION
Many different educational offerings characterize
the educational landscape. They may have different
goals. Attending a school, for example, implies
graduating, going on to vocational training and
university with the aim of employment. Skill
enhancement offers a range of higher qualifications
with the prospect of better income or
competitiveness. But there are also training courses
one needs to complete to be allowed to do something
like drive a car or work for the voluntary fire brigade
or be an exercise instructor.
All these training courses have one thing in
common: They offer entrance qualifications. The
associated assessment criteria focus on the human-
being as a learning individual.
Currently, a new kind of diverse educational
institution is spreading rapidly, like open workshops,
repair cafés, hacker spaces and others. Learning
skills simply on one’s own initiative without any
prospect of certification is one aim of these
institutions (Makerspaces 2014-2018). Questions of
motivation arise: curiosity or social contacts? The
implementation of one’s own ideas is definitely a
key motivation (Keller 2010). Learning skills and
their instant implementation into a desired project or
product can be seen as a powerful stimulus. Below,
the concept of a fab lab will be briefly described and
exemplifies open workshops. Fab lab users can learn
how to implement their own projects or product
ideas with the assistance of fab lab staff by using
computational methods and CNC machines.
2 OPEN WORKSHOPS
“Open-access workshops are member-lead
organisations that provide access to affordable
space, tools and workshop facilities.” (Corbin and
Lynch n.d.) The following chapters describe
functionality, aim and relevance of fab labs as an
example for open workshops.
2.1 Fab Lab Overview
The concept of a fab lab was invented and developed
by MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms in 2001. It is
mainly based on the idea of institutionalizing the
“maker movement” – an open-source
transdisciplinary and transcultural knowledge
transfer using the Internet as a communication
channel (Gershenfeld 2012, p.47/48). Fab labs focus
on providing machines to the public for digital
fabrication and computation as a technical
prototyping platform. One claim they make is
serving as a node for a local community of learners,
educators, technologists, researchers, makers and
innovators acting globally in a global network of fab
labs around the world. All fab labs should provide
Konopek, A., Hellwig, L. and Schäfer, M.
A Possible Ubiquitous Way of Learning within a Fab Lab.
DOI: 10.5220/0006780202650271
In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2018), pages 265-271
ISBN: 978-989-758-291-2
Copyright
c
 2019 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
265

and share common tools and processes to be able to
easily exchange and support each other (What is a
Fab Lab 2016).
Besides providing workshop spaces, tools and
high-tech machines, the main mission of this
concept is to enable penetrability and transferability
of digital fabrication and computation knowledge to
the public. The main focus of attention is the key
word “open source”. It is the idea of picking up and
using the enormous unfiltered knowledge and
energy, available for free on the Internet
(Hüttenegger 2016), and creating a “constructivist
learning environment” in terms of individual
perceptions und responsibilities (Pörksen 2014).
Yet there are no prescribed studying techniques,
only an internal charter defining a desired behaviour
within fab labs (Fab Central - MIT Center for Bits
and Atoms n.d.). One of the charter items defines
fab labs as educational institutes providing
“…operational, educational, technical, financial, and
logistical assistance…”.
Why educational? The crux of the concept is:
“Users learn by designing and creating objects of
personal interest or import” (What is a Fab Lab
2016). Ideally, a fab lab user comes with a product
idea and leaves with a self-fabricated prototype or
final product. Nonetheless, it is equally valid if
people just want to learn to use a software tool,
realize personal projects or develop prototypes as
entrepreneurs. They must learn how to do it by
themselves and fab employees only assist with the
learning processes. That means that there is no
longer a classic teacher-student relationship, but
rather a sharing of knowledge and skills without any
hierarchy. In the best case, fab lab users learn from
each other.
2.2 Fab Lab Facilities
Typical well-equipped fab labs provide (Fab Lab
Inventory 2016):
 Digital fabrication: 3D printer, laser engraving
and cutting machine, small CNC portal
milling machine, precision milling machine
for PCB milling and soldering furnace, 3D
milling machine, large CNC portal milling
machine, vinyl cutter for smaller objects and
for stronger materials like copper foil, digital
sewing machine, …
 Computation: designing and modeling
software, music- and film cutting tools, if
possible open source and tools for VR (virtual
reality) /AR (augmented reality) …
 Computer and color printer are mandatory
 Conventional fabrication: lathe, band-saw,
circular saw, grinding well, drilling machine,
vacuum or thermoforming machine, press,
Styrocut …
 Tools: as in every workshop you need a
standard tool kit incl. hammer, screwdriver,
ruler, saw … as well as soldering tools…
 Consumable materials: wood plates, paper,
acrylic glass, leather, screws, etc., electronic
components such as wires, resonators, LEDs,
microchips, breadboards, servomotors…
 …
2.3 Relevance of Workshops like Fab
Labs in the Educational Landscape
“In 1998 we tried teaching “How To Make (almost)
Anything” for the first time…” (Gershenfeld 2005).
The first fab lab was launched in 2001 at the MIT
Media Lab in Boston/USA by Center for Bits and
Atoms and Grassroots Invention Group. Only the
following year the first fab lab was established
outside MIT, in Costa Rica (Costa Rica Institute of
Technology TEC) (Mikhak and Gershenfeld, 2002).
In September 2017 there were already 1,183 fab
labs registered on fablabs.io (a communication
interface for all fab labs and members) spread all
over the world. Two months later, in November,
there were 1,201 registered fab labs (fablabs.io n.d.).
The number of fab labs has increased
exponentially in recent years. They now exist as
independent institutions or integrated in universities
or schools. As such, they are having a growing
influence on our educational landscape worldwide,
but at the same time reflect a social need. They are
becoming relevant within the educational landscape.
Beside the labs, the huge number of community
workshops with similar goals should be mentioned:
hacker spaces, repair cafés, makerspaces, workshops
that help people to help themselves, and others.
3 LEARNING METHODS
Yet as workshops like fab labs are becoming ever
more relevant, a very important question is arising:
What kind of knowledge is being conveyed and,
above all, how is learning taking place in these
workshops?
One indication is that “users learn by designing
and creating objects” (What is a Fab Lab 2016).
This defines learning as “implementation-oriented
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learning” in contrast to “knowledge-oriented
learning”, which takes place at most of our schools
and universities.
3.1 Learning Strategies in Open
Workshops
Open workshops are also self-qualifying (Sabel
2002) environments. Even if implementation of
one´s own ideas is one powerful key stimulus for
learning, providing learning strategies within these
workshops are quite helpful for the learning process.
Still, main focus of implementation oriented learning
is the final product. The following chapter
introduces a learning strategy for this kind of
request. Starting point and central aspect will be the
learner´s own responsibility and a ubiquitous
attitude regarding the learner´s environment as
potential educational material.
3.2 The Mushroom Strategy:
A Ubiquitous Way of Learning
In addition to current definitions of ubiquitous
learning arising from the definition of mobile
learning and purely based on ubiquitous technology
(Specht and Ebner 2011), there is a different way of
ubiquitous learning possible within fab labs. The
difference is the perspective. While the current
definition of ubiquitous learning is mainly described
from the perspective of the technical environment,
the mushroom strategy flips the perspective to the
student. This change leads to a demand-oriented
view. Thus, potentially everything, a conversation
with colleagues, neighbors, family, can be part of the
learning process, or just the bare observation of the
environment or situations can give useful hints. It
depends on the student’s current requirements,
interest and receptivity.
The mushroom strategy is interesting for
simultaneous learning to reach the goal of a finished
product or project within a certain period of time,
similar to Integrated Design Engineering (Vajna
2014). It is a strict and high-pressure way of
achieving educational goals focusing on the final
product all the time. Thus it is also a ubiquitous way
of learning. This learning method is mainly a self-
learning method. Some of the learning material is
given through links, for example, but the students
absolutely have to conduct their own research
depending on the subject they are focusing on. They
have to become a specialist in their individual
projects.
Figure 1: The mushroom strategy as a ubiquitous way of
learning.
The figure above shows the relationship between
student/environment/final product. The focus is
always on the product idea. Meanwhile the technical
and natural environment serves as a potential
information and learning source. Even so, a strong
willingness for one’s own research and alliances is
standard. The student determinates the flow of
information, mainly. The educational background is
the foundation from which to choose learning tools
and ask the right questions. The student assimilates
and cross-links all information instantly with a view
to the product idea. Only learning material which is
necessary for a better understanding of the problem
exceeds the focus and will be transformed into the
product more indirectly. This learning strategy is
highly individual and mostly self-organized. The
terms in figure 1 are exemplary and can be extended.
The student’s attitude, focusing on a successful
implementation of the project idea, defines the
environment as a ubiquitous information source. The
goal is omnipresent during the studies.
3.3 How the Mushroom Strategy
Works – A Field Report in a
Situation of an Advanced
Training Course
The above attitude is encouraged by the Fab
Academy’s course structure (Fab Academy Course
Structure 2017).
3.3.1 What Is a Fab Academy
The Fab Academy offers a combination of blended
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learning and implementation-oriented learning over
a period of 5 month. It is a special training concept
for fab lab managers developed by the Center for
Bits and Atoms and headed by Professor Neil
Gershenfeld and can be seen as a possible peak of
“blended learning” (Erpenbeck et al., 2015) in
combination with “implementation-oriented
learning” (Martinez and Stager 2013).
Meanwhile, there are as many as 11 university
fab labs that accredit Fab Academy training courses
or are working on accreditation systems for it
(Accreditations 2017).
The aim of this educational concept is to train
fab lab managers who are able to establish and run
fab labs. For this special requirement pre-
qualifications are necessary in at least one of the
fields of mechanical engineering or mechanics,
informatics, electronics or industrial design, etc.
Within six months students get involved in a wide
range of digital and conventional fabrication
techniques, various computational, design and
modeling tools and in robotics, including circuit
board development and embedded programming.
3.3.2 Short Introduction into the Fab
Academy Process
The teaching and learning program is being
constantly enhanced, but the main structure is
clearly organized:
 Basically, all topics are structured within a
weekly rhythm.
 The professor gives an online lecture once a
week, a local instructor assists the weekly
learning process and a supervising tutor called
a “guru” supports various fab labs in a
particular catchment area.
 Learning tools vary between online tutorials,
online lectures, presence lectures, personal
assistance, online research on open-source
examples and solutions, direct
implementation, exchange between students.
 Studying techniques are influenced by the
instructor. If the instructor wishes to control
the learning process, study will be less self-
determined. The other extreme is complete
withdrawal. This will almost certainly lead to
failure.
 The topics of the Fab Academy’s lectures
build on one another, in part, but it often
seems they lack continuity. For instance, one
week of PCB design is followed by one week
of 3D modeling. This makes sense. A weekly
rhythm is strict and fast. A thematic break
allows students to fill in or make corrections
to the previous assignments outside of the
actual topic. Why does it work out? Given
students’ pre-qualifications some weeks are
relatively easy and assignments quick to solve,
depending on their individual knowledge
background. For example, an industrial
designer will find it easier to design and
model a product than to develop a circuit
board.
 Weekly reviews, mostly online, give early
feedback on assignments.
 A final project running over several weeks
should integrate a number of topics. It checks
the skills learned.
Even if the topics are fairly interesting, the most
thrilling part is the studying technique, the
combination of blended learning and pure
implementation-oriented learning, which can easily
result in a ubiquitous way of learning.
3.3.3 Field Report
The following field report by a 2017 Fab Academy
student (Konopek 2017) shows how mushroom
strategy takes place in a very special situation, when
the instructor’s or guru’s support is reduced to the
bare minimum and a learning week of about 60
hours+ becomes the norm.
It should be emphasized in advance that the
assignment of tasks was one of the main success
factors.
The Fab Academy’s assignments all have a
similar structure throughout:
After a short weekly review, the student attends a
90-minute lecture on the upcoming topic and its sub-
items. The lecture provides an intense overview of
state-of-the-art science and technology including a
huge representative range of products and working
methods. Some of the products are analyzed and
highlighted, such as 2D or 3D design tools, CNC
machines, etc., followed by best practice or
successful examples.
Now, the student must come up with a project or
product idea and choose and explore one or more
working methods of realizing that idea. Research
and workflow must be recorded online in the Fab
Academy’s archive. The documentation should take
the form of instructions or guidelines.
3.3.4 The Workflow
The weekly topic generates a focus on one purpose:
realizing the idea and completing the assignment.
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1. After brief research on working methods, software
and the fab lab’s equipment, the preferred working
method must be chosen depending on the project
requirements.
2. A near-simultaneous learning and implementation
process starts:
 Make sketches on constructional features of
the project.
 Research similar open-source projects in the
Fab Academy’s archive and online.
 Search for online handbooks, manuals and
video tutorials.
 Communication with fellow students and
neighbors and request for hints.
 Download software tools required for
realizing the project.
 Research retailers and buy missing tools,
accessories and molding material needed.
 Literature research for additional and
continuing studies (good for bedtime reading).
 Read instruction manuals (if required) or
obtain operating instructions from the local
instructor.
 Design, planning and realization of the project
by trial and error.
 Take notes and pictures of the process.
 Instructor or guru assists only where
necessary.
3. Write an online documentation with the help of
the recorded notes and pictures.
4. Local review/global review. Lecture, with next
topic.
3.3.5 Thoughts on Assistance during the Fab
Academy Training
Although the mushroom strategy is a highly self-
motivated and self-learning strategy, there are
important factors keeping the student focused. The
weekly rhythm is one of them. It divides the training
course into clearly set-out learning units. Combined
with the educational orientation of the course
structure, it helps systematically increase knowledge
and skills with a view to the final product. The
ubiquitous technology as well as freely accessible
online tutorials, videos, open-source tools and
information facilitate research, learning and
implementation processes. However, sometimes
progress is difficult without any personal assistance.
Lectures should be given to communicate important
structures and links between relevant information
that cannot be easily found on the Internet or in
literature. Sometimes, the guru’s or instructor’s
direct intervention is unavoidable. Yet this point is
highly sensitive. Too much assistance makes
students passive and the learning effect falls. No
assistance can easily cause failure, because of two
possible factors: First, the student may lose focus.
The instructor’s duty is to remedy this. Second,
insurmountable obstacles may cause the student to
discontinue the training course. Obstacles could be
missing equipment or a permanent failure of the
breadboard. The instructor’s duty is to organize and
supplement the standard equipment or help the
student to do so and to support him/her with difficult
problems or find an easier way to solve them
together with the student. The right amount of help
will increase the knowledge of and empower the
student.
3.4 Feasibility of the Mushroom
Strategy for New Fab Lab Users
Particularly Individuals and
Companies
Set up on the above report the main task is to
customize and integrate the mushroom strategy into
more open and self-qualifying projects within
workshops without any assessments and evaluations.
Based feature of this task is the idea that only a
ubiquitous attitude in combination with one´s own
project can lead to the mushroom strategy. A
missing attitude cut off this strategy. This very
important point has to be imparted.
The experiences of various groups of new fab lab
users show similar problems. First off all, new
learning individuals and groups are overcharged
because of the huge range of options this kind of
workshops offer. Too many unknown machines and
software tools. Even if they already have a project
idea, they don´t know how and where to start. On
the internet one can find nearly all kinds of manuals
for machines or tutorials for software tools and well
described projects, but the new fab lab users aren´t
able to rank this information. This mostly leads to
frustration and unproductivity. Even a simple
reference to information, tutorials, manuals for
machines, software tools and projects in internet is
helpful but not enough. An implementation oriented
perspective is still missing, the behavior is more
passive, waiting for input from an instructor or
teacher. But for applying the mushroom strategy one
needs a ubiquitous attitude to be able to implement
and learn in the same time without any pressure and
evaluation. On the other hand, too much assistance
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269

of an instructor reduces the time for implementing
the project idea but also the learning effect. It keeps
the learners passive and nearly untaught. Indeed, if
they implement their projects by themselves, they
understand how it works and are able to repeat or
improve their projects, again. This should be
recognized.
Mentoring is therefore necessary before a project
starts and during the development process. By this
the self-qualifying process can take place with more
satisfaction and a sense of self-empowerment.
Figure 2: Learner – Mentoring Process. Preparing learners
for the mushroom method as a self-qualifying technique.
According to different kind of instructions our
fab lab seminars for students, individuals and
companies show different behavior of patterns. In
predefined lessons participants become more
passive. They have more difficulties to create own
project ideas, compared to open lab days, where
participants come up with ideas first and want to
implement them.
3.4.1 Limit of the Mushroom Method
The success of this ubiquitous way of learning
depends on two factors. First, the quality and
quantity of given support during the learning and
implementation process. Second, the learner should
adopt a ubiquitous attitude to be able to focus the
aim during learning and research processes. Without
any support the projects often end in demotivation
caused by information overload. Too much support
makes the student more passive and tends to result in
the old student-teacher-relationship which isn´t
effective for this type of learning environment.
There is a thin line between too much and too little
support during the ubiquitous learning process, as it
should be completely self-motivated. Influencing
factors which define a range of helpful support have
to be explored to make this ubiquitous self-learning
strategy successful. As well as a suitable amount and
quality of support for building up and keeping a
ubiquitous attitude.
3.5 Resulting Questions and Research
Aspects
 What is the quality of the knowledge gained?
Can it match Schelhowe`s sustainable
knowledge (2013) in terms of applicability in
different situations?
 Which personal attributes, skills and abilities
are required and/or will be developed through
this mushroom learning method?
 Does this ubiquitous way of learning within a
training program transferred and adapted to
the daily routine of a fab lab – maintains the
same learning quality without any pressure
from a supervisory authority?
 Is it possible to integrate this learning and
implementation method into other given
organizations or companies as a co-operative
self-qualifying concept (Heidack 2001)?
 Developing a vivid and well-thought-out net
of carefully-presented knowledge is one aim.
The missing links for switching learning
levels in present fab labs which are criticized
by Katterfeld (2013) should be easily bridged
by the combination of this net and the
mushroom learning method.
4 CONCLUSION
A fab lab, exemplary for open workshops, is an
institution where people are free to come and learn
and develop things without any pressure or
expectations as regards certification. After a brief
explanation of functionality and goals of a fab lab, a
mainly self-learning method proposed to be called
mushroom strategy is outlined. A field report of a
student specifies how the mushroom strategy is taking
place within an ambitious training and certification
program, executed in fab labs. Its learning method
combines blended learning with implementation-
oriented learning and provides a basis for a particular
and extreme learning situation. It led the student
expand the learning method into a ubiquitous kind of
learning in the most consistent meaning of the term.
In view of the mushroom strategy and the aims of a
fab lab or open workshop, the report highlights the
idea of and thoughts on integration of a free
mushroom-strategy learning environment within open
spaces. A proposal for a learner-mentoring-process is
described. Basic principles for applying the
mushroom method are a ubiquitous learning attitude
and the right amount and quality of mentoring.
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First indications in seminars and workshops
show, that mushroom strategy can be an effective
extension to present learning concepts, particularly
regarding heterogeneous and hierarchical mixed
groups and should be explored more detailed.
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