Facilitating a Makeathon

Now that you've come up with a plan and designed your activities, it's time to get in a room with your participants and take them through the process. They may have made things with technology before (though not always) but they probably haven't participated in a Makeathon before so you will need to talk to them and help them navigate this unfamiliar territory in a way that is engaging and interesting.

The role of the facilitator is not to ‘teach’ the students, but simply to guide them through a learning process of discovery and invention. The facilitator provides the structure and keeps the students engaged and on task with interventions and injections from time to time that keep the event moving forward.

You will find that the facilitator is most active and vocal at the beginning and towards the end of the Makeathon, providing guidance and rapid-fire activities for group formation and icebreaking, as well as hosting the presentations at the event finale.