American Perspectives on Learning Communities and Opportunities in the Maker Movement

Bradley Barker , Associate Professor and Youth Development Specialist with Nebraska 4-H received his Ph.D. in Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction in the area of Instructional Technology in 2002. Dr. Barker spent eight years with Nebraska Educational Telecommunications where he was an Interactive Media Producer. Dr. Barker has directed media productions for the CLASS project, the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, and the Nebraska National Guard. Dr. Barker has been the Principal Investigator on two National Science Foundation Grants to develop the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program and to scale-up the program to a national audience. Dr. Barker was also the PI on the National 4-H Robotics: Engineering for Today and Tomorrow curriculum development grant for National 4-H Council and CSREES. Dr. Barker’s research interests include the development and evaluation of educational technology systems for STEM education in non-formal learning environments.