Conference on Oct 5 and 6, 2026 in Weingarten, Germany

Programme

The conference programme spans two days, 5–6 October 2026, at the University of Education Weingarten. It combines paper presentations in parallel tracks, hands-on workshops, a poster session, and two keynotes, framed by a networking evening and the founding meeting of a European maker education network.


Keynote speakers

Mitchel Resnick (joining online) is the LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, where he leads the Lifelong Kindergarten research group. His group created Scratch, the world’s leading coding platform for children, and the mobile coding app OctoStudio. His book Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passions, Peers, and Play gives the conference’s Creative Learning theme much of its language. 
https://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/ 

As AI technologies proliferate in the world, it is more important than ever for young people to develop the most human of their abilities, as creative, curious, caring, and collaborative learners. And the best way to support young people is to provide them with opportunities to design, create, experiment, and express themselves with many different types of media, so that they can develop the skills and perspectives they need to thrive in a fast-changing world.

Janika Leoste, a PhD in Educational Sciences and a M.Sc. in Economics and Finance, is an Associate Professor of Educational Robotics at Tallinn University and an Assistant Professor of IT Didactics at Tallinn University of Technology.

Her research focuses on educational robotics, STEAM education, educational innovation, hybrid and blended learning.
https://www.tlu.ee/en/node/106465 

When AI can generate answers, images and ideas in seconds, what does it mean to learn by making? This keynote explores the place of maker education in helping learners think for themselves, experiment, and experience the satisfaction of creating something tangible.

Drawing on educational robotics, teacher education and the TAME Teacher Academy, Janika Leoste considers how making can support agency, confidence and inclusion while addressing concerns about cognitive offloading in an increasingly AI-mediated world. Examples from mathematics, language learning and everyday creativity illustrate how a maker mindset can develop across subjects.

For teacher education, a central challenge is to engage people who have never imagined themselves as makers. How can we help future and practising teachers develop the confidence, skills and willingness to bring making into their classrooms? The keynote connects this challenge with TAME’s work and the emerging European network for maker education in teacher education.

Dr. Regina M. Sipos is a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich, working on critical thinking, responsible innovation, and human–AI co-creation. She developed the original Critical Making university course and led the EU Horizon 2020 project Critical Making: RRI Principles in the Maker Community; foundational work for the critical maker culture this conference builds on. Her research connects making with responsible research and innovation, open-source technology, and its translation into teaching.
https://reginasipos.net/ 

Keynote: The Critical Making Responsibility Framework: Approaching Responsible Research and Innovation through Criticality

Presentations & workshops Plenary & networking Breaks & meals NZ 0.00Room

Browse all sessions and abstracts in one place: Full conference agenda on ConfTool

Day 1 — Monday, 5 October 2026

Time Track A Track B
09:00–09:30 WelcomeNZ 0.42
09:45–11:15
Presentations — Session 1 NZ 1.51
Abstracts
Presentations — Session 1 NZ 2.16
Abstracts
09:45–10:15 From Making to Critical Making: A Three-Phase Model for Pre-Service STEM Teacher EducationHolger Weitzel, Wolfgang Müller Four Years of Running a University Makerspace: What Works, What Failed, and How We Keep LearningVirginia Jagusch, Sonia Tavani
10:15–10:45 From Scenarios to Prototypes: AI and Critical Making in STEM Teacher Professional DevelopmentHelena Näs, Madelen Bodin A Four-Stage Instructional Model for Designing Making ActivitiesChristina Volioti, Theodosios Sapounidis, Charalampos Tsanidis
10:45–11:15 From Executors to Designers: Co-Constructing a Maker Education Framework Through Design-Based Research and Teacher CollaborationFederica Selleri Scaling Maker Education Through Teacher Professional Development: Insights from the Maker{School} ProgrammeAlison Buxton
11:15–11:45 Coffee breakNZ, 2nd OG
11:45–13:15
Presentations — Session 2 NZ 1.51
Abstracts
Presentations — Session 2 NZ 2.16
Abstracts
11:45–12:15 Critical Making in European STEM Teacher Education: A Mixed-Methods Delphi Study on Professional Competencies and Systemic BarriersPaul Njayou, Sara Durski
12:15–12:45 Mapping Teacher Competencies for Maker Education: A Literature Review to Inform Teacher EducationJake Rowan Byrne, William Davis, Alexander Aumann, Hannah Ganzer Application of Large Language Models for Identifying Disinformation, Manipulation, and Propaganda in Press NewsMirosław Brzozowy, Katarzyna Rutkowska, Marcin Charubin
12:45–13:15 Mapping Student Competencies for Making: A Literature Review to Develop a Competence Framework for Teacher EducationHannah Ganzer, Jake Byrne, William Davis, Alexander Aumann Making as a Forward-Looking Approach to Learning in Science EducationViviana Probst, Holger Weitzel, Johannes Huwer
13:15–14:45 Lunch
14:45–16:15
Presentations — Session 3 NZ 0.42
Abstracts
14:45–15:15 Developing a Short Scale for Outcome Expectations in Maker Education: Initial Validation Across Pre-Service Teachers from Germany and IsraelAlexander Aumann, Monique Landberg, Holger Weitzel
15:15–15:45 Addressing Disinformation in Critical Making: The Relevance of Citizenship Education PerspectivesPhilipp Bosch, Denise Flämig, Steve Kenner
15:45–16:15 Training the Trainers: Toward a Training Academy for Architectural Design TeachersMichela Barosio, Patrick Flynn
16:15–16:45 Coffee breakNZ, 2nd OG
16:45–17:45 KeynoteMitchel ResnickNZ 0.42Making, Creating, and Learning in the Age of AIJoining online
18:00–19:00 Founding Meeting: University Teacher Education Makerspace NetworkNZ 0.42
from 19:15 Networking Event & Come TogetherNZ, ground floorFood-truck catering & music

Day 2 — Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Time Programme
08:30–09:30 Welcome Coffee & Poster SessionNZ, 2nd OG
09:30–10:15 KeynoteJanika LeosteNZ 0.42Maker Education in the Age of AI: A Door to the Real World
10:15–11:15 KeynoteRegina M. SiposNZ 0.42The Critical Making Responsibility Framework: Approaching Responsible Research and Innovation through Criticality
11:15–11:45 Coffee breakNZ, 2nd OG
11:45–13:15
Workshops — Session 1 (parallel)
Abstracts
Moving Beyond Step-by-Step Instructions: A Participatory Coding Workshop for Postdigital ClassroomsNZ 2.41Saman J. Qarni, Emma Horton
Creative Making: Imagine, Create, Play, Share, Reflect!NZ 2.16Carlos Castro, Laura Farinetti, Daniela Finotto, Lorenzo Galante, Flavio Renga, Marta Risoli
Critical Making for Sustainable Smart Cities: Designing University Courses and Teacher TrainingNZ 1.51Isabel Rubner, Elias Karavelidis
13:15–14:45 Lunch
14:45–16:15
Workshops — Session 2 (parallel)
Abstracts
Bring a Book to Life: Creative Learning with OctoStudioNZ 2.41Carolina Rodeghiero, Sebastian Martin, Jenny Fisher, Mariana Tamashiro, Flavio Renga, Marta Risoli, João Adriano Freitas
Toward a Competence Framework for Maker Education: Expert Review & Co-CreationNZ 2.16Janika Leoste, Alexander Aumann
Museum Meets Teacher Education: Making as a Pedagogical Double-Decker for the School of Today and TomorrowWerkbox NZ 2.24Max Mannsperger, Felix Koch, Jana Gleitsmann, Leontine Marleen Mannsperger
17:00–18:30 Optional: Visit to the Ravensburg Makerspace “Digital Lab RV”Off-sitedgtal.de