William Macfarlane

wmacfarl.github.io

will@partsandcrafts.org

Providence, RI 02908 USA

617-501-5793

Interests

informal education , self-directed learning , creative computing , game design , makerspaces , community technology

Career

Engineer/UX Researcher, JoyLabz

www.joylabz.com/

Developing and prototyping tools for digital play, tangible computing and computational creativity.

  • Prototyping playful tangible UX concepts
  • Designing and developing low-floor creative-coding tools
  • Exploring and developing sample-project space for creative tools in the form of software, building guides, tutorials, etc
  • Small-team scoping and project management

2019 - Present

Open Hardware Fellow, Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science

www.publiclab.org/

Documentation and development of DIY water quality monitoring instrumentation with a focus on oil and gas industry related contamination.

  • Development of open-hardware water quality monitoring tools with a focus on affordability and ease of use..
  • Collaboration with community development and monitoring methods fellows to create activities to engage communities in data-collection and interpretation.
  • Documentation of the relationships between common water-quality measures and oil and gas pollution

2019 - Present

Maker Specialist, Providence Children's Museum

www.childrenmuseum.org/

Documentation and development of hands-on building projects for kids ages 5-11 in a museum makerspace setting.

  • Develop hands-on, building projects to work in the context of a children's museum makerspace.
  • Run prototype workshops in collaboration with museum staff.
  • Produce project documentation and ran trainings for museum staff.

2019 - Present

Founder/Co-Director, Parts and Crafts

www.partsandcrafts.org

Founded and directed a youth and community makerspace and alternative education center serving 1100 children annually in a variety of programs in and out of school.

  • Designed and facillitated student-directed creative learning spaces in the form of school-vacation camps, afterschool and evening open-shop programs, in-school workshops and partnerships, and a five day/week school-alternative program.
  • Taught classes and and workshops and developed cross-disciplinary curriculum on art, technology, design, and other topics to students age 7 to adult.
  • Developed and managed a $500,000 annual organizational budget through a mixture of grant-writing, fundraising, project-kit sales and program revenue.
  • Co-designed organizational policies, practices and procedures with a team of 5 other full-time program staff.
  • Co-managed a community wood-shop and digital fabrication lab and developed practices and procedures governing youth and community tool use.
  • Designed hands-on, project-based tinkering and building professional development workshops for educators.
  • Participated in and bottom-lined every aspect of running and managing a small non-profit, from accounting to IT to licensing to community management to building maintenance.

2009 - 2019

Software Developer, MOS Architects

mos-office.net

Developer for in-house software projects

  • Designed and developed small software design tools built around computational geometry, complexity, and models of physical processes.
  • Developed a combination public-face/private collaboration tool/website to facillitate information sharing between collaborators and the public.

2006 - 2010

Panels and Presentations

Tufts Social Enterprise Panel, Tufts University, 10/11/2017

Panelist representing the non-profit sector in discussion on “Starting a Social Enterprise

“Bringing Making Into Education” Panel, Roxbury Innovation Center, 2/8/2017

Panelist in discussion on how the “maker movement” can support the development of self-directed learners.

Hack My Nonprofit: Public Lab, , 12/8/2016

Panelist and presenter in discussion on making, citizen science, and breaking the barrier between teachers and learners.

Free Schools, Makerspaces, and Self-Directed Learning, EMW Tech and Ethics Salon, 10/27/2016

Co-presenter with Katie Gradowski on on Parts and Crafts, self-directed education, and the “maker movement” in schools with a focus on diversity and accessibility.

Some Formal Mechanisms to Support Informal Learning, LibrePlanet 2015, 3/21/2015

A short talk on the structure and design of self-directed learning spaces and communities. Presented as part of a series of curated lightning talks organized by Molly DeBlanc entitled 'Some People Worth Listening To.'

Start Right Now!, AERO Conference 2013, 3/24/2013

Panelist in discussion facillitated by Ken Danforth on the logistics and process of starting school alternatives.

“How To Start a Youth Makerspace”, Make-To-Learn Symposium, 3/13/2013

Panelist in discussion facillitated by Jeff Sturges on how (and why!) to start a youth makerspace in your community.

Skills

Learning Design: Mentoring, Project documentation, Workshop and curriculum creation, Program and experience design

Teaching: Secondary School Math/Science, Creative Computing/Computer Programming, Electronics + Digital Fabrication, Game Design

Languages and Frameworks: Unity/C#, Java, HTML/CSS/Javascript, Processing/P5.js, Arduino/Micro:Bit/Raspberry Pi

Fabrication: Inkscape, OpenSCAD, Laser cutting, 3D printing, Basic woodworking

Administration: Non-Profit Bookkeeping/Financial Management, Project management, Staff mentorship, Communication

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

non-degree

2001 - 2002

References

Available upon request