We’re thrilled to have been given the opportunity to share some of our passion with you. It truly warms our hearts to know that Maker-Centered Learning will become more and more available to students everywhere. We believe that Maker Empowerment is key to helping communities thrive. Sometimes, we forget the impact we have when we get together to find solutions to our local problems. And this is what the Maker Movement is all about: bringing people together.
Of course, the more tools we have available, the easier it is to find solutions. But you don’t need fancy machines to start prototyping and fostering this thinking disposition in your class. We can start making the changes now. That’s why we have assembled these four kits with everything you need to start exploring Maker in your classroom. From materials to theory and practical tips, we’ve got your back. Here you will find it all!
Let Nina and the kids guide you through amazing learning journeys. And don’t forget, this is just the beginning. We’re sure that, once you have taken the first steps, you’ll want to go further and further. After all, you never know when Puzzle will honk at your school’s door with a special Maker Mission for your crew.
Danielle Botelho | Writer > Papertects
Danielle is from Pernambuco and comes from a family of teachers and professors. She has always been passionate about learning and teaching English and used to help her aunt on projects with her students at school when she was just a teenager. Dani fell in love with all the creativity, wonder and countless possibilities of reinventing the world inside the classroom and decided to study Letras at UFPE so she could become a teacher too. She’s been teaching at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2016 and is very happy to be part of an institution that gives her freedom to express and develop her maker skills. Dani believes we are all lifelong learners, so she is always learning something new!
Paola Barbieri Hanna | Writer > Makerneers and Nina’s Blog
Born in a small town in São Paulo, Paola could never dream of the world she would find beyond that city. She moved to the United States in 2006 to prove to herself that she could speak English for real, went to college there, and came back to Brazil to discover an amazing team of makers. Having worked at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2011, she has participated in several projects connected to Thomas Maker. She has always been a maker at heart and now is a Maker Educator for life.
Talita Lima | Writer > Funny Felt Creatures
Talita has been working with children for over ten years in the field study of motor development as well as English Language Teaching. She is a CELTA certified teacher, a Certified Maker Educator and PE Teacher, and was a CTJ teacher for almost 5 years, where she was involved in designing and teaching using PBL with the early learners. She is many things: an educator, a storyteller, an artist and an entrepreneur but, most of all, she is a Maker.
Victor Coutinho | Writer & Narrative Advisor > Robot Challenge Arena and Nina’s Blog
Born in São Paulo and raised all over the world, Victor is a Maker Educator committed to bringing even more innovation into the classroom. A teacher at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2017, he never thought it would be possible to match his passion for languages with tinkering and experimenting in class. He holds a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from Universidade de Brasília. With his scientific mindset, he quickly realized the impact active methodologies had on his students’ lives, empowering them to collaborate, find, and share solutions and knowledge. That’s the change he wants to see in the world. So since then, he’s been committed to helping teachers design innovative and meaningful learning experiences. After all, students are not the only ones to benefit from them, right?
Soraya Lacerda | Maker Specialist, Project Coordinator, Product Development & Logistics Articulation
Soraya is a librarian, but considers herself an educator at heart. She has been working at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2015, when she was invited to coordinate Thomas Maker. Together with the Thomas Maker interdisciplinary team, she designs activities, programs and projects with an innovative and active approach for CTJ and its community in general [both public and private schools]. She believes in an active and innovative educational system, and also that the narratives implemented with young makers develop the essential skills – collaboration, creativity, resilience, and problem solving – that will help them become more conscious citizens and relevant professionals. Her work at Thomas Maker broadened her experience with Maker Space technologies, design thinking, and narrative design using active methodologies [maker-centered learning and creative learning].
Daniela Lyra | Maker Education Specialist & Narrative Advisor
Passionate educator, Daniela has been at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2004, where she uses her classroom experience to develop, at the Thomas Maker, resources that foster creative learning with analog and digital tools for collective purposes. Among many of her passions and motives: prototyping solutions, developing creative competence, building knowledge in the STEAM areas, and feeling comfortable in the use of varied technologies and methodologies to help improve the educational system.
Daniel Galvão | Maker Specialist & Product Development
Daniel holds a degree in Product Design from Universidade de Brasília and joined the Thomas Maker team in 2018. An inventor, photographer and tinkerer at heart, Daniel is also the fortunate son of an architect and a journalist, having grown up in a creative family surrounded by Art and Culture. He loves imagining and creating things and teaching how to make them altogether.
Ico Oliveira | Maker Specialist & Product Development
A graphic designer and illustrator, Ico is an enthusiast of all things visual and a tech geek with a degree in Graphic Design and Visual Interfaces. He is relatively new in the Maker community and in the field of education, but he is loving it all! Since he joined Thomas Maker in 2020, he has had the opportunity to use his skills and interests in this new and different approach to his professional career!
Rodrigo Teixeira | Maker Specialist & Product Development
Rodrigo is an Engineer who fell in love with education! He likes all things that unite technology and education, and is always eager to learn more and to meet incredible people along the way. Ever since he joined the Thomas Maker team in 2027, he has developed a lot of really cool projects, always counting on the help and knowledge of this incredibly talented makers!
Larissa Victório | Maker Specialist
Larissa is a a dreamer who believes that the world can be more empathetic and conscious. She is an Educator from University of Brasilia, a specialist in Learning Difficulties, and an experienced facilitator in Maker Projects and Design Thinking. She knows the potential for people’s transformation through education. She was part of the Casa Thomas Jefferson team for over ten years, where she’s learned a lot of new skills, like coding, 3D modeling, and Arduino among others, always in search of ways to connect with students, and methodologies to enhance their voice and choice when learning. She is also the mother of two beautiful children, which increases her desire to help build a better tomorrow, one day at a time.
Malu Capuano | Maker Intern
Malu is currently an undergraduate student majoring in Design at Universidade de Brasília. She has always liked the do-it-yourself culture. But nowadays, she falls in love with the maker culture (Do-It-Together) and education every day. When she was an intern at Thomas Maker team in 2019, she was mainly responsible for its social media, but she was also very excited about doing a little of everything and loves to meet people and explore together the infinite paths within this creative world of making, learning and sharing experiences.
Clarissa Bezerra | Partnership Articulation & Project Coordination Support
BA in Anthropology from Universidade de Brasília with a licensure in English Language Teaching from Universidade Católica Virtual, Clarissa has been an English Language teacher for over twenty years. She has worked as Course Designer and Innovation Specialist at Casa Thomas Jefferson, where she currently holds the position of Corporate Academic Manager. She is passionate about Rhizomatic Learning, Digital and Media Literacy studies and Technology Integration to amplify teaching and learning. She is also a Brasília Google Educators Group co-leader, Google Certified Trainer and Innovator (BRZ17 Cohort).
Carla Arena | Partnership Articulation & Project Coordination Support
Carla is a social entrepreneur, an educational technology consultant and an educator by choice. She is the co-founder of Amplifica and is proud to be Casa Thomas Jefferson’s consulting partner at Thomas Maker. Carla holds a specialization in Online Courses Design and Innovation in EdTech. Her interests gravitate around new and emergent technologies, innovation in organizations, collaborative practices and learning experiences designed to promote the professional growth of educators and bring digital power to their skillset. Carla is a Google Certified Innovator and Trainer.
Helena Galvão | Project Advisor & Revisor
Born in a family of creative minds, Helena has always been encouraged to see the world as a canvas for creation and innovation. She holds a degree in Psychology from UnB, where she discovered the power of education. She has been at Casa Thomas Jefferson since 2013, and has been involved in maker projects since the beginning of the movement there. Her partnership with the Thomas Maker team has helped her achieve professional goals: she is currently a Course Designer and School Psychologist at the Casa.
Carolina Sanches | Project & Narrative Advisor
Carolina is a journalist, educator and playful learning advocate, Carolina Sanches is the founder of LERCONECTA, in Rio de Janeiro. As and edutainment specialist, she articulates Education and Entertainment Educação e Entretenimento em projetos online e offline com o conceito que desenvolveu, as "Leituras Elásticas". É autora de livros+jogos infantis pela Estrela Brinquedos e criou um selo editorial especializado em design de experiências leitoras para crianças. É uma das curadoras da Bienal do Rio do LER - Festival do Leitor, professora da Casa do Saber e atuou como consultora pedagógica e produtora de conteúdos em projetos com a Rede Globo, Canal Gloob, Giga Gloob, Oi Futuro, Cultura Inglesa, SEBRAE, Spot Educação, Metodologia Flavio Canto, Casa Thomas Jefferson, FIRJAN, CCAA, Edify, SESC nacional, Itaú Cultural, Eleva, Natura, Secretaria de Cultura do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, entre outros.
Martha Ribas | Project Advisor & Logistics Articulation
Graduated in Editorial Production at ECO/UFRJ, Martha Ribas has been an editor for 22 years and currently works as a curator and entrepreneur in the areas of art, culture and education. In her career, she worked in several publishing houses, was communication director for the National Union of Book Publishers and participated in the Rio de Janeiro Book Biennial Committee. She also participated in the most important book fairs in the world (London, Frankfurt and New York) and had the opportunity to work with great national and international names in fantastic literature, such as George R.R. Martin and André Vianco. At the end of 2018, she started a partnership with Rona Hanning and Carolina Sanches at Ler Conecta. The curatorship of the children's area and the education forum of the Bienal do Livro do Rio de Janeiro is part of this new phase of her professional activity.