A Monash University project aimed at helping people with disabilities engage in STEAM education has been honoured in Australia’s peak international design awards.
The Accessible Makervan was announced as a Good Design Award Winner for outstanding design excellence at the 2024 Australian Good Design Awards, held on 20 September in Sydney.
The Australian Good Design Award, commonly known as the Good Design Tick, started in 1958 and is one of the industry’s most recognised design endorsement symbols.
Developed by inclusive technology researchers from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) in collaboration with Wallara, a disability support organisation, the Accessible Makervan is a mobile makerspace that delivers STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) learning to individuals with intellectual disabilities across Victoria.
The van is equipped with essential makerspace equipment, including a 3D printer, laser cutter, and portable electronic kits, enabling users to explore and develop their own STEAM activities.
Accommodating diverse abilities
PhD student Jacqueline Johnstone, from FIT, led the initiative and dedicated more than 100 hours to interviewing Wallara’s leadership, staff and clients to gain the understanding needed to inform the van’s design.
“The challenge for us was to design a mobile makerspace with and for the Wallara community, developing a solution that accommodates diverse cognitive, motor and communication abilities,” Johnstone says.
“Historically, individuals with intellectual disabilities have faced numerous barriers in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines. However, the ongoing collaboration between Wallara and Monash University, led by Associate Professor Kirsten Ellis, showcases the success of engaging individuals with diverse cognitive, communication and physical abilities in a STEAM program of support.
“We have seen how STEAM activities can develop and highlight the skills and interests of people with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, the concept of the mobile makerspace presented an opportunity to amplify the impact of the STEAM program, enabling resources and equipment to be shared across multiple locations throughout Victoria.”
Johnstone told EducationDaily that there “are limited examples of engaging people with intellectual disabilities in collaborative design, or co-design, processes, where they are directly involved in shaping the design of the tools or environments they will use”.
Drawing on ‘bodystorming’ collaboration
Features such as the layout, spacing, pull-out shelves and platform lift were co-designed with people with disabilities using an innovative method called ‘bodystorming’.
This approach involved participants physically enacting design concepts and scenarios to generate creative solutions and evaluate the van’s functionality.
“Since verbal communication can present as a barrier, the hands-on bodystorming method allowed participants to actively contribute to the design and take ownership of the Makervan,” Johnstone told EducationDaily.
“To the best of our knowledge this is the first time bodystorming has been employed to engage individuals with intellectual disabilities in the co-design process.
“The mobile makerspace has broadened participants’ understanding of STEAM. They are eager to engage in activities and often ask questions like, ‘What do you have for me today?’ or ‘Can we try this?’”
Johnstone says she hopes “the Accessible Makervan will serve as a precedent for inclusive design, both in the co-design process we followed and the final outcome itself”.
“By demonstrating how mobile resources can bridge gaps in accessibility, I hope the Accessible Makervan might inspire broader adoption and provide insight for communities looking to engage with STEAM education,” she says.
Improving lives in underserved communities
The FIT’s Associate Professor Kirsten Ellis says Monash University’s inclusive technologies are designed to improve the lives of underserved communities.
“Our Accessible Makervan project is helping to shift communal attitudes and demonstrate the potential of individuals with intellectual disabilities to thrive in STEAM education,” Ellis told EducationDaily.
“You can’t be what you can’t see. People with disabilities have traditionally been excluded from participating in certain types of activities because they were seen as too hard or not relevant.”
But Ellis says it’s important to acknowledge that a “lack of opportunity does not indicate lack of interest or ability”.
“The Accessible Makervan provides opportunities to try activities and build skills that have not been available previously, making a wider range of experiences available to people with disabilities.”
As a society that embraces the use of technology, Ellis says it’s “important that we can all contribute to the design of the technology we use”.
“People can only participate in the design process if we provide skills, training and accessible methods for contributing,” she told EducationDaily.
“People with disabilities today expect to have access to opportunities that are equivalent to everyone else in society. The design of the activity should not get in the way of people’s ability to participate.
“STEAM provides an understanding of how the world around us works and this is important for everyone in society.”
The Accessible Makervan is part of an ARC Linkage Project.
Monash University’s inclusive technologies research team is in the process of designing custom accessible tools to ensure more participants with a broad range of disabilities are able to fully engage with the STEAM activities run from the Accessible Makervan.
“Our partnership with Monash University is continuing to grow. There is so much energy and innovation to make education inclusive and the Accessible Makervan is a great example of this progress,” says Wallara CEO Phil Hayes-Brown.
“Given the success of the Accessible Makervan in delivering STEAM education, we are considering deploying these accessible vans across our other programs.”
