UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State students are experiencing a transformative way of learning thanks to a collaboration between Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) Media Commons and Maker Commons, part of University Libraries, and College of the Liberal Arts faculty in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Together, they have developed project-based assignments that incorporate hands-on maker technologies, giving students a unique opportunity to enhance their technical and creative skills while promoting social justice and community values.
A quilted approach to reproductive justice
Over the past three semesters, students in Maggie-Rose Merry Condit-Summerson's WMNST 120: Sex, Gender and the Body class have created collaborative physical and digital quilts with the help of Media Commons staff. The “most recent project, titled the “Reproductive Justice Cyber Quilt,” asked students to explore topics related to feminist reproductive justice.
Throughout the semester, each student selected a topic, ranging from systemic inequities in reproductive health care to queer and trans liberation. Students then conducted research, created annotated bibliographies, and designed digital collages for individual quilt squares using tools like Adobe Express and Canva. During their visit to Pattee Library and Paterno Library’s Media Commons and Maker Commons, students transferred these designs onto fabric using dye sublimation — a process that involves heat pressing with specialty inks. By combining their finished squares, they assembled one large quilt using a sewing machine.
In the class project’s final steps, students recorded audio reflections and wrote artist statements about their contributions to the quilt. These reflections were layered over an image of the quilt using the platform ThingLink, creating an interactive and shareable digital version of the project. This unique combination of physical and digital media enabled students to creatively convey their messages on reproductive justice while gaining hands-on experience with maker technologies.
Condit-Summerson emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of the project.
“As an artist/educator teaching in women’s, gender and sexuality studies, I want learners in my classes to experience working in an interdisciplinary way and consider the many forms that their research might take. Maker Commons embodies an ethos of hands-on experimentation, interdisciplinarity and community-building through collaboration,” she said.
Reflecting on the collaborative process, Condit-Summerson described the quilt as a “lovely representation of the values and practices of feminist community.” She noted that students particularly enjoyed working in the Maker Commons and appreciated the opportunity to collaborate, develop visual skills and engage in hands-on work rather than take a traditional final exam.
Wearable buttons as tools for feminist advocacy
In another collaboration with Media Commons and Maker Commons, faculty member Aparna Parikh worked with her WMNST 106: Gender and the Arts students to create wearable buttons as part of a semester-long feminist toolkit assignment. Students, tasked with creating artifacts that contribute to a feminist life, attended workshops to learn best practices for graphic design using Adobe Express. Afterward, they printed their designs and made buttons with the help of Media Commons consultants.
Parikh explained the value of the button-making exercise.
“One aim of the course was not only to reflect on and analyze feminist art, but also for students to create their own. The Maker Commons provided the means to explore the 'making' portion of the assignment, which added tangibility to the concepts,” she said.
The button’s small size forced students to distill their ideas into clear, concise messages, providing a foundation for success in future writing assignments.
Student Sydney Hubbard created “a button featuring the phrase “Remember Nex - Not One More” to honor the memory of Nex Benedict, a queer teen who tragically took their own life after experiencing bullying and discrimination. Parikh noted that projects like these emphasize the urgency of advocating for queer and trans rights while amplifying marginalized voices within the feminist movement.
Hands-on learning sparks creativity and engagement
Nicole Cingolani, University Park Media Commons coordinator, explained that these kinds of creative assignments are highly effective in encouraging student engagement.
“Our experience indicates that students are more likely to invest significant time and effort into their assignments and engage more deeply with the subject matter when they know their work will be publicly shared. Essays are often read only by instructors, while projects like buttons and quilts are proudly shared with friends and family,” she said.
Media Commons and Maker Commons, located in Pattee Library and Paterno Library on the University Park campus, offers on-demand workshops, appointments and faculty consultations to support project-based learning. The staff's expertise and the wide range of accessible maker technologies — including rapid prototyping devices, sewing machines, Cricut smart-cutters, dye sublimation and generative AI — enable educators and students to experiment across disciplines in a supportive, resource-rich environment.
Both faculty members and students involved in these projects have found that using Media Commons and Maker Commons encourages them to think beyond traditional classroom boundaries. This innovative collaboration highlights how hands-on, creative assignments can deepen students' understanding of feminist issues while fostering inclusivity and self-efficacy, enhancing overall student engagement.
Faculty members interested in integrating Media Commons and Maker Commons workshops into their courses can explore a list of workshop topics or request a workshop by contacting Media Commons at mediacommons@psu.edu.