Steph Piper

A tiled array of images showing colorful circuit boards with LEDs in various fibonacci configurations, a cat on it hind legs pawing at something that has an enamaled-pin look, LEDs lit up and shaped like a rainbow, unicorn, and lightning bolt, some small rectangular circuit board LED controllers, a black breadboard with a probe, a book called Skill Seeker, a UFO beaming up a human, a box of GlowStitch LED strips, and a box with diffused red, green, and blue lights on its front.

It's the time of year where I get to show off all the cool things our friends make! Check out the 2025 Alpenglow Gift Guide and find something fun for that electronics nerd in your life (and maybe that's you!) www.alpenglowindustries.com/pages/2025-g...

This image shows a preview of the cover of 'Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition' with the text below reading 'Out now in Booktopia, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and More!'

Thanks for taking a look! Available on Booktopia with discount code SKSE15 for 30% off!
www.booktopia.com.au/skill-seeker...

Or Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skill-seek...

Or MakerShed: www.makershed.com/collections/...

This image reads 'Based on the open access skill trees repository on Github' at the base, and features a computer and paper printer with smiley faces. They are surrounded by isometrically placed skill tree paper templates that have been colored in.

Project here: github.com/sjpiper145/M...

This image is titled 'Rave Reviews' at the top and has five rainbow stars at the base. The reviews read: " The skill trees add a fun gamification element, and the clear graphics are helpful and easy to follow. Perfect for STEM clubs and primary school makerspaces, it inspires creativity and problem-solving in every project. ” — Emma Ross, Primary STEM Teacher and Education Consultant “This is so cool mum, can we do it everyday? ” — Kid beta tester “I am so glad this was made, it’s a game changer for all of us - so much is covered without even realising it.” — Beta tester Parent

A preview of the Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition book. This page includes a spread of robot infographics, including the Petoi dog robot on the left and a combat robot on the right. The text at the base reads 'Color in infographics and unlock badges'. Example badge artwork is also at the bottom right.

A preview inside the 'Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition' book featuring an electronics infographic page and an activity page. The text at the base reads 'Unlock skills by completing activities and doing hands-on projects'.

A preview inside the 'Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition' book showing a video game inspired skill tree that kids can color in. As they progress, they color in any tiles completed and can increase their skill scores on the Skills dashboard bar graphs. The text at the top reads, 'See progress with color-in skill trees'.

A preview inside the Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition book showing a Skills Dashboard page, with skill level bars colored in for skills like 3D printing, electronics, sewing and robotics. A skill map is on the opposite page, showing how all 12 skills featured in the book interconnect. The text at the base reads, 'But with an off-screen, skill tracking book?'.

A pixel artwork of a boy and a girl in a hexagonal shaped makerspace, surrounded by a computer, robot arm and 3D printer. Both kids have 'Level up!' above their heads, and arrows point to these. The text at the top reads 'What if Kids could track their skills like in a video game?'.

My new book, Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition is now available! Looking for holiday activities to learn maker skills?

This book is the perfect Christmas gift for young learners, and they can show off their progression with video game inspired dashboards, skill trees and activities.

Awesome, happy skill seeking!!

Super cool!! Looks just like a mouse cursor!

GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. - GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own.

Visit the Skill Trees Project here: github.com/sjpiper145/M...

My Keynote talk on 'Skill Trees: Gamifying The Hard Things' from the Everything Open Conference is now available! Have you ever wanted to use video game skill trees for tracking real life skills? My talk is all about my work on the open access Skill Trees Project.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fPW...

GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. - GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own.

These are templates that act like a video game skill tree, but for real life skills. Just colour in the boxes to show your progress, identify skill gaps and get inspired to learn new things. We're now up to 70 skill areas covered!!
Check out the project here: github.com/sjpiper145/M...

An illustration of a desk featuring the skill trees mentioned in the post colored in and on display on someone's desk. Around the desk are accessories like a pegboard, clamps, spanners, robot arm, keyboard and computer and paper printer.

Huge thanks to the talented folks who contributed to the Skill Trees Project this month, with topics including Speedcubing, Single Board Computing (Raspberry Pi), Microcontroller (STM32, Facial Expressions and Tone of Voice Skill Trees.

Haha yes!

Thanks so much!!

GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own. - GitHub - sjpiper145/MakerSkillTree: A repository of Maker Skill Trees and templates to make your own.

I'm tracking my skills with Skill Seeker: Maker Edition ! It's filled with video game inspired skill trees to track your skills.

The Skill Trees project on GitHub also has skill tree templates for free! github.com/sjpiper145/M...

Here's my top 3 projects that levelled up my skills!

Thanks so much!!

It's been a huge effort, but my new kids book, Skill Seeker Young Maker Edition is coming out soon - Perfect for holiday activities! I'm so happy with how it's turned out and excited for kids to enjoy these. Available in mid November ready for Christmas.

Wow great! Canberra is also the location of the Makerspace Symposium this year, the place to be!
Any movement on the talks from this year's Everything Open being uploaded? I still get asked for videos of this!

Cheers!!

A sneak peek at my new book, Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition. The image includes some infographic pages including 'What is a Makerspace?', 'How a 3D printer works', and 'Electronics Basics', plus an electronics skill tree page. To use the book, kids will be able to color in sections to show their growth over time.

Interested in becoming a Book Beta Tester?

Skill Seeker: Young Maker Edition is suitable for 8-12 year olds, and covers 12 maker skill areas. Kids will be able to color in sections to show their growth over time.

Sign up to be notified of beta testing here: www.makerqueen.com.au/beta-testers

Another great project made in the UniSQ Library Makerspace. I love how this turned out, and a great sustainable, low cost, fun project! #makerspace #cardboard #pepakura #geodesicdome

Tawny Frogmouth Owl looks curiously at a 3D printed goose model.

The Library Makerspace 3D printed goose made a new friend at the UniSQ Expo today! (Tawny Frogmouth Owl, native to Australia)

Love how this one turned out, a powerful resource! Thanks @tomesandtech.bsky.social !!

Yay for January's @everythingopen.au !
@sjpiper145.bsky.social and I have completed an "Academic Research Skills" Skill Tree - github.com/sjpiper145/M...
#academicsky

A skill tree template for embedded systems. Just color in the boxes of anything you've already done to visualise your progress, identify skill gaps and get inspired to try new things. Start at the base in the basics and progress to more advanced as you move up.

If you're trying to learn Embedded I love the Skill Tree made by @embeddedfm.bsky.social . Color in the boxes of anything you've already done to see your skill level and identify skill gaps. Free on the skill trees project: github.com/sjpiper145/M...

Skill Seeker: Maker Edition: A Practical Way to Track Your Growth and Level Up Your Maker Skills|Paperback Skill Seeker: Maker Edition is a practical solution for tracking growth and leveling up your skills. There is an overwhelming amount of things to do, from learning a new tech skill like 3D printin...

Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skill-seek...

Booktopia:
www.booktopia.com.au/skill-seeker...