Conference ProceedingFostering Maker Identity and Collaboration: Affordances of the Connected Spaces Dashboard in Two Afterschool MakerspacesBawankule, A; Hopping, D; Tissenbaum, M; Weatherspoon, H; Ruffin, MWith a focus on learning through personally relevant projects, students in makerspaces engage in meaningful design. Maker portfolios are increasingly being used to capture and assess progress and learning in these spaces. The Connected Spaces Dashboard focuses on maker identity development and collaboration between makers in and across makerspaces. We implemented a prototype version of the Dashboard in Spring 2023, in two after-school makerspaces. Analysis of two student interviews and Dashboard profiles highlighted the aspects of the tool that were effective (e.g., student affinities) and those that needed improvement (e.g., its ambient presence). We utilize these findings to inform the development of the next version of the Dashboard.ACM2023-10-0710536497https://doi.org/2048852New York, NYNational Science Foundation