Starting a #MakerEd Class For Middle School

So I'm cheating a bit to really call this a #MakerEd course... It's not *completely* wide-open creation, and it's also not open to everyone.  Technically, @swhitmer_edu and I are teaching a fine arts course entitled "Wired For Art" that engages students in applying basic circuitry to creating personal art - garments, games, furniture, light sabers, whatever...  But we are indeed focused on basic circuitry, so I think a few might balk at our calling it #MakerEd...

That said, our class is ROCKING!

The class meets once per week for an hour and a half... Tuesday mornings, 8:30-10.  The class will run for about 13 weeks, from early September until late January.  Our current plan is to spend 4-5 weeks introducing tools, and then have the kids design and implement their own projects branching out from the tools they've been experimenting with.

Week 1

The first week, we introduced MakeyMakey and challenged students to create a few fun games using that awesome invention kit.  We gave them several dozen bananas and many rolls of aluminum foil, and pulled up several pre-selected Scratch games.

A basic up-down-left-right game controller

Getting more complicated: A DanceDanceRevolution Board

Coolest Day 1 Application: Finger Piano! 

Note the necessary latex glove to isolate each finger.

Week 2

The second week, we introduced a second set of tools: sewable LED circuits. We're giving the kids two weeks to create a simple snap-on cuff out of felt that includes approximately 3 LEDs in series.  Prior to our course, I modified a hoody to include 4 LEDs, so that was my demo to show how the battery holders sew into the circuit, how to loop the ends of the LEDs, how to stitch in the thread, etc.

My LED hoody, which coincidentally is the publicity image 

for my workshop at the upcoming FabLearn.

The kids sketched out their plans for their cuffs (or belts, or patches, or - in one case - frisbee), then returned to show and gather their materials.  We only had to send a few kids back to add a bit of detail to their sketches, like *where will the conductive thread actually GO?* We didn't do any formal schematic drawings at all, but just looked for acknowledgement that the circuit would need to close.

A student's "schematic" showing her double-strap bracelet with LEDs on

one strap, and snaps to complete the circuit.

Another student's slightly-more-fancy "schematic" showing her Iron Man hand

with palm LEDs and the battery held behind the thumb.

The kids aren't very far along yet, but are making progress!  They've made mistakes to lead them towards paying attention to positive/negative leads on the LEDs, and are improving in their stitching skills. (I straight up nixed one student's desire to hold his whole thing together with masking tape! Is that counter to #MakerEd dogma?) I was impressed with their diagramming skills, but not yet with their craftsmanship skills.  Befitting highly-verbal, "gifted" students who read a lot and don't get their hands dirty often... they can draw out amazing, creative, beautiful ideas and quickly get stuck on implementation.

I'm ready to fix that!

Introducing Design Thinking to School Faculty

On Wednesday, I was part of a facilitation team leading a 3-hour workshop for our whole school's faculty and staff (about 100 people) introducing Design Thinking.  It was wildly successful!

If you so desire, you can read our "lesson plan" here: Intro to DT Lesson Plan
You can also find our slide deck here: Intro to DT Deck

Huge, giant, enormous, unending thanks to Mary Cantwell at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, Jennifer Chan of Exhibit Change, and Ellen Deutscher at d.school for their input and support in developing our plan, and to my colleague and co-conspirator Shaye' Whitmer for co-facilitating with me!

Highlights:

- Our version of Jenn's Oreo exercise to highlight divergent experience was a huge hit, and participants shared some hilariously divergent methods for eating Oreos.  Milk was sorely missed!

- We were quite proud of the final "HMW" offered to participants, and one of my brand-new-to-DT co-facilitators did an awesome job explaining our facilitator group first round of Empathize/Define to get to that "HMW"!

From: Let's reconsider and redesign our experience with food... To:
How Might We support keeping energy positive and healthy throughout the school day?

- Groups interviewing each other, sharing stories, and re-defining the problem statement led to a huge wealth of different areas of focus, almost NONE of which had a focus on food at all!

- Brainstorming butcher paper sheets were wild, colorful, and groups really got WAAAY outside the box in their thinking! (There wasn't as much "visual" as we hoped, and more "written words" than expected, but...)

- As soon as we released groups for prototyping, groups dashed to the materials tables to pick up construction items!  Paper plates, pipe cleaners, Pringles containers, construction paper, and more!

- Team-to-team sharing after the first round of prototyping was positive, people utilized Greg Bamford's "I like, I wish, What if?" feedback scaffold, and groups actually reformed following that first sharing!  Two pairs of groups merged (from 4 groups to 2), and one group split in half (from 1 group to 2).

- (When I was asked for "permission" for these changes to happen, my first instinct was to clench up and wonder whether that was "okay," but we totally rolled with it!  Look at me... all flexible-like!)

The Final Products, delivered in one 1 minute elevator speeches!

1.) creating a new position in the school: The Recharge Coach!
2.) creating personal "mood meters" for everyone to self-monitor their energy levels
3.) creating mini-sensory-control chairs, including headphones and scent masks, for breaks
4.) implementing "UnTime" for everyone to pursue their own passions (Howdy, #GeniusHour!)
5.) creating a new committee: EDG@E (Experience Design Group @ Evergreen !)
6.) three different groups designed
7.) relaxation, play, and snack spaces
8.) into our upcoming building project!
9.) every staff and student keeping a "Smile File" to access when feeling down/stressed
10.) re-structuring the school day to include early-start/early-end options and late-start/late-end options.

I'm madly in love with the variety of solutions from huge new spaces to school organizational changes to small implement-it-tomorrow ideas.

I'm still working on typing up everyone's answers to the final reflections questions, especially "What do you NEED to move forward with Design Thinking?" and will add those soon.  There are lots of requests for a committee to support teachers in implementing ideas in their classrooms, as well as requests for ways to use design thinking in decision-making processes within the school!

Next Friday (yes, on the third day of school), we'll be presenting Design Thinking to our school Board of Trustees, and will present these outcomes as well as give the Trustees some playful experiences of their own.

#SXSWedu PanelPicker is live!

Today, Monday, August 19 - The #SXSWedu 2014 PanelPicker is live!  There are 711 proposals for sessions highlighting innovative work happening at the intersections of education and technology, workshops playing with new products and techniques in education, and conversations around major problems that need solving in improving educational outcomes for ALL kids!

As an Advisory Board member, I'm going to be working my butt off for the next few weeks, evaluating session proposals to help select the best, most innovative, and most important to furthering positive conversations in education space for the 2014 SXSWedu.

As a SXSWedu participant educator (and 2013 alum), I'm also looking for sessions I personally want to participate in and promoting the bejeezus out of the sessions I hope to help lead!  (I know that any individual can only formally speak in one session, so if more than 1 of my current 4 sessions is chosen, I'll be looking for awesome colleagues to take my place on some of them!)

Please visit and up-vote my proposed sessions!

Probing Needs & Prototyping Solutions: DT4EdTech
with Jennifer Chan, Stephanie Cerda, and Adam Taylor

In The Trenches with K12 design thinking
with Trey Boden, Dan Ryder, and Jennifer Chan

Lean In EDU Circles
with Alyssa Gallagher, Kami Thodarson, and Mary Cantwell

Win-Win! Strategies for EdTech/Educator Engagement
with Stephanie Sandifer, Dion Lim, and Jay Goyal

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Also check out these other awesome educators and their sessions, and up-vote them!

Stop.Collaborate&Listen: Teachers&Edtech Team Up by Stephanie Cerda and Ben Stern

Developing a 1:1 Culture in Schools by Martin Moran

Empower Your Students Thru 1:1 ACCESS by Jason Markey

SAMR SLAMR: Maximizing Learning Potential in App by Gabriella Meyers, Julie Garcia, Josh Mika

Innovation+Social Media in the classroom= NOW! by Don Wettrick

Primary Source Research and Narrative Presentation by Julie Wilcott and Richard Perry
Bridging the Digital Divide with BYOD Equity by Michael Mills, Tim Clark, Jessica Herring, and Sandy Kendell



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If you're a classroom teacher and want me to help promote your session as well, let me know and I'll add it!

Ideation and Brainstorming: #dtk12chat IV

I missed most of tonight's #dtk12chat, being instead stuck in traffic.  But the topic was incredibly important to me... How do we support the ideation and brainstorming phases of Design Thinking?  In between deeply understanding the problem and testing out some solutions, how do we support students in thinking bravely, creatively, radically, and *big* about every potential idea and element that can lead towards a solution?  Reading back through the conversation, here are the bits that jumped out for me...

Biggest take-aways:

• Ideation is big and risky, and requires a safe environment, including and especially for quieter introverts, but also for "but my first idea is awesome!" loud kids (*ahem*)
• Ideation requires separating your thinking from "And what will the logistics of the final product be?"... instead, just get EVERY little idea out on the table!

Lots of great resource links (highlighted) as well as very concrete ideas shared below!

Chapters:
- Q1 was "Why ideate?"
- This drew out a question re: difference between ideation and brainstorming.
- Followed by a conversation about setting up the learning environment for safe ideation, risk-taking.
- Q2 was "How do you set the stage for ideation?"
- Q3 was "What challenges do you encounter, and how to you overcome them?"
- This led to a conversation about teachers and admins doing DT together in PD!
- Q4 was "Top tip for getting ideation flowing, thinking beyond simple/obvious?"
- This led to a final brief conversation about "fitting it in" and integrating DT as mindset rather than a "unit"

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Alyssa Gallagher ‏@am_gallagher4h

People still joining, but let's get started... Q1: Why ideate? #dtk12chat

• Lisa Palmieri, Ph.D. ‏@Learn21Tech4h
  A1: ideation helps students formulate and connect ideas! #dtk12chat
• David Saunders ‏@DesignSaunders4h
  A1: to ideate is to start the process - to identify possibility, sequence and causality - it's the 1st of many steps #dtk12chat
• Dr. Lee-Anne Gray ‏@DrLeeAnneG4h
  A1: Ideation brings people together and inspires conscious evolution. #dtk12chat
• ellen deutscher ‏@lndeutsch4h
  A1--Ideation allows 4 quantity of ideas & encouraging wild ideas that can bring u to new, innnovative places #dtk12chat
• WickedDecentLearning ‏@WickedDecent4h
  A1: Ideation uncovers remote possibilities & fosters slow hunches #dtk12chat
• James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr4h
  A1: We ideate to promote the fluid creation of possibilities in a risk-free and non-judgemental setting. #dtk12chat
  
  
  Kami Thordarson ‏@kamithor4h
  @jimtiffinjr Difficult for kids. That suspending judgment and reaching for something beyond what's cool with their peers. #dtk12chat
  
  
• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU4h
  A1 ideate to dig deep go beyond the surface find connection & meaning… Also, ideate to grow attachment #dtk12chat
• Shaye Whitmer ‏@swhitmer_edu4h
  ideation is way for students to have their voices heard and to apply it to a project where they are vested. #dtk12chat
• Bonnie Jeansonne ‏@_Ms_J4h

  A1=Ideation= to download paradigms & push pass them. Our brains like to categorize early. Ideation can/ should be uncomfortable.#DTK12CHAT
• Bonnie Jeansonne ‏@_Ms_J4h
  A1= Ideation should democratize sharing rather than favour 'the loud', the confident, the few. #DTk12chat

How Might We...?

This evening was the second #dtk12chat, a twitter chat dedicated to discussing the application of design thinking in k-12 educational settings.  As I describe in my reflections on the first #dtk12chat, I'm still sort of a design thinking noob, and don't totally "get" it.  I'm learning to more deeply understand the process and mindset at the core of design thinking, rather than the steps of DesignThinking^TM.

While last week's chat was about defining terms and establishing common groups, the topic of tonight's chat was how to get *started* in design thinking.  I was completely overwhelmed immediately, so this isn't going to even come close to a summary of tweets, but rather a simpler organization of ideas.  (The chat started out with rounds of virtual hugs and welcomes, since this group is so enthusiastic about working together to bang on these ideas!)

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Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h

Q1: Start with Questions: Where do you start with design thinking? #dtk12chat

• Alyssa Gallagher ‏@am_gallagher3h
  A1: Helpful for me to "jump in" and experience design thinking with others. Hard to understand until you see in action #dtk12chat
• David Jakes ‏@djakes3h
  A1 A piece I wrote that describes my process, "Developing the Design Mind" http://davidjakes.me/?p=467  #dtk12chat
• Daniel Scibienski ‏@danielscib3h
  @scitechyEDU A1 movement supports creation of ideas, post-its all over classroom walls helps w/ brainstorming, sets up sharing #dtk12chat
• James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h
  A1 We start at the elementary level, and emphasize DT at a way of approaching problems. #dtk12chat
• Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h
  A1) We have a back-to-school intro-to-dt plan, & want to start w tchrs sharing needs, and small groups picking 1 to deeply probe #dtk12chat
• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h
  Q1: At this point, Im digging deeper in my framing of questions (thx @jennzia @jscottsanchez) & looking towards more impact #dtk12chat
• James Campbell ‏@TheRealJamCam3h
  A1 This year my plan will be to start day one w/DT allow students to assist with the design of the course. implement Ss ideas #dtk12chat
• Bonnie Jeansonne ‏@_Ms_J3h
  A1: Maybe start with building questions that are What if... Why is that.. How might we... Keep a running a log? #dtk12chat

allie pasquier ‏@bakersastros3h

It seems that questions are a BIG piece of starting with design thinking. #dtk12chat

Daniel Scibienski ‏@danielscib3h

@am_gallagher @scitechyedu Photos of a walking brainstorm I did w/ ELLs @ writing (scroll down). http://workshop99.tumblr.com/  #dtk12chat

Trey Boden ‏@treyboden3h

@TheRealJamCam I do this with my Digital Media course: HMW design a digital media course for middle schoolers. Whole DEEP process #dtk12chat

• James Campbell ‏@TheRealJamCam3h
  @treyboden my thought HMW create W History class that allows student interest/voice to develop the topics of conversation #dtk12chat

Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h

@_Ms_J reminds me of our use of visible thinking routines to get started See Think Wonder 4 example #dtk12chat

Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h

@danielscib @scitechyEDU when ideas and generating are visual, it makes it easier to build together and to share ownership #dtk12chat

Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h

Q1 Where do you start? Taking a cue from @boadams1 Take a walk have students and yourself do observational journals to Discover #dtk12chat

• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h
  @am_gallagher @boadams1 here is a blog post inspited our future nature walk http://itsaboutlearning.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/fsbl-yesand-dtk12-mvpschool/ … #dtk12chat
• NicoleDalesio ‏@magrelacanela3h
  @scitechyEDU @am_gallagher @boadams1 We take photo walks as our observational journals. #dtk12chat

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(Several tweets summarizing Jim Tiffin's awesome DT/MakerEd combo project with tiny makers!)

James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h

@am_gallagher @treyboden ...for instance, the Kindergarteners had to create a throwing game for Nursery students.... #dtk12chat

James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h

@am_gallagher @treyboden ...the K's had to imagine what would work best for the N's, not for K's. This was the empathy element. #dtk12chat

James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h

@scitechyEDU @am_gallagher @treyboden DT was integrated into #makered project. The K's were making LED throwies for a PE class. #dtk12chat

James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h

@scitechyEDU @am_gallagher @treyboden Ks knew the game was for the Ns, so they kept asking themselves ?s from a N point-of-view #dtk12chat

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(Everyone leading me through a deeper level of understanding the "empathy" bit... The idea is to get *outside* yourself and probe another person's needs.)

Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h

In DesignThinking, can "client" be yourself? I have X problem, probe myself (maybe w peer help), then to prototyping & iteration? #dtk12chat

• James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h
  @LindseyOwn For sure! #dtk12chat
• Matt Arguello ‏@Matt_Arguello3h
  @LindseyOwn I think that seems difficult, but still possible. Having an external perspective is important. #dtk12chat
• Alexandra Fiorillo ‏@alexfiorillo2h
  @LindseyOwn Absolutely!! We practice the methodology on each other in the office all the time. Eg: I want to eat healthier lunches regularly
• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h
  @LindseyOwn I think looking 2wards others who might B having the problem will make it a better setup Outside perspective #dtk12chat
• Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h
  @am_gallagher @scitechyEDU So kids cld use dt to help design sol'ns to each others' probs? I redesign YOUR at-home homework spot? #dtk12chat
• Matt Arguello ‏@Matt_Arguello3h
  @LindseyOwn @am_gallagher @scitechyEDU Great idea. Or redesign another grade's classroom :-) #dtk12chat
• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h
  @LindseyOwn @am_gallagher #dtk12chat exactly go2 each other & interview learn abt their user, discover a problem and focus needfinding

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Trey Boden ‏@treyboden3h

Flash Round: Best HMW statements you have used/seen/experienced/hope to use... GO! #dtk12chat

• Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h
  HMW design environments to facilitate inclusive learning? #dtk12chat
• Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h
  HMW design the places where learning happens? #dtk12chat
  
  
  (Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h
  @treyboden @WickedDecent here's some eye candy http://beautifullearningspaces.tumblr.com/  #EdDesign @_EdDesign #dtk12chat)
  
  
• Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h
  HMW build more inclusive empathetic communities? from @_Ms_J & HMW design a digital media course? from @treyboden #dtk12chat
• Mary Cantwell ‏@scitechyEDU3h
  @LindseyOwn HMW… design a living mural that personifies our grade (who we are right now? Or HMW… (who will we become)? #dtk12chat #art
• allie pasquier ‏@bakersastros3h
  @treyboden HMW create spaces for high/low energy? HMW create personal spaces, small group spaces, and community spaces? #dtk12chat
• James Campbell ‏@TheRealJamCam3h
  A4 HMW create a learning environment that allows for student interest/voice and covers the necessary curriculum? #dtk12chat
• Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h
  @chrisandres003 @treyboden HMW design ongoing way throughout the year to share ourselves & establish/maintain strong community? #dtk12chat
• chris andres ‏@chrisandres0033h
  @LindseyOwn @treyboden Yes and serve others #dtk12chat

Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h

So start teachers:"HMW solve some snag in tching routine?" Start kids:"HMW org for a great school yr?" then progress from there?

Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h

Hard to keep track of different scales of DT... content classes for kids, school level for kids, teachers, community... Range! #dtk12chat

• James Tiffin Jr. ‏@JimTiffinJr3h
  @LindseyOwn & that's important for folks to know. DT isn't a stdnt thing or an IDEO thing. It's applicable in nearly any setting #dtk12chat

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(Lindsey Own ‏@LindseyOwn3h

@Matt_Arguello @WickedDecent @treyboden How about y'all three do a here's-what-dt-looks-like-in-my-classroom session together??? #dtk12chat #sxswedu)

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Of course, "topics for future conversations" came up! Really just the one though... but it's a big'un!

1.) HMW embrace the ambiguity of the DT process? (As well as teach and support that ambiguity for our learning colleagues.)

Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h

@am_gallagher @danielscib @scitechyEDU the "messiness" is embracing the complexity & ambiguity, both physically & mentally #dtk12chat

Alyssa Gallagher ‏@am_gallagher3h

@jennzia @danielscib @scitechyEDU super hard for some to embrace. Could prob have an entire chat on strategies to help #dtk12chat

Jennifer Chan (Jenn) ‏@jennzia3h

@am_gallagher @danielscib @scitechyEDU I like as a session for future discussion. HMW we embrace ambiguity of the DT process? #dtk12chat

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If you made it all the way to the end, I'd love for you to let me know... What can I do to make this chunking more useful to others?  Going through the process of blogging is useful to *me,* but I can't tell whether it's even parse-able to anyone else.  Can you see the conversation chunking?  Would it help to have headers or some kind of other organizational structure?  (I'm trying to get my school colleagues into twitter, so would like to create a few resources to show them my own learning.)