Skip to main content

Make It Work: Project BYOD Runway in the Classroom!

This post was originally published on my old blog (September, 2013). I think the content is still worthy of conversation:

As we move towards a BYOD program in our district, one of the questions that comes up is, “How can I ask students to do something if they all have different tools for the job?” It’s interesting how we assume every student must have the same tool.
I watch Project Runway every week (I know, guilty pleasure!), and each week the designers are given a task to complete. Last week they had to design performance wear.  After the task is described, designers are given 30 minutes to sketch an idea – some use an HP tablet, while others use colored pencils and a sketchpad. They are then given access to fabrics, but not the same fabric of course. Each designer chooses a fabric that matches their vision for the task. Once they have their materials, each designer must come up with a pattern, and then create their look.
At no point in this challenge are designers lined up at their cutting tables and given a pattern which they all must cut out together. At no point in the challenge are designers encouraged to use the same fabric, or the same hidden slip stitch. Each designer must find their own way to meet the demands of the task laid out before them. It’s 21st century skills in action – critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and yes, sometimes even collaboration!
So why do we make the assumption that our students cannot function unless all doing the same thing, at the same time, the same way? I challenge you to, in the words of Tim Gunn, “Make it work!” and give students the freedom to be learning designers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Creating Wonderspaces

Jordan inside the "Daydream v2" exhibit. On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Wonderspaces exhibit in San Diego. It is described on their website as " a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences." Each of these experiences was given their own space in which to reside so that each piece could speak its own voice, without the presence of the others. "The Last Word" exhibit As we explored the 16 unique experiences, Jordan and I experienced a range of emotional reactions to the art. In some, we were completely awestruck. In others, we were perplexed. At others, raw with emotions. And in some, we felt playful. "The Last Word," consisting of hundreds of pieces of rolled up paper, allowed participants to leave their "last word" to someone... a way to "recapture what was never uttered" ( website ).  This opportunity to peer into the soul of others silenced my mind, and opened my heart to the emotional plight of oth...

The Punctuation in Your Classroom

Photo Source: Flickr, Eric E Castro  I learned the other day that ending a text message with a period can be interpreted as insincere. Such a simple, innocuous dot now carries more hidden messages than it was ever intended to convey. Likewise, the messages we think we're sending in our classrooms may not be the messages received by students. Consider these... Time WILL pass, will YOU? Does this imply a nurturing, supportive environment that believes ALL students deserve every opportunity to be successful? I'm not so sure. Students not paying attention in class? Lock up devices. Does this show trust? Relationship building? I wonder if the teacher's device is locked up during meetings as well. Or how about this sign I saw in a classroom:  "Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise." A companion sign read, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Does this mean we don't value collaboration? Team work? I wonder how...