Why use computing for social good?

•Relevant real world experience

•Cater projects to student interests and issues

•Build up work experience for resumes and digital portfolios

Use Technology to Address Issues or Problems in local community

  1. Identify issues (2 class periods of brainstorming and sharing ideas)
  1. Students work in groups to bubble map ideas.
  1. Guiding questions:
  1. What bothers you at school or in community?
  2. What do you wish existed or could be better?
  3. What are your ideas?
  1. Go online to find resources and ideas
  1. Check out Peerspring Resources (hint: this site also offers the capability for students to host their projects.)
  2. 10 Commandments of Computer Ethics
  3. Ethics scenarios
  1. Send students out in community to survey people and ask for ideas
  1. Example: There was a first grade class that asked the custodian and he explained that it took too long for the floors to dry once he mopped them. So they invented a rag that trailed behind the mop and dried as he went.
  1. Get students into teams
  1. See here for job descriptions for Account Executive, Programmer, Art Director, Writer, and Technologist.
  1. Multiple ways for students to get into jobs
  1. Self selection
  2. Round robin interviews
  3. Survey of interest
  1. Build Communication and Teamwork in the teams
  1. Team building exercises
  2. Allocation of jobs
  3. Constant communication - students will often shut down rather than work together to share ideas. Team meetings, setting goals for the week, allocation of specific jobs helps this move along.
  4. Scaffolding deadlines
  1. Initial Pitch
  1. Explain the WHY, HOW, and WHAT to a team of panelists
  1. This can be outside business partners, other adults on campus, another class. The main idea is for students to get thinking about their idea, plan, and execution and be sure they can articulate the idea to audience.
  2. Students need a presentation, images for prototype, and start of website for the pitches
  3. Presentation Resources:
  1. The Golden Circle Ted Talk 
  2. Rubric for judges to score and comment on pitches
  1. Market Research/Surveys to address and identify need
  1. Breakdown of the plan
  1. Intent
  2. Content
  3. Context
  4. Production
  5. Distribution
  6. Documentation
  1. Presentation of Projects
  1. Good idea to do a practice run through with the students with one class, or a few adult volunteers to take note of what is still missing.
  2. Final presentation can be a fair or formal presentation
  1. Let audience vote on favorites
  2. Presentations should include prototype (Scratch, Unit 4 in ECS), website, graphic images, presentation, interactive engagement
  1. The Take Away
  1. Creating chaos in team projects prepares students for jobs
  2. Students practice teamwork, project management, communication, and problem solving
  3. Students document project on digital portfolios and resumes
  4. Don’t believe me? Listen to the students!
  1. EXAMPLES
  1. Links to all 2015-2016 senior projects
  2. Hour of Code Tech Fair - end of semester tech fair
  3. Pictures of pitches and building ideas

SAMPLE SCHEDULE/TIMELINE

DATE

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

August 18

 Share summer experience?

What was highlghts? What are your goals for the semester?

What can get in your way? What obstacles should I know about?

Build up resumes and portfolios

Who would you hire? - Game/ Interview questions

Look at portfolios from graduating seniors - who would you hire?

  • What attracts you?
  • What makes you look further?
  • What stands out?

Last year’s projects:

First Semester

Second Semester

Group 1: Who Would You Hire?

Group 2: Update Portfolios

Group 3: Discuss Jobs and Ideas.

Brainstorm ideas and share

Discuss project ideas

Look at jobs

Research Spark Fun

problems in community

Look at Press Releases

August 24:

Update Senior Portfolio

Big Future - Revisit - what schools? Why? Will you get it?

Goals

TOPIC: Brainstorm an idea for a game/ app that will empower your neighborhood or school.

Business Model Design - What problem in the community is your app solving/addressing?

How are you defining your community?

Describe your idea in three sentences.

Turn in updated resume

Turn in drafts for two letter of recommendations

Turn in Goals

breakdown jobs

Big Future/ Road trip nation sentence

Write Personal Press Release/ content for personal video

Choose jobs and which to interivew

August 27th:

Drafts of Press Releases”

robotics

band

drama

NCWIT

Aug. 31

Jobs -

Create questions

Create list of times

Run through

Prepare for interview

September 3rd Job interviews and positions

Sept 7th:

no school on Monday

NO SCHOOL

Brainstorm idea:

What problem in the community is your app solving/addressing?

Describe your app in three sentences.

September 10th -

Public Speaking - ideas

5-7 favorites

Poster of ideas - see Melrose example

Sept 14

no school Monday:

school but Aaronson out

Submissions - practice the pitch

Work on jobs, portfolio

What job would you want

September 17th form teams

Team building

Idea share out

Sept 21

Students create team name and logo (straw activity)

Students choose teams and jobs -

PRODUCER

PROGRAMMER

WRITER

ART DIRECTOR

VIDEOGRAPHER/ WEB DESIGNER

Include the idea and what individual strength each team member brings

Meet the mentors/ Ice breakers/ informational interview

Students turn in written informational interview answers with reflection

Spec Model with mentors

Show off logo and team name

Sept28

 brainstorm ideas

http://www.technovationchallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/Technovation_L3handouts.pdf

Product Spec Model- What problem in the community is your app solving/addressing?

How are you defining your community?

Describe your app in three sentences.

October 1st - Pitch ideas

Feedback - poke holes

Oct 5

 Market Research

http://www.technovationchallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/Technovation_L3handouts.pdf

Survey

Comparison chart to what is already out there

review responses from survey.

Discuss paper protoype. What to include?   Mentor shares design experience

October 12

User Interface Design

http://www.technovationchallenge.org/curriculum/lesson-4/

paper prototype

Optional Mentor Talk:
Discuss how app/game works - how it will be explained/ done for play testing

Invite Mentors to class

Watch pitch video or students present pitch with intro about each student

Students conduct informational interview with mentor

Discuss logo, name, art ideas

Show off logo and team name

Students present written product  spec

Mentor Talk: Discuss potential survey questions/ market research

October 19

play/ user test each other’s games/ apps for feedback

What was user feedback? What worked? What was confusion - user survey

Invite Mentors to Class

 moving forward: What was user feedback? What worked? What was confusion - user survey

October 26

- Revisions to game/ prototype

what changes did you make

November 2

Work on Business plan and prototype

Draft of business plan

Public Speaking

Check in with Mentor - review pitch ideas

November 9

Create a pitch. Perfect the visuals to explain workability of app

PITCH RUNTHROUGH

November 16

Final hackathon presentation

*Leslie get judges for Hackathon

Prizes for:
Overall winning team

Best digital design

Best presentation

IDEAS for final presentation

Video or onsite elevator pitch - why play this game

Prototype - 3 working screens or art work for 3 working screens

Digital Site:

Product Spec

Video presentation

prototype of at least 3 screens

Students Pitch App  -MENTOR RATINGS

November 19th

november 23

NO SCHOOL

November 30

Dec. 7

Dec 14

Hour of Code Event

Sample Rubric: http://www.technovationchallenge.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014-Judging-Rubric.pdf