Google Days                                                                        Name: ___________________

What are they?

At companies such as 3M, Hewlett-Packard, and Google, employees are required to spend time working on anything other than their job.  During these times employees have total freedom to work on anything.  The astonishing thing is that this philosophy is not only beneficial for the worker, but also for the company.  Post-it notes were created by two engineers at 3M and have resulted in over $100 million in revenues since it’s debut in 1980.  Many of Google’s products like Gmail and GChat, have come from their employees working on their pet-projects.  In our class we are going to implement a version of this philosophy and we are going to call them “Google Days.”

When are they?

Typically we will try to reserve one day every two weeks as a Google Day.  Some weeks we may be able to have more, while other weeks may be less frequent depending on the school schedule.

What do I have to do?

The idea is that you are working on something that interests you, or something that you’ve always been curious to know the answer.  The surprising thing is that most problems require mathematical thinking and logic to answer.  Or you may be interested in a mathematical topic that we don’t get to cover in most courses.

What else?

You will be paired up with an Advisor, kind of like college. Your advisor is your mentor throughout this project.  He/she will discuss your topic with you, help you with getting necessary resources, and approve your materials and deliverables throughout the project.  At times the going might get tough, but he/she will be there to guide you through the learning process.

What am I going to be graded on?

This is the best part.  You get to decide how best to present your topic.  You will be required to write an abstract (more on that later) and will have to turn in a final project when completed.  Your final project can be a paper, a video, or a physical object that you created.  Your advisor will approve your final project.

What do I do first?

You need a topic to start researching and thinking about.  Please go to the “Google Days” section of our class website.  Fill out the survey with your topic or idea.  If you’re not sure what you want to research please stop by and speak with me after or before school.  We can talk through your ideas together and brainstorm.

Questions?

Notes