Make 2 Learn Symposium
Chicago, March 2013
Badging Maker Learning
Kevin Miklasz, Iridescent
Leah Gilliam, Mozilla and Hive NYC Learning Network
Juan Rubio, GlobalKids
Each organization first presented on their organization’s badging projects:
- Used badges for a Race to the White House program
- Geocaching – virtual scavenger hunt throughout Parks in NYC; focused on upcoming presidential election
- Lesson plans geared towards badges; useful to learners and educators
- Topics included Net Neutrality/Medical Marijuana/Gun Control
- Included an online forum
- Badges focused on: Hard Skills (geotagging, public speaking); Soft Skills (collaboration, critical thinking); Participation; Knowledge (issue expert)
Open-ended design challenges
The Curiosity Machine – bare online instructions & questions; participants could answer with pictures/video/text – entries were worth points, awarded by mentors who evaluated each submission; mentor responses were limited to either “Try again – here are some suggestions” or “Great idea.” As participants gained points, they achieved higher rank/status/access – ‘leveled up’. Building (beginner) --> Engineering (advanced, more badges unlocked) -->Inventing
Mozilla/HIVE NYC
- Citywide learning labs involving 30 organizations – focus on connected learning, informal space
- Framework for the entire network
- Trying to expose experience as part of network; identifying this for participants
- HIVE Badges
- User stories/Personas of HIVE participants; interests, tools they use, HIVE events attended
- Goals – incentivizing moving around the network; outreach (e.g. Maker Faire)
- Ruth Schmidt from Chicago HIVE was a big influence
- Credly – same people as Badgestack; quick way to create badges for quick events; accessible to everyone else in the HIVE network; also awarded badges to event workers/educators
General Discussion
ArtLab (in DC) tried using ‘badges’ with youth, but the term ‘certification’ was more
popular
- Allows youth to use certain equipment alone
- Shows who they can collaborate with
- Sometimes award ‘stealth badges’; “Hey, you by doing this, you just earned this (informally)”
Questions to consider about badges:
- Where do we/facilitators want it to fit into our culture?
- Where do youth want it to fit into our culture?
Badges allow the creation of a Living Learning Portfolio
- Mozilla’s Badge Backpack
- Collect/Decide/Curate – deciding what’s important in different contexts
Awarding badges to mentors
- Shows contributions, hours (Iridescent)
Badges should always lead to more learning, rather than do this get that; leveling helps lead learner along a path
Don’t overbadge to the point where there is little value; make a challenging task rather than making a badge ‘scarce’
Resources
https://etherpad.mozilla.org/make2learnbadges - created by Leah Gilliam at the event
https://p2pu.org/en
- “At P2PU, people work together to learn a particular topic by
completing tasks, assessing individual and group work, and providing
constructive feedback.”
http://dmlcompetition.net/ - DML Badges for Lifelong Learning Competition
http://www.openbadges.org – by Mozilla, earn/issue/display your badges
Family Learning in Museum MakerSpaces
Lisa Brahms, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Adam Nye, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
David Kanter, New York Hall of Science
Janella Watson, New York Hall of Science
Making has traditionally been adult-oriented
- Sink and doors are the only permanent fixtures – the space is very flexible, tough, durable
- Children need to explore, play with various tools, gain experience
- Facilitation – 5 full-time teaching artists; work one to one with children, answer questions by engaging children in a decision-making process towards making goal
- Adults and children as co-facilitators – shared learning experience
- Scaffolding – multiple entry points for a project, engaging for different age groups
- Sewing: first station with the tools (needles, thread), second with peg board to practice the motions, another with a sewing machine
Playtesting – companies can try out products in the MAKESHOP
- Scaffold material literacy – space for the youngest participants to touch, play with materials
- Example of Ice Cream Making – smelling station, ice bucket with dye and salt, create a recipe station with favorite ingredients, 12 minutes of shaking ingredients in bag (passing between family members, shared experience), tasting/sharing product
- Introduction to tools and tool-making
- Inspire collaboration/equal participants across ages
- Empowering parents – exploring science, elaborating what they do already with their kids, bringing skills back home
Core objectives
- Collaboration and experimentation, tool skills, iteration
- Problem solving, materials exposure & literacy
- Encouraging wonder and addressing something functional
- Science process skills, divergent solutions, products (creativity)
Narratives
Max,
a 4 year old, was first intimidated by the space/staff; his first visit
staff welcomed him in and suggested a project; he eventually brought an
idea for a project (I want to build a lawnmower) and a couple visits
later a sketch for a project; the staff kept adding complexity to the
projects – when he wanted to build a ‘weed whacker’, staff helped him
design one that actually spun with battery power; Max took his skills
home and worked with Grandpa.
For mentors – the museum looked for makers not educators; developed teaching skills
Authenticity – they use real tools and materials
Different entries/parallel activities in same room with same tools
Process (hammer a nail into wood) vs. end goal (finished wood piece) – younger children can focus on process
Handouts are available here.
--Leslie @Sun Ray/Admin
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