TTT#372 Get Skills! Be Awesome! Developments at DIY.org with Andrew Sliwinski, Megan Leppla, Jim Chandler, Chad Sansing 11.13.13

On this episode, along with Paul Oh, representing the National Writing Project's Educator Innovator project http://blog.nwp.org/educatorinnovator, we consider developments at DIY.org http://diy.org with Andrew Silwinski @thisandagain, Megan Leppla @MeganLeppla from DIY.org and Jim Chandler, Science teacher and DIYer from Auburn, Maine.

DIY.org http://diy.org is a "a community for passion-based learning." Enjoy!


Click Read more to see the chat that was happening during this live webcast,
and to find a couple of links to the resources shared during this episode of TTT.


Notes from the Webcast:

https://diy.org/astro/projects (Andrew Sliwenski's projects)
https://diy.org/leppla/projects (Megan Leppla's projects)
 
 
 
 
Educator Innovator (powered by the National Writing Project): http://blog.nwp.org/educatorinnovator
 

Chat from November 13, 2013

20:43Paul Allison: Hi... coming soon.
20:50chadsansing: Hi, Paul! Hi, Andrew!
20:55Peggy George: Hi Paul and Chad :-)
20:56Peggy George: Hi Andrew :-)
20:57Peggy George: hooray! seeing and hearing the stream :-)
20:57Peggy George: you're wearing a coat Paul :-) It was 85 degrees here in Phoenix today
21:00Christina: Hello all
21:00Peggy George: Hi Christina
21:01Joe: Hey everyone.
21:01Peggy George: Hi Joe and Chris!
21:01Christina: Hi Peggy! Hi Joe.
21:02Christina: I got an invite but I was thinking I would mostly watch tonight ... and chat, of course!
21:02Chris Sloan: Howdy all
21:02Christina: We're here! :)
21:02Christina: Looking/sounding good from here.
21:03Chris Sloan: ditto that. Love hearing from Cahd
21:03chadsansing: Too kind.
21:03Chris Sloan: Chad
21:03Christina: It is cold on the east coast ... my heat just kicked on.
21:04Christina: 32 in Philly this morning.
21:04Joe Dillon: Doesn't Chad host one of these at midnight? Maybe he should!
21:04Peggy George: that's my plan too Christina--watching, listening and chatting :-)
21:04Christina: Joe, are you jumping in?
21:05Joe Dillon: No, I'm just chatting. I'm very interested in DIY but I can only stay for a moment.
21:06chadsansing: Heh. Rogue.
21:08Peggy George: what exactly is DIY?
21:09Christina: Have you seen DIY.org, Peggy? Or do you mean "DIY" itself?
21:09Peggy George: I'm looking at the site now.
21:10Peggy George: wasn't sure what the group did
21:10Peggy George: student clubs for creating and sharing hobbies?
21:12Christina: oops, did it freeze on you all?
21:12Christina: back :)
21:13chadsansing: Self-directed kids and adults - adults self-directed to make great learning spaces & practices; kids free to learn. Approachable, if not achieveable always in all places.
21:13Peggy George: it pauses every once in awhile for me
21:15Christina: Peggy, is what Andrew is sharing answering your questions ...
21:15Peggy George: exactly! thanks!
21:15Christina: ... I was finding it helpful to hear his explanation of the development trajectory as starting with an individual user experience ...
21:15Christina: ... and now expanding from that.
21:16Peggy George: love the idea!
21:17Christina: love the idea of using it as a portfolio tool.
21:17Christina: that's lovely.
21:17Peggy George: I have grandkids that I would love to see get involved with this.
21:18chadsansing: Dangerous stuff. Paul actually played G-d in our 2012 EduCon session.
21:19Peggy George: hahahaha
21:20Peggy George: great reframing of the question--how does DIY help schools to be more like them :-)
21:21Christina: I'd love to hear Meagan talk more about this portfolio thing ...
21:21Christina: ... maybe she can post something about this at digitalis.nwp.org? <sheepish grin>
21:21chadsansing: Nice, Paul!
21:23Paul: @chad if i were going to ramble on, i would have added as a for instance, i've been in converstaion with a few CLMOOC participants
21:24Paul: and they've been discussing the impact of CLMOOC and making not just on their own practice but in terms of how they are interacting with colleagues
21:24Peggy George: is the thinking that DIY projects would become integrated throughout a school day or more something like a genius hour?
21:25chadsansing: I'd be okay with such projects replacing the school day ;)
21:25chadsansing: But I am traveling my own journey back through tradition at the moment :)
21:26Andrew Sliwinski: @peggy We are seeing a little of both.
21:26chadsansing: @Poh: I didn't quite mean to hold anyone responsible for changing school, but I'm curious about how orgs think about replacing/changing school.
21:27Paul: @chad yes, i figured as much - am not meaning to rant at you
21:30chadsansing: Rant at me :)
21:30Peggy George: thanks Chad and Andrew! Lost my chat briefly but it's back now
21:30Paul: Megan posted in the hangout chat a link to Jim's Club: Jim's Club: http://diy.org/alldiy
21:30chadsansing: I wonder about what would come of comparing "we need teachers like..." with "we need schools like...."
21:31Peggy George: thanks for passing that along Paul! love seeing the examples
21:31chadsansing: In a Walk Out, Walk On way, it's probably impossible to change the system, but, stemming from MozFest 2012 work, I still wonder what a DIY-like badge would look like for a teacher compelting open-school projects and how something like an open school certification could pushback on aewards based on test scores.
21:32chadsansing: "completing" - "compelting" is an advanced furrier technique.
21:32chadsansing: Ferrier? I'm stopping now.
21:32Peggy George: great idea Chad!
21:32Peggy George: what kids wouldnt love this kind of club??
21:33Paul: yes, great idea, Chad
21:34Peggy George: love the concept of incorporating writing and extending it beyond creating and taking photos of their projects
21:34chadsansing: @Peggy & @Poh: from the vaults:https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sansing/sets/72157631980952319/
21:35Peggy George: and the students earn badges?
21:36Paul: @peggy yes, for the identified skills
21:37Peggy George: thanks for those pictures Chad. would love to hear the stories that go with them
21:38Peggy George: is there some kind of database with DIY that connects students with other students and mentors who share their passions?
21:40chadsansing: Surely, @Andrew -
21:40Peggy George: how do they find each other?
21:42chadsansing: Where would I read about distribution channels (rhizomatic ones, too) of inquiry/passion-based/maker ed? I'd love to see a node & rhizome map.
21:42chadsansing: Where are the engagement deserts?
21:42chadsansing: How have some been successfully irrigated?
21:43Peggy George: not sure Chad. you may have to create one :-)
21:44Christina: DIY.org Puppeteer! :)
21:45chadsansing: Also a cardboard section, @Christina :)
21:46Christina: what's the skill ... cardboarder?
21:47Peggy George: https://diy.org/skills
21:48Christina: Andrew ... wondering if you'd want some folks to work on the "giant puppets" section ... I know folks at spiralq.org just fyi
21:48Peggy George: this makes it really concrete! very helpful seeing the skills
21:53Andrew Sliwinski: @christina Yes! That's what I'm talking about! :-)
21:53Christina: yay! And btw ... I think you are doing a fantastic job on DIY.org ...
21:54Christina: ... although I appreciate your openness to thinking about this with all of us. And you are asking these kinds of questions.
21:54Peggy George: that is really cool to see!
21:56chadsansing: I am going to confess to cognitive dissoance that's returning here: I don't know what I- if anything - I should do, when creatives build great educational platforms in contrast to school, but also want to have a relationship with schools that I don't quite fathom.
21:56Christina: we hear typing!
21:57chadsansing: I get relationships with educators - maybe some curation or user cases like Jim's would be great white papers to share, but don't schoolify that map. Every surfaced node is someone's invitation and entry point.
21:58Christina: are you thinking Chad that platforms like this should just keep going in their direction? ... I agree that the relationships are key ...
21:58Christina: ... and actually this invitation to build and partner on some of this building ...
21:58Paul: @chad i would paraphrase something Ellen Middaugh said at a session i was involved with her on at DML last year
21:59Christina: ... is potentially a great way to invite connections while not altering pathways.
21:59chadsansing: I don't see a ton of difficulty in reaching kids or educators without schoolifying such platforms, but I don't know the workings -
21:59Paul: That schools are the only legally mandated educational experience
21:59Paul: and so we can't ignore schools because it's an equity issue
21:59Paul: schools are the only place where almost all kids are, at least up until a certain age
22:00Christina: I like the partnership idea as a way to facilitate equity and rethinking ...
22:00chadsansing: @Paul, right. I'm all for equity and that kind of systemic hopsice, but, non-rhetorically, is it more equitable to maintain access for all outside schools, or to enter schools which systematically deny access to certain kind of education for kids grouped in different ways in different places?
22:00Peggy George: all great points Chad--you should bring it up verbally in the group
22:00Christina: ... and conversation (ie. it might not be rethinking in either way ... just important to have those dialogues)
22:01Peggy George: yes
22:01chadsansing: And I see trying to do both as a good thing, but the in-school part I would always urge to be intentional and about some subversion and spread of inquiry-ethos, not as a way to "fit" into a curriculum.
22:01Christina: I love the way that Andrew is being very intentional about not being the dictator of the curriculum here ....
22:01Christina: ... but instead, share that curriculu building.
22:13Peggy George: sorry--I totally lost my chat and just got it back
22:13Christina: me too.
22:13Christina: thanks everyone. great convo.
22:13Peggy George: at least I didn't lose the video stream :-)
22:13Peggy George: thank you all! great conversation!
22:14Paul: night everyone!
22:15Andrew Sliwinski: @chad Thank you for the feedback! This is hugely helpful and I think the way you articulated it in the hangout clarified things for me.
22:17Andrew Sliwinski: I just started writing a novella in this chat window, but I would love to follow-up!
22:17Andrew Sliwinski: :-)