Syllabus (2020)

On the week assignments are due, lecture assignments should be submitted by Monday night at 11:59pm, as we will often work with them in lecture and the teaching team needs time to read them. Lab assignments are due at the start of lab: they should be present and ready to go!

Looking for the current syllabus?

LectureLab
Week 1 (2020)

Topics
Introduction and overview.
Setting our intentions for the class.
What is constructionism? (Lecture 1 slides)

Readings Due
Mindstorms (foreward, introduction) (.bib)

Assignments
Out: Your Personal “Gears” Essay


Topics
Introductions, lab journalslab norms and safety
Laser cutter2D Design. (Lab 1 slides)

Assignments
Out: Omni Animal




Week 2 (2020)

Topics
Constructionism (Excerpts from Gears essaysSlides
Pencilcode

Readings Due
Mindstorms Ch.1 (.bib)
Mindstorms Ch. 5 (.bib)
Evocative objects Introduction,
1-2 chapters of your choosing (.bib)
Papert on Piaget (.bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 1/27: Your Personal “Gears” Essay 
Out: Needfinding and problem statement

Topics
Our relationship with materials. (Processing slides
Vinyl Cutter Processing.

Assignments
Due Wed 1/29: Omni Animal 
Out: Upcycling






Week 3 (2020)

Topics
Piagetian Constructivism, Vygotskyan Constructivism, Papert’s synthesis of Piaget and Vygotsky

Readings Due
Constructivism: A Psychological Theory of Learning (.bib)
Beyond the individual-social antinomy in discussions of
Piaget and Vygotsky (.bib)
Piaget’s constructivism, Papert’s constructionism: What’s the difference? (.bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 2/3: Needfinding and problem statement 
Out: Praxis reflection

Topics
Computation and fabrication. 
GoGo BoardWoodshop

Assignments
Due Wed 2/5: Upcycling 
Out: Rube Goldberg






Week 4 (2020)

Topics
Experience and equilibration. Working with praxis reflections.

Readings Due
Problems of Equilibration (.bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 2/10: Praxis reflection 
Out: 3C’s

Topics
Rube Goldberg trial. 
Digital 3d designCNC mill

Assignments
Due Wed 2/12: Rube Goldberg 
Out: Dream Toy (Part 1)

Week 5 (2020)

Topics

Critical Pedagogy

Readings Due
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Preface (.bib)
Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Ch. 2 (.bib)

Optional
Critical Pedagogy and Social Theory (.bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 2/17: 3C’s (Part 1)

Topics
Debrief Dream Toy, part 1. User research, prototyping (slidesSilicone castingVacuum forming

Assignments
Due: Dream Toy (Part 1) 
Out: Dream Toy (Part 2)




Week 6 (2020)

Topics

Critical pedagogy, constructivism, and constructionism

Readings Due
Travels in Troy with Freire (.bib)
Emergent Design and learning environments: Building on indigenous knowledge (.bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 2/24: 3C’s Out: Tech in the Wild (Related to the problem statement)

Topics
Interfaces, computation, digital media

Assignments
Out: Interface design





Week 7 (2020)

Topics

Overview of Design Methodologies for Learning, Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking

Readings Due
Some reflections on designing construction kits for kids (.bib)
The Design of Everyday Things, Ch. 6 excerpt (.bib)
Human-Centered Design Considered Harmful (.bib)

Optional
The foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments (.bib)

Topics
5:00-5:30 Dream toy debrief. If families arrive, a tour of the lab is available.
5:30-6:30 Present dream toys. Families and children invited! Food will be provided.

Assignments
Due Wed 3/04: Dream Toy (Part 2)



Week 8 (2020)

Topics

Glassboxing and Blackboxing

Readings Due
Of Black and Glass Boxes: Scaffolding for Doing and Learning (bib)
Computationally enhanced toolkits for children: historical review and a framework for future design (bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 3/09: Tech in the wild 
Out: Tech critique (related to the problem statement) 
Out: Final

Topics
Learning analytics, MMLA, developing final project ideas.

Assignments
Due Wed 3/11: Interface design






Week 9 (2020)

Topics

Discuss final project. Cultural forms, Epistemic Forms and Games.

Readings Due
Epistemic Forms and Games (bib)
The role of cultural forms in tangible interaction design (bib)

Optional
Affordance, conventions, and design (bib)
The Design of Everyday Things, Ch. 1 excerpt (bib)

Topics
Physical computing, final project ArduinoE-Textiles.







Week 10 (2020)

Topics

Representation, restructuration, media, literacy.

Readings Due
Restructurations (bib)
Changing Minds, Ch. 1 (bib)

To use in class
Frog Pond (bib)

Assignments
Due Mon 3/30: Tech critique

Topics
Past projects demo, final project brainstorming









Week 11 (2020)

Topics

Constructionist design of AI for learning, games for learning

Readings Due
Playing and Making Games for Learning: Instructionist and Constructionist Perspectives for Game Studies (bib)
Youth Learning Machine Learning through Building Models of Athletic Moves

Assignments
Out: Final (Theory & lit review for paper)

Topics
AI demo, guest speaker

Assignments
Out: Project prototype
Out: User testing




Week 12 (2020)

Topics
Academic argumentation workshop; writing workshop.

Readings Due
Read two of the following papers.
Design of a Health Monitoring Toy for Children (bib)
Designing ReduCat: Audio-Augmented Paper Drawings Tangible Interface in Educational Intervention for High- Functioning Autistic Children (bib)
Of Elephants and Nested Loops: How to Introduce Computing to Youth in Rural India (bib)
A conceptual framework to compare two paradigms of Augmented and Mixed Reality experiences. (bib)
Audio journaling for self-reflection and assessment among teens in participatory media programs (bib)
Co-designing Tablet Computer Applications with Sri Lankan Practitioners to Support Children with ASD (bib)
Co-Designing Voice User Interfaces with Teenagers in the Context of Smart Homes (bib)
How smart are the smart toys? Children and parents’ agent interaction and intelligence attribution (bib)

Critiques
Present project prototypes to invited panels of outside experts. (Details).

Assignments
Due Wed 4/15: User testing report














Week 13 (2020)

Topics

Design principles and maxims

Assignments
Due Wed 4/22: Literature review – list of 5 papers

Topics
Prototyping feedback and demo. Discussions on technical milestones. 

Assignments
Due Wed 4/22: Project prototype
Week 14 (2020)

Topics

The future of maker education

Readings Due
Children are not Hackers

Assignments
Due Wed 4/29: Literature review

Topics
Final project working session, technical milestones

Assignments
Due Wed 4/29: Prototype iteration


Week 15 (2020)

Topics

Final presentations

Assignments
Due Wed 5/06: Final Paper


Topics
BBA Expo Public showcase of final projects.Assignments

Assignments
Due Wed 5/06: Final (Project)