On the week assignments are due:
Lecture assignments should be submitted by Tuesday midnight (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 the lab (Wednesday): they should be “physically” present and ready to go!
*TBC: To Be Confirmed
Looking for the 2022 syllabus?
| Lecture | Lab |
|---|---|
| Week 1: January 18, 2023 Topics Introduction and overview. Setting our intentions for the class. What is constructionism? Readings Due Mindstorms (foreword, introduction) (.bib) Assignments Out: Your Personal “Gears” Essay (due Tue 1/24 11:59pm) | Topics Introductions, lab journals, lab norms and safety, Our relationship with materials. Assignments Out: Frankenthing (due Wed 1/25 10am) |
| Week 2: January 25, 2023 Topics Constructionism Discussion of the Gears essays Readings Due A History of Educational Technologies (this is a draft chapter, feel free to comment and suggest improvements on the Google Doc itself!) Mindstorms Ch.1 (.bib) Mindstorms Ch. 5 (.bib) Readings to support your Gears Essay: Evocative objects Introduction, 1-2 chapters of your choosing (.bib) Assignments Due: Your Personal “Gears” Essay (submit a .docx (Word) file to your Slack channel with the teaching team) | Topics 2D Design, Laser cutter Assignments Due: Frankenthing Out: Omni Animal |
| Week 3: February 1, 2023 Topics Piagetian Constructivism, Vygotskyan Constructivism, Papert’s synthesis of Piaget and Vygotsky Readings Due Papert on Piaget (.bib) Constructivism: A Psychological Theory of Learning (.bib) Piaget’s constructivism, Papert’s constructionism: What’s the difference? (.bib) Assignments Out: Praxis reflection | Topics Processing / p5.js, drawing with code Assignments Due: Omni Animal Out: Code Remix |
| Week 4: February 8, 2023 Topics Experience and equilibration. Working with praxis reflections. Readings Due Problems of Equilibration (.bib) Beyond the individual-social antinomy in discussions of Piaget and Vygotsky (.bib) Assignments Due: Praxis reflection Out: 3C’s Out: Last Week Tonight | Topics Computation and fabrication. GoGo Board, Woodshop Assignments Due: Code Remix Out: Rube Goldberg |
| Week 5: February 15, 2023 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: 3C’s (Part 1) Out: 3C’s (Final) | Topics Rube Goldberg trial. Digital 3d design, CNC mill Assignments Due: Rube Goldberg Out: Dream Toy (Part 1) |
| Week 6: February 22, 2023 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: 3C’s (Final) | Topics Debrief Dream Toy, part 1. User research, prototyping (slides) Assignments Due: Dream Toy (Part 1) Out: Dream Toy (Part 2) |
| Week 7: March 1, 2023 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) Assignments Out: Topics of interest, Powerful Ideas and Microworlds | Topics Silicone casting, Vacuum forming Assignments Due: Dream Toy (Part 2) Out: Dream Toy (Part 3) |
| Week 8: March 8, 2023 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: Topics of interest, Powerful Ideas and Microworlds Out: Tech in the Wild Out: Final | Topics Learning analytics, MMLA, developing final project ideas. Processing / p5.js, drawing with code 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: Dream Toy (Part 3) Out: Final Project sketches |
| Week 9: March 22, 2023 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 Readings Affordance, conventions, and design (bib) The Design of Everyday Things, Ch. 1 excerpt (bib) Due Due: Tech in the Wild Out: Tech critique | Topics Physical computing, final project Arduino, E-Textiles. Assignments Due: Final Project Sketches Out: Tools Deep Dive |
| Week 10: March 29, 2023 Topics Representation, restructuration, media, literacy. Readings Due Restructurations (bib) Changing Minds, Ch. 1 (bib) To use in class Frog Pond (bib) Assignments Due: Tech critique Out: List fo 5 papers | Topics Past projects demo, final project brainstorming Assignments Due: Tools Deep Dive Out: Low-fidelity prototyping (Final Project) |
| Week 11: April 5, 2023 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 Due: Low-fidelity prototype (Final Project) Out: Processing II |
| Week 12: April 12, 2023 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: Prototype v2 |
| Week 13: April 19, 2023 Topics Design principles and maxims Assignments Due: Literature review – list of 5 papers | Topics Prototyping feedback and demo. Discussions on technical milestones. Assignments Due: Project prototype |
| Week 14: April 26, 2023 Topics The future of maker education Readings Due Children are not Hackers Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork Cheesemaking Emancipation: A Critical Theory of Cultural Making Assignments Due: Literature review | Topics Final project working session, technical milestones Assignments Due: Prototype iteration |
| Week 15: May 3, 2023 Topics Final presentations | Topics BBA Expo Public showcase of final projects.Assignments Assignments Due: Final (Project) |
| Week 16: May 10, 2023 Assignments Due: Final Paper | Topics Assignments Due: |