Human-Computer Interaction +
Rapid Prototyping + Making and Building
Learning Sciences + Constructionism + Critical Pedagogy

This course is a hands-on practicum in evaluating, designing and building technology-enabled curricula, tools, and learning environments. We will use many rich software toolkits and state-of-the-art prototyping technologies (3D printers, laser cutters, routers, robotics, sensors) designed for novices to get their “hands dirty” designing educational software, educational toolkits, educational toys, and tangible user interfaces. A special focus of the course will be to design low-cost, open-source learning technologies, particularly for urban school in the US and abroad.

No programming or technical knowledge is needed! This class is a good fit for students with and without a technical background. Don't be scared. The class is designed for technical and non-technical people to succeed and to have a good experience.

Below are some pictures from the 2009/2010 class, and some of the final projects. For more recent pictures, go to the Stanford Makers' Club site

 

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Technology has been the “next big thing” in education for the past 50 years – first with television, videotapes, computers, the internet, and mobile phones. Countless conferences, books, national plans, and international initiatives have promised better student performance, motivating courses, better teacher training, lower costs, or more equity.
Why hasn’t technology in education lived up to its hype? Answering that question is one of the goals of this course.

The main theoretical backbone of the course is the constructionist learning design perspective. This perspective, first named by Seymour Papert and collaborators at MIT, and greatly influenced by the work of Jean Piaget, is very influential in the learning sciences today. The constructionist approach starts with the assumption that teaching cannot successfully proceed by simply transferring knowledge to students’ heads. Skillful teaching starts with the current state of knowledge of the student. In order for students to learn effectively, they need to construct the knowledge structures for themselves. In the spirit of constructionism, we will engage in our own construction of artifacts in this class and, through this activity, explore and evaluate the design of kits and tools intended to enable learners to construct their own motivating and powerful artifacts. We will do this by constructing both physical and virtual artifacts and by engaging in reflective discussion of both the artifacts themselves and the tools used to construct them. Another important influence in this course is the work of Paulo Freire on critical pedagogy. Freire states that the school curriculum has to depart from the learners’ cultural context and values, and emphasizes the importance of designing learning environments in which agency, social empowerment, and emancipation are crucial components.

After completing this course, you should be able to:

  • Understand constructivism, constructionism, computational literacy and thinking, critical pedagogy, and why they are crucial for designing next-generation learning tools.
  • Design sophisticated objects and tangible interfaces using tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, 3D scanners, and microcontrollers (see lab syllabus).
  • Put together theory and design skills to create educational software/hardware at the prototype level, avoiding common design errors.
  • Assess and critique technology-rich learning products.
  • Design technology-enabled activities that take advantage of the computational medium, considering the knowledge domain, age group, context, and deployment situation.
  • Interview and do user testing with children and young adults.
  • Implement technologies in real-world classrooms.
  • Change the world, eventually.