Chindogu and #MakerEd

I spend too much time on the Internets. I have accumulated vast amounts of useless knowledge. Sometimes, I uncover something that is simply amazing and it has to be brought into the classroom. While this might not be new to others, the term was new to me and I'm happy to share it with all of you. 

Chindogu 

From How Stuff Works;

Chindogu was created by Japanese artist Kenji Kawakami in the 1990s, who describes these inventions as "un-useless." He coined the term chindogu using a combination of the Japanese words chin, meaning "strange" or "odd," and dougu, which means "device" or "tool." But chindogu is more than a mashup of words (a portmanteau, if you will); it's a philosophy. There are 10 tenets of chindogu, according to the chindogu society:

• A chindogu cannot be for real use. If you end up using your invention on the regular, you have failed.

• A chindogu must exist. No thought experiments allowed.

• There must be the spirit of anarchy. Build your invention free from the constraints of utility or cultural expectations.

• Chindogu are tools for everyday life. Everyone everywhere must be able to understand how it works without any special technical or professional background info.

• Chindogu are not tradeable commodities. Finally, something in your life that you just can't turn into a side hustle.

• Humor must be the sole reason for creating chindogu. Creating an elaborate way to solve a tiny problem is just funny. Roll with it.

• Chindogu is not propaganda. This is not the place for your clever commentary on the dumpster fire that is the current state of the world. As the tenet makes clear: "Make them instead with the best intentions."

• Chindogu are never taboo. If you demand sexual innuendo, cruel jokes and sick humor, the International 

• Chindogu Society would ask that you find it literally anywhere else on the internet. That's not chindogu's jam.

• Chindogu cannot be patented. Consider chindogu the openest of open source. They're meant to be shared and delighted in, not owned and collected.

• Chindogu are without prejudice. Race, religion, gender, age, ability — none of these matter to chindogu. These inventions should be equally (almost) useless to everyone who sees them.

I'm starting my new Design Class this Fall and I'm equal parts excited and terrified. It is a Trimester class in a block schedule. Lots of very new things for me. I will have students for about 27 class meetings and I need to come up with different types of projects for students to create and Chindogu is an amazing project for students. 

I believe that making should be fun and silly. Designing should have its serious and crazy moments. Chindogu teaches so much about the process of design, it doesn't matter if the final product is as useful as we hoped. Too much pressure can be felt by students who just want to make things and learn along the way. 

Here is a great TED talk from Simone Giertz. She is known for making terrible robots on her YouTube channel. (Warning: Her videos are not safe for children due to course language, but they are hilarious for adults. She does kid friendly videos on the GoldieBlox channel if you want to share some with young makers.)

As an added element, I will have students user Adobe Spark to create promo pages for their products to encourage people to buy them or show other how to make their own. I think Chindogu is a wonderful project for a Makerspace and classrooms looking to explore design. Even if it is designing Un-useless Inventions. 

If you have students doing this, please share with me on Instagram or Twitter @TheNerdyTeacher. 

Hugs and High Fives, 

Nick

Why Project Based Learning? #EdChat

Schools are starting up all around the country and teachers are starting to get into the swing of lesson planning and exploring their own pedagogy. I was lucky to spend part of my Summer working with teachers from coast to coast on implementing Project Based Learning into their curriculum. For those who have never used PBL in their classroom, the change can feel a bit overwhelming. I understand  this because I know I was overwhelmed when I made the switch myself many years ago. One of the biggest questions I get from people is the simplest one. Why?

There is some great research on the impact of PBL in the classroom that Edutopia as collected. Check out those articles and share them with others who wonder about the value of PBL in the classroom. I've taken a look at the research and have taken my years of experience using PBL in the classroom and come up with 5 major aspects of PBL that I feel make PBL so great for the classroom.


1. OWNERSHIP is key. When students have a sense of ownership over any assignment, they tend to work much harder. Students know that the work will be represented of their own ideas instead of just following the directions word for word that the teacher has provided. When the students understand that they have control over the work that is going to be completed, they are also more likely to take risks and push themselves. It is important for teachers to let students know the value of ownership and how it can impact the work they are doing. This is a scary part of PBL because the traditional dynamic has teachers in control of everything. Letting go of that control leads to amazing leaps in learning for the students. OWNERSHIP is a major factor in the value of PBL.

2. CREATIVITY is the another major part of the PBL and is closely linked with OWNERSHIP. When students are free to explore learning in ways that are meaning to them, it opens a world of creativity that they have not previously known in class. My move to PBL allowed for students to really express themselves in creative ways I had not expected. Students have created movies, graphic novels. written and performed songs, created amazing photography pieces, coded games, and even performed interpretive dance! The students were given the time and respect to create something that demonstrated understanding of the curriculum and they did not disappoint. Allowing the students to create gives them a bigger sense of OWNERSHIP.

3. Another part of the PBL is COLLABORATION. While not all examples of PBL in the classroom will have collaboration, the projects that allow for it are amazing to watch. Students coming together to collaborate on a variety of projects is an awesome thing to see because they are strengthening their collaboration skills. There is a give and take between students as the work to create their project. Students are allowed to work with their strengths and support their peers who might need help in other areas. Students will learn from one another as the build a project that is best for everyone in the group.

4. Depending on how you set up your project, CRITICAL THINKING, is also an important part of PBL. Some people just assume that drawing a picture is to showcase something a student learned is all PBL really is and not much is truly done by the student. This could not be further from the truth. The best assignments for PBL are the ones that have driving questions that push students to dive deeper into the content than one covered in class to find the things they want to explore the most. The analysis by students done on their own is some of the best I have ever seen when it occurs during PBL. Class discussions are a great starting point for understanding and analysis, but PBL allows students to choose areas that were not covered in depth in class and show why they are still important to the overall concepts that are being discussed. It takes so much critical thinking and analysis to do this correctly and that is what students learn over a full year of PBL in a class.

5. Lastly, Project Based Learning can be FUN! It seems obvious, but I have seen many projects that are very tedious. They have kids go through the motions and leave very little room for FUN or CREATIVITY. Projects are a chance for students to break the regular routine of reading and writing in some classes. Most kids are excited to do a project because they finally see it as a chance to express themselves in a format other than a test or essay. The FUN comes from the freedom students feel. Working with their friends (COLLABORATION), taking charge of their learning (OWNERSHIP), solving real problems (CRITICAL THINKING) and allowing students to create (CREATIVITY) all lead to the students learning in a FUN environment.

It is great to work with teachers and help them go through the process of creating PBL experiences for their students. Just in a small group of teachers across the curriculum, ideas started to generate about possible cross-curricular projects and how students can be more engaged with long and short term projects. PBL not only sparks the creativity of students, but of their teachers as well. I encourage everyone to consider exploring PBL and maybe introduce it a spot for students this semester and see how it goes. It's the start of the year, so let's try something new.

If you have any questions about implementing Project Based Learning in your classroom or across a building or district, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'd love to see how I can help make it happen for you and your students. You can also check out my new book, Beyond the Poster Board, to see how I broke down all of the different types of PBL and how they can work in your classroom.

Can you teach creativity and innovation? #EdChat

I random thought went through my head the other day and I shared it on Twitter. Here is the tweet.

Can you teach innovation or creativity? I don’t think so. Teachers can create environments that support both, but, ultimately, I&C has to come from within the students. Thoughts?

— Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) August 12, 2019

There have been some great responses to the thought and I was very curious about what other people think about this.

For me, I do believe all people have the capacity to be creative and innovative. What that creativity or innovation looks like will be different for all people.  I just do not think you can "make" someone creative or innovative. You can create an environment where their natural creativity can flourish. Teaching skills like painting, drawing, pottery, etc, are create skills, but that's not teaching creativity. It's teaching people how to express their creativity. Exposing people to different ideas, cultures, experiences, etc. can enhance their creative minds, but it doesn't create creativity from nothing.

It is very likely that I'm wrong about all of this, but I would love to hear from other people on this. Feel free to leave a comment below and share far and wide. I'm open to having my mind changed on this.

NP

Back to School Blues #EdChat

I wanted to take a moment and let the teachers of the world that are feeling guilty about the small amount of dread they are feeling about going back to school know that it is ok to have that feeling and you should NOT feel guilty about it. 

This does not make you a bad teacher or a horrible person. It does not mean you are ready to leave the classroom and retire. It means you love spending time with your family. You love having the time to take care of yourself and spend time on things you love. As teachers, we do not get this time throughout the year and we relish the time we get in the Summer. 

That small twinge you feel in your gut doesn't mean you hate your students, it means you love your family. Do not let reading tweets about how everyone is so excited about be back to school and how they can't wait to dive in and make the most amazing bulletin boards. It's cook if that is what they are excited about for the new year. Take your time and get in the zone in the way that works for you. 

I'm excited and nervous to start the school year. New students and new responsibilities await me and that can make my butterflies flutter in the belly. One thing that makes dealing with these bits of anxiety is my crew of friends that I can text or call to help me talk through the feelings. I suggest you do the same if you can. 

I know once the school year starts, you will be happy to be there and the students will love seeing your smiling face as they walk into the classroom on the first day. Don't let the small feeling of tread overtake your overall amazingness. You got this. 

Let's make 2019-2020 amazing for all of our students and ourselves. 

Hugs and High-fives,

NP