Project Planning with Physical Computing – SCOPES-DF
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Lesson Details

Subjects *
Design, Social Emotional Learning
Age Ranges *
14-18,
Fab Tools *
3D Printer, Laser Cutter, Soldering Irons & Accessories, Sewing Machine, Computers, Classroom Materials,
Author
Sarah Judd
Additional Contributors
Cara Mawson, Jaymes Dec

Author

Sarah Judd

Summary

Students plan and create their own whole-class whole-term project using Circuit Playgrounds and the Digital Fabrication tools available to them.

What You'll Need

Software to use to create a kanban board

Circuit Playgrounds

Neopixel strips

Motors

Servos

Speakers

Conductive thread

Pressure sensors

Potentiometers

Craft supplies

Possibly a budget to buy things the students need that you do not already have.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to plan and execute a large group project including:

  • Breaking down a problem into short, actionable steps
  • Using a kanban board
  • Running a standup meeting
  • Communicating about all parts of a project
  • Prioritizing and re-prioritizing tasks

 

Students will be able to show their knowledge of

  • What can be created with the Circuit Playground, including adding externals
  • When it is appropriate to use 3D printing, laser cutting and how to use those tools.

 

Reflection

I was hoping the open-ended-ness and hands-on nature of this project would excite my students. I’m not sure it did, exactly. Some students were excited, but it is still hard for students to engage with something they are forced to do. However, the nature of the project allowed me to see which students were engaging with hard content they were passionate about, and make sure to help encourage them. Those students seem to have really gotten something out of this lesson. The project management aspect also definitely captured some students attention in particular. I gave them in that I explained kanban boards, stand ups, and sprints, but some students really caught on to trying to make the whole system clearer and better. This was particularly true in my largest class. The smaller classes seemed to see the project management aspect as a distraction from the work… admittedly, a super common opinion in the workforce.

I need to figure out how to facilitate brainstorming in a way that gets more divergent ideas. I tried this for the seventh grade robotics class, having them play a brainstorming game where the person who did the most different things “won” but that had somewhat mixed results. I think all classes are happy with what they brainstormed, but they certainly only scratched the surface, and I do know a few students didn’t want to share their thoughts that were not pro a given project.

The Instructions

Brainstorming

Come up with what the class wants to work on as a class for the duration of the term

  1. What do you know that the Circuit Playgrounds can do?
  2. What kinds of domains can you use them for? Remind students of any previous physical computing projects they have seen.
  3. Keep track of student ideas somewhere everyone can see
  4. Star / heart particularly interesting ideas — go with the most popular idea
  5. Start to come up with more specifics, and go through the brainstorming process again.
  6. Exit ticket: What are you most excited about? Questions/concerns?

 

Create a Kanban board

Introduce students to the idea of breaking down projects into manageable chunks, and keeping track of what is up with each of those chunks and who is working with them on one board.

  1. Show the class a kanban board that has a whole bunch of tasks already in it. Ask students what they notice about it
  2. Columns seem to be keeping track of the state of the project
  3. You can group different parts of the project
  4. Tasks are very clear and specific; we’re not part of this fake project and we can tell what people would be working on
  5. There are different priorities
  6. People are associated with tasks.
  7. Define Kanban board. Mention that it is how software engineers keep track of their work.
  8. Invite students to a kanban board the whole class can share.
  9. Let students explore what the kanban board can do
  10. Have students begin to make tasks
  11. I also introduced goblin.tools to help students figure out how to break down tasks.
  12. Exit ticket: What makes a kanban board useful?

 

Introduce Stand Up Meetings

Give students a formal way to make what they are working on each day of the project clear, as well as make it clear what they need from each other.

  1. Have students open the kanban board.
  2. Let students know that if we’re going to work on a full-group project, they will need to be able to communicate with each other. One way software engineers do this is called a stand up meeting.
  3. Define stand up – a SHORT meeting where people say what they’re done with, what they’re working on, and what is keeping them from getting work done.
  4. Host a stand-up meeting — what is each student working on? What do they need in order to get that done?
  5. Any questions / things they need are tabled until the stand up meeting is done, but someone should keep track of all the things that are needed.
  6. During the stand-up meeting, students should claim tasks in the kanban board. Let students know they should also guess how long this thing will take them to do, and put a due date on the card.
  7. After the standup, talk about the things that a full-group meeting is needed for, then connect people who need things to each other
  8. Students proceed to work on what they said they would. Teachers should help students, and keep notes on student interactions and what they are working on.
  9. Exit Ticket: Why might a stand-up be useful?

 

Introduce the concept of a sprint

Break the project down to specific chunks

  1. Tell students that constraints on a project often change, and sometimes you have bitten off more than you can chew. Specific break points known as “sprints” can be great checkpoints for what you’ve gotten done so far.
  2. At the start of the sprint, you figure out what you can get done in that amount of time.
  3. Break down your term into “sprints.” Figure out what you think can be done in the first sprint. Let students know you’ll grade their progress on these specific things each sprint.
  4. Keep track of these “milestones” somewhere on your kanban board.
  5. Host a usual stand-up meeting, then get to work.

 

Work on the project

Each class should look fairly similar, though the activities themselves will be different.

  1. Open the kanban board and run a standup meeting. Teachers should have a student do this (volunteer or voluntold). The stand up meeting owner can change each time.
  2. Students work on their parts of their project. Teachers help, and keep notes
  3. Exit ticket: What did you learn today? What problems did you solve?

 

Sprint retrospective

At the end of a sprint, students reflect

  1. Let students know that they have finished a sprint. Explain that reflection can be an important way to improve, or ask students why reflection might be useful.
  2. Have students complete a Four Ls retrospective — students should write things they loved about this sprint, loathed, longed for and learned. Students can share their thoughts on sticky notes or on an online board.
  3. Have students look for patterns in what people loved, loathed, and longed for. What might you do differently next sprint? Consider what you would stop doing, start doing, and continue doing. Take notes
  4. Look at what you thought you would get done vs what got done. Figure out what milestones the class can complete for this next sprint
  5. Set due dates on the kanban board accordingly.

 

Repeat

There should be around 3 sprints to get used to the concept and learn from previous sprints

Show off your work

Share projects in a gallery or pep rally

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