Implement and Iterate – Digital Promise

Implement and Iterate

Implement and Iterate

Within this section you will find:

  • Objectives: What you will aim to accomplish in this section.
  • Opportunities: The value add of engaging in these steps to design your project.
  • Actions: An outline of steps to take as you design your own project.
  • Designing for your context: Guiding questions to support designing for your context and learning at home.
  • Stories: Short examples from Maker Learning @ Home cohort members who designed their own projects for making at home.

You can use this guide from beginning to end or jump around to different sections based on your needs. Designing projects is a continuously iterative process and this guide was designed to be flexible.

Objectives Opportunities
  • Identify opportunities to modify project components.
  • Gather feedback from learners about their experience.
  • Pilot your project to see how its implementation is different than how you imagined it would be.
  • Learn from your learners how the project can be improved.
  • Modify aspects of your project to create more opportunities for powerful learning.
Objectives
  • Identify opportunities to modify project components.
  • Gather feedback from learners about their experience.
Opportunities
  • Pilot your project to see how its implementation is different than how you imagined it would be.
  • Learn from your learners how the project can be improved.
  • Modify aspects of your project to create more opportunities for powerful learning.
As you begin to implement your project, consider designing for these areas to ensure you are gathering information that allows you to iterate on your facilitation and design:

Facilitation
Now that your project is designed, you are ready to facilitate. Depending on your context, there may be an opportunity to pilot your project. This could be a formal pilot where you implement your project idea with a small group of learners to start or more informal such as tweaking your approach as you switch between groups of learners working on the same project. Whichever may be your scenario, consider how your traditional facilitation techniques may need to translate to a virtual or hybrid setting. From changing the view on your virtual meeting to allow you to see all of your learners to extending your wait time for learners who prefer to type questions in the chat, facilitating making projects in a virtual space requires intentional modifications to facilitation styles.

Checkpoints for understanding
Identify milestones to touch base with your learners and any colleagues you are planning with regularly. These milestones can be in alignment with when your learners are documenting key points of their project. For example, if your project is focused on a challenge within your community, you might consider creating a checkpoint to touch base with your learner before they move into their solution design. Creating checkpoints throughout the project design can help you identify what you may want to discuss with a colleague as you facilitate the project. For example, you might notice that learners appear to need more direction once they reach a certain point or that they’ve reached a point where they want to pivot the original project goal they had. Connecting with learners about their experiences as they move through the project will help you facilitate and plan according to their needs. You might also hear that your learners need more time to develop background knowledge to identify the direction of their project. Planning for flexibility in the end goal will allow you to understand where you can create more support for future iterations.

Design for your context Considerations for at-home learning

Projects with limited synchronous participation:
Consider incorporating checkpoints ahead of your synchronous meetings so that you can tailor the agenda to your learners needs.
Consider prioritizing opportunities for learners to collaborate and connect with one another in live sessions.

Projects with regular synchronous participation:
Consider opportunities for student leadership and community by creating small teams of learners who regularly connect and support one another in their project.
  • Encourage multiple ways for engaging in making together while apart. You can host a virtual session where learners can be on or off camera as they work on their projects. This creates space for sharing and collaboration.
  • You can also encourage asynchronous sharing by designating a time where learners can post on a message board or document what they have been working on independently. This can help build an online or virtual community where learners can regularly make, share, and connect.
Design for your context

Projects with limited synchronous participation:
Consider incorporating checkpoints ahead of your synchronous meetings so that you can tailor the agenda to your learners needs.
Consider prioritizing opportunities for learners to collaborate and connect with one another in live sessions.

Projects with regular synchronous participation:
Consider opportunities for student leadership and community by creating small teams of learners who regularly connect and support one another in their project.
Considerations for at-home learning
  • Encourage multiple ways for engaging in making together while apart. You can host a virtual session where learners can be on or off camera as they work on their projects. This creates space for sharing and collaboration.
  • You can also encourage asynchronous sharing by designating a time where learners can post on a message board or document what they have been working on independently. This can help build an online or virtual community where learners can regularly make, share, and connect.
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