This virtual meetup was Dec. 13th, 2012 on G+ Hangout

This weeks’s topic of discussion: Best resources for n00bs (youth + adult) to start working on electronics projects. Pros and cons of online curriculums.

After perusing around the Interwebs for perspectives on the best way to start an adult or youth interested in electronics, I found a pretty basic list of stuff to have on hand:

• Bread board
• 6V-12V power supply. I prefer the ones that allow you to choose amperage
• Pack of LEDS. Blue LEDS are purdy
• Wire. Radio shack and others sell wire “kits”of different lengths or a spool.
• Basic multimeter. Great for when things don’t work
• Pack of components. Transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc. And of course the whole reason I do this – some nice 8 bit chips.

This is all fine and good, but having a bunch of stuff isn’t enough. You also need a tutorial in a book or online to figure out what to do with all those parts and tools. And many times that isn’t even enough. As Howard Rheingold pointed out, it’s the debugging that’s difficult, you really need someone to turn to in order to get help. Someone that can review your work and give feedback.

Attendees:

Charlotte Pierce, Publisher and Video Producer
Howard Rheingold, the infamous
Joseph Chiu, LA Makerspace
Luz Rivas, Iridescent Learning
Tara Brown, DML Research Hub

I started the hangout by relaying my inspiration for this week’s discussion — I was reading tweets on Twitter and noticed Howard Rheingold’s call for help — he asked if anyone knew of someone that could help him learn Arduino. I favorited the tweet because I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to follow the process of finding a mentor for something very niche.  Howard  has worked with a big group on stuff for Burning Man, Floats, etc. He is now part of a smaller group that works on projects together once/week. Recently Howard started adding light to his paintings. Now he wants to learn Arduino so that he can create more interactive projects and art.

His learning methodology consists of setting time aside in the every day to work on a lesson. He thinks the Adafruit lessons are good and has even learned some things from 14 year olds on YouTube. His call for help was when he got stumped with a problem, he just wasn’t sure what to do.

Howard asked, can G+Hangout be a place to get help?

Joseph Chiu said it’s definitely easier to be in-person and he’s not so convinced troubleshooting can happen over video chat. General discussions are OK, but setup of lab equipment and more detailed instruction is harder.

Luz Rivas has only helped people in person. Usually someone has put something in the wrong pin on the breadboard. Her experience is that the neater someone is with the wires, the easier it is to troubleshoot.

One specific area that Howard has gotten stuck with, “I have some LEDs without instruction, what resistor do I use?”

I mentioned that there is an app for that. Adafruit has one and there are a host more of them in the app store.

Luz recommends  ’Fashioning Technology Book’ as a great resource in learning about electronics, specifically of the wearable variety. It includes basic lessons that are easy to follow and a good reference for mentoring and teaching.

Joseph noted from some of his experiences in teaching electronics to youth, they either want to know how it works from an electronics POV and some  just want to do stuff with their hands. So keep that in mind when teaching so you can related to their interests and motivation to learn.

The group concluded that in order for an online “hangout” or video session to be successful to troubleshoot issues, we need a critical mass of people with enough experts that are willing to share their expertise based on a wide range of issues that come up in the world of electronics or ”making” in general

One possible process could be for a learner to join a regularly scheduled Maker G+ Hangout and share the issue they are struggling with. If there is an expert that can continue helping them then they can establish a mentoring relationship for that specific issue or longer term. There will be some technical issues to overcome such as the ability to show a breadboard or other details over a webcam. The only way to figure out any issues that arise is to try!

Our next Maker Mentors G+ Hangout is scheduled for Dec. 20th. RSVP Here.

Recently I started hosting weekly G+ Hangout sessions and invited some Makers to the conversation that have experience in mentoring either through an organization they run or as an instructor.

The first session was held on Dec. 6th, 2012 on G+ Hangout.

Attendees:
Annika O’Brien, LA Robotics Club
Jeff Geoffray, LA Makerspace, Filmmaker
Lisha Sterling, School Factory
Paul Burns, Youth Science Center
Tara Brown, DML, LA Makerspace

We started the discussion by sharing who in the hangout is a Maker Mentor. In some cases the participants didn’t know they were a mentor until someone brought it to their attention. In the case of Annika O’Brien, she started being approached to be a mentor and that’s when it dawned on her. Jeff Geoffray was the youngest and the mentee for so long that it took him by surprise when he transitioned into the role of mentor.

From there we discussed online profiles relating to mentoring youth and how important it was or wasn’t to hide certain information. One point of view was that parents might be put off by off-color tweets or photos. Just being aware that parents are probably looking you up and to be prepared to address concerns or to not be considered a good fit.

Other items that were brought up:
Lisha Sterling works on curriculum packs and ideas to help anyone that teaches STEAM subjects to develop a class for any age. The community of School Factory hacker/makerspaces share resources with each other on http://atrium.schoolfactory.org and they’d like to build that community up even further.

Paul Burns is a Science Fair coach and thinks that mentoring for the science fair could be easily accomplished online. He thinks that Super Star Learning, social collaboration platform for e-learning, is a good web platform. They have a tab on the side of a project’s webpage that lists their “dream team”. You can be a leader of a project and collaborate with partners and mentors.

Paul asked, “can we create a web platform for teachers and students and match them..especially a college student that can’t get a job?”

We asked, “Can we use a neutral place like a Hackerspace to interview the mentor and “test” them out?”

Lisha mentioned that 826 Valencia has a great model for teaching writing in writing centers and in schools. They recruit great pro and amateur writers and train them on how to tutor and mentor.

Jeff asked, “can kids teach adults? Adult education is going to become more and more important.” Jeff recently took a Beginners Arduino class taught by an 11 year old and thought that the instruction was great. Many of us have learned how to do something by a pre-teen on YouTube.

The overarching theme that came out of this hangout was a network of available Maker Mentors. Somewhere that other mentors can go to when they need assistance or to introduce to a learner as a trusted and qualified person. This could also be a publicly available list for anyone to access with a Mentor only section.

Read the next Blog Post from Dec. 13th Hangout.

1) In the main menu, click the “chat channel” button (Picture 1)

2) Enter ‘TMS’ in the text box, then click Join Channel

3) A chat channel window should pop up, which means you have successfully joined the channel.

You can look at a  comprehensive list of available achievements.  Please note, some achievements are only valid for redemption during a certain time frame.

Here are a brief summary of achievements available to pursue for both coaches and students:

10 1v1 Ladder Games

Practice is everything, have the student grind out 10 1v1 games on the ranked ladder and have them review them with their coach.   Redeem this achievement by sending in the 10 replays.

3 1v1 Build Orders

Go over one build order 3 times and have them reviewed between the coach and student.  Redeem this achievement by sending in the 3 replays with the same build order.

5 2v2 Games

Play 5 ranked 2v2 games with a coach + student team.  This can be

5 Ladder Wins

5 1v1 wins on the ranked ladder by the student, reviewed by the coach.  Redeem this achievement by sending in the 5 replays or a screenshot of the ladder wins through match history.

Level Up

The student levels up!

Once you’ve successfully completed the challenge, email achievements@teachmestuff.net with your replays attached.  Please name your replays something to indicate they were played for the Teach Me Stuff StarCraft 2 Coaching program (something like TMS 2v2 1, 2, 3, etc).

The deadline for this first challenge is by the end of the day 9/10/12

How to save and submit a replay

To save a replay, on the score screen after the game concludes – click SAVE REPLAY

Type in the name in which you wish to name your replay, and then click save.

To find your replay to attach, go to the desktop and click on your User folder.  Navigate through to Documents > StarCraft II > (your battlenet name) > Replays > Multiplayer

This folder should have your replays saved that you can attach through email.

Also you can look at a  comprehensive list of available achievements.  Please note, some achievements are only valid for redemption during a certain time frame.

At the end of the weekly challenges, we’ll be awarding coaches + students with the most badges and points with a prize!

We will reveal a new challenge every week.  The first week’s chalenge will be:

5 2v2 games on the ladder with the coach and the student on the same team.
Send us 5 replays where you and your student rehearsed the same build order at least three times.  Placement matches can count toward this achievement, let us know where your coach/student team placed!

Once you’ve successfully completed the challenge, email achievements@teachmestuff.net with your replays attached.  Please name your replays something to indicate they were played for the Teach Me Stuff StarCraft 2 Coaching program (something like TMS 2v2 1, 2, 3, etc).

The deadline for this first challenge is by the end of the day 9/10/12

How to save and submit a replay

To save a replay, on the score screen after the game concludes – click SAVE REPLAY

Type in the name in which you wish to name your replay, and then click save.

To find your replay to attach, go to the desktop and click on your User folder.  Navigate through to Documents > StarCraft II > (your battlenet name) > Replays > Multiplayer

This folder should have your replays saved that you can attach through email.

Each achievement will be awarded to individual user profiles – redeemable by both coaches and students.  We’ll be assigning user profiles to our active users over the course of the week – please check your email regularly in order to complete your user profile registration.

Login to Teach Me Stuff
Receive 10 points for logging in!

Completed Profile
Successfully fill out your user profile and receive 20 points.

Participate in Fun Game Night
Come and join the rest of the students and coaches on Battle.net channel TMS during a fun custom game night and earn 100 points for participating.

Achievement badge will be awarded after we confirm a coach or students presence at the event.

Participate in Tournament Day
Test your skills against other coaches and students by participating in our weekly tournament events.  You earn 100 points win or lose, it’s all about improving

Achievement badge will be awarded after we confirm a coach or students presence at the event.

Write a blog post about your experience

Talk about your experiences, thoughts, or suggestions about the SC2 coaching program in a published blog post.  It’s also a great way to share your coaching experience and track your own progress between coaches and students – we want to hear from you!

Send a completed and published blog post link to achievements@teachmestuff.net to be awarded your hippo badge and 50 points.

Write a review for a coach or student

Leave feedback about your experience with a coach or student by writing a review on their user page.

Email a link to your review to achievements@teachmestuff.net and include your name to redeem your badge and 50 points.

Recruit an SC2 Coach or Student
Tell your friends about our third round of the StarCraft 2 coaching program starting in Fall 2012 to earn 100 points when they participate.  New recruits can be at any skill level, and can be a coach or a student.

Email achievements@teachmestuff.net with your recruits Name, email, and battlenet ID and we will award the badge when they are confirmed to participate in our third round.

Also you can look at a  comprehensive list of available achievements.  Please note, some achievements are only valid for redemption during a certain time frame.

At the end of the weekly challenges, we’ll be awarding coaches + students with the most badges and points with a prize!

We will reveal a new challenge every week.  The first week’s chalenge will be:

3 1v1 games between the coach and student, with the student practicing the same build order in each one.
Send us 3 replays where you and your student rehearsed the same build order at least three times.  The execution does not need to be perfect.

Once you’ve successfully completed the challenge, email achievements@teachmestuff.net with your replays attached.  Please name your replays something to indicate they were played for the Teach Me Stuff StarCraft 2 Coaching program (something like TMS Build Order 1, 2, 3, etc).

The deadline for this first challenge is 8/31/12

How to save and submit a replay

To save a replay, on the score screen after the game concludes – click SAVE REPLAY

Type in the name in which you wish to name your replay, and then click save.

To find your replay to attach, go to the desktop and click on your User folder.  Navigate through to Documents > StarCraft II > (your battlenet name) > Replays > Multiplayer

This folder should have your replays saved that you can attach through email.

As Expected

• In order to have a successful mentoring relationship, students need to establish goals. In the case of SC2 players, it is usually to achieve the next level within X days. The players that were keen on improving as opposed to just playing had a more active relationship with their coaches. All of the coaches from both SC2 and Web Development asked us to provide guides and tools to establish goals and metrics.

• Getting kids to ask their parents to sign consent forms is just as difficult as it is for schools to get them to pass on field trip forms. We have to work on a more streamlined workflow to pass information onto parents and get their permission because it can be weeks before the coaches can be introduced to their students. The delay in introduction can mean a drop in motivation and coaches can get frustrated when they see their peers are actively coaching.

• Incentives and recognition is important to many people and that is no different with the SC2 coaches. Introducing some sort of recognition system for coaches that spend X amount of time coaching and who help their student to level up is something we want to introduce in the next round.

• Communication tools are unique to each community. In the case of SC2 it is Skype and so we don’t plan to dictate any tool use, although we will offer some suggestions to the various communities.

Surprising

• We were focused on the matchmaking and mentoring relationships and it didn’t occur to us that the coaches would be active within their own group and share successes and frustrations. We had created a Skype group for the Coaches for us to relay information to them and it turned out to be a multi-way conversation. We are going to look at this more closely with the next round of coaching and in some of the other groups. Conversely this coach relationship building didn’t occur with the Web Developer Coaches and the theory is that they are all professional web developers and already co-learn and mentor co-workers during the day so communicating with the TMS Web Dev Coaches wasn’t as valuable to them.

• Tools to aid in both synchronous and asynchronous communication is key because not everyone can find a good time to meet real-time. The SC2 replay feature allows coaches to review their student’s games off-line and then provide feedback. Although not proven, we now hypothesize that mentoring relationships where the student can show their progress to their coach via game replays, videos, code snippets, etc. will prevent major gaps and disruptions in progress.

• Although coaching real-time is not necessary when asynchronous tools are available, there was a notable difference when the whole mentoring relationship was based on sending emails back and forth. Those pairings that were able to play against each other and talk through game strategy seemed to improve at a faster rate and seemed more excited about the program than those that didn’t engage real-time.

• We assumed that any student that agreed to sign-up for coaching would be excited and gung-ho to receive free SC2 coaching. That wasn’t always the case. Some students took days and even weeks to reply to their coach after they were introduced. The coaches felt disrespected by this lack of engagement. Setting up a time limit for a student or even a coach to respond to a match will prevent hurt feelings and wasting anyone’s time. We’ll also have to set those expectations ahead of time that it’s like dating, it might take you a few intros before you find the right match for you.

We are actively working on incorporating these learnings and more as they come in. Thanks to our SC2 Coaches for the generous use of their time.

ESPORTS!!

FF to 38:33 in the video

Mimi asks: “Could we create an eHarmony, an optimal matching algorithm, for 1-1 virtual mentors in Math/Chess/StarCraft?” JSB goes on to discuss the basis behind our hypothesis: “Who is the perfect virtual tutor somewhere in the world for a student?…True scalability of skilled mentorship where there is a perfect match between the mentor and the student.”

A follow-up interview with JSB ‘Q&A: John Seely Brown on Interest-Driven Learning, Mentors and the Importance of Play‘ highlights his take on the importance of mentors and reflects on important mentors in his life.

For interest-driven learning to work, you need mentors. I would never claim that teaching isn’t important, or, oh, just jump into a lake, and you will know how to swim. There’s peer-based mentoring, master-based mentoring. I personally feel that in order to get hooked on something—well, that’s the role of a great teacher, a great mentor. The role of the mentor is to get you to discover things you might not actually know you were interested in, to confront topics you may not be very good at understanding, but once discovered, you will.

The Teach Me Stuff team is fortunate to have thought leaders and educators such as JSB that believe in the importance of learners with passionate interests and supportive mentors.

Matching was done using two methods:

1) We matched the individuals ourselves;

2) Coaches chose students based on their profile data, with personally identifiable information removed. In other words, the following data was removed: name, email address, and gender. The coaches had to make their decisions based on the location and needs of the potential learners.

If the learner was a minor then the coach had to be background screened and the learner had to get parental consent before being introduced to their coach.

Once the matches were determined, an email was sent by one of the Teach Me Stuff staff to introduce the pair to each other.

Now it is up to the pair to communicate with each other.

Two weeks after the introductions we will be checking in on their progress.

Stay tuned…