Technology Projects 8

What's this course about?

Technology Projects 8 is a graded, fall semester course where 8th grade students develop, engage with, and reflect upon independent projects that relate to computer technology.

For the purposes of this class, a student project is a specific, organized, and achievable endeavor that requires sustained effort to accomplish, chosen by you and approved by your teacher. Class projects must relate to computer technology in some way — think software (using or creating computer programs) and/or hardware (building a computer or a device that uses a computer). See below for some examples, but don't limit yourself to them, and know that it's perfectly OK if you have no idea at the start!

Please keep in mind that everyone learns differently, and there isn't a single, "right" way to do a project. A big part of what this class is about includes figuring out the strategies and techniques that work best for you.

Example Projects

• Learning how to program with Python
• Creating electronic music
• Making art with machine learning*
• Producing a podcast
• Becoming a Wikipedia editor
• Developing pixel-art characters
• Making a basic video game
• Launching a gardening website
• Developing an animated short
• Building an Arduino security alarm*

* Please note that some projects may require purchases which are the responsibility of the student to both provide and bring to class.

What's class going to be like?

As you'd expect, much of the time you'll be working independently on projects, so what you do will depend on the projects you choose, as well as project-related work like idea development and planning, giving and receiving feedback, and reflection.

What do I need to bring to class?

Please bring your Chromebook or a personal laptop computer to every class. Tablets (iPads, etc.) and phones are not acceptable as primary devices, though they might be suitable as secondary devices under certain circumstances. It's also useful to have headphones or earbuds, something to write with, and a class folder for notes and other important information.

How will the projects part work?

One of the main goals for this class is for you to feel that it was worth your time and effort. The reason is simple: if it's worth it to you, you'll learn better.

The best way to achieve this is to create conditions that promote success. That may sound simple, but it actually requires careful thought, reflection, and planning. As a result, a project in this class involves more than just doing the work itself.

At the start of our time together, in the development stage, we'll look at what makes a good project, examine an example project, and then you'll design a project of your own. You'll get feedback on your ideas, plus spend some time refining it to make it as valuable of an experience as possible.

Next, you'll spend the majority of your time in this course actually doing project work. That's what we're here for, after all!

Along the way, we'll also take time for you to get feedback on your work, check in with your progress, make any necessary course corrections to stay on track, and reflect upon what this work tells you about yourself. You'll also give feedback to classmates and we'll support one another throughout the process.

When the project reaches a milestone that results in the production of work, we'll celebrate it and look at things that went well, challenges that were overcome, and lessons to remember.

When you finish a project before our work days end, you'll return to the development stage and design something new that's worth your time and effort.

Sharing Your Work With Others

At the end of our class, please expect to share the results of your project work with others outside of class. What you share and how you share it will vary, depending on the project choices you've made, so we'll take plenty of time to figure out the best way to set things up.

What happens if I want to stop working on a project before it's finished?

It depends. An important aspect of a good project is that it provides just enough challenge, and sometimes it takes a while to get there.

If your project is too easy, motivation plummets because it becomes boring and doesn't feel like a genuine accomplishment when you succeed. If it's too hard, motivation also evaporates because the work becomes a slog that defeats the goal of making this experience worth your time and effort.

When a project is designed just right, it's almost magical: hard enough to present an authentic challenge, but easy enough to push through without becoming miserable. That's the goal, and part of doing it right means that you may be faced with days when you feel like giving up. It's a normal and expected part of the process, and we all deal with it.

When this happens to you, you'll be asked to work with your teacher and/or classmates to figure out what's going on. Perhaps your project needs some tweaking to get the right balance. Maybe you just need a little time away from it, so you'll try a side project for a while. Often, you may find that your best option is to simply push yourself to keep going, even when you want to give up. Many times, that's all it takes to break through and achieve success.

When none of those strategies work, however, sometimes the best option truly is to move on. That's perfectly OK. As long as you've tried your best and worked things through with your teacher, it won't negatively effect your grade. In fact, when things don't work out we often discover some of the best insights about ourselves, a self-reflection which can actually help improve your grade.