WHAT WORKS A glimpse at some edtech success stories.
Design class gives students the power of choice By Nicole Krueger
photos by z ack ary pe ters
Students in Gina Baragone’s design class may never be expected to code a robot, engineer a 3D-printed roller-coaster or make a stop-motion animated movie in a professional setting. In fact, by the time they enter the workforce, much of the technology they’re using today will have fallen out of date. But that won’t matter. By the end of the semester, she hopes, they’ll walk away with the skills and confidence to tackle whatever technology they need to bring their ideas to life. “The idea is to teach kids how to project manage and create things – to look at things in the real world and create their own take or spin on it,” says the teacher at Cesar E. Chavez Middle School in San Bernardino, California.
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EMPOWERED LEARNER
Structured to simulate the autonomy students would have as professional designers, the class aims to expose students to various technologies while teaching design thinking and project management skills. Each month, students choose from a menu of options, from robotics to 3D printing to digital photography, and complete a list of independent tasks designed to teach them how to use the technology. After each task, they meet with Baragone one-onone to demonstrate their work. For the final, they’re asked to design and direct their own projects using the skills they’ve learned. “Today we have all this amazing technology, but a lot of times we get stuck doing the same thing with everybody all the time,” she says. “The great thing
