How is tinkering connected to true technology literacy? Explore learning theory about constructionism, PBL, tinkering, and design to find out.

1. Tinkering Toward
Technology
Literacy
Sylvia Martinez
President, Generation YES

2. The dots...
• What is technology literacy?
• Why is it important?
• How do we teach it today? Can we do
better?
• How does tinkering work as a model of
learning?
• Bringing it all together

3. What is technology
literacy?
• Computers or more?
• NAEP says technology literacy should
cover “the designed world”
• 49 of the 50 states have technology literacy
goals and standards; more than 80 percent
of the states have adopted, adapted, or
referenced ISTE National Education
Technology Standards (NETS)

4. SETDA says...
• Technology literacy is “…the ability to
responsibly use appropriate technology to
communicate, solve problems, and access,
manage, integrate, evaluate, and create
information to improve learning in all
subject areas and to acquire lifelong
knowledge and skills in the 21st century.”

5. 3 Interconnected
Abilities
Knowledge
• Vocabulary, recognition, history, tradeoffs, constraints
Critical thinking and decision making
• Inquiry, analysis, systemized thinking
Capabilities
• skills, information gathering, troubleshooting, fixing
things, offer solutions, design process
from National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and National Research Council

6. “Doing” connects them

7. Why is technology
literacy important? or
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8. How do we teach it?

9. If “doing” is the key connector between
the three aspects of tech literacy, we
need a theory of learning that
emphasizes “doing”
not lecturing... not a checklist... not testing.

10. Constructionism
• Seymour Papert - collegue of Jean Piaget
• Based on constructivisim
• Children learn by discovering a world
view piece by piece, building on what
they already know and can do
• Making things in the real world cements
this knowledge

11. Making things is better than being passive
Making good things is even better
Knowledge is a consequence of experience
Gary Stager

12. Constructivist/Constructionist
Resources
• Seymour Papert - Articles and books http://
www.papert.org/
• Constructivist Consortium http://
www.constructivistconsortium.org/
• PBS Online Classroom http://
www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/
w2-resources.html

13. From theory to practice
Project-based learning
(PBL)

14. Project-based Learning
1. PBL projects are central, not peripheral to the
curriculum
2. PBL projects are focused on questions or problems
that drive students to encounter (and struggle with)
the central concepts and principles of a discipline
3. Projects involve students in a constructive investigation
4. Projects are student-driven to a significant degree
5. Projects are realistic, not school-like
J.W. Thomas - A Review of Research on Project-based Learning (2000)

15. PBL Resources
• Edutopia (Core topic: project learning)
http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning
• Buck Institute for Education http://
www.bie.org/
• Project-based Learning Online http://pbl-
online.org/

16. Dots so far...
• Technology literacy is important
• Technology literacy is multi-
dimentional and “doing” is central
• Constructionism is a theory of
learning that emphasizes doing
• PBL is a classroom methodology that
supports constructionism and doing

17. Tinkering as a form of
PBL
• Bricolage - French for tinkering, using found
objects, playfulness in creation.
• Papert defined two styles of problem
solving: analytical and bricolage
• School only honors one style
• McGyver, Apollo 13
• DIY, HGTV, Make magazine

18. "The bricoleur resembles the painter who stands back
between brushstrokes, looks at the canvas, and only
after this contemplation, decides what to do next."
- Sherry Turkle

19. Tinkering School - TED Talk
Gever Tully
http://www.ted.com/talks/
gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

20. no set curriculum
no tests
lots of stuff
lots of tools
real tools
immersive
time
how to make things
deep realization that they can figure things out
nothing turns out as planned
every step is valuable
just start building
fully committed to project at hand
success is in the doing
failures are celebrated and analyzed
child-appropriate response to frustration
all materials useful

21. Can we do this in
school?

22. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)
• Free access to lots of different kinds of books
• Minimum censorship. Comic books and magazines are OK; hard
and easy books fine
• More often and short is better than long, but rare
• No tests, book reports, logs,
comprehension quizzes
• Comfortable space to read
• The teacher reads too
• For all kids, not a reward or
remediation
• Supplement with interesting
experiences about reading – trips to
library, discuss literature, conferences,
etc. (not skill building)
• Good readers tend to be narrow
readers (they stick to one genre)
• Look for “home run” books

23. Sustained Technology
Tinkering
• Free access to lots of different kinds of
software and hardware
• The teacher works on computer projects too
• No tests, reports, logs, quizzes
• Comfortable space to read work on
computer projects
• Follow their passions
• Collaboration

24. Design
has changed in the real world

25. Waterfall Design
Define
Design
Build
Implement
Test
Complete

26. Spiral design model (Boehm, 1988)

27. What
happened in
the 1980s?

28. What
happened in
the 1980s?

30. • Use technology to test ideas
• Take risks
• Reflect, refine
• Assessment = does it work, is it
interesting, is it beautiful

31. Connect the dots
research, learning theory, practice, outcomes
Assessing Technology Literacy:
The Case for an Authentic
Project-based Approach
http://genyes.com/freeresources/

32. Contact information
• Sylvia Martinez, President
• Generation YES, a non-profit 501c3
• email: sylvia@genyes.org
• URL: www.genyes.org
• Blog: blog.genyes.org
• Twitter: smartinez