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What have I been up to lately? Settling at my new job and designing two new workshops:

Technology Design for Humans: The Tech in Ed Edition (6 hr)

• This workshop focuses on paper prototyping web, tablet, and mobile technologies for use in Education or for educating. Non-techies will learn repeatable ways to create prototypes of their technology ideas so that they can test, explain, and pitch their concepts to investors, partners, and developers ... fast and on the cheap! It teaches design methods that are both human centered and human friendly. No super human technology skills required!
• Min 10; Max 40
• $500/pp (ask about Educators/Non-Profits price)

Technology Design for Humans: Paper-to-Clickable Prototypes (3 hr)

• This workshop continues the 6 hour Technology design for humans. We'll take our tested paper prototypes to the next level using simple tools to create clickable prototypes. Clickable prototypes are great for continuing testing your ideas and presenting them to investors, partners, and developers. If you can use basic drawing tools on your computer, you can do this. No super human technology skills required!
• Min 10; Max 20
• $250/pp (ask about Educators/Non-Profits price)
• Software: ~$200
• Pre-req: any Technology Design for Humans 6 hr wokshop

Dangerous Learning

I heard recently from a feed about a great book called Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do).
  
With supervision, doing dangerous experiments teaches not only great science and allows for discovery.  It also teaches judgment and safety skills.  If no one teaches you how to be safe before you experiment with concrete and speed or a hairpin and electrical sockets, you're going to the ER.  Safe experimentation is a really important life skill!

The key to it being really effective learning is the doing. 

I'm huge on interactivity and constructivism.  Some things, like learning to drive a forklift, are best learned with the real deal.  However, other things... like software simulation for example... are easily replicated in the online environment.  Drag and drop activities and picture hunts with roll over information hidden in them are two more examples of activity in an online, stand-alone training. 


Here is a sample I did a couple months ago.  (Click here to download.).   Open this with any browser.


What's working?  You see it; you do it.  Seeing is better than telling, and doing is better than seeing.  The repetition of seeing & doing defiantly helps for novice learners.