Minimaker | Margaret A. Powers

Tag Archives: Minimaker

Why it’s Awesome to Be Hacked … in #TeachTheWeb

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 2 comments

The second week of the Teach the Web MOOC focused on remixing. I was excited about this topic because it’s an area I’ve just begun to explore and engage with on the web. It’s interesting how infused remixing is into our daily work as children (e.g., re-making someone’s Lego creation or making variations of a local building as a fort) or even adults (e.g., remixing a marketing approach to work for your brand) and yet how foreign it can feel when addressed head-on as the focus of an activity or lesson.

When I first thought about what type of project I would remix, I thought it would probably have to be a Popcorn video because the Thimble projects were all personal profiles/bios and they couldn’t really be changed – right?

Then, I joined the the weekly Twitter chat, which began with a focus on remixing. Kevin Hodgson (@dogtrax) asked a great question, “Can (should) we remix anything?” A number of participants discussed the nuances between remixing something with permission and remixing as a form of collaboration versus remixing as appropriation (with and without permission). When someone remixes your work that you’ve asked not to be changed using a Creative Commons license or when someone hacks in and makes changes for their own enjoyment at your loss, remix become a much less friendly word.

#teachtheweb remix invites us to talk; sometimes a collaboration; sometimes an appropriation; i think of Nishant Shah’s #dml2012 Ignite –

— Chad Sansing (@chadsansing) May 9, 2013

In contrast, @dogtrax took a direct request from me about wanting to be remixed and in true #TeachTheWeb spirit, created something awesome and inspiring. He even sent out a tweet and G+ message encouraging other MOOC participants to remix and hack my Thimble introduction. He created the page below using Mozilla’s X-Ray Goggles from the Hackasaurus Toolkit.

And then Doug Waters remixed that remix!

So of course, now inspired, I had to hack a Thimble page of my own! I chose someone from our #MiniMaker G+ Study Group. Here’s my update to Karen Young’s Thimble Intro:

After being hacked myself, I had a better understanding of the process and how creative I could be in doing it using someone else’s profile. I had a chance to consider how remixing could help me get to know a person better and how it can be an entry point for using a new tool. Similar to my experience remixing a project in Scratch for the #MediaLabCourse I learned more about the X-Ray Googles and what they’re capable of as well as more about Thimble, by remixing. I’m excited to try Popcorn for my next remixing project and to continue thinking about hacking as we move into week 3 of #TeachTheWeb and discussions of the Open Web.

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Posted in Reflections, Tech Tools

Tagged #medialabcourse, #teachtheweb, Creative Commons license, education, Google, hack, hackasaurus, Higher education, learning, Lego, lego creation, Massive open online course, Minimaker, MOOC, Mozilla, new tool, open web, Popcorn, remix, remixing, thimble, Twitter, twitter chat, World Wide Web, x-ray goggles

I’m Helping to #TeachTheWeb – Join Me!

Posted on May 3, 2013 | 2 comments

Yesterday, I dove into a new MOOC called Teach the Web started by Mozilla and created by a Webmaker Mentor Community of people around the world who are determined and passionate about helping people be empowered to “CREATE the web, rather than just consume it.”

They have a great intro video (that WordPress won’t let me embed) here:

I love the course motto: “Let’s teach the world the web. Together.”

That openness and community aspects are a key part of what drew me to this course, especially after realizing how value the support and relationships were to my learning and involvement in #etmooc.

With summer around the corner, I also like that the MOOC is not too long (9 weeks) and is explicit about the idea that people can participate as they’re able and join at anytime. I’m also excited because the topics align well with work I’m doing right now around examining the Maker Movement, makerspaces, learning to code, learning through doing/making, and integrating that work into education and life as a whole. As Mozilla says, one goal is that by the end of the MOOC, you will be empowered and interested to #teachtheweb #4life!

To jumpstart my involvement with the MOOC, I participated in the live events yesterday, including a Live Stream conversation and a Twitter chat. I’m excited that Twitter chats will be a part of the experience because I think they’re a great way to get to know participants better and spark conversations/ideas that can be continued later in other spaces and ways. I also created a new Thimble project as my introduction. The project proved to be a great opportunity to practice more coding (I struggled a while to get the bullets look the way I wanted!) and apply some skills I’ve already learned.

One of the things I’m most excited about are the Study Groups and the new Google+ community we started with people interested in discussing and learning more about how empower young learners (K-2nd Grade) to teach the web and engage in making. These MiniMakers are the future of the web and I think it’s important for them to have opportunities to engage in creative, open, and meaningful projects that let them create technology.

Are you working with young learners and interested in helping them become makers, coders, and creative learners? Join our group! After #etmooc, I can attest to the fact that being part of a community (and the shared inquiry, brainstorming, creation, and support that result from joining) is the best part of a connectivist MOOC.