Category: Teacher Center

How Project Based Learning Boosts Personalization

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A growing chorus of employers is voicing frustration about job applicants who are technically proficient, with touted high grades and test scores but lacking in key skills such as communication, decision-making, and problem-solving that are necessary to successfully do the jobs they have applied for.  To better prepare students for professions in the 21st century, educators are increasingly combining project-based learning and personalized learning.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) blends content mastery, meaningful work, and personal connection to create powerful learning experiences, in terms of both academic achievement and students’ personal growth. PBL can be transformative for students, especially those who lack access to school-time educational opportunities such as workplace internships.  

Project-Based Learning allows students to actively participate in activities that have real-world relevance and application. For example, students can solve problems that are important to them and their communities. At its best, PBL leads to deeper understanding and greater retention of content knowledge, with students better able to apply what they know to new situations thanks to a personal connection to their academic experience.

Let’s look deeper to see how project-based learning integrates technology and personalized student learning.

What is Project-Based Learning?

Project-Based Laerning PBL encourages students to investigate and respond to a complex topic, problem, or challenge.

With its ability to support students of different abilities, it is gaining popularity in schools and other educational settings. Problems can be provided based on a learner’s knowledge, making the experience unique for each student.

What are the benefits of PBL?

Project-based learning can be a catalyst for transforming learning, helping students move from asking “what?” to also asking “why?” and “how?”

In a traditional classroom, students often focus on memorizing facts to pass a test. However, research has shown that by organizing learning around meaningful goals, PBL can be an effective way to cultivate a “need to know” attitude in students—students are motivated to deepen their understanding in order to solve a problem that is meaningful to them.

Concepts are better understood when students see a need for their use, make an authentic connection with them because that need encourages them to apply what they’re learning to relevant situations, leading to a better sense of understanding. Researchers have also observed higher rates of students staying on task and paying close attention to the teacher and their peers.

Understanding the limits of Project-Based Learning

However, there are key characteristics that differentiate “doing a project” from engaging in Project-Based Learning.

However, without the correct tools, PBL can be just a buzzword. Active citizens and a fast changing workforce demand more than simply technology, personalization, and coding. Quality curriculum and instructional design are still the keys to PBL’s long-term influence on students.

A vivid example of these limitations is provided in the following passage from a 2017 Edutopia article:

“As students learn to read, it is critical that they build a strong and wide foundation of knowledge. Background knowledge plays an important role in a learner’s ability to acquire and absorb information from what they read. Thus, customizing learning through technology works best when combined with focused, coherent, and rigorous training.
 Yes, tapping into and developing children’s interests and instilling in them a sense of ownership of their education is important. Yet allowing them the unbridled choice of what they learn, especially when they are young, means that in certain cases they will miss building that foundation
 If students don’t have a working familiarity with a body of knowledge, a new passage on the topic—no matter how elementary it may seem and no matter how strong the reader’s fundamental decoding skills—will frustrate… Without at least a working familiarity with a topic, Google—where you have to generate the right question to ask—will only take you so far in the moment. That is because, as cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham wrote, “Every passage that you read omits information. All of this omitted information must be brought to the text by the reader.”

This passage is an important reminder that how educators incorporate PBL and Technology into their curriculum, will really define the success of their efforts and the long-term impact it has on students.

How does BSD use Project-Based Learning?

PBL’s greatest strength is its ability to engage students in virtually any learning situation. For example, PBL is the core of all BSD in-school and out-of-school time (OST) curriculum. Our approach has continuously proven to be the most effective strategy for igniting & sustaining engagement in the vast majority of students we work with, regardless of prior tech background or interest level.

PBL allows us to alter students’ thinking from ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ to ‘what problems do you want to solve when you grow up?’

Project-based learning allows students to see how abstract concepts and lessons can be used in the workplace. This offers students the chance to experience education through the eyes of artists, entrepreneurs, tech professionals, and more.

Contextualized professional alternatives stimulate students to learn more in a subject, transforming education from a task to an opportunity.

Enrichment Programs: What and Why

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Students could try new things, explore hobbies, and build skills outside of the classroom through enrichment programs. Activities can range from sports to cooking, from drawing to coding. All you need is a passionate teacher or an external instructor to run an activity that your students will like. Another option you can consider is to challenge your students and get them to run their own activities.

For example, we helped a student at Hong Kong’s South Island School launch an after-school code club. It’s been incredibly successful and he now has a waiting list!  

Enrichment programs are not just something that fills the time between school and home though. They have several advantages and allow students to pursue interests outside of the classroom or try something new. Some of the most valuable skills students can achieve are self-motivation, self-discipline, and self-awareness. Learning outside the classroom also gives students the opportunity to experiment and take risks with no implications.

They are neither graded or compared to classmates, so students can make mistakes and learn from them. This in turn will build students’ confidence as they learn new skills and immerse themselves in new experiences.

Although activities may take place outside the classroom, their benefits will follow your students into their studies. According to “After School Programs in the 21st Century: Their Potential and What It Takes to Achieve It” published by Harvard Family Research Project, many studies “repeatedly underscore the impact of supporting a range of positive learning outcomes, including academic achievement, by affording children and youth opportunities to learn and practice new skills through hands-on, experimental learning.”

These benefits are all true of our experience at BSD. We offer programs at our own space in Hong Kong and at a large number of schools in both Hong Kong and Philadelphia. As after-school programs are in a student’s own time, we know it’s important to provide an educational but also fun and sociable environment. We particularly focus on collaboration and teamwork as our programs often bring together students from a range of different backgrounds and age groups. As a result, we have found that students participating in enrichment activities not only build technical knowledge but also develop vital future skills such as working collaboratively with new people, problem-solving, and presentation skills. You can find out more about what we offer here.

Enrichment programs are a great way to encourage students to follow their passions, develop new interests, and build new skills. You should think about the activities you can offer and inspire your students to try something different.

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Advantages of Real World Technology Camps: App Development

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Technology camps are a creative and inspiring way to expose children to a variety of real-world skills that will benefit them in the future. Not only will they be learning something new, but technology camps also allow children to explore areas of interest that they may not have experienced at home or at school.

In our current digital era, people of all ages use apps every day intrinsic to their ways of life in their daily lives. However, what is an app exactly? Why do people choose to build apps instead of websites? What does it take to build an app? What makes an app “great”? These are all questions that kids will have the opportunity to explore by attending App Development Camps.

Beyond simply learning how to code, creating a mobile app also encourages children to foster skills in a variety of areas. This includes tech-related skills such as programming, UX (user experience) design, UI (user interface) design, and soft skills such as creativity, resilience, computational thinking, and communication.

Let’s take a look at some of the real-world skills your child will learn if he/she/they enroll for an App Development Camp:

Coding

To build an app, students will learn to code using languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, as well as using coding “libraries” and “frameworks” (these are large bodies of code create by teams of professionals to make complicated but frequently used things we want to create easier and faster to build). Learning how to code teaches kids computational thinking, adaptability, organization, and also how to be focused and thorough when completing tasks – that’s because one small error in your coding syntax might cause a bug in your app!

Problem-solving

Throughout the process of building their app, children will encounter challenges such as their code not working, not knowing how to make their code perform a specific action, or not understanding specific parts of their code. This means that they will have to devise different solutions, whether that’s collaborating with their peers, researching online, or figuring out how to synthesize the coding syntax that they’ve learned to test a different approach.

Fosters empathy

Deciding to create an app means that developers must place themselves in the shoes of their users, and adopt a variety of perspectives. Developers must consider a number of questions, such as: “Will my app be easy to use?”, “Why will people want to use my app?”, “Who will want to use my app?” and “What problem(s) will my app help solve?”. The success of an app depends on the experience of its users, and kids will learn that app development is not about creating an app for themselves, but rather, apps can be solution and community-driven, and are built to solve problems and help others.

Communication

At the end of a BSD App Development Camp, all the kids are required to present their app – what they built, why they built it, and how they built it. Not only does this allow them to reflect on their entire camp experience as a whole, but presentations help build confidence by showcasing their hard work, improve their public speaking skills, and demonstrate to them that their work is valued and recognized.

Technology is ingrained in nearly every aspect of our lives today. Learning to build apps is a fun, engaging, and unique activity that exposes children to a variety of disciplines empowers them with digital skills required to succeed in the future and deepens their understanding of the world around them. They are able to socialize and make new friends in a fun and collaborative environment and create an app that they can take home to show their friends and family that might even solve a problem for their community, or be a unique portfolio piece for a school, college, internship or job application in the future.

If you are interested in bringing our App Development Camps into your schools, let us know by contacting us here.

Your Questions About Enrichment Programs: Answered

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What are Technology “Enrichment” or “After School” Programs?

Technology focused after school enrichment programs are geared towards kids mastering the key skills and competencies of technology like computational thinking, design thinking, problem solving, and communication skills in an engaging, fun and team oriented environment. Absolutely no prior  experience needed!

What makes a great Enrichment Program?

Rather than a lesson in the school day, in after school or enrichment time, enrichment classes are in the students’ time. So while they are taking their first steps into the world of technology through e.g. computer programming and applying digital skills to be creative with technology, they need to really be immersed in experiencing first-hand the incredible world of possibilities that tech provides in a way that is fun and exciting.

How do you select a theme for Enrichment Programs and how long should they last?

The best themes for Enrichment Programs spark student’s imagination around the possibilities of Tech with contextually relevant applications in their everyday life.  While you should always be careful not to misrepresent the activities and outcomes in a program, there is no reason why real world themes can’t be fun and engaging for students and connect to their interests!  

Similarly, the duration of an after school program should balance the minimum time needed to create intended projects, with the constraints and potential unforeseen changes that sometimes come up during the course of the school year calendar.  We’ve found that after school programs should run between 1 to a maximum of 2 hours per session and need a minimum of 5 hours in total for students to have an ideal experience and really create something they can take away and be proud of.

When scheduling, it is important to be mindful of potential conflicts in the school calendar that can disrupt and/or impact students experience negatively.  An example of this is winter break over the calendar new year which while a relatively short, is still long enough of a break that it can derail student’s progress and learning in a weekly program.  For situations like this we instead try to schedule a program to wrap up prior to the winter break (even if it means shortening a program) and then start a new session in mid-January when students have already gotten back into the swing of school.

There is all sorts of technology out there, how do you balance between the latest thing but providing something that is accessible?

Tech themed after school programs should always prioritize equity and access over the latest thing. The latest craze is also often expensive to deliver and becomes obsolete very quickly. While media coverage may portray new Tech breakthroughs as life altering, the reality is often that ‘the latest things’ typically take years at best to deliver an educative experience for k-12 students.

An example of this paradox are 3D Printers, which despite coming onto the market more than 10 years ago are still rarely utilized in school settings because there is no coherent curriculum for them and it’s hard to see how their value can maintained on a long term basis.

Finally, we find the best balance is also to incorporate tools as the focal point of learning that are also free of affordable to buy at home, as these allow students the opportunity to continue learning and creating on their own should they wish.

What type of people make the best teachers for Enrichment Programs?

Contrary to popular belief, the most important aspect for technology enrichment program instructors is not a strong background in CS or Technology. Instead, we have consistently found that experience and confidence  teaching, coupled with an open mind for learning new ideas are the two most important traits when looking for a tech program instructor.  Regardless of a candidate’s age or background, it is much easier to train someone how to teach Tech curricula than it is in how to effectively manage a classroom, build inspiring relationships with students and empower them to strive towards their full potential.   

What about parents? What is the best way to keep them informed and help them understand or be excited about what is being created?

While students are not the primary target audience for the content taught in after school programs it is Important to always make sure parents or guardians are kept in the loop throughout.  

BSD keeps parents updated with a series of email updates prior, mid-way and at the conclusion of programs that provide information about instructors, project themes and instructions on how they can see their child’s work, as well as how their child can share his or her work with them.

Finally parents are always invited to attend the second half of the final class to see what their child has been creating in the end of course demo.


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Our Students Answer “What is Love?”

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! We have found that  it’s a great day to remind our students and ourselves about the value of recognizing the people around you that make life a better place, and sharing “love” and messages of appreciation.

But how do you share “love”? As a fun Valentines Day read, we wanted to show you responses we’ve received when we asked our students what love was:

“Love is sharing my last piece of candy for my sister”

Nicole, 9

“Love is being able to trust someone, more than you trust yourself”

Leo, 12

“Love is going to the carnival with Mommy and Daddy”

Ella, 6

“If I were going to say it like in the books, love is going to the ends of the earth for the person you love”

Ellie, 11

“Love is kissing and hugging a lot”

Olivia, 7

“Love is feeling happy and light”

Claire, 8

“Love is when everyone gets the same respect and trust”

Eric, 13

“Love, is peace and honor!”

Jason, 8

“Love is JT’s class” (referring to BSD’s Innovation Academy)

James, 10

“Love is anything that makes you laugh”

Shaurya, 11

What do you think of their answers? Aren’t they great! What do you think your students will answer if you asked them the same? We’d love to hear it! Tag us at #BSDLove2019 and get a chance to be featured in our upcoming newsletters.

Why We Aim For Students To CARE

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“
 I do not publish nor divulge [methods of building submarines] by reason of the evil nature of men who would use them as means of destruction at the bottom of the sea, by sending ships to the bottom, and sinking them together with the men in them.”

– Leonardo da Vinci

Our aim is to give students the confidence and skills to work with the most powerful technology tools of their generation.  And as Spiderman teaches “with great power comes great responsibility.”

This is a lesson that every inventor learns.  Early inventors were often tied to military purposes.  Leonardo da Vinci famously focused on defensive rather than offensive technology, and went as far as destroying some of his advanced designs to avoid what he believed would be the inevitable human destruction.  This responsibility expanded to scientists focused on chemical warfare – the wife of the German inventor of chemical warfare ultimately committed suicide when she couldn’t convince her husband not to publish his results – and even DNA – as scientists feared their recombinant DNA experiments would lead to accidentally incurable pathogens.

As we have seen around the world in the last few years technology is not only ubiquitous, but more powerful than ever. A power at the hands of everyone. From a young age, then, we want to equip students not only with the technical skills to use tools but also the moral compass to use them for good.  We call this teaching students to CARE – to be curious, adaptable, resilient and empathetic to the world around them.

We work with students to use technology in ways that benefit their communities.  We have students that are building connected scales to measure and reduce waste at their schools and others creating websites to donate to people in need.  Even something as simple as making virtual Valentine’s Day cards to show people some love can have a positive impact on others. In each case, our students look around themselves to see real problems and create solutions that really work for people in their communities.

Ultimately, we’ll measure our success by the impact that our students have and we want to give them every chance to make that a positive one.  Our moral compass guides BSD and we aspire for it to guide the projects, tools and movements our students create too.

Source: Less Wrong

Bring Technology Learning In Your Subject

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Technology learning is already fundamental to every industry and this will only increase. We can’t ignore the way the world is going or the facts: 65% of children entering primary school today will do jobs that don’t yet exist.

At BSD Education, we believe there are three core reasons that more educators should bring technology into their subjects. This is especially true if those subjects aren’t traditionally technical. Read on for our top three!

1. It prepares students to be future-ready

For students to succeed in the future, it is critical they learn digital skills. Some schools believe that this can be done through a computing class or an after-school club. But in the real world, technology touches everything and impacts everyone.

It needs to be infused across subjects so students can make connections, follow their interests and understand how to apply technology to build solutions across contexts.

2. It increases engagement

Not only does it provide students the opportunities they need to succeed in the future, but teaching digital skills will also increase engagement with your subject. Teachers we have trained have reported that students are more engaged in classes using BSD Online and our curriculum. It can enable a more interactive learning environment and helps make the learning more authentic.

Students can struggle with the real-world context of some topics and a common question is ‘Why are we learning this?’. Allowing your students to explore, build and create with it helps to make the connection to the real world much stronger and helps to pique students’ interest.

3. It develops vital soft skills

Point 1 highlighted the importance of learning technical skills to help students succeed in the future. However, the skills developed by bringing technology learning into your subject don’t stop there. Technology learning expands the mindsets of young people by developing ‘21st-century skills. By focusing on designing real-world products, students are learning how to apply technology, developing a range of critical competencies. For example:

When creating a solution or product, students often have to work together to combine complementary skills and must always consider whether the end product is actually going to work for the end-user. Students, therefore, need to work with others to: determine who will do what; understand potential users’ requirements; request and act on feedback; and share information about what they have designed and built.

None of this can be done without communication and collaboration skills.


Creativity links to building with technology in two main ways: Creativity in problem solving and creativity in design. When solving a real-world problem, students need to think creatively about how to solve it using a technological solution. Once students have decided on the product or solution, they need to think about the best way to design it. Thinking about the end-user, they need to consider user experience and user interface – nobody wants to use a poorly design product.

Computational thinking takes complex problems and breaks them into tiny pieces, which is exactly what students have to do when they are deciding how to use technology to provide solutions. In a rapidly changing future, students will have to solve problems constantly to adapt to the world around them.

Bringing technology learning into your subject is a win-win. Your classes will be more inspiring and engaging, whilst also giving your students the skills and competencies they need to succeed in their futures.

To find out how BSD empowers all teachers to bring technology learning into their classroom and give their students the tools of tomorrow, get in touch!

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Breaking the Disconnection in Computer Science Education

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In a recent survey of 540 K-12 teachers conducted by YouGov for Microsoft, 88% of teachers said they agree computer science is critical to ensuring success in the workplace. In addition, 83% said they believe coding can build students’ creativity. Thus, teachers recognize the importance and benefits of technology education.

However, one-fifth of teachers said their students aren’t actually taught any computer science. These teachers mention a lack of resources, curriculum, and testing as explanations for this. To give students digital skills to prepare for the future, instructors and society believe it is vital. However, what actually happens in schools is quite different.

The second issue is that teachers feel underqualified to prepare children for a digital future. Most teachers (88%) value computer science, while 30 percent are underqualified or overloaded—insufficient support and training for teachers to confidently integrate technology into their classes.

Interestingly, the same kind of feedback led to our offering at BSD Education. Many teachers recognize the importance of technology education for students’ future success but struggle to deliver it effectively. We researched with schools and students from diverse socio-economic, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds to discover why. While schools want to use technology more, there are three major obstacles to overcome:

  1. Confidence: Teachers don’t usually have a tech background and so can see it as risky and unfamiliar. Professional development for an area that is new and technical can be hard to access.

  2. Content: Technology is constantly changing. Curriculum can, therefore, become quickly outdated.

  3. Community: Teachers don’t have a community of practice or peers, with a core group of trained practitioners, to learn from and share ideas.

Following this research, we worked with thousands of students and instructors for over 34,000 hours to develop a solution that inspires the next generation of problem-solvers and creative thinkers. As a result, we equip schools with resources to integrate technology into all subjects:

  1. An online teaching environment that gives teachers confidence by putting them in control of the learning experience.

  2. Real world relevant curriculum that can be brought into every subject.

  3. Professional development that enables every teacher to integrate technology into their classroom.

Our new year resolves to bring this solution and create the community in and amongst more schools globally to help break the disconnect. Teachers know that technology education is vital. We need to empower them and support them with the right tools to be in a position to deliver.

Top 10 (Non-Tech) Skills You Learn From Coding

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Coding is more than just a technical skill. Students engaged in coding projects and activities will also develop a wide range of soft skills. When we talk to employers, we find that digital skills are the key to opening the door. Still, an essential part of turning the opportunity into reality can demonstrate the soft skills that go with them.

1. Communication

Communication is often overlooked as a vital skill amongst coders. When you hear the word “coder,” what comes to mind? Probably a stereotypical image forms – a quiet twenty-something-year-old sitting behind a computer screen with giant headphones on. Often they are not assumed to be a strong communicator. Unfortunately, this is not the reality. Coders must be able to communicate clearly to their team, colleagues, and clients. Successful coders can manage expectations, understand and interpret requirements, and effectively convey what is in a given brief. We encourage students to articulate their ideas and processes through real-world presentation activities. These include concepts like elevator pitches, stand-ups, and team-based idea generation exercises.

2. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to comprehend and be sensitive to other people’s needs and emotions. Through incorporating original project briefs in lessons, students understand compassion and practice executing their requests in a considerate manner. Empathy is not just sensing “feelings” or interpreting emotions. Students will learn that to understand the needs successfully, detailed research should be conducted.

Read our other article on the importance of empathy and how you can help your students practice it. 

3. Creativity

Learning to code is like learning how to read and write in a different medium – it enables you with creative and expressive power (Here are five reasons why coding is like a language). In addition, code helps students to become creators of digital artifacts rather than simply being consumers. Through coding projects, students experience ways to express their ideas and become thoughtful creators in their communities. Some of these projects include creating a digital photography portfolio, a recipe app, or a self-driving toy car!

4. Logic

Logic is a skill students can practice through code. Students become increasingly analytical by dissecting existing programs to understand the process to achieve the solution through written code. Whether they are building or debugging, they are exercising their logic faculties regularly. Understanding machine operations, conditionals, and progression in coding projects strengthen logic. Breaking down issues and figuring out how each affects the other will help students think objectively.

5. Problem-solving

Students have to be aware of and apply appropriate coding skills for different requirements or scenarios. Students that practice this will improve their ability, having broken down a problem that may seem complex or abstract to recognize the optimal way that students can articulate its solution. Identifying the operations needed to solve pain effectively is a skill that students can apply in any other field.

6. Enterprise

Coding brings out enterprising qualities in students. Coding is not like other subjects in school where the facts might be all in the classroom with them. When beginning the coding journey, students will quickly identify gaps in their learning and recognize the need to seek resources for themselves. This search for an answer will accustom students to find and recognize the quality or reliability of sources to achieve and fulfill their creative ideas.

7. Abstract thinking

Abstract thinking is the ability to think about objects, principles, and ideas that are not physically present. The use of analogies is an excellent example of abstract thinking. Once students begin to learn languages like  JavaScript or Python that are not immediately visualized, students will need to practice speculating and predicting results in how the interrelationships of the code happen as a whole. Some scholars argue that abstract thinking is not a natural cognitive development but rather through culture, teaching, and experience. Students can develop their ability to make connections and abstraction in intermediate and advanced coding through unplugged activities. Teachers can do this through the utilization of graphic organizers, such as flowcharts.

8. Project planning

Coding is best learned through project-based learning. Students practice and learn planning by thinking through the steps necessary to achieve their end goal. Projects created with code are built by envisioning the required syntax and the overarching rules that will govern it and the most efficient way to put it all together. Then, to meet the deadline set by the teacher, students learn how to assess their resources and knowledge to get the project done on time.

9. Attention to detail

Coding is excellent practice for attention to detail. Not only from the perspective of the accuracy of the code itself but also accounting for users’ needs, for example, ensuring a well-designed user interface and experience. A savvy coder may develop a system to avoid repeated mistakes. Where errors are present, they will examine their work systematically. Experienced software developers often try to “break” programs to identify problems and areas of improvement before launching a product to the market. This iterative and creative process can be applied in your classroom as well. Get students to demo and test each others’ creations and see what they pick up on.

10. Resilience

Coders and developers gain an ability to move past their debugging frustrations and continue to find solutions to help complete their projects. Students will practice a sustained process. Creating something good and successful takes time and attention to detail. By understanding and accepting that coding is not something you “get” the first try or that users do not always receive projects in an intended way, students become resilient learners through the process of making mistakes and finding the solution.

More success in the future is predicated on individuals’ ability to apply the hard skills of technology. It also follows that where this becomes an inevitable norm, the differentiating features for human beings will be the ability to deliver the best solution and understand its success, which will come from the soft skill attributes of technology learning. Thus, perhaps the greatest differentiating strength in a technology future will be innately human.

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The Missing Soft Skill: Empathy

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The P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning states that ‘Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as the skills that separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not.’ It is clear that people can no longer rely solely on knowledge and so education must now focus on giving students the skills and attributes they need to succeed in a whole range of different contexts and situations.

The P21 Framework highlights creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, and collaboration. Other lists include abilities and competencies like flexibility, self-learning and initiative. But there is one skill that is often missing – empathy.

Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, and being sensitive to the experience of another from either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an explicit manner. It enables people to identify the problems others are experiencing and then design solutions that actually meet their needs.

Given future jobs are likely to have a heavy reliance on problem-solving, empathy surely belongs on the lists of skills that students should focus on. But how do you develop someone’s empathy? Many people suggest it is something you are born with, that can’t be taught, but we disagree. Empathy can be practiced and, to some people’s surprise, it can be practiced when learning to use and build with technology.

How do you do this? Get your students to build solutions for real-world problems using technology.

Ask your students to think about a problem they encounter on a regular basis. Once they have thought about a problem for themselves, encourage them to consider whether this is a problem for other people and how this problem might affect different people in different ways to arrive at a specific problem that really needs to be solved. Let them spend real time on this. Once they have identified the specific problem, task them to create a solution that will work for and be used by a range of different people. To do this, they will have to demonstrate empathy.

As soon as you introduce a problem that affects real people, students have to really think about those people and understand their needs, often within a context very different to their own, before even being able to start to develop an effective solution. If they don’t do this and don’t demonstrate empathy, they will likely finish with a product that doesn’t solve the problem, does not present a solution to something people really feel is a problem, or perhaps solves the problem in a way that nobody will use.

There’s a reason why the best innovators are empathetic and problem finders: you can’t come up with new ideas unless you observe the world with fresh, empathetic eyes.

Empathy is a fundamental skill and mindset that all students need to develop. At BSD we build all our projects that students learn and create with to be real world and product focused. By bringing the real world into technology learning and getting students to build real products for real people and communities, you will give your students the opportunity to develop empathy.

Want to build something different for your school?

BSD Education partners with educators to bring technology education into classrooms through our learning programs, online platform, and professional development training.

Contact our team and we’ll show you how we can transform your tech curriculum and get your students ready for what’s next.   

 
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