Princeton Hive

More Problems=More Human-Centered Design Marcos Navas for the Princeton Hive Human-Centered Design Hive and HCD4EDU With all that is occurring with COVID 19 and the current global pandemic, it seems that the problems and challenges that COVID 19 brought along with it is creating roars and stirs everywhere.  The idea of "social distancing" is creating disturbing challenges all around us, especially in education!  The idea of transitional schools, staff, students, and communities back into normalcy and maintaining a rule of social distancing is creating a list of questions starting to pile sky high! I would hate to drop another cliche of let's think "cup is half full" about adopting the correct mindset during these times but nothing is further than the truth! Through the application of Human-Centered Design mindsets, toolsets, and methods, one can see all of the problems and challenges COVID 19 swept in and opportunities for design with students, staff, schools, a...

Parenting During a Pandemic Prepared by Josephine Scavuzzo Some days it feels as though we have been locked down in this house for an eternity. There are times when there doesn’t seem to be enough space within these four walls. I often wish that I could escape from my thoughts, stop working from home, wear something other than sweats, or go out for dinner with friends. I know what you’re thinking, #firstworldproblems and I don’t disagree. I recognize that I have the privilege to openly discuss these feelings. The tweet by @Damian_Barr encapsulates my thoughts, “We are not all in the same boat. We are all in the same storm. Some are on super-yachts. Some have just the one oar.” While I am working from home as a teacher, I am also parenting my son. I am trying to balance the needs of my own family and consider what is necessary and appropriate for my students. To be honest, being a parent is the hardest job that I have ever done. Yes, I chose the "Mom Life", b...

Building Personal Connections in a Digital World Everything is changing. In the midst of that teachers have rolled with change possibly better than at any time. This isn’t a change to some random new curriculum or program, this has been a complete redesign of teaching. We are building the boat long after we set sail. With all the changes and potential changes on the horizon for teachers and education, we should have some idea of what the world of education could look like going forward. Most educators would agree that one of the cornerstones of successful education is building strong connections with kids. In this broken year, most of us had a chance to build connections in person. It has been part of the profession for a long time.  For many of us, however, the possibility of a hybrid model, being home for another year, or something altogether different presents a massive challenge. How might we build real, meaningful connections with our kids in a digital world? ...

What If You Say You Want a Revolution? Know how you (or someone you know) is about to run out of breath talking about how our education system is broken because it’s an out-dated model based on the Industrial Revolution? Well you know, the revolution you’ve said you wanted? Welcome to it. Wanna change the world? Let’s do it. Say you got a real solution? Let’s share it. It’s up to us to create it? Let’s create it. It’ll take a contribution? Let’s make it. In a discussion on the role of curiosity in learning with educators from around the world, with the Ministry of Education from Tucumán, Argentina, the Minister of Education, Juan Pablo Lichtmajer asked the question: “What if the school of the Industrial Revolution is over and the school of the technological revolution is being created?”  Since Princeton Hive educators were participating in that discussion, the Minister’s question inspired a few “what ifs…?” based on the design and direction of the Princeton Hive to make its ...

Lower the Stakes with Virtual Meeting Spaces In our previous post Virtual Classrooms for Virtual Learning , we examined the alternatives in virtual reality. With the world changing dramatically and our meetings, instruction, and lives racing to catch up, the burn out from repeated video calls is real. There is an issue with this constant level of self-inspection and voyeurism involved in spending your day on video calls. Not only is it challenging to engage in video conversations with multiple people at once, but it can be incredibly draining to continuously worry about appearance, who is running through your background, and if you are reacting appropriately (or overreacting) on the screen. All of you have seen the video meeting with the person who nods excessively (I’m guilty) or the person who poorly hides the huge mess on the sides of their camera only to accidentally move the screen displaying their home disaster, or if you are like me, a child running behind doin...

Public Speaking to Virtual Speaking: Is it so Different? Antoinette Ellis I could sum this up in one word and be done with it, however; one would have to understand the symmetry and the stark contrast between the two mediums in order to properly answer the question at hand. Or do they? Given our current situation, in the middle of a pandemic, we are forced to make a shift from public to virtual. The question really is how we do it tactfully and with impact? How does a public speaker transition to no longer having this familiar forum to deliver their wealth of knowledge to an eagerly awaiting audience (hopefully)? For those who have already bravely chosen to deliver their content on stage in a room full of unknown faces, you have already overcome or learned to deal with the difficulty of stage fright. This overtime comes with the added experience of “reading the room”, the cheat sheet in knowing if your audience is engaged in your delivery or not. However; now you are onlin...

Power of Coding to Fight COVID19 These days, it may be difficult to see the cup half full due to the current pandemic occurring worldwide. As countries are scrambling trying to find adequate solutions to the ongoing issue arising from the need for social distancing in all aspects of life technology continues to move forward. If there is something positive to think about, it is how fortunate that this pandemic is going on in the modern world today, with the availability of amazing technology to work around all the problems created by COVID19. I mean, can you imagine being quarantined in the 1980s with no cell phone or data plan!?! A major part of this technology fighting in the front line is a language that is creating amazing opportunities for mankind to survive and progress through the use of robots, apps, medical innovations, and much more. This language is CODING. Through the power of coding, we have the ability to develop and design solutions to many of the issues...

Dear World, Today there are no welcome breakfasts, there are no snack trays in the lunchroom, no cards, or candies. There are no hugs, no smile as your kids walk in the room and you greet them. Every year we take for granted that Teacher Appreciation Week will come and go with a handful of kind gestures that warm our heart paired with a feeling of disillusionment when we get messages of appreciation but often little changes in our daily work that shows this level of gratitude. This week everything has changed. This week is a Teacher Appreciation Week unlike any other. While we sit home trying to manage how to rebuild connections, support our kids and their families, and maintain a veil of sanity in these rare and challenging times, there seems to be a renewed appreciation for the work all of us do each day. All of us have been impacted by the educators in our lives. We have had great teachers, know great teachers as mentors, or feel inspired by those we work with each ...

Into the Unknown: Teaching During a Pandemic Contributed to the HIVE by:  Josephine Scavuzzo Over and over again, the media has reported that these are unprecedented times. The CoVid19 crisis is having a profound effect on all of us as citizens of this world. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, our education system has been shut down. According to UNESCO, these nationwide closures are impacting over 90% of the world’s student population. In many districts, there are contingency plans, technology rollouts, and resource staff to support learners and their families. However, there is no consistency across local school boards and districts, much less between countries around the world. As a 23-year veteran teacher in Toronto, my only remote learning experience has been my own. I’ve taken professional learning courses and had to balance my home and work life with the demands of the course. I can’t imagine how children are navigating this online, rem...