New Tech High is featured in a great Edsurge article about online student blogs.
​Read the Edsurge Article Here!

It's the end of the year and we have one more project to work on.  We are providing feedback for a major software application developer on a new product they are working on.  Each student group consists of two interviewers and two interviewees.  We are conducting Empathy Interviews, the first step in the Design Thinking process.  

I gave the students the option of getting a grade for this project or doing it just for fun.  Some chose the grade and some chose to be ungraded.  This morning a student pulled me aside and asked, "So, if I don't get a grade, then why do the project?"  "It's a real-word chance for you to help a software developer with a new product.  You get to have a say.   Are you interested in doing that?"  Long pause.  "Yes, I am."  "Ok, then.  Get to work."  "Ok!"

And therein lies the value of authentic project-based learning.  And what an interesting low-stakes test for me as a teacher.  Most students are still in and working.  Even though it's the end of the year.  They meet with the product manager tomorrow to go over their data.  We'll have to see how it all shapes up, but I'm hoping they come through!

This is my third year doing a board game project for my Game Design Class and this year's crop is just fabulous.  It's a tough thing to make a board game that is fun to play, new and exciting, actually teaches a topic and is designed in such a way that it is visually pleasing and consistent throughout the each game piece.  This year's Game Design students have managed to hit all the notes.

This year we teamed up with the Psychology class to create board games that would de-stigmatize Mental Illness.  The games were geared toward therapists, diagnosed patients and their families, as well as the average board game  player.  We covered topics such as ADHD, Body Dysmorphia, Schizophrenia, OCD, Anxiety and Depressive Disorder.   Students went through a minimum of 3 rounds of playtesting, sometimes doing up to 5 rounds. After each  playtest, they would take the feedback, adjust the game mechanics and then get more feedback. 

Beyond learning about what makes a board game play well with different mechanics, and tightening up their Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D Design Skills, students learned about project management, and Design Thinking.  Every class began with a Scrum meeting and students set their own benchmarks over a 4-month period.  They wrote their own rule-sheets, designed their own boxes, wrote their own copy, and even printed some custom game pieces that were 3D printed.  For the sale of the board games, they found ready-to-order pieces so that the average board game buyer could still buy the game and not have to worry about printing their own custom playing pieces. Game designers consulted their Subject Matter Experts in Psychology often in the beginning and moved forward with implementation once they understood their particular mental health issue.

I am over the moon with how the board games game out and am chomping at the bit to share these games so that others can purchase and use them to teach about mental health issues.  Students are proofing their games now and making last minute fixes so that they will be published for sale in the coming weeks.  More details to follow!