​Below is a list of the learning activities for this unit. For links to media and documents refer to the UbD Unit Plan document:

 

• Show videos about the importance of design and how it has changed the world (Steve Jobs and Apple Computer; iconic Japanese designer Kenji Ekuan, Momofuku Ando inventor of dry packaged ramen, video game companies, etc.)

 

• Read and discuss article “Stop Educating Students For Jobs That Won’t Exist." Discuss in conjunction with viewing of Morgan Spurlock’s “30 Days On Minimum Wage” 

 

• Discussion on highest paying jobs and best places to work (Google, Apple, Facebook, etc.) in America and what types of skills they are looking for in employees. Guiding questions- Is this the life or job that you might want? Will the educational path you are currently on prepare you to be competitive in a world of technology and innovation? Why do many people earn minimum wage while a small minority earns millions? Does that make them “better” people? What is the difference? What are the economic and social factors?

 

• Discuss the role of design in products and architecture and show videos and discuss jobs in design. Discuss basic elements of good design. Students will partner up to collaborate on mini project- designing a better product- where they find a common, everyday, utilitarian item and redesign it so it works better, is cheaper, has new features, etc. (post in Blendspace or Google Plus and gather community feedback).

 

• Intro To Sketchup- Go over and do with students tutorials (from Sketchup

 

• Students work in pairs to learn simple Sketchup task- design and create your name in 3D using textures, colors, and the component warehouse

 

• Students collaborate in pairs to build the Sketchup “Greenhouse” by following the guided module from Atomic Learning

 

• Professionalism- Go over basic concepts of what it means to be a professional. Bring in guest speakers in 2-3 industries to discuss how professionalism affects their viability in the industry. Guiding question- If physical products are “valuable’ to us because they are “bundles of benefits” then what “bundle of benefits” do you get with a professional? How does his/her conduct (i.e. professionalism) affect this “product?” As part of this exploration into professionalism, ask several professionals from various industries to share “real” winning client proposals in the Google+ community and have students highlight and comment on the differences between the “professional” deliverables and what they might turn in for a school project. Also involve parents and other members in the discussion. To make this process more authentic, we will ask these professionals to give constructive feedback to the final projects

 

• Students use Photoshop to create a logo for their own fictitious architectural firm along with a slogan that they will use in their project

 

• Teams pair up with other teams to “design” dream houses for each other- use the design planning interview sheet. Teams create a hand-drawn prototype floor plan and share it to the Google+ community for feedback and approval by the other “client” team

 

• Each team goes to work on constructing their client’s dream home in Sketchup. Every 3rd Class period, teams are to gather a set of representative screen shots showing how their project is coming along. They will use Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat to share these with their clients who will give feedback using the most appropriate technology (i.e. Twitter and Periscope, etc.). Teams choose what works best for them.

 

• During the creation process, teams are asked to document and collect artifacts (screenshots, screencasts, drawings, learning logs, etc.) that they will use to show their learning process. At the end of the unit, teams will choose an appropriate curation technology to share their process with others (Blendspace, Pinterest, Slideshare, etc.)

 

• Upon completion of their Sketchup model, teams use Imovie, Garageband, Photoshop (the logo), and any other technology desired to create a deliverable- an appealing video walkthrough of their  virtual home that will make the client want to hire them to complete the project.

 

• Final videos are shared in the community and rated by community members as well as the client. Voting will be conducted in the community (Google +) for categories such as most creative, most beautiful, most practical, most outrageous, etc.

 

• Students will close the unit by creating and sharing the curation tool (i.e. Blendspace) documentation of their learning process.

 

• Because so much of this unit is about collaboraton, interaction, feedback, professionalism, and self-directed learning, it is imperative to integrate these skills into the practice of creating the unit products. As a result, students will practice and refine these skills and learn the importance of constantly improving these skills of "professionalism." I have chosen to implement the Group Project Tools published by The Eberly Center For Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. These evaluation instruments will continue to be used throughout this course and will be integrated across academy subjects and teachers to form a common vocabulary and framework for building collaboration and professionalism.