Our Project
Hello class! We welcome you to explore our OER on Do It Yourself (DIY). We have focused primarily on establishing a relationship between the DIY and mobile cultures through an analysis of these and a real-life case study (DIY The Social Learning App for Kids). On the home page, you will find a clear description of the project and instructions to navigate the website.
To access the website, click on the following link: DIY Learning
DIY Challenge and Padlet discussion
After reviewing the content and thinking about the relationship between DIY and the mobile cultures, we ask you to engage in our ‘DIY challenge’. Here you will have an opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned. Everything is explained in detail on the website.
Important: our discussion will be happening on our project’s Padlet, where you will share your DIY object and reflection. Make sure you include your name in the post. If you don’t have time to do the DIY activity, you can simply do the reflection (see instructions in the ‘DIY Challenge’ section).
Quick link to the Padlet: DIY Learning Padlet Discussion
WordPress
Also, If anyone prefers to respond here in WordPress, you can do so. Feel free to simply comment as you wish, or use the questions we present on the DIY Challenge page:
• How does this learning experience differs from traditional learning experiences you’ve had? What benefits do you perceive? Are these benefits important for learning?
• Have you ever engaged in a DIY project before? If so, do you perceive any difference with this new DIY experience after reviewing the content of this website and ETEC 523?
• As we discussed, DIY learning is not completely independent but involves different teacher-learner dynamics and roles. How did you experience these compared to traditional learning?
• How do you see the mobile culture implicit in this DIY learning experience?
• How could this particular DIY learning experience have been improved? Is there something that could add more meaning and increase your engagement?
• Do you have a favourite DIY app that you already use? Which of its features could have been useful while engaging in this DIY challenge?
• Which of the learning theories described in the analysis of the DIY app (situated learning, design process, gamification, constructivism, sociocultural learning or any other you might know) do you identify in this particular DIY learning experience? How is this related to the DIY approach?
Thank you
We hope you enjoy this experience and look forward to interacting with you.
Best,
Eduardo and Jennifer
The DIY Team
PS. This website is, of course, mobile-friendly.
Hello Eduardo and Jennifer, great work on the OER and Padlet (there’s something about the design/UI of it which encourages me to post). I learnt alot about DIY from your website and reminded me that DIY is an aspect which is constantly happening in our lives, even when we’re not learning. When we improvise or need to quickly find a solution/fix to something, most of the time they’re DIY based and solutions that arise from our creativity, reflexes and response to the resources we have on hand. I think more DIY aspects should be implemented into various levels of education as it serves as a great way to allow students to explore options, find solutions on their own and promote aspects of innovation which seems to be lacking in most cases.
Hello John – thank you! I am glad our OER helped you learn about DIY and reflect on your experiences. You’re right, DIY can happen on many occasions when we have to solve an issue and think outside of the box. I think this is how many great inventions came into place, as unprecedented work always require to arrange ideas in a unique way, meaning without formal instruction. In that sense, it is a kind of DIY experience. Good observation that implementing DIY aspects into education could lead to more innovation and creativity amongst students, which is sometimes lacking yet necessary for success. Also, I think that DIY can help students develop more agency and empowerment, which would also be beneficial for many areas of their lives.
Amazing OER Eduardo and Jennifer! I wish I had more time to experiment with the DYI activity (week 7 UX project)! It has been a long time since I created a physical artifact for my students after transitioning from physical to online classes. Still, when I have time I would love to experiment with digital DYI projects, like DYI smart mirrors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlloiaBINo). To answer the question of how the DYI learning experiences can be improved and if there is something that could add more meaning and increase engagement is that we can harness all the benefits and the significance of DYI learning with children when we can easily access the virtual world in the near future. AR and VR spaces are becoming more immersed and that could be a great way to carry out DYI projects and be more engaged through the process. It can facilitate social interactions and can greatly reduce litter and junk. DYI can also be an expensive approach expensive if we want to have access to all the physical tools we need to create the desired project, especially if we want to implement it in schools. Situated learning, gamification, and project-based learning can also be enhanced through virtual worlds. However, hand-on activities of DYI learning could be eminent with younger learners (0-5 age range). Until such time is present and learning experiences are mixed with virtual worlds as a powerful fix for recent educational obstacles, I think DYI learning approaches are a great way for increasing engagement and creating fun, project-based learning experiences.
Thank you, Maria! Thanks for sharing the video about DIY smart mirrors. I didn’t know these exist and it’s incredible to see that one could actually make one. I think this shows how deep the DIY culture can go. I’ve been also thinking about how AR and VR will advance the DIY culture. We’ve already seen how the internet and social media catapulted the already existing DIY culture from previous decades (50s to 90s) to the next level. I believe that AR and VR will open a new dimension of possibilities to access DIY material. As you mention, because of the immersive quality of these technologies, we can expect these will be popular. DIY is engaging by itself because of its personal dimension, and AR and VR could take that further. In our presentation, we also mentioned Situated learning, gamification, and project-based learning and its interesting to see how these could be enhanced through virtual experiences.
Hello week 6! You did a wonderful job creating content for this Moveable Feast. I love the interactive portion and the idea to use Padlet as an outside discussion area. Thank you for your information, I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation!
Thank you, Megan! I appreciate your comments and I am pleased that you enjoyed the presentation and its interactive quality. We thought that having a Padlet discussion could add some freshness to the experience, and it has been fun to see all the DIY projects we’ve made and reflect on the educational affordances of DIY. I hope this will give us all ideas we can incorporate into our learning designs.
Hi Eduardo and Jennifer, thanks for sharing your insights about DIY learning. I like how you structured the learning resources into 30-60 minutes lessons enriched with engaging content. Through your site, I gained insights into what DIY learning is and how it could be applied in real-case scenarios to prompt participatory learning. Thank you both for presenting this amazing Open Education Resource (OER).
In response to your prompt questions, “How does this learning experience differs from traditional learning experiences you’ve had? What benefits do you perceive? Are these benefits important for learning?” My personal experience tells me that DIY learning has better engagement than conventional learning activities. Why? DIY learning always put learners in the first place, they are the one decide what to learn and how to learn. That sense of ownership is a strong catalyst for motivation to go further and delve deeper. For instance, I feel more motivated when I have the freedom to create my own learning plan, in terms of learning path, content, and resources. That being said, DIY learning could be less effective for learners who crave for clear instructions and guidance, so perhaps it’s safer to say DIY learning is best suitable for learns with strong passion and self-discipline.
Thank you, Vera. Pleased to hear you enjoyed our website and its navigational experience. It was also interesting for us to understand better what DIY learning affords when it comes to educational experiences. In regards to your response to the prompt question, I totally agree. One of the benefits of DIY learning is that it’s usually initiated by personal interest, so our identity and preferences are more at the center of the experience, which makes it more engaging. The sense of being in control and ownership of the learning experience is also liberating and increases the level of perceived agency. Excellent observation about how this learning approach might not be necessarily the best option for everyone. As you point out, some learners prefer very clear and concrete instructions – so there is definitely a character component here. Also, I think that context also could determine if DIY learning is a good option. Some learning experiences do need clear and concrete instructions. So, in conclusion, as we often see in education, methodology selection depends on context and individuals. I think though that even if a person is very inclined towards having clear and concrete instructions it would be good for them to have experiences in which they have to step out of their comfort zone and engage in self-directed learning in order to develop skills that would be beneficial for their lives.
Hi DIY Learning team,
I’m just about to post on the padlet, but I also wanted to thank you in a comment on your post. I really enjoyed exploring all the aspects of DIY mobile learning and exploring the DIY TSLAK website. It’s definitely something I hope to use with my students!
Thank you, Danya! I am glad that you enjoyed our website. it was interesting for us to reflect on the DIY culture, its educational affordances, and how it connects with the mobile culture. Although DIY’s origin is not mobile technology, it is clear that these have propelled its development and possibilities. It will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve in the next decades as mobile technologies become more refined and powerful.
Thank you, everyone, for participating in our Moveable Feast this week. Thank you for participating in our padlet and sharing your creations, experiences and attempting new things. We really appreciate it. As a reminder, please use the stars to rate your experience with our Week 6 Moveable Feast DIY. One of the great reminders is that we don’t always know when we are doing DIY. Congratulations on your DIY projects and how you have created such memories by making plant stands, renovating bathrooms, console tables, decorative memorabilia, storyboards, wedding winery-themed signs, cherry-blossom tea and graduation photobooths. You have taken so much time and care to share your thoughts on your DIY experience and thoroughly answer our questions. Your ideas on the ability to problem solve, use design-thinking, and creative inspiration are very thought-provoking. Everything about mobile DIY asks us to think about ‘new skills simultaneously’ rather than ‘progressive scaffolding’ in a traditional classroom. Experiential learning is a critical component of DIY, and the ease of use with mobile technology and culture speaks to the importance of self-motivation, personal interests and engagement.
Hello DIY team,
I will participate directly on the Padlet, but I want to congratulate you for your website and the activities offered. It’s simple, user-friendly and with good links regarding different theories of education. The videos are also relevant. I learned a lot, great job! In your research, did you find an equivalent of DIY TSLAK specialized for teenagers? I know my high school students sometimes share DIY videos on social media, but I was wondering if an app already exists?
Hello Sebastian. Thanks for your comments – I appreciate it! I am glad you found the website interesting and engaging. We were definitely aiming at making something user-friendly and simple, yet informative. Regarding your question, I didn’t come across a specialized case for teenagers. I think the reason might be that teenagers already have the freedom to interact and be a part of online communities through social media. I remember reading that one of the rationales behind DIY SLAK was precisely to give children an experience that teenagers and adults naturally encounter in their digital experiences. Makes sense? Thanks again.
HI Sebastien there was a platform that we shared about GoBubble that was a social media platform for teenagers.