Hackademia: building functional rather than accredited engineers

Hackademia is a semi-formal learning group that introduces largely non-technical students to basic technical skills by presenting them with open-ended challenges in a peer-based, collaborative environment. This project has two main goals: the near-end goal has been to use a collaborative design model to develop a working, scalable model for teaching engineering literacies in higher education, and the long-term goal is to create participatory opportunities for end-users to develop innovative technologies. This paper describes progress towards the short-term goal, and lessons learned from two years of work to develop a semi-structured educational experience influenced by participant desires. Hackademia leverages a participant-observer research model and participatory research methods such as autoethnographies, experience blogging, and semi-structured focus groups.

[1]  Brigid Barron.  Interest and Self-Sustained Learning as Catalysts of Development: A Learning Ecology Perspective , 2006, Human Development.

[2]  Eric Paulos,et al.  Rise of the expert amateur: DIY projects, communities, and cultures , 2010, NordiCHI.

[3]  Clay Spinuzzi,et al.  The Methodology of Participatory Design , 2005 .

[4]  S. Freud.  In Over Our Heads. The Mental Demands of Modern Life , 1997 .

[5]  Jonathan Bean,et al.  Learning from IKEA hacking: i'm not one to decoupage a tabletop and call it a day. , 2009, CHI.

[6]  M. Johnsen,et al.  Making Their Own Way: Narratives for Transforming Higher Education to Promote Self-Development , 2001 .

[7]  Nicholas Hookway,et al.  `Entering the blogosphere': some strategies for using blogs in social research , 2008 .

[8]  Patricia M. King,et al.  Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-Authorship (review) , 2005 .

[9]  Andrew Shouse,et al.  Learning science in informal environments : people, places, and pursuits , 2009 .

[10]  M. Engle.  Book Review: Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook (2nd Ed.) , 1999 .

[11]  Per-Anders Hillgren,et al.  Participatory design and "democratizing innovation" , 2010, PDC '10.

[12]  Michael Cole,et al.  The Fifth Dimension: An After-School Program Built on Diversity , 2006 .

[13]  David W. McDonald,et al.  Learning how: the search for craft knowledge on the internet , 2009, CHI.

[14]  Colin Sharp.  Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.) , 2003 .

[15]  Patricia G. Lange,et al.  Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media . , 2010 .

[16]  Maureen E. Wilson.  Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-Authorship (review) , 2005 .

[17]  John Cullen,et al.  Democratizing Innovation , 2020, Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

[18]  Alexis Hope,et al.  The midwife's assistant: designing integrated learning tools to scaffold ultrasound practice , 2012, ICTD.

[19]  Gaetano Borriello,et al.  Experiences with a transportation information system that uses only GPS and SMS , 2010, ICTD 2010.

[20]  S. Wortham.  The Objectification of Identity Across Events , 2008 .

[21]  M. Patton.  Qualitative research & evaluation methods , 2002 .

[22]  Matthew B. Miles,et al.  Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook , 1994 .