by Marti Louw
Documentation practices play an increasingly prominent role in creative educational environments such as project-based learning, makerspaces, and in self-directed learning experiences. We will present two design cases with demo videos that showcase tools developed through an extended co-design process with educators in higher education and high school settings.
First, MakerCards+ is an instructional and creativity support toolset for introductory physical computing courses. It builds on a QR-code enabled card deck illustrating electronic parts and categories linked to an online knowledge base to help bridge access to creative know-how online. Through deployment in five courses, we found the MakerCards+ system to be a versatile resource for learning to recognize electronic components; enhance communication in early designs and in debugging; and aid in schematic diagramming.
Second, the Self-Directed Learning (SDL) kit is a hybrid documentation toolkit for high school students that spans home to school settings. The SDL curriculum offers students a flexible, and interest-driven learning experience where students pursue various competency-based micro-credentials which they earn by collecting evidence of progress and learning. The SDL documentation poster kit integrates a visual progress tracker linked to a digital system for uploading, tagging, explaining, and curating evidence. The kit was deployed in Spring 2021 to over 60 students.
