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How do you see the mobile culture implicit in this DIY learning experience?

Although I've engaged in more tangible DIY projects, I thought I'd share this one regarding a DIY "service" (i.e. tourism). Navigation and translation apps are implicit to mobile culture, and perhaps have redefined how we explore this world. Similar to most DIY projects, these apps give amateurs/first-timers the confidence to carry out a project, or in this case, an adventure, without much professional assistance.

Personally, I've spent most of my time travelling around Asia (above pic is in Korea), and I wold be lost getting around without my phone. To be honest, I'd also be lost getting around Vancouver without my phone!

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I'm loving the use of Padlet, it makes things more lively and interactive around here! While I've done a few minor DIY home/lifehacks such as creating my own bookshelf risers from boxes or cleaning tools, I wanted to share something which I'm recently working on.

As a guitar player I recently started appreciating the design shape of the Telecaster. I have a White one that was prebuilt but after looking at some inspiration online, I decided to create one with off the shelf parts which allowed me to customize every aspect of it, from the color, pickguard, pickups and neck design.

The reason why I decided to take the DIY approach is most of the time, I wasn't able to find a correct color combination in stores (eg: I like maple necks but most of the time, the body color doesn't match). With the help of Youtube tutorials and some online guides, I acquired the necessary parts and started working on the body/pickup wiring. While it's still work in progress, it's exciting to think about future steps such as painting the body (with a unique color) and other tidbits (maybe i should add some LED lights to it...)

DIY has certainty been made much easier with the help of mobile culture and the Internet as back in the days without them, finding information on how to DIY was more of a trial/error process or one which required exchanging ideas with other people. Constructivism, Social Learning Theory and Ubiquitous learning has pretty much made it possible for us to learning 24/7 with information available at all times. It's definitely beneficial for those who are too busy to learn from a traditional structure with needing to invest too much time/money into it. The neat aspect about this culture is anyone can be a teacher as knowledge continues to expand through the exchange/flow of mobile culture.

It was definitely more "fun" than traditional learning as technically there isn't a proper step by step guide on how to do things or the feedback of a teacher. In a sense it reminded me of building model kits (Gundam/Mecha anyone?) but with a greater level of freedom instead of purely following instructions.

Great job on the OER Eduardo and Jennifer!

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This past week, I engaged in a paint session to destress with some of my colleagues after school. We followed a YouTube tutorial. The above photo is my result, I would like to add that I am proud of this painting as I am not always skilled when it comes to painting or drawing. I have engaged in many DIY projects with the help of mostly YouTube tutorials that guide me. I have been able to build complicated IKEA furniture, use my Cricut more efficiently, and even learn how to do some makeup/hair tutorials all with the help of tutorials I have found online. Even at school when we need to reload our laminating machine, we watch a very old tutorial for our model. Before taking this course and also delving into your website Jennifer and Eduardo, I had not really thought about the importance of DIY learning in my everyday life. Thank you for helping me to think about that.

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Hi Eduardo and Jennifer,

Great job on the DIY resource! I am an avid believer in DIY. Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning and Zone of Proximal Development presents that teachers can help a learner bridge the space between what a learner knows and what they do not know without the support of an instructor. Having information at your fingertips on mobile devices makes it easy to find knowledgeable teachers.

My husband was trimming one of our apple trees. There were so many blossoms that I wondered if I could make tea from them (as I have had cherry blossom tea in Japan). I have a food dehydrator and checked resources online (as I wanted to make sure apple blossom tea was safe to drink). I gave away most of the tea in little jam jars with pretty labels, and the tea tastes a bit like chamomile.

Your resource reminded me of how important it is for children to create so that they can experience creativity, the joy and knowledge they are capable of creating, and that making items can be more rewarding than buying them (and better for the environment).

Tamaka

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I am the grade 8 teacher, and we have our grade 8 graduation tonight. Above is a picture of the photo booth that we designed for the evening. My co-teacher and I are planning the graduation together, and we both were sending one another screenshots through text messages, of inspiration we would see throughout different mobile platforms, google searches, or Instagram tags. This exact design was from the inspiration of a design she found through Instagram tags. She found it by searching ‘#photobooth AND #photobooths’. We had both searched using this method, and I enjoyed scrolling through recent images of inspiration. Accessing materials at the school was useful, but the balloon arch was ordered on Amazon.ca. This is a DIY kit that was purchased. We used our green screen frame to place the polaroid free-handing board, which was made with bristol board, tape and meter sticks, tied to the top with ribbons. We had 4-5 grade 8 students working on this project with us, and any new ideas that were generated were consulted with the group and executed.

Mobile culture certainly influenced this DIY learning experience. Instead of having to take a crafting class to learn how to make the balloon arch, we just used Youtube to watch a tutorial using a similar product. Inspiration for the photobooth was taken from a collection of ideas seen on Instagram and through Google Search. I find that the end product is much more finished and fancier than if we were to just find materials at a store and try to be creative with the design independently. We could mimic another person's incredible design skills and eye for design by using an image found on our mobile devices.
(Agnes)

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"How does this learning experience differs from traditional learning experiences you’ve had? What benefits do you perceive? Are these benefits important for learning?"

I have a few assignments on the go so I was unable to create a DIY project this week, however, I have engaged with DIY quite a bit. I love watching the DIY videos that appear on YouTube or Facebook that show how household items can be used for alternative uses. I often will attempt these projects and love the learning process that comes along with it.

Just recently, my sister got married. The wedding was at a winery theme and I was asked to help make a welcome sign using corks. I primarily used Pinterest for my inspiration and DIY follow along. I love Pinterest, I use it for just about everything (cooking, cleaning, lesson plans, etc...). I went through a similar scaffolding process of learning by drafting a prototype and then purchasing the mandatory materials. From then, I had a lot of trial and error. There were times I was missing materials and or had too much. It was a puzzle at times, but I really enjoyed the challenge. I believe this differs from traditional learning theory because I am using more active visuals. Not only was I reading, researching, watching, and reflecting, I was doing this all simultaneously. I also had the desire to learn this, it wasn't forced upon me. I truly believe when we are engaged in the topic, we are much more able to learn. I think this is very beneficial for learning.

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I think as a teacher, I do a lot of DIY things that I don't even realize is a DIY. We just label it as a display, an activity, something to support the students but forget that it was a Do it yourself, since we didn't have the funds to actually purchase it. Above is one of many things I Do myself to help reinforce or support learning. I created a felt storyboard on the wall and now after we read stories, students can draw pictures and glue it to a felt piece to use to retell stories we have engaged with in class. At home, I have also created a "treat run" as a fun way to have my children drop a treat to our dog.
i think DIY differs from more traditional ways of learning I have experienced, as more trial and error occurs, and I problem solve, reflect on what worked and what didn't and continue forward. In traditional learning, I feel like I just complete the work cause I am asked to, without much reflection and improvement. Whereas DIY seems to be more self-motivated and more intrinsic.

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I am not really a DIY person. I have a lot of fine motor awkwardness that makes even cooking a struggle sometimes. Above is a memorabilia I made for my friend's birthday. It is a Kappa tree (named after the Twitch website emote). This symbol represents the eternal friendship I have with my friends. The cup is filled with salt from the wounds we sustained playing together.

In high school we had a DIY group project to make a board game for the novel "The Chrysalids" (sadly I don't have a picture). Back then, mobile DIY learning was not prevalent so we did not use technology to guide as. As a result, we had to improvise and guess if some of our creations worked. Some obviously didn't. From the OER, I like how mobile DIY learning culture guides people to do something outside of the virtual realm. By making a clear divide of tech time and DIY time, I think this technology can balance people's time between the virtual and real.

-Jackson

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I have limited supplies, so I opted to create a DIY card.

I think there are many aspects to this and previous DIY learning experiences that made it fun and educational. I like making hand-made cards, so every birthday and major holiday I tend to explore Pinterest or Google images to find inspiration. I like that I can see how it is done and assess whether or not it suits my skill level and the supplies I have at hand. I can also choose to push the limits of what I think I can do to create more detailed projects.

If a DIY craft involves materials I don’t have, I can explore other DIYs out there to see if I want to commit to purchasing said material. During the actual creation of the DIY, I like that I can take breaks, restart, or go back and make adjustments to what I’m creating. Generally, the videos or pictures have great visuals to help you every step of the way. I also like that I have creative freedom to select the ideas I want to use and change anything else if I want to customize something.

Having access to these DIY aids on mobile devices is a real help. I can pull my phone out anywhere I am to help me with a project or when I’m facing a situation I have not faced before. I use DIY videos regularly whether I need to fix something in my house or create something new. I do have a big list of saved videos I would like to try in the future, but haven’t had the courage or time to get started on.

DIY videos are great for my personal learning as I can follow my own interests, I have easy access to them, and I know that I can build up my skills and become more autonomous through them. I think all of those points are very important to creating a positive learning environment that encourages the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.

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This learning experience was different from traditional learning experiences because I had to learn a variety of new skills simultaneously rather than having them be progressively scaffolded for me by an instructional professional.

The original plans where provided by a woodworking website, but I had to adjust the dimensions to meet my needs. In order to do this, I made my changes and then consulted an online forum on whether I was on the right track. A major benefit of the social forum that is perpetuated by mobile technology is the fact that many people post their own work and reflections on technique, meaning I had many examples to base my own work upon and refine my practice. There were also many people who provided step-by-step instructions in either video or instructional form, meaning that I could select a method that made the most sense to me and matched my (beginner) comprehension level. These resources also showed me other projects that could be completed with similar skillsets.

Having access to differentiated information that provided a variety of perspectives would be very important for learners trying other DIY learning. Matching instruction to learning style helps to improve comprehension and would also help to alleviate some frustration that may be felt when dealing with unclear/vague instructions. I also felt that my learning was driven by my inquiry, improving my motivation to learn and to do so at my own pace.

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Division of walls, skylight, ceramics, plumbing, electricity... Lots of DIY opportunities.

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My house is 115 years old. A few years ago, I redid my entire bathroom with my smartphone as a guide/teacher. On my screen,  Bob the plumber or Julie the electrician were very supportive. My goal wasn't necessarily to save money (and certainly not time!), but the experience of doing it on my own was a learning opportunity.

Benefits for learning?

This made me realize the importance of experiential learning in a real context as well as the central place of problem solving in learning. I think that a DIY project in class with students must be centered on real needs. For example, if I hadn't had to redo the plumbing and electrical in my bathroom, I would have no interest in plumbing or electrical. Here I was doing it for me and it was going to come in handy. Also, I did it at my own pace without pressure. I believe this is the key to the success of DIY in the classroom: encouraging projects that will be useful to students and giving them time. Last year, as an end-of-year MYP, I had a student who built his own beehive. I was very motivated! At the end of the summer, he came to bring me a jar of honey. He was so proud and he learned so much. It was not a classic science or math class, but he learned a lot implicitly about these two disciplines and probably this learning will last much longer than the algebra exam.

Mobile Culture?

In a context of mobile culture, I believe that the accessibility of the smartphone is what makes DIY the most useful. I'm not someone who goes looking for a DIY project just to keep me busy, not sure I would use an App for that, but when I have an urgent problem, having a video on my phone becomes the best way to find a quick solution. For example, when I was in front of electric wires of all colors, many times I watched videos explaining electrical connections.

The downside?

A DIY project as I explain it, in connection (!) with electricity, can be dangerous. Also, I have research skills to find relevant DIY videos with reliable sources, but not everyone does. The DIY TSLAK app is safe, but that's another good question to reflect on: What should the limits of DIY be?

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Last year I built this plant pot holder for my wife from a link I found on Pinterest. Creating the slots in the dowels for the rectangular pieces to fit was a challenge (and something I'd never done before) so it would have been a lot easier to figure out how to do it with a traditional 'instructor' to allow me to ask specific questions or provide demonstrations. As mentioned, I found this template on Pinterest which is where I find most of the projects I build. I enjoy the pride I gain from completing a DIY project and I also enjoy that I can create a more expensive piece my wife sees in a store for a fraction of the cost.

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I see mobile culture implicit in DIY sharing - My daughters' DIY project with dominos.  What a great successful run, building and bloopers.  My daughter insists on having us videotape the bloopers, the runs and the tracks so she can share them with her family and friends. She enjoys watching the runs over and over again and wants to show others her successful tracks. The culture of sharing makes her desire to do bigger, better and more tracks. And in the days of zoom, Whatsapp, and facetime, she can share her creations with her favourite people (her grandparents).