IT project with schoolchildren: some recommendations

Over the past 5 years, I have managed to create a dozen educational projects together with students in grades 8-11 in the field of information technology. And so I decided to share my experience in this article, hoping for a constructive conversation on such an urgent topic. In the article I will try to reveal the technology for implementing an IT project as a way of training, as well as touch upon technical aspects that will help your team achieve a result.

Let us first determine what a project is. By the way, today there is a lot of talk about project activities in the field of education and they are trying to introduce this teaching method into the educational process, which I personally highly support. Why? Yes, everything is simple: in a short time, together with the team you create a product, and your wards at the same time learn something new.

You will find a huge number of definitions of the concept of "project", but I will try to give my own. A project with schoolchildren is a certain process of implementation of the final product, aimed at studying new tools for teamwork, creating a working prototype or the first version of the product, studying technologies that go beyond the school curriculum.

The keywords in this interpretation, I consider “process” and “product”. Many of the projects that I have seen are research projects, i.e. proving or disproving a hypothesis. The results of such projects are usually a presentation and report. Many projects are informational, i.e. aimed at collecting and systematizing information about the object, problem, phenomenon. The result of such a project is again a presentation, a report, a discussion.

Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize the word “product” and say that the ultimate goal of a project in the IT field should be a demonstration of something material created in the course of the project. Moreover, in no case do I deny, but on the contrary, emphasize the importance of research projects that are aimed at creating breakthrough technologies and developing new concepts in the field of information technology. Just a few can do science and research, and, most likely, this is the destiny, after all, of higher education.

Idea and product

Be careful when choosing a topic for your project. Why waste the next few months, right? The goals can be completely different: to improve the world, win the competition, make money, but your whole team must clearly understand why you are wasting your energy and resources, creating something new.

Another non-obvious point: when you create something tangible, the likelihood that the project will be implemented is much higher. It often happens that, catching fire on an idea, the team does not finish the job, just not clearly understanding, but what are we doing?

So, the first thought came to mind, you walked with that thought and decided that there it is! Look at analogues, do a detailed search for existing solutions. It may happen that before you have already implemented everything. Do not despair if you do not want to change the theme of the project - do this, but in a different way, add functions or change the design. But it’s better, nevertheless, to create something of your own.

Project topics can be very different, and a mentor plays a very big role here. Due to the lack of experience, the student may simply not understand the significance (or lack thereof) of a particular topic. A schoolboy can do something just for the sake of the process, without realizing the meaninglessness of what is being created. For example, let's make the light in the room turn on with a clap of palms? An interesting idea, but ask yourself why, who will need it, if such decisions are a dime a dozen. For the sake of learning something new? Yes, such a goal can also be achieved by project activities, but it is not the most important. The main thing, in my opinion, is to teach children to create and create something they need. To analyze, argue, persuade and defend their point of view. Look for options to improve existing ones, create new ones. There are not many people who can come up with

So, what can be the product of a training project in the field of information technology? We highlight the main obvious options.

Website

This is a kind of Internet service that implements something new or complements an already created concept. Please note that you can take a ready-made solution and, not plagiarizing, but inspired by the idea, develop something else, more advanced or just with different functionality. For example, you can create a new service for testing or questioning. What technologies will the guys learn? Website design, layout, programming. A lot, actually.

Mobile app

More interesting and more complicated than the site. The field for imagination is not limited, and such an interesting point pops up: you can create a project for landscaping your microdistrict, but design the result as a mobile VR application with the ability to “walk” through the created territory for a more complete immersion in the implemented concept. What are we learning? Modern design trends, object - oriented programming. And, of course, new development tools. And at the same time, landscape design.

Computer game

This product is accepted for sale by the guys without any unnecessary explanation and is usually brought to its logical conclusion. The game can be made for kids, the game can be made educational. You can make a multi-player browser game, you can make a game for smartphones and tablets. What are the guys studying? Receptions and methods of gamification, design of computer game elements, object - oriented programming.

Program

A product that will automate something. Teach students to think about the user, put themselves in the place of the person who will work with the program. Teach you to test your creations. Let the program be small, but with unique functionality. A new calculator, weather widget or desktop news aggregator - just look around.

Another great method is to create something for yourself. You analyze, and what do you miss in your activity or everyday life? Guaranteed, such a product will be popular, because if you create a solution that automates your need, there will be a circle of people who have the same need. For example, I recently had to add signatures for different templates when publishing materials on the site. Constantly formatting different signatures is tiring, so I wrote a plugin for Wordpress that allows this process to be partially automated. I made it for myself, but I'll post it in open access later.

A film, a poster, a magazine, three-dimensional visualization - all this can be the result of your project.

Let me give you my recommendations on the implementation of a training project in the field of information technology. You can agree with them, or we can argue, but maybe my thoughts will help you. Some stages will also be useful for projects in the field of ecology, tourism, literature or the Russian language, as they are quite general in nature and will be valuable not only to IT people.

Wording concept

Have come up with an idea - write it down. Formulate the relevance of the project, the goals that you want to achieve, describe in simple words the final result of your project, the final product.

Shared Folders

Be sure to create a cloud of shared storage for your project participants. If this is Google Drive or Mail.ru Cloud, then create shared folders. In one project, we had 8 of them: “Models”, “Textures”, “Database”, “Backgrounds”, “Pictures”, “Scripts”, “Settings”, “General”. You can probably use more advanced tools, for example, Bitrix24, I have not tried. Incidentally, attention must be paid to this. Surely, there are still tools for joint project management.

Implementation plan

An important document, spend more time on it. In this document you need to break your project into small stages with a description of the result at the end of each. Only in this way will you reach the end. Cutting the elephant, we can eat it whole. The student must constantly feel that the time was spent not in vain, that the small goal has been achieved, the basic concept will soon be realized. Such a document can be called a plan - a work schedule. Moreover, when you create it, a lot of useful little things will come up that need to be implemented.

Draw the result

Everything that is in the head should be thrown onto the paper. Make a program - draw windows. Make a website - draw pages. Do the application - draw all views. Make a game - draw a process and graphic elements. On ordinary sheets with an ordinary pen or pencil. Save all sketches, do not throw anything away. Schemes, ideas, buttons, windows, faces and sticks - save everything! In general, there should be a shared folder where all paper utilities for the project will be added.

Name the team

Be sure to name your team! This will rally the participants. If possible, choose a logo, at least from free ones, and create a slogan, motto. Suppose you are an “IT guru” or “Codes,” but the name of a team of even two can be the beginning of a whole story. Be sure to come up with the name of your final product, let it be capacious and biting. “Lawn Mower 2.0”, “Web Notes” or “Weather in Your Pocket”. Yes, be sure to separate the functions within your team: let someone create the design, and someone writes the code, someone looks for analogues and texts, and someone picks up photos or sound files.

Add economy

Calculate the cost of the project. let the amounts be large, no matter, the most important thing is that they are real. Include hardware and software, time costs, depreciation and force majeure circumstances in the estimate. This will teach the guys to be more responsible and not do what cannot be realized.

Choosing Tools

There is a plan, there are sketches, now it's time to choose software for the project. Read what is used today in real development, what is in trend, what will be useful to project participants later. Try different IDEs and editors, but don’t get hung up on the curriculum, go beyond it. Please note that many developers are moving towards educational organizations, ask them for free versions of their products. So does Autodesk and JetBrains, for example. Consult with experts. Make the training project the right tools.

Version control

If there is code, then be sure to create a repository for version control. This will save a lot of time, and the guys will get used to this technology. I once noticed that the transition to a version control system of code has changed my attitude to what I write. The code has become very important and valuable to me, or something. Each change has become more deliberate. Removing the code all the more. Developing time also becomes more valuable. Keep all files remotely and shared.

Create a prototype

The first largest project result should be minimally working. Those. it should be something that starts and performs basic functions, something that implements the main idea.

Testing

We give the first version of the product to friends, acquaintances, classmates. We prepare for criticism and immediately tune in to its adequate perception. When you decide within yourself that criticism will be, it immediately becomes easier. We carefully listen and write down, be sure to record, we keep all advice and wishes. We recall the folder where we put everything.

We finish

We look at the clock. We estimate the terms and finish the project in accordance with the plan - schedule. Moreover, you can have both short-term goals (to win the nearest competition) and long-term goals (to finish everything to the end and release the product to the public). We are finalizing the main thing, remembering the wishes and choosing the most critical ones from them.

Present

Everything is ready, take the time to create a report and presentation. I recommend to stick to such sections in the presentation:

• Introduction: we tell the main provisions, the purpose of the project, talk about the team;
• Relevance: we talk about how useful the project is and what we achieve, change, and improve its implementation;
• Goals: here we tell the audience, and what goals were or will be achieved by the project;
• Tasks: show those tasks that were completed during the work on the project;
• Overview of analogues and prototypes: show existing solutions and talk about how yours differs from the rest;
• Choice of tools: in this section of the presentation we justify our choice of development tools;
• Economic part: we talk a little about money, so that the audience assesses the degree of feasibility of the project;
• Target audience: we tell about your consumer;
• We show the product: here we need to take time to demonstrate the work of the created solution;
• Development plans: talk about what we will do next. You can split plans into several queues.

Everything, the project is ready!

The ball is blown away

Everything is good on paper, but in reality it is always a little more complicated. On the way to implementing the project with students there are several problems. The first - and when to do it? Several options, maybe it will be within the circle, maybe it will be high school students in classes without exams (8th and 10th grades), maybe on vacation.

The second problem is control. So that the ball does not deflate, it must be inflated all the time. I was faced with the fact that the guys quickly start, but, worst of all, they finish quickly, without completing the matter. There is no way without the constant intervention of a mentor; I repeat, the project should be divided into small parts, let the guys do something at home and send the results or put them into a common repository.

And the third problem - what's next? Create a project site, try to make it pay attention to, try to finish the project to the end. Honestly speaking, he put almost all the projects on the table himself, solving only short-term tasks and not developing further. He wrote these lines and decided to return to some stories, maybe they will spill over into something more.

Project activity is the most effective tool for learning new things, in addition to lessons. A project can help reveal hidden talents in children. Someone will learn to speak publicly and defend themselves, someone will program, someone will create graphics, and someone will become a project manager in the future. More to us successful and interesting projects!