Proof-of-Concept

Proof of Concept Projects
Most of this session will be about exposing you to exciting ways technology can be used in education. When you leave, we hope you will run with some of these ideas and implement them in your classroom—or in your role as a professional developer. Several of the activities you will participate in will be interactive, but one in particular will require you to learn-by-doing as you create something new: the proof-of-concept project.

During the proof-of-concept project you will be able to put into practice something you've learned. You will choose a tool (or tools) that you're interested in and then work in groups of 3-4 people to create a project that illustrates how the tool might be used for a specific educational purpose.

Reading the following steps will help you complete this challenging activity:
 * 1) As you participate in the session, consider which of the tools you might want to explore in more depth.
 * 2) When we begin the proof-of-concept projects, get in groups of 3-4 people. You will work with this group to create a "mock up" of something you might use in your role as an educator—or that students might create themselves.
 * 3) Keep an open mind about collaborating with others who teach different grades or different subjects—or who have other roles as educators. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results of collaborating outside your own professional silo. Remember you need to have a product in 30 minutes, so don't let little details (or big egos) bog you down.
 * 4) With your group, spend about 30 minutes creating a proof-of-concept that meets the following criteria:
 * Utilizes at least one tool you learned about
 * Is tailored for a specific educational purpose
 * Illustrates how you or students would use the tool
 * Demonstrates the concept sufficiently that other educators might implement it
 * Is incomplete ;)
 * 1) This is an exercise in "rapid prototyping." You will need to exercise your creativity and put your innovative streak to work. We look forward to seeing what you produce.
 * 2) Each group will have 5 minutes (or less) to share their project with others on your team.
 * 3) Finally, your team will share one of the projects with the large group.
 * 4) Each of your projects will also be mentioned to the large group so that others might contact you if they are interested in your project.
 * 5) Ideally, we'll also get links to all the proof-of-concept projects to share with other educators!
 * 6) Have fun!

//The "Proof of Concept Project" has been adapted from [|Google Workshops For Educators]//.