We tried to stop them, but they just wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
As a follow-up to my “real-real” learning post (here), last week I had the chance to spend some time with four Sentinel Secondary students, Adam Mitha, Justin Wong, Jun Jeagal and Sailesh Suri, to hear a story, firsthand, of what this kind of learning looks and feels like.
Supported by their teacher, Joel Gibson, the four young men, former classmates in Joel’s Information Technology class, were inspired to develop an “App” for the school that could easily match any created by experts in the field. They didn’t get paid, they didn’t get school credit, but it was some of the best learning they had ever experienced. In my conversation with them, they expounded about the 300 hours of coding, developing and designing that went into the finished product that has just been loaded to iTunes here (it is a free download).
So, just why did they do it? They wanted to leave a legacy for the school. They described it as a mostly an out-of-school project, but they loved it because they were doing stuff they wanted to do and were interested in learning about. They emphasized the role of their teacher, Joel Gibson, “saying, I believe in you, is the best thing a teacher can do.” When Joel saw the group needed to obtain more technical expertise for some parts of the project, he connected the students to experts from within and outside the system. Along the way, he connected them to the school PAC and others who could help.
Of course, as I stated at the beginning of this post, we didn’t make it easy for them. We (the system), limited some of their access to computers, were slow to support them technically, and made it challenging to move forward. They said that it was a good thing they had Mr. Gibson to mentor and guide them, but also, that they were part of the hacker culture. The hacker culture, as they described it, is “doing things over and over again. At school, the culture is that you do it right the first time.” One student remarked, “I had 30 failed projects before this one.”
I have been inspired by their inventiveness, determination and passion. How can we help students balance this kind of work with school, or better yet, how do we make this type of work systemic to the work of the school? These four students were pursuing their passion, creating real work of value, and they were learning — for the benefit and reward of learning.
Often, this type of informal learning can be incredibly powerful. While our current structure does limit this “real world” opportunities, students like Adam, Justin, Jun and Sailesh, describe these as often the most exhilarating school experiences.
Be sure to download the fabulous Sentinel App: HERE
cultureofyes.ca 
How awesome is that hey. They have the same mind-set I had when I was in college. If “no” was the answer, “yes” was my mission 🙂 It would be great to see this “hacker” culture flourish in our schools more. Not just with technology but with learning in general. It will be exciting to see what kinds of “schools” we create in the future and how our current ones will be transformed in to hubs of learning not just training centres.
Great example Chris. The kids, the teacher, and you must be so proud.
Yes – very cool. I was seeing if I could hire them. They said that if we were to do similar apps for other schools we would not have to repeat about 250 of the hours – and each additional school would only be about 50 hours of work. There description of the hacker culture was great – sounded very similar to how some kids talking abut their experiences playing video games.
Hi Chris
This is the kind of collaboration that we are hoping will be the basis for openStudent that sort of “open source” philosophy. I think if we, as the system can do it, then it may further inspire young people to see that pretty much anything is possible. This is so cool and kudos to the teacher for inspiring them.
These boys should be congratulated for their perseverance. What began as a project to connect ICT students from our three high schools resulted in an app that will benefit our district long term. The commitment of these boys goes beyond their desire to get an “A”. I sat in meetings with these boys and the outside consultant and was amazed with these students’ energy and professionalism. Their teacher Joel Gibson should be commended for being “there” for these students and guiding them along the way in attaining PAC funds, district support, and outside expert connections. I look forward to having these boys guide my students who were once non-believers to attaining similar goals…and no, they will not be getting graded on it.
Chris,
I downloaded the app and have taken time to look at it and interact with it. It is quite something! No wonder you all are so proud of these find young men. Truly impressive! I love their description of the hacker culture and the Culture of “Yes” you all have obviously instilled in them – one way or another. It is my hope that this culture continues. It is not about the “A”, but so much more than that!
Thanks for sharing and please congratulate these students!
Tia
Thanks – the students did a great job! It is pretty exciting to see projects like these taking place – I am going to find ways to tell more of their stories.
I can’t wait to hear more of these stories, Chris!
You know, there are fabulous things happening all over each district, I am sure. Engagement, excitement, innovation, creative thinking, and problem solving, yet I wonder how much we know about what is happening. There needs to be more sharing, for sure! I guess that’s another great thing about the web – the ease and availability of seeing and hearing about the stories of others.
Tia
I think that is a very smart and we should have that at other schools!!
I think that is very smart and we should have that at other schools to! It is a great legacy gift.
I agree Sally – it is a great legacy gift, and something for other schools to seriously consider.
This is so cool! these students are very impressive young men! this app sounds so cool and no one has ever tried somthing like this before i want this app!
Thanks Laura – it is a great app (and it is free). Hopefully more students will take the great work that these students have done and create apps for their own schools.
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