The learning-os from learnersguild

Is the stipend optional for students?

No for now and for V1. Maybe later for V2.
It introduces too much complexity at the moment.

Which Craft are we developing the technical curriculum for?

Answer: Web Development with JavaScript

Using full-stack ES6 (Node.js on server, JS on client, Babel.js where necessary to support ES6)
Ruby/Python/Bash/SQL incorporated where appropriate.
Covers general software engineering practices as well (version control, TDD, etc.)

How should the physical space be optimized for pair programming?

laptops/pairing stations?

Criteria 1: every learner should have her own keyboard and pointer device

Criteria 2: more privileged students shouldn't have a better experience / learning advantage

Criteria 3: whatever environment a learner is using to learn (e.g., in-person pairing, remote pairing) should be optimized to keep learner focused on task at hand

Option 1: 2 laptops, pairing happens on one learner laptop, 2nd laptop is used for google searches, docs, etc. ($$)

pros: seamless interactions, forces attention on pairing
cons: requires bluetooth reconfiguration every time we switch pairs (or else wired devices and at least 2 USB ports)

Option 2a: 2 laptops, pairing happens via software (a la Floobits); each learner has own monitor and laptop for screen real estate, but controls own machine and only syncrhonizes for pairing as necessary ($$)

pros: laptop provides keyboard and pointer device
cons: easier for students to get distracted since keyboards / pointers aren't affecting each other

Option 2b: 2 laptops, pairing happens via software (a la ScreenHero); each learner has own monitor and laptop for screen real estate, but controls own machine and only synchronizes for pairing as necessary ($$)

pros: laptop provides keyboard and pointer device
cons: easier for students to get distracted since keyboards / pointers aren't affecting each other; clunky pixel-sharing sub-optimal for pairing

Option 3: separate pairing stations, no laptops ($)

pros: less expensive than buying 1 laptop per student
cons: students can't work independently unless they're rich enough for their own laptop; causes a sorting based on privilege

Option 4: pairing stations for full pod (12x monitors, 6x machines, 12x keyboards, 12x pointers) plus 1 laptop per learner ($$$$)

pros: best of all worlds
cons: more expensive

Option 5: in a pod of 12, assume 6 "free" monitors, 3 pairing stations (3 machines, 6 monitors, 6 keyboards, 6 pointers), and 12 laptops; students can be on a pairing station together or working independently with extra screen real estate, or pairing via software ($$$)

pros: allows for us to observe learner behavior with respect to how they like to work and optimize the environment on an ongoing basis
cons: more expensive

Recommendation: Option 5 (depending on budget)

Discuss our model with other experts in field

[Suggested by @WillGrant]

Discuss our model with other experts in field who work with our target population in parallel ways to LG:

Rosa Gonzales who works in popular education, community action, new narratives and theater of the oppressed
Gino Pastori- Ng & aManda Greene – youth impact hub and entrepreneurship.
Carlee Scheinfeld– trauma safe learning
Especially interested in their thoughts on game approach’s relationship to carbon curriculum.
Briony Greenhill -- spent 3 years researching play as a way of learning in US and UK.

Should/Can we pay them for a paid consultation? These are good long term relationships

All three have access to potentially good groups to play test with – our target demo who are empowered and thinking about how to advance themselves and their community.

How big will the pods be when they start?

Answer: no less than 10 no more than 12

Criteria:
Enough for intimacy and diversity.
Big Enough for multiple group projects.
Small enough for a weekly process group / checkin to be meaningful and not too tedious/long.
Big enough so that it's not too small once 10 to 20% drop out.
Big enough for one strong personality to have a hard time taking over.
Small enough so that knowledge permeates rapidly.
Small enough so that introverts aren't drowned.
Big enough so that extroverts aren't bored to death.
Big enough so that it's rich enough over 40 weeks.
Small enough so that it feels like a tribe, team - there's an "us" there.
Big enough for a higher likelihood of find a soul mate/true friend
Big enough container to fall out with someone and be able to get space from them for a while (and stay in the pod)
Small enough to not be able to avoid someone for too long

Un-schooling Module

MISSING CRITERIA

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

LG Enculturation Curriculum

How do we ensure every Aspiring Guild Learner has all the educational resources they need to successfully transition from Aspiring Guild Learner to Day 1 Guild Learner ?

Proposal: Combine Brand, Enrollment, and Learning Design efforts through this shared curriculum design project: https://app.asana.com/0/74455490449732/list

Due Date: This curriculum must pre-date the May 2nd Oakland Day 1. By how much is TBD.

Player stats

How are player stats organized?
What are the different "type" of stats?
Do we have SP? XP? Skills? Skill levels? Skill areas? Health?

Who is responsible for pod formation?

Proposal:

v0: enrollment roles are responsible for pod formation (manuall)
v1: affiliate partners are responsible, with strong guidance and protocols provided by us.
v2: anyone can form a pod so long as they meet our pod criteria.

Provide enrollment partners with guidelines and protocols for pod formation and work with them to implement a process that is best for their context. Provide them the best questions to ask themselves in order to develop their pod formation and onboarding process. If their process veers from our suggested protocol, engage in a dialogue with them to discover the reasoning for their changes and possibly merge their changes into our universal protocol.

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

Discuss design thinking with Shereef

[Suggested by @WillGrant]

Discuss design thinking with Shereef (and anyone who wants in) -- good tools for development, prototyping and play testing.

Learning outcomes, competencies, evidence, and curricular materials are represented in a single Skills Map

Because these use cases: http://learnersguild.github.io/product-development/services/skill-graph.html#use-cases

Some useful explanatory discussion here: LearnersGuild/learning-os-software#16

Are all pods/chapters phase-synced across geographies?

Answer: Yes.

Advantages of syncing:

You get the idea of cohorts. A larger identity for folks. ("I was part of the Winter '17 cohort"). The ability to compare progress across PODs with the same start time.
Less scheduling complexity (managing an 8 phase schedule is easier than a staggered one. or for example: working around holidays).
It's easier to start synced and then go towards un-syncing than vise versa. Principle: https://app.asana.com/0/65008939926511/67986100836433
Big multi-pod events are easier to schedule (e.g. an annual POD gathering, orientation, graduation, a final projects presentation...etc.).

Disadvantages:

Constrains resources such as workshop presenters who can't do two orientations in two places at the same time
Less flexible start times means that PODs aren't starting exactly when they want.
Becomes a nightmare once we're not just US based to work with different holidays, and week arrangements (e.g. Friday is a holiday in many parts of the world).

Resolve language around NTC, carbon, silicon, 4Q

Scoring

Criteria

Answer: what are the built-in terrain independent stats, and how are they scored?

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

Player Support Push Schedule and High-level Content

What player support will be "pushed" on learners?
Workshops? Lectures? orientation? Small facilitated groups?

What is the high-level (two or three sentence) description of each element that is "pushed"?

When is it pushed (relative to phase)?

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

What are the characteristics we are sourcing for?

Proposal: resiliency, adaptability, curiosity, ability to trust, creativity / resourcefulness.

In more detail:

Resiliency

Your thought processes are persistent.
You persevere and remain productive.
You see the connection between your internal and external self.
You understand the purpose of actions may not be clear in the moment, but there is good reason—you trust those who guide you.
You have a “Can do!” attitude.

Group Spirit

You understand the "we" consciousness.
You understand the compromises and inconveniences that are required to be a part of a group.
You are willing to slow down, in order to go farther together.

Adaptability

You adapt to situations and individuals, while taking into account the context of the situation.
You know your boundaries, and how/when to extend them.
You are open and tolerant of ideas and approaches different from your own.
You draw from the unique nature of individual cultural backgrounds.
You are capable of and willing to engage in self reflection.

Curiosity

You ask questions to understand, not to simply get answers.
You are transferring knowledge to others, not simply showcasing what you know or what others do not.

Ability to Trust

You trust in yourself and maintain trust in others.
Your trust is built upon good judgment.
You have self-informed trust.
Your reflection on previous experiences helps to inform the exchange of trust.

Creativity / Resourcefulness

You are flexible in how an issue / problem / situation is approached.
You are not constrained by the way you were initially taught when seeking solutions.
Your humor is a creative resource, used appropriately as an emerging contextual response.
You have a good sense of play and spirit of playfulness.
You are aware of different forms of creativity.

Stolen with only a few modifications from the Mars One program: http://www.mars-one.com/faq/selection-and-preparation-of-the-astronauts/what-are-the-qualifications-to-apply

Can Pods finish early?

If we have PODs who complete the entire curriculum in 30 weeks instead of 40 do we allow them to? 20 weeks? 1 week?

Answer:
The first PODs will spend 40 weeks learning. How much they learn will set the benchmark for future PODs and this question will be revisited.

Related: Same issue for V1: https://app.asana.com/0/65008939926511/76382972882623

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

How do learners ask & answer questions?

Context

Learners are constantly generating questions. A question (and the learning opportunity it provides) is important but not urgent.

Proposal: we have an internal Quora/Stack Overflow system where learners track their open questions, share and discuss the question with peers and mentors, and collaboratively
come with answers.

Should be a way for questions & misunderstandings to be logged, discussed, answered, and searched. The internal Quora system. Questions are important but not urgent.

v0 could be as simple as a Slack channel like #openquestions or a third-party service integration.

Criteria

Determine whether asking/answering questions are part of player support or a game mechanic
Define process(es) by which a player ask/answer questions

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

Getting more done in GitHub with ZenHub

Should we offer learners money to quit their pod?

At the end of the first month: "Hey, you know have a good idea of what you're in for. If you don't think it's for you, or are on the fence, you're free to leave, and keep your laptop as a gift"

Someone who isn't committed will cost us WAY more than $2k. Probably in the order of 20 to 30k in lost revenue, and a ton more in culture, and lost productivity for others, reputation, brand....etc. $2k is a steal.

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

What are the level-up challenges for the NTC skills that a learners might go through in the first 10 weeks?

What NTC is included?
What level of each is required?
Spiral learning - 2x cycle 4Q or 5 literacies?

Conceptualizing Admissions as a Game

When are we all off?

50 weeks total of work per year
2 weeks off
The two weeks are 6 months apart.

Pods start 5 times per year at 10 week intervals

Proposal: we define 5 start dates per year, every 10 weeks.

Each location can choose to start 1 or more pods at any of these start dates.

This gives us a 10-week iteration cycle to analyze and integrate feedback and deploy changes before the next pod start.

Is the stipend optional for students?

No for now and for V1. Maybe later for V2.
It introduces too much complexity at the moment.

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

How do learners ask for & receive help?

Context

Learners are constantly find themselves in a position of being "stuck", confused, or otherwise needing help to move forward. This is an issue and it is urgent but not necessarily important.

Proposal: learners follow a protocol for asking for help, receiving it, and "escalating" a help request to a higher level of expertise.

v0 of this help protocol be as simple as creating a new Slack channel, describing what help is needed, and inviting peers/mentors to join the discussion. When adequate help is provided, the learner closes the channel.

The help system is a way for students to get unstuck on a pressing matter. Help system is for urgent problems, which become more and more important by escalating higher.

Derived from belief: https://app.asana.com/0/65008939926511/70735352014060

Criteria

Determine whether asking for/receiving help are part of player support or a game mechanic
Define process(es) by which a player asks for/receives help

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

What is our initial terrain for Aspirants

What tool are use using to add intended aspirants to our game

Do we have 'thick' Chapters?

Answer: No!

There is no Chapter role. All accountabilities for POD support will lie directly in LG HUB. There will be no location-specific roles or responsibilities. In other words, PODs will have a direct relationship with the HUB and each other. There will be no intermediating legal, financial or strategic entity.

Advantages:

Simpler design. Less complexity = more scaleability
Lower threshold for entrepreneurial initiative (entrepreneurs start pods, not chapters. PODs are easier to start)
It's easier to build more complexity later, tougher to remove it (for example, if groups of pods start to have meaningful relationships with each other geographically, chapters might be born later. But if we design with chapters from the get go, it would be pretty difficult to disassemble them)
Real estate scales more gradually. We can do with smaller spaces. And our spaces follow demand (v.s. attempting to predict/create it)
It walks and quacks even less like a school. And is more regulation resistant(tm)
It's harder to build. This means higher quality software, curriculum, agreements, measurements...etc. Which means a more defensible and kick ass product.

Disadvantages:

Less pedagogical flexibility: if smallest unit of learning is a pod, we can't, for example, depend on inter-pod competitions, or group projects as part of the learning architecture.
Less financial flexibility: we can't raise money for "the oakland chapter", or borrow as the oakland chapter.
No location pride/identity: We can't have Uber sponser the "NY guild", or have people belonging to the "Seattle Chapter". Identity is limited to your pod, not to a bigger group of pods. (this might be overcome with naming defaults: e.g "Oakland 5th" as a name for a POD.
Some roles are difficult to divide e.g. Event co-ordinator who schedules great speakers for a certain location
Doesn't engage "heavy hitting" entrepreneurs who would want to start an entire chapter. They are more likely to compete with us than just start a pod.
We can't assume in person mentoring. p2p mentoring is going to be hard. making it work remotely even harder.
It's harder to build. Which means more likely to fail.

Every learner is given a (printed) handbook

A physical handbook is a great way to give learners a sense of tangibility to their learning and an outline for how to succeed at LG.

Envisioning a handbook similar in spirit and scope to the original Boy Scouts' handbook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_for_Boys#Contents).

Handbook should provide answers to learner questions like:

How do I succeed at LG? What does it mean to be a master learner?
Which tools do I use and how do I use them appropriately?
What learning strategies are best for individual, pair, and group learning?
How do I ask questions and seek help?
How can I best mentor my peers and other learners?
What protocols, rules, and codes of conduct exist in this space? What is acceptable and unacceptable behavior?

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

What is the minimum number of pods needed at the same location (in different phases) for the design to work?

What is the NY start date?

2016/7/18 - 2017/04/28

(break: Dec 26-Jan 1)

What are the paid roles that support/interface with a pod?

Proposal: for every pod, there is one Facilitator and one Practitioner. As we boot up, there will be one Paid Mentor

The facilitator is responsible for stewarding pod culture; leading learning, meta-learning, and ESI workshops; responding to learner requests; training and modeling effective mentorship; and representing LG to the pod. This position is in-person (i.e. same location as pod) and can is filled by an LG partner. Estimated 2-5 hours per week per pod. And maximum load is 8 pods per Facilitator.

Facilitators will initially be pairing on pods, to support each other, reduce burnout likelihood, create slack, allow for vacations, pass skills/knowledge back and forth, and increase the chance that pod members feel resonance to at least one of them.

Facilitators catalyze the culture. They don't lead it, or guide it, or coach it. Leading, guiding, and coaching are just part of their toolkit. They are full partners. This is a core competency that we need to develop, train for, and get KICKASS at.

The practitioner is a subject expert responsible for providing feedback to learners (i.e. via code reviews); answering high-importance issues; delivering key subject lectures and seminars; and instilling the learning environment with industry knowledge and practices. This position can be either in-person or remote and can be filled either by a contractor or a LG partner. Estimated 4 hours per week per pod.

Practitioner is someone who has made a living, in the 'real world' practicing the craft. They are a paid position. They probably alternate between building software for LG and then supporting learners. They are partners initially, and then hopefully over time graduates who have worked in the industry for some time.

Paid Mentor Mentors are less skilled than practitioners. They are initially paid, and eventually phased out and replaced by peer to peer mentorship. The first 1 or 2 might be a partner who plays another role (perhaps facilitator), and then we will quickly phase them out as she transitions to more of a facilitator or other role within LG. Estimated 30 hours per week per pod.

Player Skill: Mentorship

This builds the competency of "I can build up other people's competency"

Terrain Types

What are the different types of terrain?

Integrate and condense player experience goals

[Suggested by @WillGrant]

What terminology are we going to use to define learning outcomes?

I recommend three terms that mean roughly something like:

Learning Outcome = Capability (performing a task that can be observed and measured)

Learning Objective = Acquiring one of the mental activities needed to demonstrate a capability. Learning objectives can be described as one of three types.

Knowledge Units: What do people know when they are done with the program? (ex: I know that HTML is used for creating the DOM, while JavaScript is used to manipulate it)

Behavioral Responses: How do people behave? (ex: When I'm pair programming with someone, I speak openly and freely as things come to my mind.)

Operating Beliefs: What do people believe about themselves, the craft, other people, and the world? (Ex: As a software developer, I believe I can tackle any problem I'm faced with, I may not come up with a solution, but I will definitely come up with a better definition of the problem.)

Alternatives for these three words include:

data, habits, perspectives (a little more abstract)
inquiries, practices, agreements (a lot more abstract)
thoughts, actions, convictions (a little less abstract)

What is our timeline for learning an ability?

Proposal: we use a timeline template for every ability in the skills map.

This timeline dictates the count, interval, and duration of learning sessions for a given ability. A learning session is a unitary interval of time for learning.

This template defines 2 phases of learning sessions for every ability:

Integration phase (10 hours per ability, within a single week)
Practice phase (10 hours per ability, stretched over multiple weeks)

Completing the integration phase is equivalent to learning or "unlocking" the ability, allowing for progress into subsequent abilities. The practice phase is meant to insure that abilities are not forgotten and build in habits of keeping skills fresh.

The timeline template for an ability would be as follows:

Integration phase (first week):

2x 2-hour sessions for orientation, research, and exploration
5x 1-hour skill building sessions
1x 1-hour reflection/assessment session

Practice phase (20 following weeks):

5x 1-hr sessions
5x 30-min sessions
10x 15-min study/reviews

Orientation

How long is it?
Where is it?
What will it be?
Who should be there?

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

What is the high level content of the NTC for the first 10 weeks?

Merge comments from Boss Level to LOS

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OrwWuOrF0YoSNsIUYlWWpXgXdKLYEImyFsi9BU2CN3E/edit#heading=h.5rlojoxjxvku

How many phases? How long?

Answer: 8 phases, 5 weeks each

In total, that's 40 weeks (9.23 months)

What are the primary user interfaces with which a learner interacts?

For example:

Atom (editor)
iTerm (terminal)
Slack (group collaboration)
"home" (web-based dashboard / stats / etc.)
"map" (skills map and challenge navigation)

See attached image.

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

Define technical terrain goals for first 2 phases

What technical terrain should be traversed by the end of phase 2 (week 10)? What are the skill levels and the abilities to be gained?

What's the minimum number of pods needed to start at the same time and place for the design to work?

Answer: One.

What is the Oakland start and end date?

2016/5/2 - 2017/02/17

(breaks: June 20-26, Dec 26-Jan 1)

What is our initial start date frequency per location?

Every 20 weeks (every 4 phases)

Define boundaries of terrain

I.e. what are the lowest/earliest/easiest and highest/latest/hardest terrain features we have.

If there are internal boundaries (e.g. phases), what are they and where/when do they occur.

How are questions and help requests "escalated"?

Members will constantly be running into questions that need answering and confusions that they need help in overcoming.

These are questions and issues, respectively.

There are six levels in the Escalation Protocol:

Level 1: Member Resolution
Level 2: Peer Resolution
Level 3: Pod Resolution
Level 4: Cohort Resolution
Level 5: Mentor Resolution
Level 6: Mentor Pod Resolution
Level 7: Guide Resolution

Below is an example of how an issue would be escalated using this protocol:

As a learner, I am confused. I have a task that I don’t know how to accomplish. I am not able to move forward from my current state of ability to where I need/want to go. I am stuck. I have an issue.

There are a series of steps to follow in resolving an issue, starting with low-cost, small resolutions and moving into higher-cost, big resolutions. Issues that escalate are increasing in importance as they move up.

Level 1: Member Resolution

Members will first attempt to overcome their own confusion with appropriate and defined learning habits.

Action: follow "overcoming confusion" checklist. (e.g. isolate the error, define expected vs. actual, articulate assumptions and test them, describe the problem to a rubber ducky, etc.)

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 2.

Level 2: Peer Resolution

Members seek out another learner or two from within their pod to aid in the issue.

Action: create new issue channel in Slack, invite peers to discuss the issue.

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 3.

Level 3: Pod Resolution

The whole pod is notified of the issue and mobilized to resolve it.

Action: invite whole pod to Slack channel.

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 4.

Level 4: Cohort (inter-pod) Resolution

The whole cohort is notified of the issue and mobilized to resolve it.

Action: invite whole cohort into Slack.

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 5.

Level 5: Mentor Resolution

Request a mentor from the mentorship pool to aid in resolution.

Action: invite mentor into Slack.

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 5.

Level 6: Mentor Pod Resolution

Mentor engages one or more other mentors from their pod.

Action: invite one or more other mentors into slack.

If the issue is not resolved, move to level 7.

Level 7: Guide Resolution

Request a guide / expert to aid in resolution.

Action: invite expert into slack.

What's the minimum number of pods per cohort needed for the design to work?

Answer: One

This is the hardest answer. By designing for this we raise the bar for the quality of our product. If we fail to make it work for 1 pod, we can always go up in number. If we design from the get go for more than 1 pod it will be much harder to go down in that number.

Design 5 examples of different carbon-based challenges and play test

[Suggested by @WillGrant]

That requires coming up with: scoring methods, rubric, and assessment (focused on player health stats)

Is this something to research? Who else scores carbon based skills? It is kind of a 360 review. There must be research on how teams work with this kind of inter-assessment.

Principles razor

In order for an issue to be marked as passing, the proposed solution must be aligned with our principles. Check off the principles that this solution is consistent with.

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