Kandinsky’s Black and Violet. Click for more.
Idea Smithing
Each time I update the site with more Pareto Project information, I’ll repost the entire guide to that point. You should skim over the previous pages, because there will be edits that clarify or expand on ideas. Today’s guide ends with Step #2, for instance, but it also adds a single sentence in Step #1:
You must also choose a project that fits your schedule; if you must limit your focus during Round 1, you’ll have a chance to be more ambitious when we start Round 2 in mid-March.
That clarifies Step #1 a little, and it lets me add further clarification here: You need a project that can be accomplished in the time you have, and the time you have differs from person to person and month to month. Are you going to be in the musical? You should account for that upcoming responsibility. Are you busy with winter sports? That gives you less time for a larger project. Do you have a lot of idle time each day? You can plan something more ambitious.
Let’s start talking about ideas by reading Step #2:
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Step #2 is called Idea Smithing, and that metaphor will help us: You need to craft an idea, and you probably need some heat and pressure to do it.
Measure Twice, Cut Once
We’ll open the discussion in class, using groups of whatever size you choose. That will be our chance to talk about the timing element of Step #1, too, including what you should hand in on Google Classroom for that assignment.
The written work of Step #2 begins when you visit Google+, using the links at the end of the current guide. You can also use these direct links:
This is where you should make your elevator pitch. Putting your idea in writing will do what writing always does, which is to render your thoughts so we can revisit them. Your peers will then offer critical feedback to help you refine, repurpose, or reject the idea. Then, on Monday, I’ll post a Google Form to collect everyone’s pitches, which will also give you a chance to see what students in the other courses are doing for these Pareto Projects.
Ask questions about Step #2 below, and remember: Don’t just think outside the box; break it down and build something new. Or, you know, this: