Invention for a Non-Profit Organization

7th and 8th grades are working on creating a design prototype for the assignment, " Invention for a Non-Profit Organization", inspired by Mich Ebeling's work with the eye writer and the graffiti research lab .The first week we watched Mich Ebeling's talk on TED and discussed how inventions have changed our lives. No surprise, apple products and XBOX took first place for the #1 inventions of all time..while indoor plumbing was mentioned only once, no biggie, who needs to shower or flush the toilet when you could be playing black ops? We also talked about current breakthrough inventions such as the 3D printer that prints human organs, and the spanish researcher that may have invented a vaccine that could turn HIV into a "minor" infection. Lastly, we discussed how our individual interests could connect to a non-profit organization. After some clarification on what a non-profit organization is, students were then instructed to go to the computers to research. As usual the typical reaction to any utter of the dreaded word "research" is a long sigh followed by a "aw, can't we just play games?" I have to stop myself from using that word because I think a switch in some 7th and 8th grade minds automatically shuts off the second that word is mentioned. As I look around the room at glum faces, I ask the student with the bitterest of faces what he is interested in. His response is "nothing", so I try a little harder, "do you play any sports..?" "...no" "any extra curricular activities?"... "no.." "do you play video games???" a forced smile, a "maybe",and a you got me type of chuckle... followed by class chuckles.... hmmm, I'm getting somewhere, I think. I want students to understand that their lives in school can be connected to their lives outside of school. The things that they're interested in outside of school can relate and inform what they do during school(and should!). Together we went online and found a non-profit organization, Gamers Outreach Foundation, which funds the construction of portable video -game kiosks to help improve the lives of others in hospitals and overseas. The website interviews professional gamers about why gaming is important to them and their reasons for supporting the mission of the gamers outreach foundation. I think students are used to feeling that their interests in particular areas outside of school are off limits in school. I am hoping that by latching on to an organization that is doing something positive with the things they are interested in, it will help to motivate students to research and learn without feeling like they are being forced to do a chore. The first goal was set for each student to find an organization (that they connect to) and to be able to tell the class about the mission of the organization. I think this was an easier task for some than others. As I went around observing the class, I noticed that some students reverted to a generic search on non-profit organizations and then clicked on the first link they could find. When asked how the non profit connected to their interests and lives the typical answer I received was " because I want to help people and this (insert charitable cause) helps people" or "I just picked one". While, its easy to say that some students are just not motived, or are lazy, I think its important to note that it is sometimes rather difficult to find the right information on the oh-so-abundant world wide web. I find myself sometimes getting lost in a world of clicking and scanning and two hours later can't for the life of me even remember what I was initially looking for. I am hoping to help these students narrow down on their search criteria, dig deeper, to find something they really do truly care about and are excited to learn about. I found that some students really took off running with the assignment. When asked why the website related to their interests a few responses I received were, because my dad works for the Perkins School for the Blind and I am an animal fanatic, especially dogs- seeing eye dogs just seemed like a great choice or one student who picked the website water.org, I believe that water shouldn't be a luxury, I've traveled to places where people need to walk miles to collect water from lakes and realized that sometimes people in America take what they have for granted. I found that students who were able to connect their non-profit to events that they've experienced in their own lives had much more to say when asked about their organization. Not only did they have more to say but they knew a lot more information about their organization. I think the trick is finding the spark that will get students excited and motivated. The next part of the assignment ( I just want to note that I hate the word assignment for the same reason I hate the word research and thus I am going to change the word to challenge from now on) The next part of the challenge is to design an invention that will help their chosen non- profit achieve its mission. The invention can be practical in the sense that it could be carried out fully with current resources or could be totally out-there and futuristic. As long as students are able to support their final design with verbal and written backup information on how their invention helps their non profit organization, it works for me! Next step.. Photoshop.