Webmaker/Mentor

What are we doing?

• Supporting mentors everywhere
• to rip, remix and repost web learning content
• in a peer community and in their city
• so they can help people they care about
• make amazing things using the web

Who are we talking about?

We see the mentor community as the intersection of:

• Makers interested in learning
• Educators interested in making

For example:

• A hackerspace founder interested in running HTML courses
• A museum director interested in a digital making program

These two groups, makers and educators, are situated in two larger movements:

• the "Maker Movement": with a DIY ethos and an "If you can't open it, you don't own it" approach. A strong culture of documentation and sharing, collaboration and remixing. Has roots in physical spaces and physical objects, but important ties to the web. Examples include: Maker Faire, hackerspaces, tinkerers in electronics, 3D printing, CNC and more.
• the "Learning Movement": challenges traditional education with its learner-centric, web-inspired approach to learning. A strong culture of peer learning, open course materials, and new kinds of assessment. Has roots in peer production, participation, networks of institutions & learners. Examples include: Massive Open Online Courses, YOUMedia spaces, instructors from computer clubs and more.

What will we do together?

• This group will be a skunkworks incubator for radical ideas about learning, webmaking and mentoring.
• It will be powered by a Github for Learning Stuff, an open repository where mentors can rip, remix and repost materials.
• We'll run webmaking campaigns, train the trainer workshops, and other activities that grow this community.
• In cities where mentors and institutions want to team up, we'll help bring new Hive learning networks online. Hives are vibrant learning clusters; they are city labs and a place to see "making is learning" in action.
• We're dedicated to documentation and on-boarding new mentors, so many processes will be easily replicable, remixable and teachable.

How will Hive Learning Networks and the mentor community work together?

• Hive Learning Networks are clusters of people and institutions in a city that care about connected learning. They organize events and joint projects, and they share experiences locally and globally. Members of Hives are part of the mentor community, although not all mentors will be formerly part of Hives. Hive partners believe that:
  • School is not the sole provider in a community’s educational system
  • Youth need to be both sophisticated consumers and active producers of digital media
  • Learning should be driven by youth’s interests
  • Digital media and technology are the glue and amplifier for connected learning experiences
  • Out-of-school time spaces are fertile grounds for learning innovation
  • Organizations must collaborate to thrive
• Webmaker Mentors may be part of Hive Learning Networks, aspire to start one in their city, or just be individuals who care about making and learning. Hive members and mentors share experiences, increasing the breadth and depth of knowledge about learning. Mentors are encouraged to visit and participate in nearby Hives, to try out smaller test events in their city to see if Hives are viable there, or to continue their work individually with the feedback and support of these networks.

What needs to be done?

You can:

• Tell us why you care about making + learning
• Create, test and localize hacktivity kits
• Offer in-person trainings for future mentors

The mentor community team will:

• Set up communication channels
• Initiate train the trainer programs
• Scaffold mentor relationships
• Design a "Github for Learning Stuff"
• Issue badges and celebrate community successes

When will it happen?

Jan - Mar, 2013

• Reps Training Days. March 1 - 6, Athens.
• Mozilla South Asia Community Meet-up. TBD. Kathmandu.

Apr - Jun

• Mentor Convening

Jul - Sep

• Summer Code Party

Oct - Dec

• Mozfest 2013

Open Questions and Ideas

• Community micro-grants. Pitch fund.
• Marketplace for mentors and expertise, including non-profit and for-profit listings
• Affiliated spaces
• Mozilla Summit
• Webmaker Module Owners from the Mozilla communities
• distributed mentoring movement