Remixing to address challenges

[ada]

The first 4 remix strategies came from the PLIX Rural + Tribal Toolkit project, funded by MIT Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL). “Reimagine and refuse” and “Games over garbage” are sustainability-focused strategies developed with Lissette Gonzalez, Berkeley Public Library, CA.

The Rural + Tribal Toolkit project surfaced the challenges and opportunities through conversations with over 20 library professionals that serve rural and tribal areas:

• Read more about the sustainability-focused remixes, Reimagine and Refuse and Games over Garbage in this blogpost, designed with Lissette Gonzalez, of Berkeley Public Library.
• Check out this conversation with Lissette about the ways she practices sustainability in her library.

Here are some examples of different types of remixes

• Aquatic symmetry aquarium, multi-session remix, in GA, by Cheryl Gleaton
• Lone star quilt symmetry, locally relevant remix, in rural South Dakota, by Mary Jo Parker
• Map the Plastic in Berkeley, California, by Lissette Gonzalez
• Pattern manipulatives, games over garbage remix
• Bugs among us, passive programming remix, in Cherokee, Iowa, by Tyler

Reflect:
What are some of the

• environmental
  (what might be going on in nature, air, climate, or the ground)
• situational
  (events that happened in the learning environment, or in preparation)
• municipal
  (what might be going on in the city, or an aspect of the city, or in the infrastructure)
• institutional
  (what might be going on in the people and processes that make the learning environment possible)
• or people-based
  (what might be going on socially within the learning environment or outside of the learning environment that affects the educator/facilitator, or learner)

challenges and opportunities you’ve noticed in your past teaching or learning experiences?

[jessicazheng]

I’m a huge fan of citizen science! Citizen science is collecting and analyzing data related to the natural world by members of the general public.

This idea feels particularly relevant to the types of remix projects organizations can host. For example, I like teaching STEAM workshops that have to do with a students surroundings in the environment (environmental remixes). Examples include testing the pH of local waterways or recording the speed of pinwheels on various windy days! I believe the Map the Plastic project would also fall into this category. I find these help students feel more connected to their projects

It was also interesting to hear about how students may throw away or leave behind their projects. In the past, I’ve tried to combat this by asking students if they’d like to keep their project or donate it to display it at the school/library/place. I think giving students a choice makes them feel empowered with their own projects, while giving them the opportunity to feature their work. I found that this also encourages students to come to more workshops and continue learning!