The course project for Beyond Bits & Atoms is a working prototype of an educational technology, accompanied by a short paper suitable for submission to an academic conference. In prior years, course projects have gone on to become academic research projects and commercial products.

On Wednesday, April 15, from 1:00-2:30pm, students will present brief pitches and initial prototypes to panels of outside educators, academics, designers, technologists, and businesspeople for feedback, critique, and discussion.

During this session, students will participate in two rounds of critiques. In each round, students will have 5 minutes to present their project followed by 10 minutes of discussion and feedback.

The primary purpose of the critiques is to help groups advance their projects in the weeks between critiques and the final expo. We encourage critics to strike a balance between engaging with the project being presented and connecting it to broader issues in their fields of expertise. It is particularly valuable to stoke discussion between critics coming from different fields. After presenting their prototypes, we encourage students to take a listening stance, providing clarifying information as appropriate, but not necessarily defending their work against criticism.

Agenda

• 12:20 - 12:25 | Welcome, agenda, start!
• 12:25 - 1:20 | MIRO boards presentations. 11 projects and 4 min sharp per project (with 9 min margin because Zoom)
• 1:20 - 2:00 | Critique Round I: 6 break-out rooms with 2 projects, 2 critics, and one TA on each room to keep time.
  • Project 1: 5 min
  • Critic A: 5 min
  • Critic B: 5 min
  • Project 2: 5 min
  • Critic A: 5 min
  • Critic B: 5 min
  • TOTAL: 40 min (with 10 min margin)
• 2:00 - 2:40 | Critique Round II: 6 break-out rooms with 2 projects, 2 critics, and one TA on each room to keep time.
  • Project 1: 5 min
  • Critic A: 5 min
  • Critic B: 5 min
  • Project 2: 5 min
  • Critic A: 5 min
  • Critic B: 5 min
  • TOTAL: 40 min (with 10 min margin)