Genius Hour
where passions come alive.
A Pep Talk from Kid President to You
Why Genius Hour?
The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. The idea is very simple. Allow people to work on something that interests them, and productivity will go up. Google’s policy has worked so well that it has been said that 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this creative time period. Ever heard of Gmail or Google News? These projects are creations by passionate developers that blossomed from their Genius Hour.
Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer of the Apollo Project, stands next to the code she wrote by hand and that was used to take humanity to the moon. [1969]
The Rules:
Rule #1
Your project must be approved by me. See below (Where Do I Begin?) to help you get started.
Rule #2
Your project must be researched. Consider your research question. If you can find the answer with one hit on Google, then it's not really research.
Rule #3
You must present and share. If you created a model, you must show and explain it. If you created a movie, you must show it. If you tear apart a machine, you will share what you discovered. It may be in front of the class, in small groups, to another class, to the world...
Where Do I Begin??
Brainstorm.
Think about what you want to explore. What have you always wondered about? Where have you dreamed of seeing one day? What would you like to get better at? Still don't know? Check out Chris Kesler's class list. Just scroll down a bit to see what they have explored.
Fill out this Google Form to submit your project ideas.
Research and Track.
As you learn about your passion, document your process of learning. Note your genius hour progress by filling out your project log.
Create and Share.
Think about how you want to share your passion. How will you make the world AWESOME? Will it be with a web site, a video, blog, play...? Or perhaps through a song, poem, art work, dance, photo...? Whatever you choose, make it yours and be PROUD of your genius.
What have you learned about yourself?
Think about the beginning...we can choose ANY project?! Think about where you started and where you ended. How'd you do? What lessons did you learn along the way? Complete the self-assessment handout. As we progress, your responses will be shared for others to learn from. What you have to say, matters.
When you are done with your project, complete the self-assessment form (printed copies located in the Genius Hour folder near the chalkboard).