Prototyping Thoughts

So, I finally finished my Prototyping with a total of five high school students on Thursday (better late than never). I presented a “broad overview of the product” and then let them loose on a PowerPoint mockup of the 15 minute segment. My focus is on having students identify the skills employers need and how students can identify tangible examples of skills they possess. With lack of confidence being a major concern I wanted to have them start simple, have some success and then move them into deeper and more nebulous work. First off, I started with having them look at a job ad and identify what skills they thought the employer was looking for. I introduced the concept of Hard vs. Soft skills and had them sort the skills they had identified from the ad. After providing feedback (and praise… addressing the confidence issue) they watched an animated image which represented an average student who wanted to apply for the job. Using a written script in place of actual audio, the users had to ask interview-like questions to the video student about their experience (What clubs have you been in? What computer experience have you had? Have you ever had to resolve conflict? etc.) From these questions they had to write three to five sentences describing the skills or characteristics that the video student had (These could be used on the resume, cover letter or during a job interview) The next step would have been to have the learner choose the same job ad or view additional ads to practice writing their own responses based on their own skills and experience.

With teaching a “mental process” I had to start with simple examples, slowing increase the difficulty, and then let them loose on adapting the “self reflection techniques” for their own needs. The key areas I addressed were:

• Addressing confidence with graduated levels of difficulty (Simple, well defined and non-ambiguous sorting of skills. Then more subjective responses until finally “starting from scratch”)
• “Interviewing” sample student with similar lack of skills or experience
• Modeled the types of questions that may come up in an interview
• Providing examples of related experience which ties directly in with a “Real World” job ad (Trying to address transferability by showing real examples)
• Emphasize the need to communicate how skills fit into the needs of the employer