Hack Day: The Spirit of Innovation in Higher Education

Francisca Yonekura University of Central Florida June 5, 2013

The Story • Once upon a time at CDL in the University of Central Florida… • Hack Day:

o What is? o Who participates? o When and how often? o How does it work? o What kind of projects?

• The moral of the story? • Challenges & Successes • What's in the future? • Not convinced yet? Well, look who is coming!

• HackIn5 (If time allows) • Q&A

University of Central Florida

• Carnegie Classification: RU/VH (Research University/Very High)

• Fall 12 Enrollment: 59,785 2nd largest enrollment in the US

• Degrees Offered: o 90 Bachelors o 87 Master’s o 31 Doctoral o 1 Professional (Medicine)

Center for Distributed Learning (CDL)

• 1/3 of total enrollment – Online modality • Number of Online Programs 2013 - 2014

o Undergraduate 14 o Graduate 24 o Graduate Certificates 30

• New Online Programs in 2013 - 2014

• Grad Certificate in Research Administration

• Grad Certificate in Fundraising • Grad Certificate in Modeling & Simulation

of Technical Systems

• BS Psychology • BA English Literature • BA English Creative Writing • BA English Technical

Communications • BA Criminal Justice • BA International and Global Studies • BA History • BS Anthropology • BA Religion and Cultural Studies

How do we keep current?

How do we continue to be innovative?

How do we channel staff’s restlessness?

How do we get approval and support?

Inspired by

Some examples of products & projects from venues like Hack Day

• Google: o Google News o Gmail

• 3M: o Post-it notes

• Atlassian: o BitBucket

So… What is Hack Day at CDL?

Make anything … Just relate it to CDL’s goals

One-day event

Showcase projects

It is Organic/Fluid!

Rewards tangible & emotional

Who Participates?

• CDL Staff • Full-time • Part-time • Voluntary • Cross-functional

When and How Often?

The REACTION when offered to CANCEL Hack Day!

ANGRY!!! The NERVE!!!

Image source: Guyon Moree CC BY

How Does It Work?

1.Two weeks prior announcement goes out Pitch ideas & solicit team members – Wiki

2.On Hack Day: Gather up for last pitch & team recruitment Everyone HACKS away

3.Showcase 4.Voting - Top 3 People’s Choice Awards 5.Implement project or continue to work on it

What kind of projects?

Productivity scripts/tools

Classroom technology

Web development

Web design

Learning technologies

Strategies & policies

What kind of projects?

Course tools

Game-based learning

Mobile technology

What kind of projects?

Systems integration w/LMS

Workflow processes

Student enrollment productivity tool

Humor

Hack Day Project Implementation Percentages

Average number of projects/Hack Day showcase = 7

Hack Day Percentage

Summer 2011 50%

Fall 2011 77%

Spring 2012 71%

Summer 2012 100%

Fall 2012 43%

Spring 2013 50%

Really, we can work on

anything we want?

We are NOT

Google!

Balancing appreciation of

tangible/intangible projects

Balancing structure &

fluidity

Challenges

Organizers

Success

Inquiries from

other departments

Success That’s a Hack Day project!

When is the next one?

What’s in the future?

• Keep the fire going! • Sharing the responsibility of organizing the

events • Invite others beyond CDL • Make Hack Day a university-wide event? • Other suggestions?

Cabin Fireplace by M. Tremper CC BY

Who else is doing it? Workplace • Hewlett Packard • Yahoo • LinkedIn

Education

Passion-Based Learning = Living

HackIn5

1.Take 5 minutes and brainstorm how you would go about making your wish come true.

2.Turn to your neighbor and solicit their feedback.

Prompts to get your ideas flowing… • What do I love about ____ (ex.: work, learning, etc.)

• How do I interact with ____ (ex.: people, process, etc.)

• I wish _____ had ______

(ex.: work, learning, etc.) (The world is yours. Imagine anything you wish.)

Resources • CDL Hack Day

http://cdl.ucf.edu/cdljobs/cdl-hack-day

• UCF Department Steps Outside the Box for Creative Solutions http://today.ucf.edu/ucf-department-steps-outside-the-box-for-creative-solutions

• Larry Page & Sergey Brin TED Talk 2004 (~20 mins) http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sergey_brin_and_larry_page_on_google.html

• Education is My Life http://educationismylife.com/designing-20-time-in-education/

• I Teach. I Think. A Blog about Teaching and Learning in the Digital Revolution http://www.iteachithink.com/2012/07/give-your-students-20-time-to-do.html

• Genius Hour Wiki http://geniushour.wikispaces.com/

• Books: o Drive – Daniel Pink o Google Doctrine – Ryan Tate

If you decide to implement Hack Day, please let me know. Love to collaborate.

Thank You!

francisca@ucf.edu @FrankieY