The students were introduced to the project idea on the first day of class, and they were immediately taken with the idea of doing something that had not yet been done before at FSU. We spent a lot of time during that first week talking about FSU as a center for technological innovation, and all the things we were going to have to accomplish in a short period of time if we were going to succeed with this project.
Much of our conversations focused on the meaning of technological innovation, and how to work with emerging technologies. We explored how FSU was moving forward with innovative technology, how Landis Green was being positioned as a new center for technological innovation on campus, and how this class project could help underscore that message. In particular, we talked about the message we want to deliver with our video — not just a flash mob, but promoting technological innovation at FSU!
We talked about the specifics of the project — from the numbers of students needed (approximately 1000) to the challenges of arranging a flash mob in general (e.g., what people would be carrying to be visible from above?). We watched an inspirational videos, including this music video from OK Go. We talked about recruiting FSU innovators to participate in our flash mob, and explored ideas such as having the students design and build 3D-printed torches that they could pass from innovator to innovator, who would then march with the students, in an ever-swelling crowd, across campus, where they would form the spark that “ignites” the flash mob “Torch of Innovation” on Landis Green.
We also discussed the plan for the semester in detail, which was divided into four different phases: Explore, Design, Deploy, and Deliver.
The first phase, Explore, would last for four weeks (Weeks 2-5 of the semester), and provide an opportunity for each student (working together in small groups, randomly assigned each week) to explore the requirements for successfully encouraging a thousand students from across campus to come together at the same time, on the same day, to create a giant flash mob in the shape of a giant “Torch of Innovation” on Landis Green. Each week would look at a different aspect of the project — Video, Engineering, Outreach, and Storytelling — and each group would keep detailed notes about what they learned, handing in their Explore Notes (E1, E2, E3, and E4) at the end of each week.
After exploring each topic in detail, the students would be divided into teams based on their interests, and then spend four weeks (Weeks 6-9) designing the project — coming up with the plans for everything we would need to Torch the Green! The idea was to have everything planned out by the time the students left for Spring Break (which occurred between weeks 9 and 10 of the semester). Each group would hand in their first Progress Report (P1) at the end of this phase.
After Spring Break, the students would then spend three weeks (Weeks 10-12) deploying their ideas, culminating in the actual flash mob on Landis Green during Week 12. Each group would hand their second Progress Report (P2) at the end of this phase. We would then spend the final three weeks of the semester (Weeks 13-15) delivering our final project, including creating and sharing the flash mob video.
Along the way, the students would complete two individual self-assessments detailing what they were learning from the course at the end of Week 5 (documenting lessons learned from the Explore phase), and the end of Week 15 (detailing what they had learned from the class overall).