20-Time Project

Failure is an Option...

The 20-Time Project

Thomas Edison once said,

"I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that didn't work."

We often view failure, or the lack of success, in a negative way. However, there are many valuable lessons to be learned from failure and how we over come it- persistence, patience, problem solving, and the need for practice.

So how do we learn those skills? We try new things, often out of our comfort zone. Eighth graders have been working on individual projects over the trimester that explore a variety of avenues of STREAM, (Science, Technology, Reading/Writing, Engineering, Art, and Math). Students selected their own projects and have been working weekly on completing the project. As the trimester wraps up, students will be evaluating their projects and presenting them in a gallery walk.

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20-Time Project

The 20-Time Project is based on the business model Google uses of giving employees 20 percent of their time to work on projects that benefit the employees and the company. We are adapting this model for students to pick projects that they are interested and that develop their STEAM skills.

The calendar lists the work times and important benchmarks. Please review it if and ask if you have questions.

20-Time Gallery

Please scroll through the images below to see some of the projects students have worked on this year and past years!

Student Photography

We live in an age of digital images. Students are frequently taking photos of themselves and others. Many students express interest in learning more about photography and ways to improve their skills. They will practice with different smartphone camera lenses and in some cases opt to work the the class D-SLR. Many of these images are going to be submitted to the Alameda County Fair in print or digitally.

All of these images are property of the students who took them.

Electronics and Engineering

Some students chose to work with electronics or engineer their own projects. Some projects were designed and built be the group. Others were built using schematics and diagrams. Students learned how to follow steps and problem solve when things did not go well.

Do-It-Yourself

Students chose to do various DIY projects and teach themselves new skills. Some of these projects included painting with acrylics, baking, embroidery, making bath bombs and lipstick, and designing and creating lighted globes.