aTL Journey map

ID: 25

Name: ATL Journey Map

Summary: Define an ATL Journey Map that identifies various touchpoints through which student tinkerers & innovators at the ATL have to go through in order to take their ideas forward, build prototypes, come up with innovations, file patents, develop products or services, start entrepreneurial ventures, spread their knowledge with others, etc.

Need / Challenge

ATL students are often not aware of the various steps that they can take in order to derive maximum value and benefits from their involvement at the ATL. Unless they are shown the way forward by the ATL in-charge or Mentor, they will not be able to go the whole hog - from ideas to tinkering & prototyping, from prototyping to innovating, from innovating to patenting, from patenting to productizing, from productizing to entrepreneurship and beyond.

Solution

Define an ATL Journey Map that gives ATL students a series of steps to move forward in their journey at the ATL. For e.g., the steps can show how to come up with ideas, how to engage with mentors, how to acquire skills, convert ideas into working prototypes; transform prototypes into innovations; patent their innovations; convert prototypes into products or services; commercialize products or services through entrepreneurial or social ventures, and more. Here is a representative ATL Journey Map:

The ATL Work Journey Map comprises of four major stages:

STAGE 1: Beginner Tinkerer Stage: Students learn how to come up with ideas, tinker & prototype their ideas (steps 1 to 4)
STAGE 2: Budding Innovator Stage: Students learn how to solve a problem and come up with an innovative solution (steps 5 to 9)
STAGE 3: Tinker Champ Stage: Students share their knowledge and expertise with other students (steps 10 and 11)
STAGE 4: Budding Entrepreneur Stage: Students learn the ropes of entrepreneurship and set up their own ventures (steps 12 to 15)

As can be clearly seen, the ATL Journey Map gives clarity for ATL students to move all the way from beginner-tinkerer stage to budding entrepreneur stage, while navigating various steps in between.

The below table gives more details on each stage and the steps within each stage. In addition, tools & resources that can be used by ATL students at every step is also provided in the table. ATL students can leverage these tools & resources as they navigate their way from Step 1 to Step 15.

Step

Activities

Support Tools & Resources

Stage 1: Beginner Tinkerer

Get familiar with the ATL

New students at the ATL attend orientation sessions to get familiar with the ATL environment, tinkering resources, opportunities to tinker & innovate, and more.

ATL in-charge conducts an orientation session for new students at the ATL.
Experienced students showcase their tinkering projects to new students.
Mentors answers questions from new students.
ATL students attend orientation session and get familiar with ATL environment, tinkering tool & resources available in the ATL.

Submit your Idea for review

ATL students come up with innovative ideas and submit the same for review.

ATL in-charge conducts Idea Competition in the ATL.
ATL students submit their ideas in the ATL Idea Box or Idea Bank.
Mentors review the ideas and provide feedback & suggestions.

Idea Bank / Box

Realize your Idea by Tinkering

ATL Students realize their ideas through tinkering and prototyping.

ATL In-charge provides tinkering tools & resource materials to students and updates the ATL Inventory Tracker.
ATL students realize their idea by tinkering in the ATL and seek help and guidance from mentors.
Mentors guide students in tinkering activities.

ATL Inventory Tracker

Acquire Skills in Tools & Technologies

ATL students acquire skills in various tools & technologies in order to tinker better.

ATL In-charge / Mentor conduct a skilling program on tinkering tools & technologies as per the ATL Calendar.
ATL students attend Skilling programs to acquire skills in various tinkering tools & technologies and resources.
ATL students make use of Digital Skilling Flashcards as reference while tinkering.

Stage 2: Budding Innovator

Acquire Problem Solving Skills

ATL students acquire problem-solving skills in order to put their technological and tinkering skills to practical use.

ATL In-charge / Mentor conduct a skilling program on design thinking approach and problem-solving tools as per the ATL Calendar.
ATL students attend the skilling program to get familiar with design thinking skills and problem-solving tools.
ATL students make use of Problem-solving Flashcards as reference while coming up with an innovation.

Take up an Innovation Project

Equipped with technology skills and problem-solving skills, ATL students take up an innovation project to address a real-life need or problem and gain greater skills in the process.

ATL students take up an innovation project to address a real-world problem or need they have identified.
Mentor guides student teams in researching the problem domain, defining the problem-statement, and ideating to come up with solution alternatives, etc.
ATL students track their innovation project using a Project Tracking Tool to ensure they stay on track & complete the project on time.

Ask Questions to Mentor, Discuss & Debate with & fellow Tinkerers

ATL students engage with their mentors & peers on a continuous basis to make progress on their innovation project.

ATL in-charge sets up an Online Collaboration platform for use by all ATL students and creates multiple threads of discussion.
ATL students make use of the Online Collaboration tool to ask questions related to their innovation project to their Mentor or peers.
The Mentor and fellow ATL students review various discussion threads on the Collaboration Platform and offer their inputs and suggestions from time to time.

Online Collaboration Platform

Build a Working Prototype

ATL students leverage technology tools & tinkering resources to build a working prototype of the innovative solution for a problem or need identified earlier.

ATL in-charge provides tinkering resources needed from the ATL Inventory to project teams.
Mentor guides student teams in building a working prototype of the innovative solution.
ATL student teams work on realizing the prototype using necessary tinkering tools, technologies and resources.

ATL students gain knowledge of Intellectual Property rights to copyright their creations and identify potential for patenting their innovations.

ATL in-charge organizes a session on Intellectual Property Rights by inviting Experts / Mentors well-versed in the subject.
ATL students gain awareness of intellectual property rights, and work with their Mentor in identifying potential patenting opportunities in their innovation.
Mentor reviews student innovations to identify potential patenting opportunities.
School management pursues promising students innovations and aids them in filing a patent application.
Student teams refer to the IPR Flash Cards as they copyright their creations and file a patent application to protect their innovation.

Stage 3: Tinker Champ

Showcase your Tinkering Projects or Innovations

ATL students showcase their innovations to inspire and gain recognition among their peers. Showcasing also helps build communication and presentation skills among students.

ATL Students showcase their tinkering or innovation projects on the ATL Innovations Gallery.
ATL Students conduct a Maker Faire to showcase their tinkering & innovation projects to the larger student community and inspire them to emulate them.
ATL in-charge recognizes the top tinkerers and innovators of the month on the ATL Wall of Fame.

Share Knowledge & Expertise & Creations with Peers

ATL students share their knowledge & expertise with their peers and the larger student community. It helps build in-house competence as well as develop self-sustaining ATLs.

ATL students to share their knowledge & expertise in the form of self Learning resources, tutorials and chatbots.
ATL students contribute their content to the ATL Web Portal.
ATL students share their creations on an ATL Store. Other students download the creations and re-use them in their own projects.
ATL students share their knowledge & expertise by conducting webinars, talks, workshops, bootcamps, maker faires, etc. as part of the Tinker Champ Club.
ATL Students take up peer mentorship to guide fellow students on their tinkering or innovation projects.

Stage 4: Budding Entrepreneur

Acquire Product Design Skills

ATL students learn how to convert their innovation prototype into a commercial-ready product by acquiring product design skills.

ATL in-charge organizes a skilling program on Product Design.
ATL students attend skilling programs to learn the art & rigor of designing digital or physical products.

Build a Minimum Viable Product

ATL students build a minimum viable product using 3D printing and other rapid prototyping techniques.

School management arranges funds for the ATL students to build & commercialize their product.
ATL in-charge enlists the support of mentors & experts to assist ATL students in building their product.
Mentor / Expert guide and support ATL students in converting their innovation prototype into a commercial-ready product.
ATL students refer to Product Design Flashcards while building a minimum viable product using 3D printing or other rapid prototyping techniques.

Develop a Business Model

ATL students develop a business model to commercialize their product.

ATL in-charge organizes a bootcamp on Entrepreneurship by inviting experts / mentors well-versed in the subject.
ATL students attend Entrepreneurship bootcamp to learn the ropes of Entrepreneurship.
ATL students refer to the Entrepreneurship Flash Cards in putting together a business model canvas (BMC) to commercialize their product.
Mentors review the BMC and offer inputs & suggestions for improvement.

Commercialize your Innovative Product

ATL students learn various techniques in business finance, marketing, pitching, and selling to commercialize their products.

ATL in-charge organizes a bootcamp on Entrepreneurship by inviting experts / mentors well-versed in the subject.
ATL students attend Entrepreneurship bootcamp to learn about business finance, digital marketing, pitching and selling techniques.
ATL student set up an online store to commercialize their products.
ATL students use digital marketing techniques to promote their products.
ATL students pitch their product / business at a Business Pitch Competition to seek grants to scale up their business.

Tools

The following online tool can be used for defining the ATL Journey Map:

Canva for creating the ATL Journey Map.

Role of Stakeholders

Role of School Management: Define an ATL Journey Map for your ATL. Make use of the reference provided above, or come up with your own.

Role of Students: Make use of the ATL Journey Map to convert your ideas into working prototypes, prototypes into innovations, innovations into patents, products or services, products or services into commercial offerings, and commercial offerings into entrepreneurial or social ventures.

Role of Mentor(s): Guide students at every stage and step of the ATL Journey Map.

Role of ATL In-charge: Provide logistical support needed by ATL students at each stage and step of the ATL Journey Map.

Submit your Initiative

Define an ATL Journey Map for the benefit of students at your ATL. Submit the link / screenshot(s) / video-recording of the ATL Journey Map put together for your ATL.

How-to Videos

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse