Strategies for Working with Interests

• Watch and Listen for Clues - An important role of the Clubhouse Coordinator is that of observer, watching Members and Mentors, figuring out what they need to take the next step, and supplying that support. What catches their eye? Notice what projects give them ideas. Notice if they are excited by music, graphics, robotics, game making, or the Internet, as you introduce new things. What do people point to on the wall? Listen for the phrases "Can I do it? Can I make my own? How do you do this? I have an idea!

• Ask Questions -Some Members will talk directly about their interests. Others may not—so you need to look for other ways to help them identify possible ideas for projects. Try asking, “What are you interested in?" "What do you like to do outside of school?” Where will you be in 10 years?

• Self-Interest - As a place to start, every visitor to the Clubhouse is interested in him or herself. Take a picture and begin to play with the tools. Suggest creating a collage about the important things in their life. This could be in the form of pictures, objects, sounds, video, slide shows, etc. Themes begin to emerge that suggest next steps.

• Encourage Experimentation - Try it and see... It's often through experimentation that young people discover their own interests. Give Members time to “mess around” with software and materials to explore what is possible.

• Outside the Mainstream - Some Members may be interested in something outside the mainstream. Create an environment where Members feel comfortable pursuing interests that aren’t popular with others, or don't at first seem technology-related.

• See:  http://llk.media.mit.edu/projects/clubhouse/research/handouts/motivation-v2.pdf

• Switching Media - At the Clubhouse there are tremendous opportunities to translate projects into other media, to extend scope and authentic interest. Once designed, a picture can lead to an animation. A poem can become a song. Sound effects or music can provide accompaniment for an animation or movie. A LEGO creation can be videotaped, and a narration added to tell about the design process. The possibilities are endless. Someone who is only interested in the music studio, for example, can be encouraged to burn a CD of their original music. Then a label for the CD will be needed, plus artwork for the cover, liner notes, lyrics and credits. Perhaps they will want a poster or website to promote their CD. So far, this example involves exposure and skill development in the areas of professional music tools, music composition, sound editing, CD production, graphic design, image editing, web design, writing and word processing.

• Patience - Patience is required, especially when showing someone how to do something that you may know very well. Allow youth to follow their own interests and learn from their experiences. Sometimes a problem takes many attempts to solve, and can take many weeks. Help Members understand that design is a process. Help increase the awareness of multiple strategies and solutions.

• Process - You often hear it said in the Clubhouse, “it’s the process, not the product”. By that, we mean there is great value in the active learning process. The product is a bonus, produced when a project has meaning to the Clubhouse Member. But exploration over time builds until the outcome is a project that reflects the authentic interests of the Clubhouse Member.

• Reflection - When designing things, we too often stop after the first two steps of the design process: coming up with ideas (“imagine”) and making them come to life (“realize”). But without critiquing and reflecting on the things we’ve created, we miss out on many important opportunities to improve our creations, learn new things, and share our ideas with others. Use questions as a context for reflection and discussion.

For more about relection see http://llk.media.mit.edu/projects/clubhouse/research/handouts/reflection-v6.pdf and Clubhouse: Tools for Conversations & Portfolio Development, EDC/Center for Children and Technology, 2003.

• Encourage Sharing Interests - Encourage Members who are already engaged in projects to share their work, and become a resource to others. When you notice an interesting project, you can call out to others, “Hey, have you seen this?” which may get them interested in starting a related project.

• The Interests of Staff and Mentors - Figure out what interests you, and what you can share with a Member. Bring in examples of things you’ve made. Model the process of creating projects based on your own interests. Experiment with the Clubhouse resources, work on your own project, and then share your ideas and excitement with Members. Allow Members to see you working with people, tools, and ideas.

• Group Connections - Help introduce and support connections between Members who share a common interest such as comics, video games, animals, sports, dance, music, poetry, movies, 3D animation.... Sometimes an idea from one Member or Mentor can build into a larger group project such as a video or a radio show.

• Creative Collaborations - Who might make a creative team?  Suggest possible collaborations between Members with complementary interests. For example, someone who likes recording songs might collaborate with someone who makes videos or animations..

• Families - Some Clubhouses schedule time for parents to use the Clubhouse. This not only supports community, but also improves the ability of the family to communicate about technology and creativity.

• Demonstrations - Demonstrations boost creative motivation in the Clubhouse. Some demos are as simple as showing a tutorial for a new software product, putting an interesting item on the green table, or showing a magazine article of interest. Others may need to be scheduled in advance with a flyer or other publicity. In an ideal world, there would be something interesting being shown every day. Commercial vendors, graduate school students, Mentors, Members and other individuals enjoy showing their product or project. Since so much of technical know-how comes from exposure, these people can bring new and interesting ideas to the Clubhouse community. One caution: when you invite an outside speaker, it is important to orient guest presenters ahead of time. Many presenters expect to have a seated audience in a quiet room, and find the Clubhouse environment confusing. It helps to get their impressions following the demo and answer any questions.

• Tutorials - Tutorials are a great way to learn what is possible with various tools. Because most people tend not to read the manuals or try the tutorials on their own, it may be necessary for the Coordinator or Mentors to model using these. When someone expresses interest, help them get started.

• Competitions and Contests - Setting a challenge or entering into an organized competition can stir the creative juices. In general, the Clubhouse atmosphere attempts to support everyone’s projects as important, so it can be demotivating for someone to win the “best” prize. Sometimes there can be prize categories to match all the entries, such as funniest, biggest, newest idea, etc.