Welcome
We invite you to help turn the open Web into a rich learning environment and explore new possibilities for learning online as part of the Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge, sponsored by the Mozilla Foundation with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge is inspired by and modeled on the Design Challenge series of events sponsored by Mozilla Labs. Design Challenges are intended to encourage innovation, and experimentation in user interface design for the Web. and provoke thought, facilitate discussion, and inspire future design directions for Firefox, the Mozilla project, and the Web as a whole.
For this Design Challenge we are looking for innovative Firefox add-ons that turn the open Web into a rich learning environment.
Add-ons empower millions of Firefox users to personalize their browser's form and function. Mozilla Labs recently launched Jetpack, an easier and faster way to extend the Firefox web-browser. It enables you to bolt on new features or change the user interface without having to get involved in complex Firefox software development. It allows anyone with basic web development skills to participate in making the Web a better place to learn, work, communicate, and play. Jetpack allows you to write Firefox add-ons using the web technologies you already know.
More information on Jetpack and Firefox add-on development can be found here:
We are looking for designers, educators, and software developers who want to use Jetpack (or other Firefox add-on technologies) to unlock new opportunities for digital learning. You don't need to be a computer geek, but participants are expected to implement their ideas as Firefox add-ons, which will require writing some software code.
Send us your ideas for Firefox add-ons, preferably ones created with Jetpack, that can turn the web-browser into a platform for rich personal learning. You are not restricted to work on any particular type of application. Here are a few examples to get you started:
- Turn social bookmarking and page annotation into effective learning tools (for example by including peer-assessment features).
- Allow users to easily compile personal e-portfolios (for example, by combining their own works — photos, comments, articles—with testimonials others have written about them).
- Let the browser suggest relevant materials (for example, by automatically identifying additional articles based on what sites a person visit or which topics they search for).
- Support social learning communities (for example, by making it easy to find and connect with others who share similar learning interests).
How It Works
The Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge is divided into three phases: the submission period for mockups that runs until midnight (US Pacific Time) on 27 November, an online course during December 2009 and January 2010, and a face-to-face design camp in March 2010, immediately prior to SXSW Interactive.
Participation is open to individuals and teams, but we especially encourage submissions from inter-disciplinary groups (designers, educators, and software developers). If you don't have a team of collaborators and would like to work with other people on your submission, check out the informal team formation page on the Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge wiki.
During the first phase of the Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge we ask you to produce a concept, mockup and an explanation of your thinking behind it. A mockup can be anything from a low-fi sketch on a napkin to a high-fi video presenting your concept. The Jetpack for Learning team (consisting of Jetpack for Learning instructors and other project staff) will review all submissions; you are free to contact the team for feedback or questions (see contact section below). Some examples of mockups from previous Design Challenges and other sources:
At the end of phase one the Jetpack for Learning team will review the submissions and select up to 60 participants to move forward into phase two. Phase two is a six-week online tutorial that combines presentations by experts on design/UX aspects and the technical background to Firefox add-ons, with review and feedback. In this phase you will refine your mockup and turn it into an interactive Firefox add-on prototype (don't worry, we will help you with this!). During phase two the Jetpack for Learning team will provide regular feedback, weekly tutorials and support via email and IRC.
Participants are encouraged to share their ideas, approach and progress on their blogs and the Mozilla wiki. We will aggregate this information and provide a forum for open discussion, ideation and exchange.
At the end of phase two the Jetpack for Learning team will again select the most promising concepts and invite up to ten eligible participants, including no more than two participants from each team that is selected, to a face-to-face Jetpack for Learning Design Camp that will take place just before SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas. During the Design Camp you will get hands-on support and help to complete the process of turning your prototypes into fully-functional Firefox add-ons. Design Camp participants will also be invited to stay over to attend SXSW Interactive. Each of the Design Camp participants will receive payment or reimbursement for travel, lodging, food, and miscellaneous expenses, and registration for SXSW Interactive, all approximately valued at $4,000.
For additional information please see the Design Challenge rules.
Important Dates
Note that the following dates are tentative and subject to change:
- 26 October 2009 - Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge opens
- 27 November 2009 (midnight US Pacific time) - Submission deadline
- 30 November 2009 - Participants for online course are selected (up to a maximum of 60 people)
- December 2009 and January 2010 - Online course (with a break in the middle for end of year holidays)
- Last week of January 2010 - The most promising prototypes are chosen and up to 10 participants will receive special recognition (details to be announced later).
- Last week of January 2010 - The most promising prototypes are chosen and up to 10 eligible participants (no more than two participants per team) are selected to attend the Jetpack for Learning Design Camp and SXSW Interactive
- 10-12 March 2010 - Jetpack for Learning Design Camp (prior to SXSW Interactive)
- 12 March 2010 - Announcement of Jetpack for Learning Design Challenge winners
- 12-16 March 2010 - SXSW 2010 Interactive
Please follow our @jet4learning Twitter account for updates and progress reports.
Submit your Entry
To submit your entry simply fill out the application form (click on the "Submit" button). In order for your application to be considered you must agree to abide by the Jetpack for Learning Design Challege rules.
Sponsors
The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that sponsors the Mozilla project and devotes its resources to promoting openness, innovation and opportunity on the Internet. We do this by supporting the community of Mozilla contributors and by assisting others who are building technologies that benefit users around the world. Through the Mozilla Education initiative we work with computer science, design and business schools around the world to create learning opportunities for a new generation of Mozilla community members and help to drive a new wave of participatory, student-led learning. By doing this we hope to move closer to Mozilla's broader goal of making openness, participation and distributed decision-making more common experiences in Internet life. More information is available at education.mozilla.org.
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. In 2006 MacArthur launched its digital media and learning initiative to explore how young people are changing as a result of digital media use and what the implications are for libraries, museums and schools. More information is available at www.macfound.org/education.