On the state of affairs in the field of children's technical creativity. Immediate prospects

TsMIT is the center of youth innovation creativity.

The purpose of this topic is to share an analysis of the situation and a vision of the future in the field of technical creativity of youth. Project training *. I expect an increase in the number of technically literate youth capable of creating serious technical projects 100 to 1000 times around 2020. Under the cut there are prerequisites and a description of the processes that will lead to this.

The article will be useful for managers of CMITs, technical entrepreneurs, managers in engineering, startups, techno-managers, and university managers.

In my last article of December 2013, “We will do the TsMIT. Experience of creation, prospects,” I complained that technical education is not sufficiently developed in Russia and described the optimal business model of the TsMIT. Now, in January 2017, the situation has radically changed. Over the past three years, many schools of robotics, programming, 3D modeling and 3D printing have opened in TsMIT, makerspaces, laboratories in schools and training workshops in Russia. Every self-respecting school has one or more 3D printers.

The signals by which I identify the process and I can say that in 2020 the number of technically competent schoolchildren will increase by 100-1000 times compared to 2016. And these guys will not be able to do anything other than technology. Of course they can learn, but this will not be immanent. And it will be interesting to further develop and make serious projects in technical areas.

- Growth in the number of sites

In the period from 2013 to 2017, various people contacted me monthly and consulted on how to open the Center for Information Testing or the educational center in the field of technical creativity of schoolchildren. In January 2017 I was approached from the city of Orsk and the city of Elista (the Republic of Kalmykia) with the question of the opening of the TsMITA. These were serious businessmen, the TsMITs will be open :) I realized that the CITEs already exist in all major cities and will soon be in all cities of Russia.

In Yekaterinburg in the same years dozens of sites opened. The number of sites in Yekaterinburg in 2017 alone is comparable to the number of sites in all of Russia in 2013.

- Growth in the number of contests

In 2013-2017 The number of various festivals, competitions, engineering competitions and other competitive events in the field of engineering has increased in Russia by 10-100 times. Now every student who can make a technical project does not get out of the contests. Even the reverse process has begun - schoolchildren refuse to participate in competitions in favor of developing and improving their project or learning new things.

- Decline in demand for learning robotics and 3D modeling

I am the head of one of the laboratories of robotics and 3D-modeling in which young people are engaged in robotics, 3D-modeling and undergoing design training. If in 2012-2015 there was a huge demand for robotics and 3D printing, then in 2017 this will surprise no one. Almost every day, new schoolchildren come to the lab and look at old 3D printers as a common thing. Many even have such houses. In schools, especially in high schools, 3D-printers and electronics are already at all. It is good that we have CNC machines. They are in demand, and this brings already trained students to our center. Now access to simple technology is not only possible, but it can be obtained near the house. Costly technology has become more affordable schoolchild.

- Parental support

I constantly communicate with parents of children who come to our center. If two years ago parents regarded child’s activities more as a hobby, now the dominant opinion has changed, and parents treat engineering electives as a serious matter and a matter for the future. They buy the necessary electronics for the child to the detriment of the family budget.

Point of no return passed. Now we are standing on a process that will lead to the fact that in the 2020 area all schoolchildren who are now 13 to 16 years old and who are now invisible, because they are in schools and do not lead an active social life, will enter the open spaces of life. They will do technical projects in large quantities. It will be active and prepared in terms of technology people . I can not even imagine the circumstances that can block this process.

I described the global trend for Russia, which can now be merged. But as?

Above, I identified a process of quantitative growth for schoolchildren employed in engineering fields. But did not touch the problems. And they are. And here is the place to describe them.

• Low engineering qualifications of teachers in schools

In all places where children are taught engineering things, whether school, commercial or any other center, there are teachers. And they are primarily teachers, not engineers. Educators can teach a child only the simplest things. They do it. Do well. But now the time has come when simple things are not enough. In our center there are cases when children at the age of 12 already outnumber teachers in their engineering qualifications. The problem is that teachers develop, teaching area, and engineering areas of development less. You can see that in spite of the fact that the number of sites and purely schoolchildren visiting them is growing, the level of projects remains at the same level. And if somewhere the level increases, this is due to the intervention of a real engineer.

• Isolation from reality

Right now, while writing this article, one of the lab students agreed with me that he would come, but he was not let out of school. Teachers, and especially school teachers, are not guided by common sense, as engineers, who for the most part are pragmatists, are used to do, but by norms, rules and attitudes that have become obsolete a long time ago. Teachers occupy a niche in education, and this is good, but not enough for the full development of the personality of a young person.

• Lack of motivation

The main problem of pedagogy is that there is no healthy motivation in it. The teacher seeks for himself and motivates his players to follow the norms, existing structures and basic rules. It is very good and necessary for the child. But this can not be a motivation for creativity. The Creator is driven by motivation to change the world, create new solutions. And in this sense, the teacher is unable to accompany the student. Innovation needs to be introduced, but people in the school system will not even understand what it is about.

• * Project training

The figure shows an approximate scheme of our center (Laboratory).

I understand that this article may be premature, but out of habit to go ahead of time, I will state the model of teaching adolescents currently being tested in our Center.

The model removes the problems (contradictions) described above.

Work organization

The center is organized round the clock access for residents of the center. Residents are teenagers and adult engineers.

Access is via access cards that are issued only to people who are trustworthy. In this case, a high level of involvement is ensured. All residents of the Center feel it as their place.

There is a general fund of equipment and consumables of the Center, which is replenished with residents as far as possible. The work of adolescents on dangerous machinery, for example, on milling machines is possible only in the presence of a responsible person. When adults leave, dangerous machines are locked in separate rooms. It is important that the center has the best equipment that is possible, this is the guarantee of a party in the Center of the best young engineers of the city.

A resident of the laboratory can receive funding for their projects (there is an opportunity to quickly purchase the necessary equipment so that the project can be done quickly, without fading interest). There are weekly meetings of adolescents and adult engineers on project implementation issues. Engineers say - children listen.

Club meetings are held regularly in the center, where not technical issues are discussed, but, let's say, general cultural ones. At such meetings, the views of successful self-realized engineers are transferred to the younger generation. There is an explanation why it is necessary and important to develop as an engineer. It discusses the mistakes that adults have made and realized. This is a kind of life script club.

Such a scheme of organization allows to achieve joint work of engineers and students on common projects.

Of course, not all schoolchildren are admitted to the Center, but only verified ones, the same applies to engineers.

Center financing

It is carried out by a socially responsible organization that is interested in highly qualified engineering personnel. Funding comes by transferring funds to a non-profit organization.

Projects

From experience, I can say that at one of the stages of their technological development, each tech-schoolboy starts making his own 3D printer. There were at least six such projects in our center. Someone is finishing, someone is not. But it is not important. The main thing is that students do their own projects. Engineers advise schoolchildren where and how to find the necessary information for project implementation. All knowledge is transmitted in relation to specific projects.

Adult engineers also lead their projects. Each of these projects potentially has a real application and is a technical system that can be incorporated into real economic processes.

For example, in our center projects are currently underway:

1) Roboruki
2) UAV for the transportation of goods 300-500 kg
3) A printer capable of handwriting
4) UAV self-fixer
5) Mobile application with augmented reality
6) CNC laboratory milling machine

The game is in the real market. Crowdfunding startups

There are always projects in the Center that claim to be successful technical startups. Startups, business and real engineering tasks, playing in the real market are good because they allow you to stay on the edge of the most relevant knowledge. A successful project is organically arranged in such a way that it leads to the most up-to-date knowledge, otherwise it will simply not be successful. The pursuit of success in our case is the pursuit of the best knowledge and technology.

In the center there should always be projects that go for investment or directly to the market. Output models can be different: Crowdfunding, direct sales of the product, sale of technology, know-how, and others. But such projects should be available. There are such projects in our center. And every student can take part in them.

Mind games

For adequate contact with reality, which is the engineering activity, the ability to build models is necessary. Without this ability, a person can only perform calculation tasks, that is, apply ready-made models.

Intellectual games are a tool for nurturing the structures that carry out modeling in the minds of schoolchildren.

The topic of this topic does not imply the discussion of games, contests, tournaments, competitions and other competitive events, which are now a great many. I hope to make a separate review on this topic.