D-Lab releases today technology documentation and curricular materials for sharing with other universities, organizations, community partners and the general public. Under the generous support of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), two D-Lab staff, Jessica Huang and Nathan Cooke, have been working on the compilation, preparation, design, formatting and editing of technology manuals and documentation of D-Lab curriculum.
Today's initial release is comprised of a set of manuals (downloadable in PDF form from our website) on how to build and use D-Lab technologies. Build-It and Do-It documents can be used both as classroom teaching tools as well as instructions for community partners on the ground (conceived and designed to be easily translatable). Aditional background sheets provide contextual information on the need being addressed, development of the technology and current project deployment.
D-Lab founder Amy Smith comments on the relationship between technology and the learning process:
I believe that reading is not enough--it is best to learn by doing. One of the most important aspects of the D-Lab philosophy is the importance of hands-on experience in real-world contexts. This set of documents shares how D-Lab approaches development work through its curriculum and technologies, but it is not meant to be a strict guide. I hope that this documentation effort can serve as a useful framework for others interested in developing similar programs.
The documents presented here have evolved from experience over time. While D-Lab may choose to do something a particular way, other institutions should do things in a way that makes sense for them, given their goals and available resources.
Access and download the technology documentation and curricular materials from the Resources section in this website.
