MVP Hack

The Gartner Hype Cycle Gartner's Hype Cycle describes the five phases of maturity of an industry and is a model for how to think about innovative technology adoption. The Hype Cycle is interesting as a moment-in-time capture of the technology landscape, with a bit of prediction included. The Gartner Hype Cycle includes "expectations" on the vertical axis, and five stages on the horizontal axis:  Technology Trigger Peak of Inflated Expectations Trough of Disillusionment Slope of Enlightenment Plateau of Productivity  Garner updates the Hype Cycle frequently and has topical variations. Gartner Hype Cycle - Graphic Click for larger version. 

Gremlins and the Language of Hackathons While gremlins can sidetrack hackathon teams, they can also sidetrack momentum for leaders trying to implement an overall educational strategy. Language matters, words matters, terminology matters, it's horrifying how fast they bog down a program.  While some terms have relative consensus, others are packed with agenda, narrative, and all the distractions of a gremlin: STEM, +Art=STEAM, + Medicine = STEAMM, +Sports = SSTEAMM Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Mathematics (STEMM) <http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/bhew/mentoring/index.htm>   Can we add Reading, Recess and Language-Arts?  MVP - Minimum Viable Product Quick Example: A hackathon team at the ATXHack4Change hosted by St. Edward's University tried to code a full-blown  Registration Process, which was important, but not critical to their MVP. They could have described a simple registration process, while working on t...