Social media used in unique learning initiative through EV drive
08 Jun 2013
A group of "MindDrive menders" are encouraging young students from the urban Kansas City area to use an electric car to the whims, including Tweets, Likes Posts, or Shares, of social networking site users, in a bid to informally teach them.
They claim the car is "powered" by the social networking sites that each Tweet, Like Posts or Shares powers the car, although the vehicle already has a battery to power it.
The MindDrive menders claim that this is an alternative to traditional learning that excludes ''at-risk'' students – which could happen through hands-on experiential learning and mentoring.
One such initiative, MindDrive, which works with students in the urban areas of Kansas City, has been using electric car design as one of their focus topics, and students have built several electric vehicles, including ultra-efficient aerodynamic models built on an Indy car chassis.
Working with Minddrive mentors, a group of at-risk teenagers has restored a beat up 1967 VW Karmann Ghia and converted it to battery-electric power. The vehicle began its journey from Kansas City to Washington on 31 May.
The car has been fitted with a device that monitors social network traffic relating to the project and for every Tweet, Like or Share registered, "battery juice points" are generated. If there's no social buzz, the car doesn't go anywhere.
The car doesn't literally get powered by social media and the car will only move toward DC through social activity that gets generated by it. By sharing the initiative with Tweets, Likes, Posts, or Shares, the car gains "social fuel", which lets it use energy in proportion to that amount of social fuel, and in the process, helps to boost the visibility of the programme.
The Ghia's motor will only engage when enough social media activity is detected.
At present, MindDrive is using the Project Karmann Ghia as an awareness-raising exercise for the importance of experiential learning in education, and they're using social media to provide the fuel.
Last year, MindDrive mentors helped a bunch of at-risk high school students from the Kansas City area convert a donated 1977 Lotus Esprit into a sporty two-seater electric vehicle. The Project Lotus team then embarked on a coast-to-coast road trip across America.
The latest electric conversion project from the non-profit educational programme adds a novel twist to the proceedings.
"You can also help by signing the petition to Help incubate and support not-for-profit, experiential learning organizations, like MINDDRIVE, to integrate with US K-12" at WhiteHouse.gov," says the MindDrive website.
"Through highly collaborative environments and one-to-one mentoring, experiential education effectively teaches principles of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to students, especially to those who struggle in the classroom but excel through a hands-on approach.
MindDrive is a new method to promote ''learning through doing'' opportunities that reignite and complement K-12 education in the changing employment landscape of the US.
They expect federal government approval and support to the proliferation of non-profit experiential education programmes that utilise projects with community mentors to help students address socially relevant issues."
