Schedule

Schedule at a Glance
Jan 31 – Intro
Feb 7 – Blockchain Basics
Feb 14 – Systems Thinking & Biomimicry
Feb 21 – Deeper Dive into Blockchain
Feb 28 – Network Economy
Mar 7 – Design Theory & Methods
Mar 14 – Project Development & Planning
SPRING BREAK / No class on Mar 21st
Mar 28 – Experimentation Kick-off
Apr 4 – One-on-ones
Apr 11 – Ideation
Apr 18 – Play-testing & Prototyping
Apr 25 – Storytelling & User-testing
May 2 – Refining
May 9 – Final Presentations @ IDM
May 13 – Final Presentations @ UNICEF HQ

Class 1 – INTRODUCTION Jan 31st

Breaking the ice & introductions
Background & UNICEF context
Syllabus, website, structure of the course & expectations
Leveling assessment
Q&A

Assignments for next week:

Readings:
Watch John Oliver’s video on cryptocurrencies and blockchain
Write down a list of questions you might have and be prepared to share it in the next class

Class 2 – BLOCKCHAIN BASICS Feb 7th

In class review of assignments
Collaborative drawing exercise
Blockchain basics:
- Hands-on Interactive Game
- Fundamentals
- Blockchain use cases
Introduction to the App & experimenting with tokens

Assignments for next week:

Readings:
- Sketching: the Visual Thinking Power Tool and The Miseducation of the Doodle
- Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians and Business Chemistry 4 Types
Sketching exercise: create a “mind map” or “concept map” of the space you think you want to work in. This should cover the total range of what comes to mind when you think of a specific topic or subject that you are particularly interested in. You may also create multiple input maps to answer questions such as: What are you interested in? What areas/topics are you fascinated by? Sketch out the concepts/ideas that fit in that world and their relationships. These can be hand-drawn or digital.
Post pictures of your Concept Map, you might have to post zoomed-in and zoomed-out photos

Class 3 – SYSTEMS THINKING Feb 14th

In class review of assignments
Systems Thinking & Mapping
- Theory of Systems Thinking
- Biomimicry
- Spectrum / Ecosystem mapping & leverage points
- Systems Thinking exercise
Working in Teams
- In class Biz Chemistry experiment

Assignments for next week:

Go on an adventure. Look around you, at your surroundings and observe a system in your environment that you are fascinated by (could be related to anything you want to explore: a food system, a piece of the education or health systems, marketplaces or other economic systems, just to name a few). Observe how people interact within it, what are they trying to accomplish, what technologies are being used, what are the steps involved, take photos and write your thoughts down.
Post your photos and observations of the environment/ecosystem of your choosing.
Create an ecosystem map of that system / a visual representation of it (in whatever medium or format you prefer, digital, hand sketches, physical, etc.).
Readings:
- Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System
- Optional: Thinking in Systems: A Primer, available through NYU Libraries
- More Systems Thinking resources:
  - Thinking about Systems by Linda Booth Sweeney
  - The Donella Meadows Project
  - System Thinker resources
  - Biomimicry Institute for all things biomimicry
- Satoshi Whitepaper
- Why people are buying cats on the blockchain
- Showdown of Stores Value

Class 4 – BLOCKCHAIN DEEP DIVE Feb 21st

In class review of assignments
Deeper blockchain
- Anders Demo
- Individual concepts (buying crypto, keeping your crypto)
What’s on the horizon
- Cryptokitties
- Innovation in the space
- Challenges (scalability) & failures in blockchain
Guest: Cassidy Robertson, Cryptokitties

Assignments for next week:

Readings:
- Understanding Non-Fungible Tokens (ERC721)
- Some Simple Economics of the Blockchain
- The Blockchain Effect: Network Effects without Market Power Costs
- Remember systems mapping? Here is a quick refresher
- Read at least 2 whitepapers
Choose one paper and sketch out the network from the reading you chose
Write a brief summary of the paper you read
Post your network sketches
Post any questions you might have to discuss in class next week
Video on Lemon Coin

Class 5 – NETWORK ECONOMICS Feb 28th

In class review of assignments
Whitepapers discussion
In-class Scanning club
Network Economics
- Tokens
- Last mile
Guest: Stuart Hunter, Token Engineer, Consensys

Assignments for next week:

Readings:
- Article on What blockchain can’t do
- Bitcoin Has Saved My Family
Begin outlining/drafting your own whitepaper idea in the form of an abstract.
- Problem statement / opportunity
- Vision
- Next steps
Create a Moodboard, or a Cornell box, or any other form of representation of your idea (preferably physical).
Post link to your whitepaper draft.

Class 6 – DESIGN THEORY & METHODS March 7th

In class review of assignments
Your interests and ideas so far
Design Research, methodologies & methods
User-centered Design, sustainability and accessibility

Assignments for next week:

Sketch and paper prototype a redesign of the UI/UX of our App. You will play-test these early/rough prototypes next week during class. You will rewarded for your contributions and new versions/iterations of the UI/UX. Post your sketches, prototypes, mock-ups on the App. We will discuss those in class together.
Draw up a System Diagram of the intervention you envisioned in your White Paper and start thinking about stakeholders involved.
Readings:
- Design Thinking Is Fundamentally Conservative and Preserves the Status Quo
- Buzz Factor or Innovation Potential: What Explains Cryptocurrencies’ Returns?
Self-Assessment #1

Class 7 – PROJECT DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING March 14th

Guest: Kelsie Nabben, Project Manager/Business Development Executive, OmiseGo
In class review of assignments
Feedback session on UI/UX redesigns
Discuss project ideas

Assignments for next week:

Readings:
- UNICEF Design Principles
Trying one of the brainstorming techniques you like and/or are familiar with, get together with your peers or individually and brainstorm ideas for a deeper experiment, things you are interested in exploring further after these initial investigations and put together:
- one paragraph description of the concept
- design goals, design guidelines
- identify your users and other important stakeholders
- visual/s of such idea like sketches, concept map, mood board, Cornell box etc. A physical representation of your system/network.
- create a stakeholder map and identify stakeholders/user types involved in your system idea
Post documentation of these early project materials, we will discuss them in class.

SPRING BREAK

Class 8 – EXPERIMENTATION KICK-OFF March 28th

In class review of assignments
Discuss ideas and experiments
UNICEF & Blockchain
Blockchain special topics with Mehran Hydary, UNICEF Blockchain Developer
Discuss the project development process:
- Big idea
- Ecosystem
- Users & personas
- Lifecycle of project
- Phases of development
- Timeline / Budget

Assignments for next week:

Reading: Unchained: A story of love, loss and blockchain
Make a plan for the larger experiment you will be focusing on during the remainder of the semester:
1. Meet as a group (if you are really not feeling it, you can change it next week)
2. Capture 2-3 reasons why you were grouped together
3. SuperGroup: split into at least 2 groups of 4 & mix it up!
4. Look at the public example we mentioned in class (see below for reminder)
5. Create 1 or 2 (if you have multiple ideas) 3-slide pitch decks as the new formed group. This is hard because you will need to come up with ideas together.
6. List all users and stakeholders involved in your new idea. (Remember to pay attention to “Who would pay to do this?” “Who would you test this with?”)
7. Which one of the fundamentals of blockchain are you using?
New groups:
- Diego, Yalta & Ahmed –> example to look at Augur
- SuperGroup: Nancy, Man Ping, Yan, Tina, Moeezo, Evelyn, Brittney –> example to look at Scuttlebutt
- Alex, Maria & Abhi –> example to look at Foam
Post documentation of these items

Class 9 – ONE-ON-ONES April 4th

Blockchain special topics with Mehran Hydary, UNICEF Blockchain Developer
30 mins one-on-one meetings with each group, bring your ideas, materials & slides to discuss with your instructors

Assignments for next week:

Follow up on things your professors mentioned during one-on-ones.
With your group, come together to discuss your current idea and work on the following (feel free to use this template if it’s helpful):
1. Pick one word (to describe your project)
2. Big statement/problem (“We want to do X because of Y”, “We want to solve X because of Y”, “X is a big problem because of Y”…)
3. List attributes of technology that can help us make a dent in this problem
4. Formulate and share 2/3 different stories/use-cases that touch on this problem (e.g. problem of water pollution could be told through the lens of the ocean, whales and other wildlife, the Gowanus canal)
5. Dig up 2/3 other smart people trying to tackle the same, 2/3 references of recent projects/efforts/research that you should be aware of.
6. Be prepared as a group to talk about these items next week in class.
Post documentation of experiment progress

Class 10 – IDEATION April 11th

In class review of assignments
Open discussion on each group concept & on what to play-test the following week
User journeys & Storyboarding
Blockchain special topics with Mehran Hydary, UNICEF Blockchain Developer

Assignments for next week:

Build a prototype / mock-up / visual representation to help you communicate your idea and answer questions
Write down a series of questions you want users to answer through engaging with your prototype/s or activity
Identify experts, scholars, technologists, engineers who have relevant expertise, write down questions for them and reach out to get their input on your concept.
Post documentation of experiment progress

Class 11 – PLAY-TESTING & PROTOTYPING April 18th

In class review of assignments
In class play-testing session and feedback
Open discussion on each group concept & on prototyping techniques useful to each projects
Blockchain special topics with Mehran Hydary, UNICEF Blockchain Developer

Assignments for next week:

Identify stakeholders & real users to prototype and test with. This is now super critical before you go onto building a more refined prototype of your idea. Please reach out to us if you are having issues finding experts or if you want feedback on your questions to them. There will be office hours added to check in this and next week.
User test your idea/prototypes/mock-ups with people outside of class
Document the feedback you receive, what insights, references were provided
Prepare a 5 minute presentation update that includes:
1. Statement (problem statement/elevator pitch)
2. Wouldn’t the world be better if… ?
3. Here are 3 examples of other things that are similar
4. What is the possible user base? (These many people need…) and Here are AT LEAST 3 people we talked to
5. Here is the idea (3 views of it, pictures of the prototype being tested etc.)
6. You are this user and this is your journey (map out the user journey)
Post documentation of experiment progress

Class 12 – STORYTELLING & USER-TESTING April 25th

In class review of assignments
Guest: Simona Pop, Co-Founder & CMO, Bounties Network
5 minute presentations
Blockchain special topics with Mehran Hydary, UNICEF Blockchain Developer
User-testing prototypes in class

Assignments for next week:

Find at least 5 people to user test your prototypes with (ideally different kinds of stakeholders) AND write a post on insights/feedback you received from each one.
Read: 6 Ways to Give a Kick-Ass Presentation
Draft of final presentation
Continue researching, prototyping, iterating on your experiment
Post documentation of experiment progress

Class 13 – REFINING May 2nd

In class review of assignments
Open work day, discuss next steps and feedback on presentation deck (draft)

Assignments for next week:

Finish and rehearse presentation
Upload VIDEO of your group rehearsing the presentation
Organize all the materials for Final Presentation:
1. Title slide
2. The Big problem (with some numbers)
3. A specific instance of the problem
4. Core systems failures / aspects of the challenge
5. How we want to address them
6. Aspect of Blockchain found interesting/applicable to said problem (defining it for the audience)
7. User journey (2-3 slides)
8. OR Experiment/project (3-4 slides)
9. What we learned
10. Inspirations/resources (who else is doing this)
11. Next steps
12. Conclusion
Other things you need for the May 13th event:
1. Flyer/Handout for people to take away that describes your experiment
2. Physical artifact that people can engage with
3. Table label/sign

Class 14 – PRESENTATIONS May 9th

Final in-class presentations with guests to provide feedback before the final presentations at UNICEF HQ next week
Discussion on lessons learned
In-class fill out course evaluations online

Assignments for next week:

Tweak presentation based on feedback you received in class
Put finishing touches on all the materials for UNICEF showcase:
1. Flyer/Handout for people to take away that describes your experiment
2. Physical artifact that people can engage with
3. Table label/sign
Wrap-up project documentation and tie remaining loose ends
Fill out Self-Assessment #2

PRESENTATIONS @UNICEF

May 13th, from 9am to 11am at 3 UN Plaza on the ground floor (Danny Kaye event space)

Show time & Thank you!

Schedule

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