To Chris and Jake

I appreciate you guys so much for your dedication and hardwork!


You guys are amazing! I can't wait till the Discovery Night to see the outcome!!


Looking forward to it!


-Ye Sil-

Why start this blog?

The reason Jake and I started this blog was because we wanted a place where all kids who went to spark could talk and share with each other the experiences and new skills they have learned from their apprentice teacher. 


 This can allow kids who went to spark keep in touch with their apprentice teachers and friends even after their spark session is over. Then we can create a kind of "spark community."


-Chris

Welcome to The Official Spark Blog

Starting The New Spark Blog Revolution

Young Christopher and I are sitting in the Coffee Roastery, and we are excited to spark the SparkBlog revolution.

Yay! Jake and i are finally done making this blog!!

Yay! Jake and i are finally done making this blog!!

I am so excited that we finally got the Spark Blog going!! Jake and I have been working on this for a long time, and we have finally finished!!

Oh What Fun We Had!!! Summer 2010 Session...

Oh What Fun We Had!!!

Summer 2010 Session

This is my second time as a Spark Apprentice Teacher and it was great!!! My first time as a Spark Apprentice Teacher, I worked with Genna and we had a great time. Typically with the spark program as a teacher, you work with a student for 8 weeks and then afterward, you say goodbye, which made no sense to me at all.

I decided to see if I could improve Spark by experimenting with bringing Genna back to be involved in the next session which was the Summer session. Genna said he wanted to participate and an administrator from Spark wrote me an email to ask if I would be participating as an Apprentice Teacher in the summer program. She said there were many kids that wanted to participate, and I thought to myself, "did she just say kids? as in plural?"

So I said, since we are mixing it up, and since there are more kids than teachers, why don't I take on 2 apprentices for the summer program? Spark agreed to allow me to conduct my crazy experiment–so not only did I get two new apprentices, at the same time, but we also had Genna!!!

Jarvis is 12 and Jeremy is 14 and they were my new apprentices for summer, and the three of us are pictured below.

It was amazing how successful our summer session was. I reasoned that be having three kids, they could work together, and as a team, we would be more successful and all have a better time–and it worked out exactly that way. I hope that this becomes a new option for other Spark Apprentice Teachers in the future because I think it is a great idea.

In the photo above we see Jarvis on the left, with Genna experimenting with the iPad, and in the photos below, we see Genna and Jeremy having fun.

By the way, the all-new iPhone 4 took all the photos and video in the post, and I am am so excited because for the first time, I no longer have to carry around a point and shoot or a camcorder with me!!! The boys also loved the new iPhone!!!

In the photo below, the four of us are playing Multi-Pong together on the iPad. I remember when the four of us were playing Multi-Pong on the iPad, I felt like I was just one of the kids, even though I am around 30 years older than them.

I would say, my experiment is going well, and in the upcoming Fall session, I am going to add 2 more students, maybe even three!!! And of course Genna, Jarvis and Jeremy are all coming back as well, so it should be really fun and productive!!!

My First Spark Experience

My First Spark Experience

My name Jeremy and I go once week with Jarvis and meet up with Jake to work on designs and the latest gadgets being used. I love coming to meet up with my apprentice teacher because it's a great way to meet new friends and bond with them. Every week, Jake would always teach us a new phrase of words or a saying that we shouldn't forget (there were so many) including:

1. Do something GREAT with your life!!!
2. Growth=Happiness
3. The greatest thing you could do with your life is to be a designer.
4. Design is thinking made visual.
5. Science is the pursuit of the truth.

If I am ever about smoke or do drugs or do something illegal, I will always think to myself, "I am declining, which is the exact opposite of growth." Growth is like taking a step foward, while declining is taking ten steps back. By declining, people are not doing something GREAT with their life and they are wasting it.

Jake taught me that everyone is a designer. We design things everyday. For example, taking a math test, playing a game, or even making coffee because we are making something that was an idea from our head.

Jake also taught us that we are all scientists because we all pursue the truth. To be a good scientist is important because it can protect yourself from lies that can harm you.

Growth equals happiness also applies to Spark. If Spark can grow, more and more people can experience this amazing program.

The experience will allow students to grow and to DO SOMETHING GREAT WITH THEIR (including mine of course) LIFE!!

It's fun to work with more people!

It's fun to work with more people !

First you build a better relationship with other people. Second you get more ideas for your project. We worked with Jake on how to make the best iPad stand.

Jake is a great person to work with. He's fun, energetic and always on top of things.

Jarvis on the other hand is shy, quiet, but if you get to know he will talk more often. He's a great kid and I wish I was more like him.

Jeremy is not quiet, but loves to talk to people. He loves every one around him and his life is going in a good direction!

Genna Hahne

My Thoughts On Working With Jake...

Hello, my name is Jarvis.

Hi Everybody!!! My name is Jarvis and I am in the photo below this post, standing on the left side.

I am in a program called SPARK and am working with my apprentice teacher, Jake, and my fellow spark apprentices, Jeremy and Genna. It is really fun working with them

As an apprentice of Jake's, I have learned many things about business, like what are the pros and cons of a design and also what it would be good for and how it would help. I also learned that it must be reasonable and be the best of the best. I mean if you make something useless and retail the item for $100, no one will buy it and you would be wasting your time and money.

What I learned that was most important from Jake was:

"Growth=Happiness"
and really important
"Do something great with your Life!"

Learning from Jake has made me more open-minded and and helped me think more clearly.

I also learned many new terms from Jake and am very excited about the project we are working on right now which is still top-secret. This will be one of the best designed products you will ever see and will be so amazing, you will want it.

In SPARK, I have developed my communication skills and ability to work with others. SPARK is a great place to learn how to be a leader and how to talk with people. I will most likely keep working on the project I am currently working on with Jake and will help SPARK be a even better place to learn.

Jarvis & Jeremy First Brainstorming Session...

Jarvis & Jeremy

First Brainstorming Session

School Offers Ipads To Incoming Freshmen

School Offers Ipads To Incoming Freshmen

NEW HAMPTON, N.H. -- A prep school in New Hampshire will make use of one of the hottest new high-tech gadgets on the market.

New Hampton School announced that all incoming ninth-grade students in the fall will receive an Apple iPad as part of a pilot program to improve technology integration in the classroom.

"It is a tool that will help our students solve problems," said Hans Mundahl, technology integration coordinator. "We’re hoping to enable students and teachers to work creatively with one another in new ways. It has the chance to transform the way faculty teach and the way students learn."

The program was funded by a reunion gift from the school's class of 1960. The school will evaluate the program to determine whether it should be expanded to all students.

School officials said the iPad's slim design, speed and available software allows it to provide access to textbooks and other useful tools. Students will be able to create and share work easily, the school said.

The iPad was released on April 3 and has been touted by Apple as an easy way to use the Internet, read books and use apps without the need of a full computer. Prices range from $499 to $829.

New Hampton School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory secondary school of 310 students from 30 states and 20 countries.

Original Link

Jake & Genna At The Chestnut Street Apple Store...

Jake & Genna

At The Chestnut Street Apple Store

Genna's First Time Checking Out The iPad

On April 6, 2010 Genna and I went to the Apple store on Chestnut Street to check out the iPad. I had checked it out on launch day, but it was Genna's first time checking it out.

One iPad Per Child

Inspirational iPad Video of 2.5 Year Old...

Inspirational iPad Video of 2.5 Year Old & 66 Year Old
I think this first video is very compelling because it illustrates how engaging the iPad is. I think most people are visual learners and the iPad makes learning fun and intuitive...

Charlie Rose Takes A Look At iPad

with Walt Mossberg

Charlie Rose is 66 years old and he seems to be as smitten with the all-new iPad as the 2 year old girl in the above video!!! I think this huge age delta just goes to show how universal the iPad's appeal is!!!

Even a cat has fun with and gets the iPad!!!

Ipad Is The Future...

Ipad Is The Future

Gizmodo has a fascinating article on who the iPad is the next huge evolutionary step in computing.

Great iPad Review...

Apple iPad Reviews Are Coming In

Overwhelmingly Great!!!

One of the objectives we have is similar to Nicholas Negroponte's the One Laptop Per Child Program, except our idea is to have One iPad Per Child. I believe the iPad form factor is much better than the OLPC XO laptops because it has no mechanical or moving parts and is even more portable and lighter in weight. Also the iPad has a much higher definition screen that is much more immersive and successfully competes with the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.

Remember how when you were a kid you used to carry around a back-breaking backpack filled with school books and notebooks and pens and pencils? I believe the iPad will completely eliminate this need for future generations and an iPad will not only be able to play multimedia like audio and video, but have the ability to record teachers voices so you don't even have to take notes.

I am sharing this particular video, because the reviewer shows a book on the periodic table of elements and points out that when he was a child if he had this book, he probably would have been much more engaged in science. In the final analysis, I believe the best way to engage a child's mind is to make the education entertaining and thus engaging. You can even call it Edutainment.

presantation objecteves

Presentation Objectives

Our objective is to develop an innovative new educational system that will teach Spark apprentices how to learn and educate themselves in ways that were previously not possible.

In particular, we intend to develop a system that uses the new innovative Apple iPad. In order to do so, we believe each apprentice student should own there own iPad which they get to keep after they complete the spark program.

We wish to develop a system that teaches kids how to learn to learn. we call this innovative new system named Kids Teaching Kids.

we intended to use this blog as a mechanism for Jake's Spark apprentices to share ideas, insight and collaborator in ways to improve our system.

Hi Everyone!!!!!!!

Hello From Genna!!!!

Jake's Apprentice #1

Hi Everyone!!!

My name is Genna Hahne. Spark is a great program where kids and adults can learn from one another. Spark is a after school program that involves an apprentice teacher who works with his or her apprentice student to teach them in there field of expertise.

Also Spark is not only a learning opportunity but a friendship opportunity between you and your mentor.

I was really surprised at how fun and engaging participating in Spark is. Jake and I have a great learning connection together, and we have learned a lot from each other.

First iPad Video Interview with Genna

First Video Interview With Genna
Genna and I were experimenting with the Canon S100 video camera from Fireside Camera in San Francisco on Chestnut street and we filmed this video in front of the Chestnut Street Apple Store in San Francisco where we talk about the really cool upcoming Apple iPad.

Chris Balme, Director Of Spark...

SPARK Background with Chris Balme

Welcome to Jake's Spark World Blog....

Welcome to Jake's Spark World Blog.

Do Something Great!!!!

Warmest Regards,

Jake Ehrlich