Project Update (+ Polygon & Peep Rewards!)

Just thought I'd give a quick update, if you're interested in my process!

Two weeks ago, you voted for "Learn How To Learn" as my next explorable.  When I start a new project, I sketch out a few "stories", (literal sketches, as you can see above) and run them by friends to find out which works best.

This project's story is tricky, because I want to share both the theory and practice of learning. What's more, there are dozens of theories & countless best practices, so I have to pick the most useful ones and tie them into a coherent story... somehow.

Also frustrating: while doing research on what misconceptions people have about learning, I found that I have several misconceptions about learning. One struck me hardest: learning by making/discovering DOES NOT WORK for beginners. So, yeah! I guess there goes the entire premise of my whole career! F**k!

Ok, it's not so bad. The research shows that making/discovering with low guidance is bad for beginners. Most explorables, including mine, have lots of guidance. (except for the unguided "Sandbox Modes") And once you reach a high-enough skill, you hit the expertise reversal effect – unguided practice becomes helpful, while guided instruction can actually become harmful.

Anyway, that's my process! It's twists & turns in the research like this that make science interesting. And make me take two weeks to sketch the first draft of my project.

・・・

Other Updates:

• If you chose the $5+/mo reward tier, here's your polygon avatar! (with & without background)
• If you chose the $10+/mo reward tier, I just emailed y'all yesterday with your hand-drawn characters! If you picked this tier but never got an email from me asking what character you want, please check your Junk folder. My email has had trouble with Junk filters – I suspect it's because I have a custom-domain email, and my domain used to be HTTP, not HTTPS.
• The Explorable Explanations Jam will start on July 28th, Saturday! It's an online jam, and will run for three weeks. I still have yet to put up the Official Announcement Website, so I guess you're getting the news before everyone else ;)

xoxo,
~ Nicky