Build Your Own Computer

It's been a long time since I've written anything for no particular reason but being busy. But I recently had 20 high school girls in a class doing something I have to write about. As part of a day full of STEM activities in our high school I had a bunch of girls put together some old PC desktops we were planning to put out to pasture. It was a morning full of anticipation, exploration, frustration, and finally, pure exaltation. I provided scaffolding in the form of a Prezi they could explore  as they needed, gave them screw drivers, and pointed them towards the pile of parts. The best moments were booting up. With some false starts and reseated processors the Dell and Windows splashes started appearing on screens around the room and the girls yelled for joy. They were so excited and proud of their work.