Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2019/11/26/jamf-and-the-matter-innovation-hub/
One of the most interesting aspects of the Jamf Nation User Conference has been the Innovation Hub educational outreach program for schools in developing nations, instantiated last year by a classroom in a shipping container. Adam Engst describes where the Innovation Hub program came from and where it’s going.
Thank you for posting this interesting and thoughtful article. I can see applications for this approach and technology in remote, isolated communities in northern Canada.
Glad you liked it—it was definitely off the beaten path for TidBITS articles, but it was such an interesting thing to run into at the Jamf Nation User Conference that I couldn’t resist. I meant to write about it last year (hence some of the 2018 photos) but lost track of it afterward. So I was happy I could return to the topic this year.
Adam,
The problem of remote and poor communities has been in my mind lately as I have been editing a paper on the well-being of First Nations communities in Canada. The paper has not yet been released but one of the sources was this presentation, Remoteness of First Nations Communities <http://www.csls.ca/events/cea2018/thoppil.pdf>. I sent the link to your article on to Tom Flanagan, the author of the piece I’m editing.
Regards,
Lindsey Martin
Sounds like the Innovation Hub could be a boon for education in the First Nations. I’d encourage you (or someone else in your world) to reach out to Matter and see what might come of it. It’s largely about funding, so if there could be a grant, things could become possible…
What is a constructivist teacher?
It’s a school of thought about how to teach:
Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction rather than passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge. Constructivist teaching fosters critical thinking and creates motivated and independent learners.
Thanks, Adam. Sounds to me, a retired teacher, like old wine in a new bottle. 
Very possibly, or perhaps just a way of putting effective teaching techniques into a bucket so they can be explained in a single useful way to those who are non-experts.
I hear that there are now 14 Matter Innovation Hubs, with several in Zimbabwe. Matter recently wrote about Jamf CEO Dean Hager and how an Innovation Hub in Zimbabwe is making a difference.
Other articles from Matter’s blog also focus on the Innovation Hubs.