This week we have launched three new short classes over at UnSchool Online! Each focuses on one of the key activities we teach at the UnSchool: systems mapping, life cycle thinking and sustainable design.
Each class is designed to be taken in around 30 minutes and includes a mix of videos from Leyla and written content, along with activities designed to help you apply the new knowledge. These differ from our full DDM core content classes, which are much more detailed with the theory and knowledge that enables our unique approach to designing positive change.
These short classes offer introductions to the practical skills and tools you can apply to enact these changes and are designed for busy creative changemakers like you, who want to get a quick overview of how to start making change right away.
We designed this format to rapidly transfer knowledge to those who aspire to activate their agency but feel they need more tools to do so. These courses are $25 and will help you dive into the details of a practical skill via a 30-minute introduction to a key sustainability theme that will get your brain calibrated toward thinking in systems, sustainability and design!
Introduction to Systems Mapping
Systems thinking is a core part of seeing the full picture when working as a creative changemaker, and systems mapping is the application of this way of seeing the world so that intervention points can be found and built upon for positive change solutions. This course will help you discover how to create quick and complex analog systems maps, as content includes activities to create three different systems maps, introduction to systems thinking and the techniques for doing more advanced maps. You will learn how to see relationships and communicate complex systems. We also touch on digital mapping tools to further support your independent learning.
Introduction to Life Cycle Thinking
In this short introductory course, uncover what life cycle assessment (LCA) is and how to apply life cycle thinking to your creative decision making. We run through how to do a life cycle map as we uncover the secret lives of everyday things and discover ways of accessing life cycle data. Gain the skills to do quick, paper-based life cycle explorations for comparing products and services, know when and how to get LCA data, and then apply all the new knowledge through practice exercises.
Introduction to Sustainable Design Strategies
All design is powerful in its role in society. It is the all-pervasive social scriptor that influences almost every aspect of our daily lives, shapes our bodies, and influences our minds. At nearly every single moment of our lives, we are in contact with designed things. In this course, you will learn a full suite of sustainable and circular design strategies and how to apply them to the design process in order to leverage the power that design holds for making positive impacts. You’ll also learn how to manage trade-offs in decision making, along with holistic systems considerations, and engage in a product redesign using your newly-learned sustainable design strategies.
Introduction to The Circular Economy
If you haven’t taken it already, we also have this introductory class for the Circular Economy. It makes the case for changing the economic mechanisms within which we currently exist and for shifting from high waste to high-value goods and services.
By the end, you will understand the difference between our existing, resource-draining linear systems and the circular systems that we need for a regenerative, sustainable future. You’ll learn about both the Circular Economy model and movement, as well as gain insight into how governments, industries, and individuals are shifting toward it.
All of these short classes are designed to rapidly transfer the key foundational knowledge and then encourage you to get right in and apply the knowledge by doing the activities yourself. They include a mix of video and written content, along with downloadable worksheets and practice guidance on how to apply this new knowledge in your professional life. Get started today by taking one of our new short classes!
