When we introduced the concept of malleable nodes, we got a lot of questions and curiosity from our readers. We love it when we get questions, and one of the many questions that made me go deeper is the question below:
“How does the technology help that communication flow between the people involved in each node's Nook evolution — is it only that the technology helps them get together, or do these notes get recorded so people can see them in preparation for the next Nook or at another location, even to spread ideas and responses to needs?”
This was a wonderful question.
At Nooks, we have observed and implemented the concept that each Nook functions as a malleable node. Each Nook is shaped by various local factors, which include the participation of individuals, the chosen space, and the materials used, all of which are influenced by the children's age and feedback from parents and teachers. As a result, each Nook continues to evolve based on these factors.
Regarding the question about how technology facilitates communication among those involved in the evolution of each Nook, I believe it is entirely relevant. But first, I would be exploring the following question,
Why a Malleable, Local, and Private Nook Node Matters
One of the natural follow-up questions is:
Why does each Nook need to remain malleable, local, and private?
Here is what we have learned over the years of running Nooks:
Malleability matters
A malleable Nook can respond to what is actually happening — whether it’s a new play theme, a shift in the group’s energy, or a moment that calls for slowing down. It makes the Nook feel alive. It is the small changes, the subtle cues, and the contributions from every individual that allow the Nook to adapt. Each input matters, and each one is held thoughtfully before any action is taken.
In a malleable Nook, every individual is fully aware of the presence of others — children, parents, and facilitators alike. The feedback, the conversations, the quiet observations, and the shared rhythms all shape the environment they are in. People are not simply observing a space; they are participating in the making of it, moment by moment.
It's very important that parents are aware of what is happening and are on the same page with the teachers. And it can happen only in a micro community where malleability plays a role.
Locality matters
Because care must grow from context. A Nook in a museum by the ocean will evolve differently from a Nook in a garden or a neighborhood space,others or a nook at a parent resource space. Some spaces are more appropriate for babies, while others are for toddlers, and other for little older children. The people, the materials available, the acoustics, the over all environment environmental— all of it matters. Local environment adaptation is ean ssential part of Nooks.
Privacy matters
Because trust is the real infrastructure of a Nook. When parents speak, when facilitators observe and implement those observations, when children play freely — all of that requires a protected environment. Privacy ensures that Nooks remain intimate social ecosystems or micro communities. Patterns may travel; identities do not.
Malleable + Local + Private = the conditions for real learning and real care.
It also brought forward an important realization for us: there are actually three different kinds of learning happening inside the Nook system, and going forward, these three layers will play a crucial role in how Nooks grow in its technical evolution.
Three Ways Nooks Learn
1. Embodied Learning (inside each Nook)
This is the most visible type of learning — the learning that happens in the room itself. It comes from children exploring materials, facilitators observing and adjusting in real time, parents settling into the rhythms of the space, and all the small sensory and relational cues that shape the flow of a Nook. This is learning that is lived, felt, and experienced. And that individual Nook kept evolving.
2. Federated Learning (across Nooks)
This is the learning that happens when insights travel safely across locations. Not personal data, not stories of individual children — but patterns. For example: a certain material setup that worked beautifully for mixed-age groups, or a transition rhythm that helped reduce overwhelm. These patterns can travel without compromising the privacy of any Nook. This is how the system as a whole evolves.
3. Constitutional Learning (the principles across time)
This layer is shaped by our core values and play philosophies. It ensures that Nooks stay consistent in what they stand for, no matter where they are. It guides what is allowed, encouraged, and protected. This constitutional layer is what keeps the system humane, ethical, and aligned, even as each Nook adapts locally.
All three forms of learning — embodied, federated, and constitutional — come together to give Nooks their unique character.
NETWORK INTELLIGENCE (Federated Learning Layer)
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Aggregated Patterns | Play Recipes | Templates | Shared Insights │
│ • Derived from many Nooks | Privacy-preserving & de-identified │
└───────────────▲────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
│ (de-identified signals, patterns, templates)
│
┌─────────┴─────────┐
│ MALLEABLE NODE │ ← Each Nook as a learning unit
│ (Local Adaptive System) │
└─────────┬─────────┘
│
│ (local interpretation & adaptation)
▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EMBODIED LAYER (Local Nook) │
│ Children • Parents • Facilitators • Space • Materials • Rhythm │
│ • Real-time embodied learning │
│ • Local observations & adjustments │
└───────────────────▲────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
│ (guided and constrained by)
▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONSTITUTIONAL LAYER (Values & Principles) │
│ Ethics • Pedagogy • Autonomy • Trust • Safety │
│ • Defines what is allowed, encouraged, protected │
│ • Provides coherence across all Nooks │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Bringing in Network Theory: How Nooks Evolve Like Living Nodes in a System
Here, I am trying to bring in concepts from network theory and connect them to how Nooks are evolving. In network theory, a node is not isolated; it is shaped by the signals, interactions, and relationships around it. Each node responds to local information, adapts based on what it receives, and then sends new signals back into the network. Over time, the network begins to exhibit its own form of intelligence.
Nooks are beginning to behave in a similar way.
Each Nook is a node:
- influenced by the people inside it,
- shaped by the environment it occupies,
- responding to the rhythms and needs of the moment,
- and sending back patterns, stories, and insights into the larger Nook ecosystem.
But a Nook is not a passive point in a system. It is malleable. It changes in response to human presence and human feedback. And because it changes, it also changes the network.
The Role of Technology
So, what specific technology are we referring to in the context of Nooks?
Right now, the technology is simple: small ways of capturing observations, reflections, or feedback so the next Nook can build on what happened before. And in the future, we may create more intentional tools that help patterns travel across the system — always in a privacy-preserving way.
But before anything else, it is important to say: each Nook must remain a private, relational ecosystem.
This means:
- No raw data leaves the Nook.
- No personal child or family information is shared.
- No surveillance, no recording tools, no behavior-tracking.
- Only de-identified patterns may travel, and only when helpful.
So when we talk about “technology,” we are not talking about turning Nooks into a digital system. We are talking about using simple tools to help the system listen, remember, and respond, while keeping the heart of Nooks — the human relationships — fully intact. We don't know yet what it may look like.
Frameworks and Guidelines as the Backbone of the Nook System
Each Nook operates based on a set of guidelines and frameworks, often referred to as our play guidelines. These guidelines describe who we are, what types of play occur at a Nook, and the play pedagogies we adhere to.
There is a foundational set of guidelines known as the blanket guidelines. In addition, each group of teachers, or a lead teacher from a Nook, develops specific frameworks and guidelines that align with these blanket guidelines. These frameworks are crafted based on observations, conversations, and feedback from all participants. Observation plays a crucial role in the Nook's approach.
These frameworks sit within the constitutional layer of learning and ensure that, no matter how much each Nook evolves, it stays rooted in our core values.
What Comes Next
Many new questions may come up: What kinds of tools are we referring to when we speak about embodied learning or federated learning patterns?
How do these tools stay true to the privacy and relational depth of a Nook?
And why do we believe that these tiny little micro-communities, sitting quietly in neighborhood spaces, might be able to capture the real needs of parents, teachers, and children?
Does feedback matter?
These questions matter because, at the core of every Nook, there is something very simple and very human: personal attention to the needs of each family and each child. Not in a clinical or data-driven way, but through real relationships, real observation, and real care. They influence the frameworks teachers create, the materials we choose, and even the rhythm of the room.
What we are beginning to see is that Nooks are not only small gatherings — they are learning systems, shaped by the people who participate in them and the environments that hold them. And as these micro-communities continue to grow and adapt, they may offer something we have been missing for a long time: a way to combine the intelligence of human relationships with the quiet, supportive intelligence of a distributed network.
There is much more to unravel here, and I’m excited to take you along as we continue to explore it.
If this reflection resonates, you can read more in our Tech Musings series or join a local Nook Circle. The systems we’re building are small now, but they’re learning and evolving.
If this way of thinking interests you, I’d love to hear from you.