Last week I was came across IDEO’s toolkit, ‘Designing Thinking for Educators’. It is a fabulous resource, not only for the way in which it unpacks the design process, but also for the way in which it describes the value of design for learning. Here are a couple of quotes I found particularly insightful:
“The design process is what puts Design Thinking into action. It’s a structured approach to generating and evolving ideas. Its five phases help navigate the develop- ment from identifying a design challenge to finding and building a solution.”
“Design Thinking is a mindset. Thinking like a designer can transform the way you approach the world when imagining and creating new solutions for the future: it’s about being aware of the world around you, believing that you play a role in shaping that world, and taking action toward a more desirable future.”
Designing Thinking for Educators is available from http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/ and is well worth the read. I have a feeling this is a resource I will keep and refer back to over and over again.
Last week I was fortunate enough to participate in a Creative Sydney Festival event hosted at the Sydney Opera House. I was invited to talk about my recent work with sewable electronics during a panel session entitled DIY World – The Rise of Citizen Engineers. My fellow panelists were Duann Scott from Shapeways, Andrew Simpson, founder of Vert Design and the Balmain Boat Company; and Damien Butler from Assemblage Studios. I was very inspired by what these guys are creating and engaging in.
Since starting as a Digital Visual Arts Catalyst at The Edge I have been experimenting with sewable electronics. For those of you who do not know what I mean when I say sewable electronics, it is basically sewing with conductive thread to create electrical circuits on garments. It can be as simple as embedding some LEDs into a garment or you can throw a micro-controller in there to have the added functionality of programming your lights. I have been using a Lilypad Arduino micro-controller which has been specifically designed to be sewn and it is even washable. See the video below for a couple of examples of what I have created.
The panel session was a chance for us all to give an insight into our own practice and sparked some interesting debate, particularly around 3D printing, including IP protection and opportunities for no-risk revenue generation for designers using the Shapeways 3D printing service.
Peripheral: not relating to the most important part of something;
Peripheral vision: relating to, or being the outer part of the visual field (peripheral vision) dictionary.com
This week I have been thinking about how to design for the periphery. When designing a tool to facilitate metacognition it is important to acknowledge that the tool is not going to be the centre of the learning process. The tool should provide assistance and feedback when necessary and fade into the background of a student’s attention when not explicitly in use. Rather than a standalone interface that demands central focus, a tool to facilitate metacognition is much more suited to peripheral display.
Mark Weiser was one of the first people to write about technology that moves between the periphery of our attention and the centre of our attention depending on when it is required. In his text Designing Calm Technology (1995) he writes; “A calm technology will move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the centre, and back…a design must be attuned to but not attended to.”
The more I think about it, I realise I already use peripheral displays in my day-to-day activities to help me manage information. For example I use TweetDeck to keep up to date with my twitter feed. When a new tweet is posted by someone I follow I get an audio alert and a small window appears in the top right hand side of my screen . This window disappears after about 5 seconds, allowing me to read the tweet but not requiring any direct interaction. I use my widget dashboard (by hitting F12 on my keyboard) to quickly navigate between my central task and useful information. For example I may use my dashboard to check the date, use a calculator, or see what time it is on the other side of the world. I also use a number of browser plug-ins to assist in my use of online materials. For example my delicious plug-in provides me with an icon in my toolbar that allows me to add a website to my delicious account quickly and easily. These are only a few peripheral displays that I use on my computer not to mention ones I use on my phone on in my physical world.
These peripheral displays move almost seamlessly from the periphery of my attention to the centre of my attention and back again. Sometimes I choose to bring them to the centre of my attention and other times they draw my attention through visual/audio feedback.
I think the notion of designing for the periphery deserves more attention at the intersection of education and technology, particularly in relation to intelligent recommendation systems, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and cross-curricular skills. Each of these things, intelligent recommendation systems, PLNs and cross-curricular skills rarely constitute the central task of a learning activity, however they are useful in framing or scaffolding the learning process.
Neuroplasticity: refers to the ability of the human brain to change as a result of one’s experience, that the brain is ‘plastic’ and ‘malleable’. – Wikipedia
This week I have begun to read Norman Doidge’s ‘The Brain That Changes Itself‘. As Doidge explains,”this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the brain is fixed and unchanging. The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine, or “hardwired” like a computer.”
I have not read much, but already I am excited about thinking about neuroplasticity from a learning perspective. Neuroplasticity suggests that one’s brain activity is shaped by our environment. This gives new importance to the role that context plays in learning. A number of people have suggest that the internet is rewiring our brains, leading to a propensity to learn in non-linear ways. Continue Reading
Colleen Morgan is an interaction designer and academic that specialises in innovative solutions for teaching and learning. Colleen is currently a PhD candidate at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia
