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Telling the Story of Your Learning Spaces: Part One
In this post, I discuss the need for being more intentional about sharing the work you or your organization is doing in order to build your brand and inform your community of your efforts. Doing this is especially important when engaging in learning space change. In the post, I talk about how design, messaging, and storytelling are critical elements of communicating with your school community.
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Evaluating the Impact of Design Thinking
"Engagement in the design thinking process builds emotional commitment to change." I couldn't agree more. This presentation, given by Jeanne Liedtka from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, takes a deep and thoughtful dive into the impact of design thinking. If you are interested in design, take the time to deepen your understanding of the true potential of the process. You can also read the paper here, which I recommend. So much superficial information is being published about design thinking; consider engaging in these resources for research-based perspectives on the true value of the process.
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Featured Technology: Vizzlo
Much of my client work involves engaging stakeholders in a variety of design activities to capture information about their organization that can be used to inform design work. I have found that presenting this information through various visual representations is the most effective method of communication. I'm a big fan of online creative capacity, so I use Vizzlo.com to help me create terrific visuals of data and information. There are a variety of pricing options for the product but the free account gives you access to 75 chart types.
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Featured Furniture: KI Ruckus
I'm a big fan of KI's Ruckus line and I'm using it in three of the current furniture pilots I am leading. Check out the product line and the overview video to see the line in action. Of particular note is the ledge on the back of the Ruckus chair which you can sit on. Students love doing this as well as using the ledge as a surface for a laptop or Chromebook. And...if you have never selected finishes for a piece of furniture, be sure to check out KI's online "See It Spec It" tool. Click on Design Your Spec. Give it a try!
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Learning Spaces Method Cards
I'm developing a series of method cards for designing learning spaces. Method cards are literally a deck of cards that contain content that can be used in creative ways to support the design process. This deck is currently at 86 cards and growing and will be available in either print or digital formats. The deck enables you to explore the design of learning spaces sequentially or you can design your own pathway through the cards depending on your needs. The deck will come with a series of strategies for gamifying your learning space design process. Stay tuned for a release date! (digital version on a iPhone 7 displayed)
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Spotlight on Innovation
What does it mean to be innovative? Would you consider yourself, or your practice, innovative? Is your school innovative? How could you actually evaluate this? In this terrific article, The "What's Innovative?" Debate: Try Using First, Best and Only," Sarabeth Berk provides a great framework for evaluating innovation. Using "First, Best and Only" with educators could be a great activity to begin a discussion about your efforts to become more innovative.
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An Ecosystem of Spaces and Devices
This article, from Steelcase, contains a wide range of thoughts and ideas about creativity and the conditions required for developing a more creative organization. With regard to spaces, I especially like graphic to the right which is a visualization of the intersection of places and technology and the spaces that can be created to support the range of interactions required to promote creativity. If you are interested in designing for creativity, spend some time with this document - it's filled with thought-provoking ideas.
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PToL: Periodic Table of Learning Spaces
I really love this. Yes, it's the Periodic Table of Learning Spaces! You might remember the periodic table from your high school chemistry class - it lists all the known chemical elements and their properties. Based on these properties, a user can understand how elements combine to create molecules. This "periodic table" is created by using learning spaces instead of elements and helps you visualize unique combinations of spaces. Try combining space types with learning modalities or any other combination to create interesting collisions that can help you develop innovative insights into spatial design. Created by Stephen Sun, Harvard Graduate School of Design. |
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Upcoming DJD Events: I'll be in Carmel, CA, Vancouver, WA, Sandusky OH, and then to Beijing, China for learning spaces work this month. In June, I'll be returning to Austin, TX for more professional development on learning spaces.
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Do you need help designing or redesigning your learning spaces? Contact me here. For more information about DJD, my services, or examples of my project work, see davidjakesdesigns.com
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