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Wayfinding & Finding Your Way

7/24/2015

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This week's focus in CLMOOC has been on open and public spaces - physical and digital. Physical spaces welcome people in and help them navigate with signs and signals. These shape our actions and interactions. How are these wayfinding systems designed? Are there connections to how digital spaces shape people's actions and interactions. 

My experience with wayfinding in digital spaces started with the HumanMOOC offered earlier this year. The course leaders described themselves as wayfinders. 

Traditional 'you are here' markers are only the beginning. 
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Wayfinding is a term linked to urban planning but can apply to digital learning spaces. Wayfinding is about more than the system and design of signs within physical or digital spaces - it's the interaction between these cues to spatial orientation and people that use them. It's the process of problem solving with yourself as agent, the environment as active and engaging participant, and actions that can be tracked over time. I'm looking a little deeper into the design principles of wayfinding as a model for establishing a welcoming digital space.
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So, wayfinding within a digital space is a valid design consideration. How are agents navigating through the system? Where are they gathering in open spaces? Who establishes the wayfinding symbology? Who becomes the wayfinders to support the wayfarers?

In CLMOOC, I've been finding my way by watching the signposts (weekly CLMOOC site posts and updates, emails, G+ notifications) and gathering into spaces with others (Google hangouts, Twitter chat). My actions are determined by sites that catch my eye, just as sights do in physical spaces. I'm navigating my way through and it's only now, close to the end of the journey, that I can look back at where I've been - finding my way forward while sometimes looking back.
What about you? Who are your wayfinders? Where have you found signs and signals that direct you into the space?
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#F5F - Around and Around

7/17/2015

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My find five for Friday includes thinking about systems, reMEDIATing tires, a digital learning horoscope, self regulation and the Pan Am Games. How do these all connect? How do they connect me to people, ideas and concepts in real and digital spaces? It's an amazing cycle of sharing, discovery and fun. I've written more since it connects within and outside the CLMOOC community space. My online and offline systems are integrated and interconnected. READ more at FIND FIVE on FRIDAY. 
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Design a Bike Riding Culture

7/15/2015

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This reflection is inspired by the prompt for this week's @KQEDEdspace #DoNowBike challenge - How Would You Design a Bike? The question "How did you learn to ride a bike?" brings back some strong memories since I did not learn to ride until well into my later teens, late compared to my peers. The challenge was that the only surface available to me was a gravel road, for which I had a fear and respect due to numerous previous scrapes and bruises. When I now watch mountain bikers plummet down a hill or across narrow planks, I realize how ridiculous my fears were, but they are still part of my personal biking experience. A passion for biking is not part of my world, but it certainly is for many people e.g. in Holland where biking is a primary means of transportation.
My mind then jumped to the Queen song "Bicycle".  The refrain emphasizes a passion for bike riding. Which leads to the question -what brings people into the subcultures of bicycling - mountain bikes, BMX, bike tricks, touring and building bikes. The song refrain "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like!" is embodied in many cultures across the globe. You can listen to the Queen song and read along with the lyrics HERE. 
Thus the gif of bike riders. I created this gif of some bike riders gathering and tricking where the symbiotic motion reminds me of swarms of birds. I wanted to be able to merge the right portion of the song to this gif video clip. As a result of this desire to learn more about merging video and audio clips, I'll explore the free app Video Merger.

Other videos that caught my attention 
  • For the Love of Cycling - Subcultures by Soul Pancake
  • Bicycle skill video - amazingly talented bike tricks demonstrated by these two girls
  • Why we Love Mountain Biking 2015 - awe inspiring images and biking action
In the Netherlands the design of roads, paths, spaces and treatment of bike riders is respectful of the individual and the machine. This leaves me wondering how design can influence culture. The challenge in North American locations, big cities in particular, is the design of streets and roads is based on the needs of the automobile. Toronto, for example, has been struggling with re-designing traffic spaces to accommodate the growing needs of the bike riding culture. Adapting this system design can be a complex problem. 

DESIGN MEETS CULTURE
The twelve principles of living systems, as outlined by Linda Booth Sweeney, may be helpful here:
  • Interdependence: This describes how both bike riders and auto drivers need each other, perhaps to make them more aware of their surroundings and to be vigilant when operating their vehicle.
  • System Integrity: Identifying all the parts and processes essential to bike riding to function effectively, efficiently and safely are a challenge.
  • Biodiversity: the variety, complexity, and abundance of bikes, riders and roads require designers to think beyond the simple solutions.
  • Cooperation and Partnership: this describes the continual process where riders and drivers can exchange energy and resources. Merging riding and driving cultures can be challenging.
  • Rightness of Size: While the proportions of bike riding systems–their bigness or smallness and their built-in limitations to growth– in some locations are evident, in others their growth is challenged. This will influence bike riding culture's stability and sustainability.
  • Living Cycles: opportunities for renewal in a biking culture come from special events such as competitions and shows e.g. the inclusion of BMX demonstration as part of the Pan Am Games opening ceremonies.
  • Waste = Food: Bike building and fabrication cultures thrive on the reality that all materials are valuable, can be  circulated, reuses, and recycled. Old bikes become gardening features. New bikes get tricked out with old trinkets.
  • Feedback: growth or decay of bike culture (reiforcing feedback) happens when a tipping point or vocal majority demand changes in access to space, but counteracting or lessening the chances of change (balancing feedback) occur when structures (such as streetcar tracks in Toronto) inhibit growth
  • Nonlinearity: exploring the cycling behaviour evident in the Netherlands as a disproportionate result from the cause that created the 'bikes come first' rules would lead to insights for the design of biking culture
  • Emergent Properties: the behaviours that result from the interactions within a specific subculture of biking could extend to other cycling communities, the improving the health of the whole cycling ecosystem
  • Flux: refers to continual movement of energy, matter and information through the biking subcultures through media, messages and art
  • The Commons: the shared resources – such as videos, blogs, live performances – on which external viewers depend for information and understanding. It could also refer to bike sharing systems available in some bike friendly community spaces.
At the end of this, it's clear to see that complexity in designing a bike riding culture is a challenging one. There are no simple paths, no easy routes. Like my own experiences in learning to ride, there are many scrapes and bruises that go along with the experience.
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Re-MEDIAting tires

7/14/2015

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Beyond the garden tires swing, how would you remedy the recycling of old tires? 
What are the best RE-TREAD tire solutions?
Can tires be repurposed to become a garden backdrop?
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https://flic.kr/p/vrzCv5
What about a comfy seat in your living room or back yard?
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https://flic.kr/p/5oW2fv
Or a pair of comfy rubber slippers? Add your own design and logo.
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https://flic.kr/p/6jRp71
Update: some additional ideas and links provided by Sarah on Twitter
  • Unleashing the Artist Within with Tires
  • 9 Ways to Make Your Tires Last Forever
  • Tire sculpture
  • Tired Tires should Retire

Wendy added this gem from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/176695985356901373/ 
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Tired of Tires (Tyres)?

7/14/2015

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Flat tire image from https://flic.kr/p/oNTqj5
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The Whole is Greater

7/13/2015

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Picture4 Shipping Containers Stacked - Fractal
I've been exploring this notion of complex systems for a while now - through the Complexity Explorer site and the Introduction to Complexity course offered by Melanie Mitchell. The introductory videos provide insights and definitions of complexity within systems thinking. The statement "The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" stood out as an 'aha' concept. I'd heard this before, through the work by Roger Martin on integrative thinking, but hadn't connected it specifically to my thinking about teaching and learning. So here's where I'm going with this for this CLMOOC Make - Cycle 4. 

First, I'll identify the four key elements of a complex system, as identified by Melanie Mitchell:
  • simple components
  • non-linear interactions
  • decentralized control
  • emergent behaviours 

riding a bicycle is... (Denmark #26 Aalborg)
https://flic.kr/p/okvtFm
The image of the bicycle tire and the bike used in the CLMOOC (Welcome to Make Cycle #4) can help provide a basic understanding. The parts of the bike are, in isolation, unconnected and simple. Each component on it's own is a simple element e.g. tire, pedal, frame, seat. When connected into a system, to create a functioning bicycle, each element interacts and connects in a non-linear way e.g. gears go round, brakes go down/up. There is a decentralized control - parts can work in isolation e.g. brakes can be applied without wheels or gears in motion. There is emergent behaviour when the whole system functions together - with the key element of the system being the human being riding the bike. The behaviour of the bike adapts to the behaviour of the rider, the landscape and the conditions. So the whole system, working inter-connectedly is greater than the sum of it's individual components.
Building this understanding to my teaching and learning, specifically the complex system of digital literacies came to the forefront when a specific blog post and image relating to digital skills came across my Twitter stream. It immediately caught my attention because of my experiences trying to manage the subway system in Tokyo a few years back. Since this complex transportation system works by identifying subway stops by colour, number and letter, it provides a quick way for anyone to figure out how to adapt and respond when moving around. 
The identified digital literacies fit into the four identified elements of a complex system - the individual skills in isolation comprise of simple components that students can get a handle on applying; the skills are comprised of non-linear interactions; there is no central control over the system or how it operates within a course or student's experience; emergent behaviours result from the organization of skills, how information is processed within the skills and how these skills dynamically change in time and space.
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Tokyo Subway System
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http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/technology/mapping-digital-skills-in-he/
I'm going to spend some time this week trying to build some sense out of this notion of digital literacy skills as a complex system, as it applies within today's teaching and learning environments. I'm sure this ride will take me to some unexpected destinations and interesting discoveries. Come along for the trip if you can!

Addendum: Once this post was shared, the CLMOOC community responded and Kevin's experience with Mozilla Thimble was revealed in this re-make of the London Tube system. The resources and links he shared are found on Erica Drushka's blog post Tube Yourself where code and map templates created by Chad Sansing are explored. I'll re-make my own digital literacy journey using this resource and post the results here.
Where I'm At Tube Map
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Make Mine a Mystery Image

7/10/2015

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I participated in a webinar to learn more about Scalar, a digital publication site that transforms what it means to produce digital content. One of the other participants shared a link to the Shared Shelf Commons. This is a free, open-access library of images where you can search or browse. You can zoom, print, export, and share images. I found the Cornell - Reuleaux Kinematic Mechanisms Collection where images can be downloaded, linked, searched and referenced. So much to discover in this digital collection.

With further exploration I came across some mystery gadgets. These types of odd items have always fascinated me because of the mystery attached - why was it created? for what purpose? how did someone come up with the idea? 

So my make this week is a mystery and detective quest. Select one gadget to discover it's inner workings, it's purpose, it's mechanisms and machinations. Write a scenario about this gadget that places it in a time and space. Create a mystery about your mystery object - a 'who-dun-it' story to entice others to investigate. Making you a mystery writer!
Rotary Slider Crank Variations
Lower Element Pairs
Straight Line Mechanisms
Simple Kinematic Chains
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Art for Social Change

7/8/2015

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This week's DO NOW prompt caught my eye and connected for me to the art and artist Banksy. I've seen some of the graffiti artwork created by this UK artist, but after looking a little bit more, some meme's jumped to mind. Banksy (http://www.banksy.co.uk/) provides art for free in outdoor spaces. There are many images that provoke changing minds, but these two images connected to this DO NOW prompt (https://flic.kr/p/nDggUx and https://flic.kr/p/dYpPKv). Great art changes minds by provoking thought. These represent a manifesto for graffiti artists.
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CLMOOC begins

6/18/2015

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Make it to learn it.

As my entry into the CLMOOC space, I've decided to create a unique web space and blog location for all CLMOOC work. Maybe this will help me keep elements and learning collected, curated, organized and connected. For the first 'making' activity all clmooc-ers were asked to pin their location onto a google map. I did this several times during the day and each time I returned to the map to see who else had pinned, my map pin had been altered. Fortunately the pin remained in the correct location and the image and meme that I had attached to the pin were still connected.

Then I decided to create a meme (since Kevin had done so many of these for Rhizo15). I noticed that I was the lone Canadian on the map so I choose an image that is unique to Canadian contexts. I also created a gif image since this is something I've wanted to do and hadn't done before - it was easy with imgflip. You can see more about this experience on my main blog site Five Flames for Learning.

I connected in the Google + Community, checked in on Facebook and followed the Twitter stream for a while. I'm ready for today's kick-off webinar! Connect your Learning and Making this Summer with CLMOOC
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    HJ.DeWaard

    Connecting and knowledge building for CLMOOC 2015

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Connect My Learning by HJ. DeWaard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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