Adventure Cards, Process Wheels, and a Vision …
423
Outer Ring (#4) shows various entry points to living lab research: (a) Alumni, (b)
Class Project, (c) Competition, (d) External Partners, (e) Independent Activities
Period, (f) Operations, (g) Research Entity, (h) Student-Originated Research, (i)
Student Club, (j) Staff, (k) Research Entity.
The bottom image illustrates the Amplify Wheel (Fig. 1):
The Outer Ring includes devices utilized to generate new research ideas and/or to
amplify existing research. At MIT, these devices include my original inventions such
as the Learning Adventure Card Library,
2 Lablets,
3 Lab-spects, and the LAB-ORAMA event,
4 as well as institutional programs (Incubator Fund,
5 the Sustainability
Data Hub).
6
The Middle Ring illustrates common steps in the research process that are often
linear: (a) Literature Review, (b) Research Questions, (c) Methodology, (d) Data
Collection, (e) Findings.
The Inner Ring defines general support mechanisms for project teams such as
Onboarding, Ideation, Investigative Reports, Supporting Research, and Evaluation.
6 The Learning Adventure Card (LAC) Concept
The LAC is a card-based, user-interface system designed to make research more
accessible. In appearance, they resemble common trading cards that children and
adults collect of their favorite sports players. But instead of logging statistics such
as runs batted in, or information about offense, defense, and base running, the LAC
records research themes and outcomes such as journal articles, awards, dissertations,
inventions, and the creation of new software or companies. One of the more important
aspects of the LAC concept is that it is infinitely manipulable. The card format is
flexible and functions as a content container that can be scaled up or down depending
on how much information is to be included (Babich 2016). This format allows a
consistent design aesthetic across multiple devices and thus a consistent experience
regardless of the device that is used to access the information (phone, laptop, tablet,
2 The Adventure Card Library (LAC Interface and Knowledge Database) refers to a robust database
that contains several hundred data points collected on living lab research (see the section “The
Learning Adventure Card Concept” for details).
3 Lablets are those research activities that do not yet meet the criteria for living labs but are using the
campus as a test bed. These are typically of shorter duration and effective at quickly testing ideas
and research questions. (The act of pursuing these projects is called “lableting.”).
4 The LAB-O-RAMA is an annual gathering of academic and operational partners designed to provide
a place to tell the stories of living lab research, to show recent findings and technologies, and to
make connections for existing or new work.
5 The Incubator Fund is an external donor program with earmarked funding for research using the
campus as a test bed.
6 The DataPool is a centralized resource that can collect and store data from disparate sources, enable
automation through computer programming, and enhance the analytic capabilities of operational
units.
423
Outer Ring (#4) shows various entry points to living lab research: (a) Alumni, (b)
Class Project, (c) Competition, (d) External Partners, (e) Independent Activities
Period, (f) Operations, (g) Research Entity, (h) Student-Originated Research, (i)
Student Club, (j) Staff, (k) Research Entity.
The bottom image illustrates the Amplify Wheel (Fig. 1):
The Outer Ring includes devices utilized to generate new research ideas and/or to
amplify existing research. At MIT, these devices include my original inventions such
as the Learning Adventure Card Library,
2 Lablets,
3 Lab-spects, and the LAB-ORAMA event,
4 as well as institutional programs (Incubator Fund,
5 the Sustainability
Data Hub).
6
The Middle Ring illustrates common steps in the research process that are often
linear: (a) Literature Review, (b) Research Questions, (c) Methodology, (d) Data
Collection, (e) Findings.
The Inner Ring defines general support mechanisms for project teams such as
Onboarding, Ideation, Investigative Reports, Supporting Research, and Evaluation.
6 The Learning Adventure Card (LAC) Concept
The LAC is a card-based, user-interface system designed to make research more
accessible. In appearance, they resemble common trading cards that children and
adults collect of their favorite sports players. But instead of logging statistics such
as runs batted in, or information about offense, defense, and base running, the LAC
records research themes and outcomes such as journal articles, awards, dissertations,
inventions, and the creation of new software or companies. One of the more important
aspects of the LAC concept is that it is infinitely manipulable. The card format is
flexible and functions as a content container that can be scaled up or down depending
on how much information is to be included (Babich 2016). This format allows a
consistent design aesthetic across multiple devices and thus a consistent experience
regardless of the device that is used to access the information (phone, laptop, tablet,
2 The Adventure Card Library (LAC Interface and Knowledge Database) refers to a robust database
that contains several hundred data points collected on living lab research (see the section “The
Learning Adventure Card Concept” for details).
3 Lablets are those research activities that do not yet meet the criteria for living labs but are using the
campus as a test bed. These are typically of shorter duration and effective at quickly testing ideas
and research questions. (The act of pursuing these projects is called “lableting.”).
4 The LAB-O-RAMA is an annual gathering of academic and operational partners designed to provide
a place to tell the stories of living lab research, to show recent findings and technologies, and to
make connections for existing or new work.
5 The Incubator Fund is an external donor program with earmarked funding for research using the
campus as a test bed.
6 The DataPool is a centralized resource that can collect and store data from disparate sources, enable
automation through computer programming, and enhance the analytic capabilities of operational
units.