Adventure Cards, Process Wheels, and a Vision …
429
9.2 Play
The idea for the Living Lab Web App was inspired by the desire to create a digital version of the LAC concept and to appeal to consumers of tools such as Yelp,
Craigslist, Facebook, Trello, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit. Workplaces
have adopted internal social tools such as Slack, Yammer, and Chatter or applications such as Microsoft Teams at high rates. In fact, in a study of 4200 companies
conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, 72% reported using them to facilitate
communication (Leonardi and Neeley 2017). What if the Web App could be refined
further to provide a space for both creating content (writing posts, sharing information, or creating documents and videos) and for informal communications that
include the act of observing what campus-based researchers are doing and thinking?
Currently the Web App vision allows users to “like” projects and leave comments,
and an automated intake form allows content creation. However, if the interactivity
were expanded to include a cultivated reflection activity/game, there would be new
opportunities for users to observe others’ communications and behaviors, and to pick
up bits and pieces of information through time about key definitions, the research
process, and emerging frameworks.
Increased interactivity (two-way learning) encourages the borrowing of ideas and
solutions and the notion that what a learner performs collaboratively or with assistance can later be performed independently (Vygotsky 1978). Additional research
could target the need to understand users’ goals and motivations to better understand what inspires them to achieve their goals, and also to understand the root
causes associated with representing, learning about, and transforming knowledge
among distinct communities of practice utilizing living labs as an innovation strategy (Carlile 2002). Creating a gamified solution that engages people at an emotional
level requires a deep understanding of the users, and their goals may not always be
rational or easy to identify (Burke 2014). In a similar way, effective communication
across functional boundaries, as is required in most living lab work, is equally difficult. It seems important to rethink how motivation operates in a connected world, and
how boundary objects, such as the Living Lab Web App, can alter current knowledge
and create new knowledge, despite obstacles such as scale, time, and proximity.
9.3 Weave
The author deliberately utilized an interleaving strategy within the design of all three
tools in an effort to construct knowledge in new ways, and in consideration of an
ever more visually oriented culture expecting to access and quickly, easily share
information. Future research could integrate findings from other, apparently unrelated fields of study. For instance, given the observed importance of interdisciplinary
collaboration, future research could examine the notion of social distance, often
applied in business contexts, as a means to understand the team-specific dynamics
429
9.2 Play
The idea for the Living Lab Web App was inspired by the desire to create a digital version of the LAC concept and to appeal to consumers of tools such as Yelp,
Craigslist, Facebook, Trello, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Reddit. Workplaces
have adopted internal social tools such as Slack, Yammer, and Chatter or applications such as Microsoft Teams at high rates. In fact, in a study of 4200 companies
conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute, 72% reported using them to facilitate
communication (Leonardi and Neeley 2017). What if the Web App could be refined
further to provide a space for both creating content (writing posts, sharing information, or creating documents and videos) and for informal communications that
include the act of observing what campus-based researchers are doing and thinking?
Currently the Web App vision allows users to “like” projects and leave comments,
and an automated intake form allows content creation. However, if the interactivity
were expanded to include a cultivated reflection activity/game, there would be new
opportunities for users to observe others’ communications and behaviors, and to pick
up bits and pieces of information through time about key definitions, the research
process, and emerging frameworks.
Increased interactivity (two-way learning) encourages the borrowing of ideas and
solutions and the notion that what a learner performs collaboratively or with assistance can later be performed independently (Vygotsky 1978). Additional research
could target the need to understand users’ goals and motivations to better understand what inspires them to achieve their goals, and also to understand the root
causes associated with representing, learning about, and transforming knowledge
among distinct communities of practice utilizing living labs as an innovation strategy (Carlile 2002). Creating a gamified solution that engages people at an emotional
level requires a deep understanding of the users, and their goals may not always be
rational or easy to identify (Burke 2014). In a similar way, effective communication
across functional boundaries, as is required in most living lab work, is equally difficult. It seems important to rethink how motivation operates in a connected world, and
how boundary objects, such as the Living Lab Web App, can alter current knowledge
and create new knowledge, despite obstacles such as scale, time, and proximity.
9.3 Weave
The author deliberately utilized an interleaving strategy within the design of all three
tools in an effort to construct knowledge in new ways, and in consideration of an
ever more visually oriented culture expecting to access and quickly, easily share
information. Future research could integrate findings from other, apparently unrelated fields of study. For instance, given the observed importance of interdisciplinary
collaboration, future research could examine the notion of social distance, often
applied in business contexts, as a means to understand the team-specific dynamics