Brescia:
Promoting Learning, Sustainability,
and Civic Engagement through New Media
MIT Mobile Experience Lab - Fall 2007

An educational workshop held at the Mobile Experience Lab, part of the
Design Lab under the School of Architecture and Planning, at the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the Provincia di
Brescia, Italy, Assessorato Innovazione, Giovani e Università, in Fall 2007.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
6
Foreword
8
Participants
10
Introduction
20
Methodology
32
Framework
46
Inspirational Material
Brescia Project Table of Contents

62
Design Interventions
66
Brescia 2.0
82
EcoPets
98
Reconfigured Bus
108
EcoWearables
120
Conclusions
124
References
128
Acknowledgements
5

Brescia Project Foreword

FOREWORD
THE INTERACTION between individu- to the potential for the successful evolution of
vices to the people, and to consider the public
civic participation through new media. What
transport system –inseparable from the urban,
als, communities and institutions takes place
is at stake is nothing less than the meaning of
social and economic fabric of the city- as a
in multiple contexts within a territory: public
public space in the age of wireless technolo-
suitable environment for the convergence of
spaces and civic buildings give shelter to
gies and augmented architectures.
ubiquitous accessibility to digital information
collective activities and physical presence to
and participatory involvement of the com-
institutions, public transportation systems
Considering these elements, we ask: What will
munities across Brescia’s territory. It became
allow people to traverse a territory following
be the future of public space? How will trans-
apparent that this convergence is a powerful
certain patterns, and internet and cell phone
port systems make use of mobile technologies
argument for attracting young population
networks enable communication between
to become a rich experience of encounters,
into a hybrid space of community-building
distant actors via personal computers and
participation, learning and play? How will mo-
and participation. Furthermore, a system that
wireless mobile devices. Our project inves-
bile wireless devices change the way people
relates the public transport infrastructure with
tigates the potential of a dialogue between
navigate the city as well as access, produce
emerging communication technologies in an
these sub-systems to generate new kinds of
and share information and goods?
open and accessible way has the potential to
urban experience, and new platforms for civic
promote awareness of sustainable practices at
engagement, participation and learning.
The content of this report is based on the
non-explicit levels, far from the pamphlet or
educational design workshop “Learning
the sermon.
Our starting premise is that the interaction
Sustainability: Promoting Learning and Civic
between people and institutions is a rich
Engagement through New Media”, held at the
Defining a dynamic relationship between
dialogue that encompasses multiple modes of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Design
people, transportation and information, trig-
communication (among individuals, between
Lab, Fall 2007. MAS 551, in collaboration with
gers a complex series of mutual effects that
individual and community, and between
Provincia di Brescia, Italy. This report, more
require the design of the system to be tackled
communities). This premise led us to project
than a linear account of the workshop, should
from a variety of disciplinary perspectives,
the government’s presence in the Province of
serve as an instrument to “think with” that
from product and interface design to com-
Brescia as an open platform for socio-cultural
reflects the results of the collective efforts of
puter science, architecture and sociology. The
and economic encounter, rather than as a
both MIT and the Provincia di Brescia.
synergistic overlap of these elements relates
distant source that delivers contents and ser-
7

Brescia Project Participants

PARTICIPANTS
Class Instructors
Federico Casalegno
William J. Mitchell
Course Collaborators
Orkan Telhan
Sebastian (Guz) Gutmann
Students
Colleen Kaman, Comparative Media Studies, MIT
Lorenza Parisi, Sociology, Visiting Student, MIT
Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Architecture, Research Fellow, MIT
Daniel Cardoso, Design and Computation, MIT
Michelle Petersen, Architecture, MIT
Anthony Rizos, Urban Studies and Planning, MIT
Solomon Bisker, Computer Science, MIT
Joseph Brown, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
Mingxi Li, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Zijian Li, Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design
9

Brescia Project Introduction

INTRODUCTION
11

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY expert Chris engagement and learning. On one hand ex-
ists the risk of increasing the so-called digital
The interaction between these actors is a
Zegras describes public transport systems as
divide; but, on the other, exists the opportu-
subject worthy of design and debate, and is
one of many “subsystems” that a city is made
nity to design interfaces that allow people to
the driving concern of this investigation. Each
of . Transport systems provide people with
perceive and navigate the city while accessing
of the proposals presented tackles a particular
mobility, but other sub-systems like Internet
the available electronic resources, and per-
aspect of this interaction. As indicated above,
and cell phone networks provide mobility
haps creating and sharing new resources in
a comprehensive design solution that fosters
to information. The interplay between mov-
novel and playful ways.
a novel dialogue between the public transport
ing people and ubiquitous digital informa-
and wireless network infrastructures can be
tion allowed by new technologies results in a
This broad understanding lays out a working
expected to enrich the urban experience, and
revised notion of transportation, where a new
framework for the manipulation of new media
to increase both civic engagement and learn-
set of actors needs to be considered among
alongside common architectural and design
ing in the Province of Brescia. Our understand-
the old ones: 1) the bus, a public transporta-
tools, while dismantling conventional-wisdom
ing of civic engagement is thus broadened by
tion device that acts also as a place for social
disciplinary barriers that very often constrain a
our view of technology as a bridge between
encounters, access to information, sightseeing
design approach to predictable solutions. The
the collective realm of public space, travel and
and travel; 2) the bus station, a physical space
expression “augmented architecture”, used
physical mobility and the individual realm of
where passengers wait for the bus, access
by Lev Manovich to refer to the specific case
wireless personal media, data transmission
information, rest and communicate; 3) the in-
of interactive information display surfaces in
and wearable computing.
formation infra-structure, comprising both the
buildings, serves us as a scaffold for the more
intangible wireless networks and the devices
general “augmented city”, or for our particu-
Ubiquitous and pervasive access to informa-
that connect to them (such as mobile phones,
lar case in Brescia: an “augmented province”,
tion reconfigure not only the way people
portable and wearable computers, and build-
where inhabitants interface with other in-
perceive and travel through the territory, but
ings); 4) the people, young and old, that uses
habitants, with their communities, and with
also the way people form societies, belong to
the system, each with different needs and
the larger scope of the province through new
communities and access the resources that
desires; 5) the province’s territory, as a politi-
media. The virtual space defined by intangible
the city offers. This is a fundamental aspect in
cal and administrative entity, and as a cultural
networks is superimposed to the physical
the design of a system geared towards civic
and social environment.
Brescia Project Introduction

as an ecology of user-generated information
These are not only a central part of the system
territory of the province, creating an environ-
travel and display across the Province of Bres-
but they define new ways of mobility within
ment of an entirely different nature. A new
cia; (2) as a system of sub-cultures that clash,
the city context. Techno-pessimists, rebels
form of city topology (Mitchell, “e-topia”).
play, compete and learn within the province,
against the future, think of a dark universe
(3) as a system of static and mobile spaces that
where users, prisoners of the electric virtual
The MIT Mobile Experience Lab takes a mul-
enable the configuration of social and eco-
sphere, tend to confine themselves in the
tidisciplinary approach at understanding
nomic exchanges, as well as learning and play,
golden cages of the electronic bits and to be
people’s experiences using wireless commu-
and (4) as a system where the communication
disconnected from the physical world. From a
nication technologies, while exploring how
between the individual and the collective
different perspective -the one we put forward-
mobile media impact societies, communities
realms is channeled through clothes and the
the always increasing presence of digital infor-
and spaces. When designing a system that
body itself.
mation available in a wide variety of physical
is to operate in such an environment, the
places has the potential to enhance them
correlation between the territory, the digital
The main design proposals, as detailed in the
and enrich them; the environment becomes a
information and the people is crucial. Mobil-
following pages, are:
real interface of mobility, a connective tissue,
ity happens equally from a physical and from
where digital location-specific information
a cognitive point of view. As Gregory Bateson
1_Brescia 2.0
enriches people’s experience of their naviga-
had begun to realize, we are not fully con-
2_EcoPets
tion through the city.
tained within our skins, and our extended
3_Reconfigured Bus
networks and fragmented habitats make us
4_EcoWearables
Keeping in mind these aspects, this report
spatially and temporally indefinite entities: de-
considers the potential of new technologies
signing from this standpoint implies giving co-
and design strategies to promote learning and
herence to a system that includes elements of
civic engagement in the province of Brescia,
very different sorts. In this system, the super-
and makes several specific design proposals.
imposition of the physical territory with the
digital information is central. We deal with a
In doing so, it puts forward the following dif-
superimposition and not with a mutual exclu-
ferent perspectives of Brescia’s civic realm: (1)
sion between physical and electronic spaces.
13

1_Brescia 2.0
An infrastructure of virtual services localized
around bus stops and buses can act as an
open platform for content generation and
sharing, building bonds within communities,
and –by intelligently propagating these con-
tents- connecting otherwise distant communi-
ties.
Brescia Project Introduction

2_EcoPets
A system of personal interactive accessories
for distributed pollution monitoring, social
networking and transportation can foster play
and healthy competition among the young,
turning sustainable practices into status sym-
bols.
15

3_Reconfigured Bus
By reshaping the experience of the bus trav-
eler in Brescia through electronic games and
displays and a re-configuration of its physical
space, we can make transportation a more
social and playful event, suitable for learning
and play.
Brescia Project Introduction

4_EcoWearables
Responsive tattoos and bracelets can reshape
the dialogue between the bearer and its
environment, while opening avenues for new
kinds of social interaction.
17

Conclusions
The evolution of the public space in cities and
territories has yet to embrace the potential
of new emergent technologies to enhance
the participatory dialogue between people
and institutions. Designing for the new urban
topologies generated by the convergence of
wireless networks and the physical structure
of a territory requires discussion and cross-dis-
ciplinary debate. Taken together, the propos-
als presented here can produce a more flex-
ible, agile, responsive environment that takes
full advantage of the new possibilities opened
up by current technologies to foster learning
and civic engagement.
Brescia Project Introduction

19

Brescia Project Methodology

METHODOLOGY
21

THE EDUCATIONAL design workshop Students were from very different cultural
backgrounds speaking English, Spanish, Ger-
“Learning Sustainability: Promoting Learning
man, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, and French.
and Civic Engagement through New Media”,
Moreover, the workshop is not curriculum
took place during the 2007 Fall academic se-
based but focused on a project-based educa-
mester at MIT’s Mobile Experience Lab. Below
tional approach. Critical to this project is the
is a descriptive summary of how we formed
construction of a core design team because
the class team for the workshop, the class dy-
as the project grows the students’ participa-
namics and, finally the collaborative learning
tion also changes based on academic require-
environment we used to run the workshop.
ments. The core team of the MIT Mobile Expe-
rience Lab (http://mobile.mit.edu/) frames the
1_The Team design process by functioning as socialization
agent by introducing new team members
Choosing committed students with the
about our design methodology. Student
proper skills and talent to achieve the proj-
selection allows us to form a highly motivated
ects’ goals is a crucial step to set up effective
multidisciplinary, multicultural and multilin-
collaborative learning environments. One of
gual team that maintains a high energy level
the strengths of MIT Mobile Experience Lab
throughout the course of the project.
classes is the multidisciplinary composition
of research groups. This diversity provides the
2_The Class
flexibility to integrate not only students from
different departments, but also emphasize
Problem Definition
cross-generational, cross-cultural collabora-
In collaboration with representatives of the
tion. We had very flexible credit requirements
Province of Brescia, prior to start the work-
that allowed a wide variety of students,
shop, we defined the objectives, as well as the
ranging from freshman to upperclassman to
methodology and the collaboration strategy
Masters to Doctoral and, finally, Post-Docs.
Brescia Project Methodology

to achieve them during the design workshop. In our first class session we described the
The Mobile Experience Lab as well as the Prov- structure of the design workshop, focus, and
ince, have done lot of research on this domain: educational goals. We then asked perspec-
creating a common knowledge background tive students to submit a short essay and their
first, and, secondly, collaborating during the resume, and we completed the recruiting
problem setting was a key factor to achieve process with face-to-face interviews.
good results during the design workshop. We
3rd Step : Course Structure
then started the workshop following the steps
described below: In addition to formal class sessions every
Monday, from 2.30 p.m. to 5 p.m., we also had
1st Step: Reaching Out to Multiple occasional Wednesday dinners —an informal
Disciplines way to discuss ongoing projects and research.
The class setting shifted as we alternated lec-
The first step is to publicize and communicate
tures with group work, student presentations,
our design workshop within MIT and Harvard,
discussions and reviews. Representatives of
making sure to cover different departments,
the Province of Brescia were constantly in-
including the MIT School of Architecture and
volved during all the workshop phases, regu-
Planning and the Harvard Graduate School
larly interacting with students and faculty,
of Design, various Engineering Departments
being present at key moments of the work-
at MIT, the MIT Sloan School of Management,
shop and through remote communication
and the MIT Media Lab. We also had an “as-
otherwise. Their support was extremely valu-
sisted recruiting” system: faculty involved in
able before, during and after the workshop.
the project recommended talented students
Collaboration happens via online web-based
with particular skills in their respective depart-
platform, but also via face-to-face meetings, in
ments for the class before the term began.
Boston and in Brescia.
2nd Step: Selection
23

Class Instructors and give directions for further work The goal is
to evaluate the work done and to set the goals
Their role is to dispense knowledge, but also
before the final deliverable.
to set up the overall goal of the class, set
deadlines, frame the class, set the agenda for
Work Time, Casual Work, Informal
the class and set the guiding line for the proj-
Meetings
ect, both conceptually and administratively.
This is a form of collaboration where students
Expert Lectures work together in small groups. Casual meet-
ings, not formally structured, but intense, free
Similar to guest lectures, with the only dif-
for brainstorming, for individual and groups.
ference that they provide industry’s point of
Fostering Peer-to-peer learning and group dy-
views on the design problems.
namics, informal communication and generat-
Charettes or Collaborative Design Ses- ing social capital.
sions
Site Visit
Fully intensive collaboration among students.
In order for the workshop members to ap-
The goal is to tackle a particular problem in
propriately respond to the specificities of
a multidisciplinary way. It is a very intensive
the province of Brescia, visiting the city and
focused innovation process. External Reviews
traveling across the territory of the province
Presentations of students work: it is important
is crucial. The goal is to gain a deeper under-
to have comments and to present the latest
standing of the site, understood as the physi-
developments of the projects to the entire
cal, social and cultural environment of the
learning community and engage a construc-
province. The visit also serves as an important
tive dialogue. Students are asked to synthesize
check point for the design, key to adjust and
their work and present their ideas in a cohe-
caliber the design strategies in the light of the
sive manner. Reviews are an efficient way to
real conditions of the site. A series of meet-
import knowledge from outside, to evaluate
Brescia Project Methodology

posters and students were able to inform the
ings with province’s representatives introduce
class on their topics and collect comments
students to the policies and programs that are
and insights from the learning community. Af-
currently implemented across the province
ter the class discussion, posters were exposed
in terms of transportation, sustainability, and
in our studio space to populate the space with
media, and become an important point of en-
ideas and to be inspiration material for further
counter between the initial ideas put forward
iteration, discussions and projects.
by the province and the solutions provided by
the workshop. A series of trips within the city
Silent Spaces
and to different cities are devised to gain a col-
lective breadth of knowledge of the province. Leave space for reflection and thinking. De-
sign doesn’t’ happens mechanically, idea and
Posters creativity needs time for sedimentation, reflec-
tion, distractions, it is very difficult to have
One of the techniques we used is a poster-
“eureka moments” without time for reflection.
based presentation. Lots of the sessions were
brainstorm-oriented and students were asked
3_Collaborative Learning
to, first, collect the information and then
formalize this knowledge. Secondly, during
Environment and Tools
class, they were asked to do some group work
divided and re-define the information they
In order to foster learning and enhance com-
just collected. Then, as an assignment, they
munity, we use a variety of different tools,
were asked to work together in order synthe-
methodologies and educational software to
size and formalize it by visualizing on big scale
work, communicate, design and illustrate our
posters. Posters were then discussed with the
work during the course of a workshop.
entire class and also with occasional extended
group (like, visitors on the Lab). During the
Studio Space
class discussion, walls were covered with these
A flexible and open physical place for interac-
25

tion provides a home for the project. Here we educational environment that complements
had regular meetings and lunches. The studio the physical infrastructure of the institute. The
space at the Mobile Experience Lab fosters Stellar site for the workshop supports design
multiple kinds of interaction and knowledge and discussion activities for the students,
sharing. The Studio is open and accessible to staff, and faculty. More than merely delivering
students, and it became a second home for online content, the system includes mecha-
the learning community. First, we set up the nisms for producing, managing, sharing and
studio as a place for collaboration in order to adding value to these intellectual materials.
create excitement about this ongoing design During the semester, the learning community
workshop. Second, unexpected experts from used the Stellar site to share files, upload and
different fields and disciplines often visit the download documents, build a mailing list,
studio and enrich our work. They are a key ele- interact in discussion forums, communicate
ment in the implementation of a collaborative and exchange project-related information.
learning environment. Third, having an open Stellar is a very important tool that allows the
space fosters chance encounters with visitors, members of a learning community to custom-
students and experts that comment and pro- ize a virtual environment in order to create the
vide useful ideas. We had visits from a variety most appropriate communication tools for
of people from inside and outside of the MIT achieving the projects’ goals. Photographs of
campus, that provided important insights into the trips made to Italy by the workshop mem-
the project. Finally, with video connections, bers, presentations made by the students,
web platforms and face-to-face meetings with and web casts of lectures were made available
Province of Brescia representatives, we share and discussed through this medium. Stellar
knowledge and explore innovative ideas. became a dynamic repository of the work-
shop’s products and thoughts, and a valuable
Stellar Site source of reference for future collaborators to
quickly catch up on the intellectual content.
Stellar is a MIT online initiative that acts as an
Brescia Project Methodology

and structural and environmental analysis of
This is important not only because students
designs. As a general rule, a rich design pro-
and partners could access and remotely follow
cess undertaken by students make a creative
the work in progress, but also because all the
use of both computer and paper as means to
content uploaded onto Stellar created shared
discuss and advance ideas into a fully fleshed,
knowledge and a common culture within the
buildable project.
learning community. Both spaces, the studio
in the design lab and our Stellar space, are
Among the digital media tools used for de-
places to foster collaboration and interactions.
veloping the designs in this report are Rhino
A lot of the knowledge transmission takes
and RhinoScript, a very flexible 3-D surface
place precisely in the process of collaborating,
modeler that can be controlled by means of a
exchanging ideas, discussing related projects,
graphical user interface, but also by means of
criticizing works, and it was one of the most
an end-user programming language based on
significant ways to cross fertilize students and
visual basic (RhinoScript). This programming
Province of Brescia collaborators with mutual
language allows for a greater control of geom-
knowledge.
etry through control structures, conditionals
Design Media and routines, as well as for a direct connection
between geometry and data. Other digi-
Traditional design media like paper play an
tal tools used during the workshop include
important role in the development of con-
AutoCAD and SketchUp, very useful for 2-D
cepts and in the communication of these
and 3-D geometry and visualization, such as
within a community. The computer offers an
the re-design of the bus and the bus-station,
array of extended, modified environments
and Flash, useful for creating quick interactive
that enable a broad landscape of conceptual
mock-ups of the mobile interfaces designed
and detailed design that include three-dimen-
in the workshop. In terms of rapid prototyp-
sional modeling, rapid prototyping of physical
ing, the design lab has access to a 3-D printing
models, interactive simulations of systems,
27

dents to, first, define their subject, synthesize
machine and a laser-cutter, as well as CNC and
it, and find the most effective way to explain
water-jet cutter.
an idea to people that do not have particular
insights about these concepts. Second, it is a
Other complementary CAD (computer-aided
great way to engage a discussion within the
design) software is also used, such as 3Dstudio
class and to play with ideas. Finally, the post-
Max, and Generative Components. As a means
ers must be well designed so they may remain
for discussion and review, students present
in our studio space for people to refer to, dis-
their ongoing work to the class in slide shows.
cuss and use for further investigations.
This method is useful for the evolution of the
workshop for two main reasons; first it re-
4_Building a Common
quires students to structure their concepts in
a transmissible, coherent way, and second, it
Knowledge Base
provides an excellent ground for discussion
and constructive criticism. The slide shows
Located in the region of Lombardy, northern
created during the workshop become at the
Italy, the Provincia di Brescia is an administra-
same time a valuable record of the students’
tive region that is responsible for many admin-
work.
istrative tasks, attributed by the State or the
corresponding Region. The most important
Presentation Boards
are the following.
Students synthesize their work by illustrating
ongoing concepts in presentation boards.
- protection of the environment (ground,
During classes, we have brainstormed and
natural areas/parks etc.)
we’ve played with ideas, constructing and de-
- regulation of the use of waters and natural
constructing concepts on smart mobility and
energies
urban transportation. Illustrating these ideas
- transports and ways of communication
with big posters is a good method for stu-
- health services
Brescia Project Methodology

· A on line service for substitute teachers
- secondary education
where they can find opportunities of job dur-
- data processing and technical assistance to
ing the all year in all the schools present on
the local Authorities
the territory.
- coordination of economical, tourist, social,
The description and current implementation
cultural and sport activities.
of these services can be viewed at the follow-
ing web address: http://rsb.provincia.bs.it
There are also many current projects in the
technological innovation field. Some of the
Brescia Digital Network (BDN)
projects that the Province has started to
implement as related to Learning and Tech- The basic idea for this project is to connect
nology, involve: in digital way all the Communes present on
the provincial territory. Presented around the
Brescia Schools Network (BSN) end of 1998, the project started in 1999, after
the reached agreement between Provincia di
To improve communication among schools of
Brescia and the Association of Brescia Com-
similar/different level spread on all provincial
munes.
territory, Provincia di Brescia realized a series
The main goal of the project is to give on line
of services on line for schools. In particular, the
services to citizens following similar criteria
following services have been activated:
and to promote the exchange of information
· Internet connection, e-mail, web pages;
between Communes and Provincia.
· Access to a limited access area (called “Extra-
There are no financial burdens between the
net”) only for schools;
two public bodies, but Provincia has respon-
· A web space for students, teachers, families
sibility for technical support of the on line
and scholastic associations;
services and, on the other side, Communes
· Newsletter service (with articles, commentar-
engaged themselves to use these services and
ies about news and most important subjects
to propose new ones. An important part of
from the “scholastic universe”);
29

book is available for use.
the project is the service called JORBA, which
International criteria have been use to cata-
is a on line consultation of the Public Register
logue texts, modern means have been made
of Enterprises. The Extranet Area gives other
available to the libraries and to the users, to
services like statistics, information about tour-
improve the pleasure of reading and the on
ist events, young people, documents etc.
line consultation of texts. Since 2001, also the
The description and current implementation
Provincia of Cremona (a town 40 km far from
of these services can be viewed at the follow-
Brescia) was added to LSS, with its network of
ing web address: http://rtb.provincia.bs.it
local libraries.
Library Services System (LSS): The description and current implementation
of these services can be viewed at the follow-
A project realized by the Provincia of Brescia
ing web address: http://rbb.provincia.bs.it
during the period 1999 – 2001, to update a
library system more than ten years old. The
SMS Tourism Info
main goal of this service is to organize in a
logical and efficient way the management of An agreement has been reached by the Prov-
the library services on the territory of the Lo- ince with a national telephone company (Tim)
cal Authority. The LLS network promotes the to send tourist information by SMS (short mes-
cooperation among 180 libraries and supports sage service): the information concerns the
the production, treatment and fast transmis- availability of hotels, camping and other kind
sion of the information. of accommodations for tourists, as well as the
The main service provided to local libraries calendar of the main seasonal events.
consists in all kind of catalogue’s services, to
economize costs and have uniform working
strategies. In fact, only one database has been
created where people can find a book they are
interested in and the place where the same
Brescia Project Methodology

31

Brescia Project Feasibility Study

FRAMEWORK
33

1_Introduction eral to face the future world? It is impossible
Mobile technologies and new digital media to foretell what the future of education will be,
today offer the possibility to improve civic but if we consider the evolution of informa-
During the workshop we explored a variety
participation and social inclusion in younger tion society and of technologies, one thing we
of themes and concepts. Some ideas have
citizens. In particular, they can increase aware- can be certain of is that it will be vastly differ-
been explored more in depth, and some oth-
ness in sustainable and environmental mat- ent from that of today.
ers have been explored more broadly on the
ters. Moreover, the opportunity of embedding
surface. We began our exploration by con-
electronic media and Wi-Fi connectivity into In 1958, Seymour Papert predicted that within
ducting a preliminary study to determine and
the urban fabric allows infinite possibilities in 20 years’ time, children would be able to pro-
document the project’s viability. We started
new forms of social and civic engagement. gram computers; as expected, reactions varied
this process by first analyzing current issues in
from amazement to great skepticism. As a
Brescia regarding Sustainability, Civic Engage-
In collaboration with the Province of Brescia, matter of fact, when Papert made his state-
ment, and Education. We then identified pos-
Italy, we want to understand how the educa- ment, computers referred to mainframe com-
sible areas of intervention, and determined
tional dynamic changes with the diffusion of puters that occupied the entirety of rooms
the main directions for design while consid-
new media, and we want to understand how and cost millions of dollars. Thus computers
ering New Media as the venue. Finally, we
to better design new media and communi- were restricted only to the elite. However,
investigated techniques for intervention and
cation technologies to foster learning and today we find that Papert was right, and com-
examined related works and similar undertak-
sustainable society. munication technologies are becoming more
ings elsewhere in the world.
and more “democratic” and available to the
2_Education and Learning average person.
With the emergence of pervasive digital me-
dia and networked communication, the way
Today, the MIT initiative One Laptop Per Child
Change
today’s youth access information, create and
(OLPC) aims to break the digital divide by
share knowledge is changing dramatically. At The questions we seek to answer are: Can
giving millions of laptops to children around
the same time, we observe a change in the we imagine how education will be in twenty
the world (http://laptop.org/). Increased
way the younger sectors of society interact years’ time? How can our educational system
broadband connectivity and wide-range Wi-Fi
with their institutions and governments. best prepare our children and society in gen-
Brescia Project Framework

becoming contextualized and globalized.
broadband aim to challenge the digital divide
in rural areas. Governmental free access or
Learning
ad-hoc mesh networking system aim to pro-
vide ubiquitous free access to the network for From a theoretical point of view, the construc-
every citizen. tionist notion theorized by Seymour Papert is
key to the understanding the future of educa-
If we consider how many people today actu- tion. His constructionist concept goes back
ally have a career in the field for which they to Jean Piaget’s theory of constructivism: if
studied while at school, we will realized that we think of the educational process, we have
only a small minority can prove continuity to consider that knowledge cannot be simply
between school, learning, and occupation in transmitted from a person to another with-
today’s education system. We see then, that out a active and in depth processing of the
the educational system has difficulties keep- information on the part of the receiver. No
ing up with the rapid changes in the specific form of knowledge can be transmitted as a
cultural and knowledge needs of our societies: “precooked” entity that the receiver can use as
thus, learning to learn is crucial. they received it. Knowledge and information
must necessarily pass through the receiver’s
personal interpretation: this process is based
Learning is gradually changing in our society
upon personal experience and is filtered by
today; from a vertical relationship between
the interactions of people with other people,
teacher and student, we are shifting to a hori-
with the world, with objects and artifacts. The
zontal structure where learners and teachers
act of teaching and of transmitting knowledge
are more closely and collaboratively involved
does not occur in a direct, vertical, frontal pas-
in the learning process. The older structur-
sage, but instead always takes place following
ally closed environment, such as “class” within
an appropriating process. As Piaget puts it,
schools, or “family” and domestic walls are
teaching is always an indirect process--the
gradually disappearing, and learning is now
35

to learn. In this way, the teacher is no longer
one learning processes always the information
the owner and transmitter of knowledge, but
with their own mental categories, with stock
rather a guide that helps the students; if we
of knowledge and their own personal experi-
think of the concept of a house then perhaps
ences.
students can access the Internet and build
their own idea of a house. They can discover
According to these principles, learning takes
for themselves how the Eskimos live at the
place when the person is actively involved in
Pole, how nomad populations live in the Af-
the processing of the information they receive
rican desert, how some people live in Venice,
and consequently adapting into their com-
and others in New York’s skyscrapers, and
prehension schemes. For instance, we can
thereby build their own idea of a house. This
imagine teaching the concept of a house: in
is the process Jean Piaget defines as construc-
the traditional scholastic system, the teacher
tivist.
transmits the information to a “passive” class/
mass of students that memorize the content
Seymour Paper adds to this active learning
with which they are presented. The teacher
process the idea of construction. The learning
will therefore say that the house has windows
process is supported by the construction of
and walls, rooms with different functions,
artifacts, objects or entities that become real
etc. The teacher is, in this case, the one who
in the outside world. Mental and material con-
has the knowledge and that transmits it to
structions feed each other creating a circular
the passive listeners. However, in the case
dynamics that crystallize the learning process.
of active teaching, on the contrary, we can
In short, the learning process takes place not
say that the teacher does not transmit their
only when the one who’s learning is actively
knowledge, but rather they lead the students
building their learning and processing infor-
to the personal construction of a knowledge
mation, but also when they are expressing
path, stimulating them to discover by them-
the information to the outside world through
selves the concept of what they are engaged
Brescia Project Framework

simple building as cultivating a garden), and be different from traditional approaches while
the construction of an “entity”. The learning
by asking questions about the methods and simultaneously favoring real scholastic reform.
process is based on the internalization of the
material used.”
external information and by the externaliza-
The MIT Media Lab future of Learning direc-
tion of the internal information, in a cyclic per-
Environments tor, David Cavallo, proposed Emergent De-
petual shape. If we consider the example of
sign as an innovative educational approach:
the house, students will not only be engaged When the educational system questions
emergent design does not aim to accept
in the active construction of the information, how it can design a better learning environ-
everything that comes from the “bottom”,
but to complete the learning process, they ment and pedagogical programs, it generally
instead it systematically bases itself upon the
will also have to “build a house” (be it through searches for the answer in the application of
an highly structured teaching program, in the differences of teachers and students in order
the means of their computers, Legos, sand,
to trace the guidelines of teaching programs
paper and pencil, or with any form or material creation of a precise pedagogical curriculum
with standard procedures and universal teach- and learning principles. The Emergent De-
that allows them to express their knowledge),
sign approach fulfills these philosophical and
constructing a sharable artifact. ing disciplines that can be applied to every
practical requirements. This concept promotes
situation and place. However, this top-down
process in which the bureaucratic system does those learning environments that act and de-
Papert himself writes, “Thus, constructionism,
velop according to the needs of the learners
my personal reconstruction of constructivism, not take into consideration local and diversi-
fied peculiarities that characterize the territory without planning all the learning activities in a
has as its main feature the fact that it looks
of a nation or the specific needs of the people central way, according to the top-down mod-
more closely than other educational –ism at
el. At the same time, this disciplinary approach
the idea of mental construction. It attaches to whom the teaching is directed. This ap-
underlines specific methodologies, targeted
special importance to the role of construc- proach seems obsolete to us, and in any case
it is not exhaustive as for the role of the educa- educational activities, concrete means and
tions in the world as a support for those in
tion system or the needs of learning in present examples that characterize collaborative en-
the head, thereby becoming less of a purely
vironments and learning forms. In this sense,
mentalist doctrine. It also takes the idea of societies.
applying a curriculum and following a priori
constructing in the head more seriously by Within this context we need an innovative
issues without taking into consideration local
recognizing more than one kind of construc- approach to the designing of learning envi-
issues or the needs of those who are deeply
tion (some of them as fare as removed from ronment and pedagogical programs; it must
37

of skills so that students can transform their
culture. In this process, students learn starting
involved in the learning process is not only
knowledge into something different. Through
from their local culture, from their interests
against the basic premise of the pedagogy of
computational tools, learners design and
and their knowledge. They build bridges and
education, but it is also a model that is unable
construct and thereby generalize the forms of
paths between fields of knowledge that once
to benefit from all the advantages that can be
the knowledge they posses. Developing tech-
were differentiated and then finally learners
brought by technologies.
nological fluency enables students to break
liberate their local knowledge from its specific
out of a specific context and represent their
embodiment. In this phase of change, the role
Designing for this dialectical tension requires
knowledge in forms that they can draw on in
played by new technologies is fundamental.
something vastly different than previous
many contexts. The concept of Emergent De-
design methodologies. In this case, we are
sign, in the end, emphasizes a dynamic reso-
For example, let us consider the case of the
designing where human use and appropria-
nance amongst the particular needs, the local
book. We can remember how the invention
tion is the critical element and is unpredict-
of the book stratified the access to knowledge culture and the social knowledge combined
able. Thus, the design must enable a wide
separating learning from practice thus turning with the principles of learning environment
range of possibilities, must be able to adapt
“learning from doing” into “learning from read- and adaptable and programmable technologi-
the situation, must be appropriable, and must
cal tools.
ing”. On the other hand, the book divided the
deal with dynamic change. According to this
audience into groups of defined ages to which
approach, the learning environment design
3_Problems and General
information is given. Television has changed
must leave a series of opportunities open and
this model by spreading the same message to
it must be able to fit to the different complex
Issues
a differentiated public; communication dy-
and local situations, constantly negotiat-
namics in information highways have led to a
ing its own forms with the emerging social
further evolution in this paradigm. Communi- Sustainability
dynamics. There is the need of favoring the
cation technologies and robotics thus become The younger population is not aware of sus-
methodologies that can design collaborative
transitional objects that mediate the relation- tainable development problems.
environments that are extremely sensitive to
ships between learners, the world, and their
the needs emerging from the “bottom”, from The goal is to improve younger population
experience in the learning process. The role
those who have to learn, combining learn- traffic and pollution awareness, and to provide
of computer in this process is to provide a set
ing environment design techniques and local tools to understand how this affects their life
Brescia Project Framework

and the communities in which they live.
Governmental communication
Media Government broadcasts to youth are often
Cyber-bullying, misbehavior and youtube not heard or ignored. Government cannot
posting in classrooms show that society’s always adopt quickly enough to the rapid life-
youth use and master new media, but not for style changes of the youth. Social broadcasts
a socially beneficial purpose. are not heard enough
Violence Democracy
The younger population likes to show off by Youth are not involved in their communities;
posting violent videos. This is not compatible there is no active participation or expression
with a community life. of opinion. Youth need to see results come
from their actions and behaviors, and be reas-
General Communication sured that they have the power to bring about
change
Rural areas are isolated and poly-centric;
mobile connection and Wi-Fi / ubiquitous
Societal awareness
connectivity can help rural areas to be better
integrated. Youth are disconnected from each Awareness of the distance between people’s
other in rural areas and cannot coordinate to judgment on youth and youth actual partici-
save resources. pation into society.
Visualization Public space
Understanding and visualizing concepts is key Urban spaces don’t take full advantage of new
to understand sustainable and socially ori- interactive media and electronics capabilities.
ented issues. Visualize to understand and to
People’s Needs
behave differently.
39

4_Suitable Areas of Intervention
- People need to be part of the community
- People need to be responsible for something
bigger than the single, individual human - To increase civic engagement
- People need to be connected with other - To empower users with new media
people - To increase sense of community and belonging to a local territory
- People need to be recognized by the society - To support the local environment
- People need to understand the world that - To explore the potential for mobile communication
surrounds them - To engage citizens in supporting and participating in governmental affairs
- People need to see the impact of their action - To increase the information flow throughout communities and society
in the society - To explore new sustainable living practices for a mobile generation
- People need a feeling of success - To support social spaces
- People need to rediscover the values of inter- - To help to eliminate physical barriers to youth cooperation and collaboration
acting in physical space - To explore the potentialities of ubiquitous connectivity
- People need to be aware of their resources - To enhancing the city-scape itself through new social interactions via digital architecture
and their potential to improve living condi- - To explore potential of embedded electronics in the urban environment
tions
- People need to be aware of their resources
and their potential to improve living condi-
tions
Brescia Project Framework

5_Main Design Directions they have an understanding of the value of
their actions.
Complexity / Simplicity
Promote Social and Civic Engagement
Avoid complex architectures, information
As a way to establish positive connections
flows and interaction, and find the simplest,
between youth and territory, and especially
but not simplistic, way to delivery appropriate
actively engage youth in local issues.
and pertinent information.
Local / Global
Balance local versus global needs and action,
moving toward a loco-centric vision that con-
sider global issues
Electronic Information / Urban Space
Optimize synergies between the urban build
space with electronic and sensing capabilities,
and with the ubiquitous distributed connec-
tivity.
Playful Learning
With digital media learning can be creative
and engaging.
Empowering Youth
Actively engage youth in a way that they can
see the results and impact of their action and
41

6_Technology The alternative is that we can also provide
mobile phones ourselves, which may allow for
Recommendations more mobile, rich experiences.
. Portable Device: User-provided phones are ideal for:
mobile phones / PDAs / laptops - scenarios where the usefulness grows as the
. Location Awareness and Positioning: number of users grows – this is particularly
semacode / tags / GPS true of social networks and user-contributed
. Web/Internet content
. GPRS - needing to “search for” information,
. Wi-Fi - needing information interjected in one’s
. RFID daily life – “agent” systems (ambient Intelli-
. Bluetooth gence);
. LCD projectors, connected to a network for - where true mobility is required (the standard
dynamic content phone user today will rarely use tethering
. Interactive Media Terminals technologies like Bluetooth on the go)
Portable Device Customized-provided phones are ideal for;
Mobile platforms are quickly becoming a - projects that require rich visualization of data
dominant means of communication and in- - needing to “browse” or “explore” information
formation synthesis. We have two paths here. spaces
The first is that we can assume every user has - projects where it is necessary to have all
a mobile phone and design for a common members on a “level playingfield” (for in-
subset of mobile technologies – this leads to stance, learning environments, a professional
text and speech dominated interfaces, due to workflow tool or a mobile game)
a lack of standard mobile GUI technologies, - rich mobile collaboration
and leads to reliance on the phone network.
Brescia Project Framework

could be explored further in this context.
- situations where mobility can be traded off between phones and central servers as a
for richness of experience network communication over telecoms net-
As for GPS, we can see that the game FRE- works. GPRS also has powerful bandwidth
QUENCY 1550 played with Nokia phones
PDAs are suited particularly well for controlled capabilities (though not yet at Wi-Fi speeds),
using GPS was able to be deployed city-wide
environments, such as the Exploratorium’s and it is a technology being strongly pushed
while still allowing teams to keep track of each
indoor exhibit space [http://www.explorato- by telecoms such that phone companies can
other’s members. That awareness lead to a
rium.edu/guidebook/]. They allow for rich sell “data plans.” This is an effort that will likely
richer and truly mobile experience. GPS will
multimedia interaction and a controlled ex- succeed, because unlike Wi-Fi, GPRS is a truly
be useful as a tool for students to understand
perience, but lack the true mobility of mobile diffused mobile technology – anywhere I can
context and the context of his/her peers, with
phones (for instance, while they were used in get a cell phone signal, I can get GPRS mobile
the caveat that GPS will not work indoors.
outdoor games like Savannah [http://www. communication. GPRS is still not present in
mobilebristol.co.uk/Savannah.html], those all user provided phones, but is more com-
Web/Internet
games took place in a space on the order of mon than Wi-Fi, and can be easily added for
meters, not kilometers.) We predict giving – or purposes of experiment by swapping a user’s
Websites are useful in a mobile scenario for
worse, lending – students PDAs is not particu- SIM card or adding data privileges to a phone
before and after an event/keeping in touch.
larly empowering and will not support the account. It’s most prohibitive feature, in our
They may also be useful for creating interfaces
sort of permanent change in lifestyle we hope opinion, is cost, but it could be deployed both
that encourage changes to one’s mobility.
to affect. in a controlled environment and with a subset
While the phone will increase in importance,
of user provided phones.
we believe the traditional web will not fully go
Location Awareness and Positioning away anytime soon – rather, mobile technol-
Wi-Fi
ogy can strengthen the usefulness, accurate-
Mobile photo-tagging technology was pres-
ness and richness of web information resourc-
ent in some projects, particularly the mGBL Wi-Fi is beginning to be used as a communica-
es such as those provided by the Province.
(mobile game based learning) initiative. tion framework between phones and standard
The ability for people to annotate the world PCs and the Internet. It is already the standard
GPRS
around them is a very empowering one, and for research projects using PDAs, but we have
the uses of this technology are something that largely ruled out PDAs for our work. Wi-Fi has
GPRS is increasingly becoming a standard
43

themselves).
mobile environment – its users must all carry
very powerful bandwidth capabilities, but
around something with an RFID chip, perhaps
we cannot assume everyone’s user-provided
LCD Projectors
the phone itself. Indeed, in the Exploratorium
phone will have Wi-Fi in the next 3-5 years,
project where this was tried, RFID readers had
particularly as telecoms invest in their own Projectors are finally to the point of affordabil-
to be built into each exhibit and controlled
GPRS and other data-rich mobile networks. ity where they can be deployed on a wide-
PDAs were used for input/output.
Moreover, Wi-Fi must be deployed everywhere scale in the urban landscape. A 4,000 Lumen
we want people to be, and thus is a tethering projector with high definition like the ones
Bluetooth
technology in the sense that it cannot com- used for Graffiti Research Lab’s Interactive Ar-
municate with a central server without having chitecture or TXTual Healing can be acquired
Bluetooth is useful as a common communica-
the user within the 100M radius or so of the for as low as 3-4,000 US$. They’re particularly
tion framework between phones themselves
Wi-Fi router. useful for scenarios where you expect people
as well as between phones and static base
to move to a static location or perhaps be-
stations. However, Bluetooth is limited in
RFID tween static locations. A projector can easy
range to 30meters and, when used with a
be hooked up to a standard server with all
user-provided phone, often has issues estab-
RFID allows one to encode and exchange
software configured remotely, and the combi-
information digitally through short-wave radio lishing initial connections due to overzealous
nation can be hidden and secured in a public
“pairing” security.” Bluetooth may be useful in
frequency communication. It is particularly
place for the purposes of displaying dynamic
a controlled setting but has some risks in the
useful when one wants to exchange private
content. Is possible to imagine a truly innova-
information with a trusted source (as opposed true mobile environment. For creating ad-
tive use of LCD projectors.
hoc networks between phones, Bluetooth is
to a publicly visible semacode), but has not
yet been proven useful in establishing ad-hoc particularly useful in decentralized research.
Interactive Media Terminals
However, we currently envision a central
networks.
server model for our collaborative groupings
RFID can blend more gracefully into a physi- Media terminals such as those used in the In-
of students, even if said central server model
cal architecture, often being concealed from teractive Bus project and at interactive kiosks
is completely invisible to the user (that is, they
the human eye, an advantage over Sema- that one might see in a museum have the ad-
simply log in to the same piece of software
code. However the hardware requirements of vantage of very rich media – you can have not
and draw the connections between users
RFID make it difficult to integrate in an urban only textual input and output, but webcam
Brescia Project Framework

technologies to promote social sustainability
input, touch input, speaker output, sensor
and cultural enrichment for location-based
input…anything you can imagine hooked up
communities.
to a physical machine. Presently the biggest
Second, we need to explore innovative
limitation of such terminals is that they are
designs for embedding electronics into the
not mobile at all – they can be used as base
urban fabric, as well as into the public trans-
stations to augment or report on the mobile
portation system, so that they may promote
experience, but they cannot be called on at
ubiquitous accessibility to information, cul-
a moment’s notice. Moreover, they are not
ture and knowledge.
a readily scalable technology – most urban
kiosks even in museum exhibits can only us-
The ultimate goal of the project is to imagine
ably be operated by a few people at time.
how new media and mobile technologies
Conclusions can increase the awareness of the younger
population to environmental problems, fos-
ter learning and their civic engagement.
In order to promote learning and civic en-
gagement through new media, per initial hy-
pothesis, we have identified two main areas
for design intervention:
1 – information / communication;
2 – urban space;
First, we need to innovatively imagine new
forms of communication and services to
foster learning, knowledge and social inclu-
sion. In particular, we need to investigate
the use of new media and communication
45

Brescia Project Inspirational Material

INSPIRATIONAL MATERIAL
47

PocketPCs, PDA, Wi-Fi (WLAN)
incorporating mobile technology in the class-
To inform our research and design, we identi-
room, to support the instructional process, the
fied similar projects around the world that
URL:
assessment of educational contents included
address issues similar to ours. These projects
http://www.mobilelearning.cl/eng/index.html
in the school curriculum and the teacher’s role
are detailed in the follow section, organized
http://edunova.cl/
regarding the classroom management.
according to the following categories:
(2) Design, assess and develop a software
environment easy to use for teachers and stu-
- Mobile learning
dents, which allows its immediate use within
- Mixed reality
the classroom or in any place.
- Participatory media
(3) Design, develop and support logistics for
- Transportation
the use and management of technology in
- Play
each school.
1_Mobile Learning (4) Develop strategies to transfer this technol-
ogy to teachers and students, for an adequate
assimilation by the school system.
Mobile Technology in the Classroom
(5) Design and develop educational contents
by
based on new ways of working and collabora-
Edunova
tion in the classroom and to assess its impact
on learning.
Description:
Mobile technologies (PDA) used in classroom
Impact:
by teachers and students. PocketPCs are
This model allows to use technology inside
shared between different grades and classes
the classroom, increasing coverage, since each
diminishing the cost per student ratio.
student has access to his/her own device.
Objectives:
Enabling Technologies:
(1) To improve the learning of students, by
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

Electronic Guidebook Research
Project
by
Exploratorium, in collaboration with HP Labs.
Description:
tion and context for the exhibits and suggest-
The Electronic Guidebook is an Explorato-
ing new avenues for experimentation), and
rium research project investigating the use
after the visit (allowing additional reflection
of handheld computing devices and wireless
and analysis).
networks to support a richer learning experi-
ence for science museum visitors.
Impact:
In collaboration with HP Labs.
Interactive RFID-enhanced museum exhibits
let visitors continue their scientific exploration
Objectives:
beyond the museum’s walls. But museums
The project focused on investigating the
must still help them understand the technol-
applications of wireless handheld devices
ogy and address their data privacy concerns.
with the greatest potential for inspiring more
in-depth learning and reflection about the
Enabling Technologies:
exhibits and related phenomena. Specifically,
Java, PDA, website, Wi-Fi, RFID
the primary goal was to explore ways that
the technology could expand the boundar-
URL:
ies of the museum visit for the key audiences,
http://www.exploratorium.edu/guidebook/
including activities taking place before arrival
at the museum (e.g., using a computer to plan
a visit or provide orientation and background),
during the visit (providing additional informa-
49

MOBILern Java, PDA, website, Wi-Fi, Tablet
- Human interfaces adaptive to the mobile
device in use and the nature (e.g. bandwidth,
by
URL:
cost) of the ambient intelligence that is avail-
MOBILern Project Consortium
http://www.mobilearn.org/
able in a given location;
http://www.mobilearn.org/results/results.htm
- Context-awareness tools for exploiting con-
Description:
text and capturing learning experience;
This project explores new ways to use mobile
- Integration of mobile media delivery and
environments to meet the needs of learners,
learning content management systems;
working by themselves and with others.
Collaborative learning applications for mobile
MOBIlearn is a worldwide European-led
environments.
research and development project explor-
(3) The development of a business model and
ing context-sensitive approaches to informal,
associated implementation strategies for suc-
problem-based and workplace learning by
cessful EU-wide deployment of mobile learn-
using key advances in mobile technologies.
ing, starting from:
- A study of existing business models and
Objectives:
market trends;
(1) The definition of theoretically-supported
- An appraisal of the external environment.
and empirically-validated models for:
Large-scale use of project results by all inter-
- Effective learning/teaching/tutoring in a
ested parties in Europe.
mobile environment;
- Instructional design and eLearning content
Impact:
development for mobile learning.
This project explores new ways to use mobile
environments to meet the needs of learners,
(2) The development of a reference mobile
working by themselves and with others
learning architecture that is attractive to key
actors in Europe and beyond, and that sup-
Enabling Technologies:
ports:
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

2_Mixed Reality improves digital literacy skills. Creating me-
diascapes can give an introduction to ideas of
logic and programming.
Creat-A-Scape
by
Impact:
Edunova
This software enriches the experience of being
in a physical location by augmenting a child’s
Description:
perception with multimedia traces left by
Using a special free software, you can tag a
other children, and allowing the children to
map with media files or additional informa-
interact through saving multimedia.
tion, transfer it to your PDA and use the infor-
mation/media files at the right location where
Enabling Technologies:
the information belongs to by using GPS.
GPS, PC, PDA, Internet
Objectives:
URL:
(1) Mediascapes are excellent tools for devel-
http://www.createascape.org.uk/
oping cross-curricular and collaborative activ-
ity, as they link subjects in a meaningful way,
they also encourages collaborative work and
skill-sharing.
(2) Mediascapes encourage new interactions
with the environment - they give a new per-
spective on the space in which they are set,
especially those that tell hidden histories.
(3) All age groups can engage with making
and using mediascapes.
(4) The process of producing mediascapes
51

TXTual Healing is to engage an audience to think about the
physical spaces we move through, live in and
by
share.
Futurelab, mscape, with DCSF and HP Labs
Enabling Technologies:
Description:
Mobile, Laptop, LCD Projector
The public audience receives a flyer with a cell
number and simple instructions. A participant
URL:
sends a text message to the provided phone
http://www.txtualhealing.com/
number and it is then displayed inside the
speech bubble. Multiple bubbles may be used
and the audience can direct their input to a
specific bubble.
Objectives:
The artist is trying to address public versus
private space and what kind of dialogue might
transpire if we shared out private thoughts.
The piece was designed to encourage play,
idea sharing, thought, discourse, and enter-
tainment.
Impact:
The piece explores the use of mobile technol-
ogy to trigger dialogue, action and create
content for a staged public performance. By
using the facade of a building the intention
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

Handheld Augmented Reality virtual teaching environment?
Simulations (3) Develop a platform for mobile educational
games that can be played in physical environ-
by
ments by a group of students.
MIT Teacher Education Program, with The
Education Arcade
Impact:
The project innovates in its ability to allow
Description:
entire classes to play such a game with each
One of the games, Environmental Detectives
other and learn person to person from each
(ED), is an outdoor game in which players
other’s independent actions with the virtual
using GPS guided handheld computers try
environment. It is the game design that forces
to uncover the source of a toxic spill by inter-
such person to person action, not allowing
viewing virtual characters and conducting
electronic person to person communication.
large scale simulated environmental measure-
ments and analyzing data.
Enabling Technologies:
Another games, Charles River City (CRC), a sec-
PDA, Wi-Fi, computer
ond generation outdoor GPS based game, and
Outbreak @ MIT (O@MIT), an indoor client-
URL:
server based game that opens new opportuni-
http://education.mit.edu/ar/
ties for educational AR games.
Objectives:
(1) How can technology be used to make
educational activities more engaging? More
interactive?
(2) How can augmented reality be used to
combine real-world teamwork exercises with a
53

Savannah
URL:
by
http://www.mobilebristol.co.uk/Savannah.
Futurelab, with BBC Natural History Unit,
html
Mobile Bristol, Nottingham University Mixed
Reality Lab
Description:
Savannah is a collaborative project that ex-
plores whether children can learn about ecol-
ogy and ethology by ‘being an animal’.
The idea of the game is for participants to
learn what it is like to be a lion by walking
around in a virtual Savannah and encounter-
ing sounds of other animals or things in the
environment.
Objectives:
The project is motivated by the question of
what innovation and creativity mobile tech-
nologies and rich media delivery can bring to
ways of learning in a game play environment.
The project also brings together collaboration
across different sectors.
Enabling Technologies:
PDA, Wi-Fi, website
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

3_Participatory Media 3) Full-fledged participatory news sites (Ohm-
example is StumbleUpon.
yNews)
• Social networks amplified by informa-
4) Collaborative and contributory media sites
tion and communication networks enable
Wikipedia has the following definitions:
(Slashdot, Kuro5hin)
broader, faster, and lower cost coordination
5) Other kinds of “thin media.” (mailing lists,
of activities. This is an economic and political
Participatory Media include, but aren’t lim-
email newsletters)
characteristic.
ited to, blogs, wikis, RSS, tagging and social
6) Personal broadcasting sites (video broad-
bookmarking, multimedia sharing, mashups,
cast sites such as (KenRadio).
Wikipedia also has the following definition of
podcasts, and participatory video projects.
Citizen Journalism:
These distinctly different media share three
Citizen journalism, also known “participatory
common, interrelated characteristics:
journalism,” or “people journalism” is the act of
citizens “playing an active role in the process
• Many-to-many media now make it
of collecting, reporting, analyzing and dis-
possible for every person connected to the
seminating news and information.”
network to broadcast and receive text, im-
ages, audio, video, software, data, discussions,
Online Journalism Review classifies media for
transactions, computations, tags, or links to
citizen journalism into the following types:
and from every other person. The asymmetry
between broadcaster and audience that was
1) Audience participation (such as user com-
dictated by the structure of pre-digital tech-
ments attached to news stories, personal
nologies dictated has changed radically. This is
blogs, photos or video footage captured from
a technical-structural characteristic.
personal mobile cameras, or local news writ-
• Participatory media are social media
ten by residents of a community)
whose value and power derives from the
2) Independent news and information Web-
active participation of many people. This is a
sites (Consumer Reports, the Drudge Report)
psychological and social characteristic. One
55

Voices of Africa nomic pressures otherwise.
by
Impact:
Africa News, Africa Interactive
It is now possible for Africans to send articles
and images (still and moving) about events
Description:
taking place in their countries without using
In each African country, a number of skilful
a computer and without having traditional
(young) men and women (with the help of
internet connection. Under those circum-
a local coordinator) are equipped with high-
stances, the bigger the number of people
technology mobile phones (with a small fold-
expressing their opinions through that tech-
able keyboard) where a special piece of soft-
nology, the stronger becomes democracy, and
ware is installed to permit direct uploads of
the more valuable is the contribution to good
photos, texts and videos to the Skoeps server,
governance efforts in Africa.
from where they are transferred to the Africa
Interactive website for publication.
Enabling Technologies:
web content management system, public and
Objectives:
private-facing websites for content review/ap-
Develop a central news organization in a place
proval, direct server for mobile upload, GPRS,
where people are as distributed as Africa to
Nokia E61 mobile phones with integrated
report on issues that affect Africans in diaspo-
image/video cameras, attachable foldable
rate parts of a given country/region.
keyboards
Empower citizens of corrupt parts of Africa to
directly record and report news to the Inter-
URL:
net, where it cannot be filtered.
http://www.africanews.com/site/page/voice-
Give Africa the opportunity to develop a cul-
sofafrica
ture that is tech-savvy and motivated to make
positive changes to society despite socioeco-
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

4_Transportation system is mobile and it`s possible to reach
working with learndirect to deliver a variety of
more people than a “static location“.
online courses.
By “funtasy bus“, the youth center intends
(3) The New Beginnings Bus :
Mobile Classroom in a Bus
to give the opportunity to youth to do own
The project aims to assist adults aged (16-90)
by
video and photoprojects. The target group
who did not pass the standard test. The learn-
various
are youth that can`t afford the a computer or
ers practise basic skills following an individual
digital cameras but are really interested in this
needs assessment and work at their own pace
Description:
field of working. The youth can get experience
toward the ‘Skills For Life’ tests. Upon comple-
Three projects to bring education to the peo-
in different workflows and have a sense of
tion exit routes are offered to enable learners
ple in a more physical way. Every project has
achievement.
to continue their education and achieve a
a bus with laptops, printers and teachers on
Level 1 or Level 2 Skills For Life qualification.
board to give access to online classes which
Enabling Technologies:
(4) The Funtasybus:
can be participated from everywhere.
Laptops, website, Wi-Fi, digital cameras/cam-
A youth center supports and offers projects
corders, bus
within the field of photography and vidopro-
(1) The learningbus:
duction through a fully equipped bus. The bus
Climb aboard our blue and red Metro bus – in
URL:
got 3 eMacs, 2 Power eBooks G 4, 3 digital vid-
a previous life a standard passenger vehicle –
The Learningbus
eocameras, 5 digital photocameras and music
but now a state of the art mobile classroom.
http://www.learningbus.org.uk/
recording equipment.
The aim is to bring computer training to work-
Cyberlink Bus
ers who wouldn’t normally get to use a PC or
http://www.itwales.com/998222.htm
Objectives:
laptop during the course of their working day.
The New Beginning Bus
The aim of “learning bus“, “Cyberlink bus“ and
(2) Cyberlink bus:
http://www.cucst.org.uk/nb_adult_learn-
“New Beginnings Bus“ is almost the same: to
The Cyberlink bus is one of a network of learn-
ing_3_07.htm
give access to knowledge (traditional teaching
direct learning centres throughout Wales. The
The Funtasy Bus
as well as web based) to a class of population
centre provides a variety of training courses
http://edublog-phr.kaywa.ch/medienpaeda-
which wants to learn but can`t afford it (mon-
with the aim of helping individuals through-
gogik/dsc00309.html
ey, time...) thru the “bus location“ the whole
out the community. The centre has been
57

5_Play
URL:
http://www.mg-bl.com/index.php
mGBL (mobile Game-Based Learning)
by
eleven partner organizations from Austria,
Croatia, Great Britain, Italy, and Slovenia
Description:
Studies of different partners in europe to
communicate content from different fields in
an involving and emotional way to younger
people aged 16 - 24 through games on mobile
phones.
Objectives:
Based on innovative methods from the field of
mobile learning and pervasive gaming, new
forms of game-based learning will be devel-
oped. The games address mainly affective and
behavioral learning goals. The mobile phone
will act as trigger for social interactions. mGBL
will contribute new learning models to the
learning and mobile market.
Enabling Technologies:
UMTS, mobile phone, website
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

Frequency 1550 It is a research pilot examining whether it’s
possible to provide a technology supported
by
educational location-based experience.
Waag Society
Enabling Technologies:
Description:
UMTS, GPS, mobile phone, laptop, website
Frequency 1550 is a mobile history game
where students learn about Medieval Amster-
URL:
dam by using mobile technologies.
http://freq1550.waag.org/index.html
For one to two days, players roam through
the city in small groups. GPS makes it possible
to know the position of your team (and of
other players or objects). To prove themselves
the most worthy order of pilgrims, a team
will need to demonstrate their knowledge of
medieval Amsterdam by doing location-based
media-assignments on the city’s history. As
they wander through the streets of medieval
Amsterdam, they get in virtual phone contact
with characters that provide information on
locations and on the strange disappearing of
the holy relic. In the meantime, they’re com-
peting with the other teams. GPS technology
and mobile phones turn the city into a medi-
eval playing-field.
Objectives:
59

MobiMissions participation in a location-based, social,
mobile phone experience, and identify future
by
possibilities for using this technology to sup-
Futurelab
port learning.
Description:
Enabling Technologies:
Teenager using mobile phones and a website
Java, PDA, website
to create missions or games in their city.
In MobiMissions, players create ‘Missions’
URL:
on their mobile phones. Missions consist of
http://www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/mobi-
photographs and text and can be used to set a
missionsv
question or a challenge, make an observation,
etc.
When a player creates a Mission, they ‘drop’ it
from their phone into their current cell. Play-
ers can search their current cell location at any
time to discover any Missions in that cell. Play-
ers can respond to Missions they find, again
using photographs and text. All Missions and
their Responses can be seen on a website,
where users can also leave comments for one
another and rate the quality of each others’
Missions and Responses.
Objectives:
The key aims of the trials were to explore
significant factors affecting young people’s
Brescia Project Inspirational Material

61

Brescia Project Design Interventions

DESIGN INTERVENTIONS
63

The students collaborated in groups from the
beginning of the workshop. For the final pre-
sentation, students divided into four groups
and presented their work classified into four
final themes:
1_Brescia 2.0
An infrastructure of virtual services localized
around bus stops and buses can act as an
open platform for content generation and
sharing.
2_EcoPets
A system of personal interactive accessories
for distributed pollution monitoring, social
networking and transportation can turn sus-
tainable practices into status symbols.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

3_Reconfigured Bus
By reshaping the bus through electronic
games and displays and a reconfiguration of
its physical space, we can make transportation
a more social and playful event.
4_EcoWearables
Responsive tattoos and bracelets can reshape
the dialogue between the bearer and its envi-
ronment for new kinds of social interaction.
65

Brescia Project Design Interventions

BRESCIA 2.0
An infrastructure of virtual services localized around bus THE GOAL of the design exploration, as stat-
ed by the Province of Brescia was to promote
stops and buses can act as an open platform for content learning, sustainability, and civic engagement.
generation and sharing. From this we extracted three specific points
to address. Firstly, we wanted to engage the
young population in civic activities by pro-
moting a stronger sense of identity and asso-
ciation with the Province, and the government
of Brescia. Secondly, by encouraging the use
of public transit, we expected to promote
sustainability as well as public involvement.
Thirdly, throughout the proposed systems, the
spread of information will need to be integrat-
ed in order to incorporate learning and raise
awareness of environmental issues.
The initial design solution proposed by the
Province of Brescia involved displaying con-
tent on screens set up in public places such
as schools in order to post content that the
government would provide. This results in a
restricted one-way interaction between the
people and the government. Our proposal,
in contrast, tries to develop a model for a
public platform to accommodate community-
generated content, and most importantly, a
67

way to access the public sphere via mobile
devices. Our starting premise is that learning
and learning about sustainability comes from
communication between people and between
communities.
1_Overview
Brescia 2.0 is a platform for people to interact
and share information with their community,
and between communities. The Brescia 2.0
system comprises of a web application and
traditional public transportation facilities
augmented with technology to provide con-
nectivity. The web application is accessible
to users with mobile devices and comput-
ers connected to the internet. The system’s
services are location-specific: they are tied to
the public transport system of the province of
Brescia, Italy. In our proposal, we intend to lay
out a layer of services, of virtual infrastructure,
over the existing infrastructure in the Province
of Brescia; thus we decided to name our proj-
ect Brescia 2.0.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Project Goals community building and learning.
• Engage young population in civic activi-
Key Ideas
ties by
(1) encouraging a sense of identity • Public
with the Province of Brescia • Location-specific virtual services revolv-
(2) encouraging the use of public tran- ing around public transportation
sit • One-to-many communication through
• Incorporate Learning component mobile devices
• Raise environmental awareness
System Structure
Our Proposal • Brescia 2.0 Software
• A public platform for community-generat- - MediaWall
ed content - EcoViz: Transit Tree
• A way to access the public sphere via - MediaMappa
mobile devices • Brescia 2.0 Hardware
- Wi-Fi bus
Hypothesis - Wi-Fi enabled bus-stops
• A public platform of location-specific - MediaStaziones
virtual services can reconcile the virtual
and physical dimensions of the city, en-
hancing the experience of the inhabitant
by allowing her/him to access the public
sphere via personal mobile devices.
• Using the public transport system as the
home of these services becomes instru-
mental in attracting populations that
would otherwise use other means of
transportation.
• Participatory dialogue, instead of one-di-
rectional information deployment, fosters
69

Components WiFi Bus
WiFi Bus Stop
MediaStazione
Brescia Project Design Interventions

71

2_System Elements People can use them to post anything from
announcing events to sell/buy to digital graf-
fiti. The Itinerant Posts get collected into the
Software
MediaStazione of the zone. The most visited
In this section we describe the details of the
posts are propagated to all the province, and
software that is downloaded to the users
are displayed in other MediaStaziones, and
phone. We imagine that this software is usu-
the buses.
ally inactive, but will “wake-up” when the user
is in the vicinity of a bus station, or inside a
EcoViz. By displaying the usage of public
bus. We imagine this software to be distrib-
transportation in the form of a growing tree,
uted freely to the public.
the User Tree intends to raise consciousness
about the positive impact of public transpor-
MediaWall
tation on the environment. A calculation of
The first component is the virtual bulletin
the CO2 savings that are achieve (under the
board, where people can post content that
assumption that users in the public transpor-
will become attached to the physical space.
tation are not using private means of trans-
The Province of Brescia has a very visual cul-
portation) could reinforce the message.
ture; the graffiti in the streets are important,
and the walls are all covered with posts. These
MediaMappa is a google-maps-inspired utility
were the inspiration for our idea: we want to
that displays information on the bus system,
create a virtual parallel, with government-
of contacts that are within the system, and
related content.
of user-generated space tags. By allowing
MediaWalls are a virtual boards that are acces-
people to interact remotely with each other
sible by users in the system through their mo-
and with the city, the project adds value to the
bile devices via Wi-Fi. The content is posted by
experience of using the transport system.
the users from within the stations. MediaWalls
do not support a specific type of content.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

73

Brescia Project Design Interventions

75

Brescia Project Design Interventions

Connecting Virtual and Physical MediaStazione
MediaStaziones are public installations or
The figure to the left shows how the virtual
data-sculptures located across the province
components are linked with the physical
inside each MediaDistrict. Each MediaStazione
components. The small blue circles are bus
acts as a data collector and display for the
stops. The blue lines are the bus lines, and
bulletin boards (MediaWalls) of its zone, and
the bulletin boards that are located around
different MediaStaziones exchange contents
each one of the bus stops belong to a certain
in accordance to number of hits; most popular
neighborhood which we call a MediaDistrict.
posts will propagate faster. They are intended
Each MediaDistrict will have the third compo-
to be seen as unique icons. This MediaStazi-
nent of our system, the MediaStazione, which
one acts a voronoi-shaped pixel urban screen.
we will discuss below. The basic underlying
It is a screen that dissolves in resolution. The
components are the hubs that we call Media-
goal was to use really cheap materials and
Stazione, which are a sort of data sculpture of
low-technology to create something that is
the community.
compelling. We experimented with extrud-
Hardware ing cells, imagining that maybe some could
become benches, and that the rest might be a
Wi-Fi Buses
wall.
From our user study, the students, coming
from different places, rode different buses
when going to school. The Wi-Fi buses would
present an opportunity for them to communi-
cate while going to school, thus improving the
quality of their ride. This would also provide
them with opportunity to do things that they
usually can’t do for free, like sharing multime-
dia.
77

Construction Precedents
Artopoulos, Giorgos, Stanislav Roudavski (in
alphabetical order) with François Penz, 'Adap-
tive Generative Patters', in Proceedings of The
Second International Conference of the Arab
Society for Computer Aided Architectural De-
sign (ASCAAD 2006), ed. by Jamal Al-Qawasmi
and Zaki Mallasi (Sharjah: The Arab Society for
Com-puter Aided Architectural Design (AS-
CAAD), 2006), pp. 341-362
Strips, cells and patches. A) A cardboard sheet
cut and scored by a laser-cutter and sorted for
assembly. B) Cardboard strips to be assembled
into cell-walls. C) A cell with a cell-skin at-
tached. D) Cells assembled with hot-melt glue
and rein-forced with nuts and bolts. E) A frag-
ment of a cell-patch. F) A cell-patch. (photo-
graphs)
Brescia Project Design Interventions

79

Brescia Project Design Interventions

3_Conclusion lenge in terms of the design of the interface. tion that increases dialogue and participatory
These problems have been described in detail interaction, in which the learning component
by (Knight 2007). However, a quick look at the is implicit in the interaction achieved between
Challenges
telecom business pages predict an imminent the members of a community, and between
The scope of our project did not explore the
wider availability of Wi-Fi connections in mo- different communities.
important issue of content management.
bile phones.
We wish to avoid censorship, and thus we
imagine that a solution might be to provide
Privacy issues arising from the availability of
a very specific system of self-regulation. This
location information in the system (specifically
is unexplored at the current state. For future
in the mediaMappa software) can be ad-
design iterations, a study of Wikipedia peer-
dressed by empowering users with the ability
reviewed co-editorial model could serve as a
to “hide” or be “invisible” such as in web ser-
useful reference.
vices as MSN and Skype.
In terms of technical issues, researchers had
previously pointed out that the shadowing of
Contributions
GPS signal by buildings will make the location
We have proposed a preliminary research,
data difficult to read. This problem has been
system architecture and design proposal for
recently addressed by researchers that have
implementing mobile devices as means of
developed algorithms that clean the signal by
civic engagement and community participa-
disregarding sudden changes in the data.
tion in the Province of Brescia, Italy. In this
proposal, we have given an overview of the
Another technical concern is that not all
available technical possibilities to implement
phones currently on the market are GPS en-
such a system, as well as a series of problems
abled. The screen size and resolution of cur-
and considerations to take into account. We
rent phones (around 320 x 480 in the iPhone,
provide a scalable model for a public interven-
and 240 px x 260 px on a Blackberry) is a chal-
81

Brescia Project Design Interventions

ECOPETS
A system of personal interactive accessories for distributed THE STARTING point for the EcoPet project
for the Province of Brescia is the initial ques-
pollution monitoring, social networking and transportation tion:
can turn sustainable practices into status symbols. ‘How to learn sustainability?’ and ‘How to mak-
ing learning sustainable?’ Our project pro-
vides a response to these questions by focus-
ing on three main objectives: first, to circulate
environmental information through interac-
tive media and objects on distributed net-
works; next, to promote a collective engage-
ment with the city in a playful and personal
way; and lastly, to incorporate active learning
through individual and group participation in
an urban game.
Based on the objectives, we discovered that
one of the most successful ways of imple-
menting a sustainable practice, especially
among the youth, would be to focus on de-
veloping a tool that allows the users to experi-
ence and investigate the city through sustain-
able feedback, and to encourage behavior
that will increase awareness of the environ-
ment using a public media to exchange and
visualize data.
83

Brescia Project Design Interventions

1_Overview 1_System Description
perience and investigate the city with sustain-
able feedback, and we wanted to increase
awareness of the environment using a public
Inspiration Our system comprised of four parts: the Flock,
media to exchange and visualize data.
Our ideas were inspired by previous works by the main database, the EcoPet, the personal
others including emotional objects, personal expressive object, the Fields, interactive public
We started from one screen with top-down in-
objects, environmental sensing devices, and spaces, and the Route, incorporated with the
formation and went to a multitude of smaller
interactive public spaces. One such is the Na- current public transportation system.
feedback systems acting as a collective whole
baztag rabbit by Violet in 2007 that expresses
with a distributed sensor system. We then de- Flock
The We begin with a storyboard of how we imag-
people’s emotion. Another is the common
veloped a web interface illustrating environ-
push pin button, as a personal object that ex- ine the user will interact with the entire sys-
mental data and sounds to encourage conver- game about environmental
Flock is a social networking
presses identity. Thirdly, we looked at Pigeon tem:
sustainability and collective learning organized through the
sations and community-based solutions.
Blog, a project which provides an alternative
distribution of sensory objects using the public
way for people to participate in environmen-
tal air pollution data gathering. The project transportation system.
equips urban homing pigeons with GPS en-
abled electronic air pollution sensing devices
capable of sending real-time location-based
air pollution and image data to an online map-
ping/blogging environment. In our search for
precedent in the design of interactive public
spaces, we looked at “Gamelan Playtime”,
and interactive sounds installation by Arlete
Castelo and Melissa Mongiat in 2006.
Approach
We wanted to provide a tool for users to ex-
85
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen

This is Marco.
He used to wait at the bus station with nothing to do. … and download sounds onto his mobile phone.
Now he uses Eco-Pet ...
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
This is Marco. He used to wait at the bus sta- Now he uses EcoPet... ... to access the Flock system and download
tion with nothing to do. sounds onto his mobile phone.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Marco gets on the bus, using Eco-Pet as a pass.
He downloads the latest remixes from Flock artists. Eco-Pet even measures the levels of pollution in the air so it
Marco posts an audio response to his favorite one. helps Marco learn about his environment. When Marco arrives at school, he sees his friends.
They all have Eco-Pets.
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
Marco gets on the bus, using EcoPet as a pass. Marco uses EcoPet to collaborate with Flock EcoPet begins to blink and shiver, sensing ris-
He downloads the latest remixes from Flock members and sty in touch with friends. He ing pollution. EcoPet helps Marco think about
artists. Marco posts an audio response to his has even customized it to show his village and how much the air quality impacts his health.
favorite one. his favorite football team.
EcoPet even measures the levels of pollution When Marco arrives at school, he sees his
in the air so it helps Marco learn about his friends. They all have EcoPets.
environment.
87

Marco tells his friends about the great new remix he heard on the bus. They The Eco-Pets ‘sense’ each other and begin to sing.
They go to the school web screen to see the pollution levels
show him where go to record new environmental sounds. Soon, Marco’s Eco-Pet regains its strength.
and sounds from around the province.
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
They go to the school web screen to see the Marco tells his friends about the great new The EcoPets sense each other and begin
pollution levels and sounds from around the remix he heard on the bus. They show him to sing. Soon, Marco’s EcoPet regains its
province. where to go to record new environmental strength.
sounds.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

After class, the friends go to a bus stop where Marco uploads the Marco’s Eco-Pet begins to chirp. It’s identified one of his
sounds he recorded. favorite remix artists.
Marco’s collected 30 minutes of sound, The group begins to play the sounds of the city using the interactive field. She’s a classmate! And a new friend!
enough for a free ticket to Milan! Together, they’re creating their own remixes.
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
Now that his EcoPet is healthy again, he uses The group begins to play the sounds of the Marco’s EcoPets begins to chirp. It’s identified
it to record the sounds of his friends laughing. city using the interactive field. Together, one of his favorite remix artists. She’s a class-
It’ll sound great in a remix. they’re creating their own remixes. mate! And a new friend!
After class, the friends go to a bus stop where
Marco uploads the sounds he recorded. Mar-
co’s collected 30 minutes of sound, enough for
a free ticket to Milan!
89

Flock
Flock is a social networking game about
environmental sustainability and collective
learning organized through the distribution of
sensory objects using the public transporta-
tion system. Flock is the main database used
to store environmental information and ex-
change it among the users. At the same time
it is a social networking game about environ-
mental sustainability and collective learning
organized through the distribution of sensory
objects using the public transportation sys-
tem. The Flock system as a whole is acces-
sible through a web-interface and distributed
screens.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

91
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Eco-Pet: emotions and actions
EcoPet
EcoPets are personal, emotional and environ-
mental sensitivehealthy
feels objects combined with bus
Low pollution pass for public transportation. The object is
carried in the city attached to something like a
mobile phone or backpack. The device con-
• monthly transportation pass
tinuously measures the level of air pollution
• records location-based sounds wh
in the environment. The EcoPet responds to
the level • registers location-based pollution le
of air pollution using sound and light
and when them with sounds
carried in healthy environments, it
can be used as sound recorder for the distribu-
tion of sounds throughout the flock system. amon
• sings when happy and when
The EcoPet shows its emotions and actions
as by serving different functions depending
on its environment. The practical function as
a monthly transportation pass is constant re-
gardless of state, but when the EcoPet senses
feels unhealthy
High pollution that the environment has low pollution, then
it feels healthy and records location-based
sounds when activated, it registers location-
• monthly transportation pass
based pollution levels and associates them
with sounds, and it sings when it is happy pollution
• registers location-based
among other EcoPets.
• sings among other Eco-Pets
When the EcoPet senses high pollution and
feels unhealthy, it registers location-based pol-
lution levels, and sings among other EcoPets.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

The Eco-Pet: technical specifications
93
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Interactive field
Fields
The Fields are the interactive public spaces
where users can exchange and play with
the recorded sounds of the city. The Fields
visualize location-based sounds that can be
downloaded. Individuals can interact, play
and create mashups with recorded sounds of
the city. Community-based sounds can be
synchronized with local bus routes to enhance
the bus riding experience. Users upload the
sounds from the EcoPet and at the Fields they
can activate and create mashups of current
sounds in the Flock system. The recorded
sounds and mashups can be downloaded to
bring on mobile phone, mp3-player, computer
or similar.
Brescia Project Design Interventions
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Interactive field
• An interactive field that visualizes
location-based sounds that can be
downloaded
• Individuals interact, play and
create mashups with
recorded sounds of city
Community-based sounds
Interactive field: • synchronized with local bus routes
materials
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
95

Route (with buses)
The routes are the transportation Web interface
network of
the Province of Brescia. The Routes are distrib-
uting the sounds from the interactive Fields
using the buses as agents. Within the Route
system the users are able to download and
listen to the recorded sounds and mashups.
The buses themselves transmit the the new
information (environmental data and sounds)
around the city.
We imagine that the web interface will offer
a downloadable database of all the informa-
tion collected (sounds and pollution), and will
also present visualizations of the connection
between location-based sounds and pollution
levels. It should also include functions for the
user to manage their bus account and track
their EcoPet. It should visualize the collective
presence of EcoPets and create new applica-
tions for learning sustainability at schools.
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Marco uses Eco-Pet to collaborate with Flock members and stay in
touch with friends.
3_Conclusions
Summary
Our project proposal encourages individual
collection of environmental data and increas-
es awareness of the environment in a playful
way. We innovate by supporting storytelling
all around the Provincia, and we’ve designed
environmental sound ‘clouds’ for collective
interaction, in addition to providing a distrib-
uted system for the government to collect
data about the Provincia.
Future Steps
We envision that additional physical augmen-
tations could be provided so that users have
more options to customize their EcoPets and
to express their personal and collective identi-
ties. Also, an integrated card to support youth
participation, such as cultural and recreational
activity discounts, would greatly promote the
adoption and use of EcoPets.
He’s even customized it to show his village
and his favorite football team.
97
Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen

Brescia Project Design Interventions

RECONFIGURED BUS
By reshaping the bus through electronic games and dis- OUR INITIAL premises were based on the
assumptions that Brescia’s students don’t like
plays and a reconfiguration of its physical space, we can public bus services because they feel that the
make transportation a more social and playful event. passenger experience is undesirable. Thus we
thought that if the experience of riding on the
bus were more fun and engaging, then the
students would ride buses happily and more
often. The implication of course, is that taking
the bus is environmentally responsible and
fosters a captive audience.
Thus we defined the goal of our project to be
the empowering of the young bus passenger
by providing education, entertainment, social
interaction and a political voice, by using a
free and innovative mobile device.
99

Methodology System Description Brescia’s youth a new and unique voice: short
video content broadcasted throughout buses,
schools, and libraries.
We began our investigations by exploring the Our proposal consists of three components:
concept of theme buses: we wished to lever- the Theme Bus, VideoVoice, and the Retract-
VideoVoice is a system of freely available,
age the captive bus audience to enable a fun able Wand. At the end of this section we
province-owned hardware on buses, at librar-
social network using RFID technology, online also describe our imagined user scenario to
ies and in schools that allows youth to record,
profiles, and live streaming media from discos, demonstrate the user experience of the entire
watch, and rate personal videos created by
tutors, sponsors. system.
themselves or their peers.
Theme Buses
We then developed a model for spontaneous
Videos can have educational, social, personal
video content created by the students at bus Inspired by railroad lounge car designs, we
or popular value and are a reflection of Bres-
stops, in schools, or on the bus itself. Video- imagined public-private bus partnerships
cia’s youth, their culture, feelings, emotions
Voice can be incorporated into curricula and between entertainment providers and the
and values.
requires no user hardware. Province of Brescia. ThemeBuses leverage the
captive bus audience to enable a fun social
Next, we designed the retractable wand, an network using RFID technology, online pro-
all-purpose peripheral reachable by anyone files, and live streaming media from discos,
on the bus. The final phase of our investiga- tutors, and sponsors.
tion was conducted in Brescia, where we
VideoVoice
spoke with provincial officials, interacted with
VideoVoice is a model for spontaneous video
students, assessed the feasibility of our ideas,
content created by students at the bus stops,
and refined the details of our proposal.
in schools, or on the bus itself. This system can
be incorporated into curricula and requires no
user hardware.
Live media kiosks at bus stops would give
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Theme Buses?
Inspired by railroad lounge car designs, we imagined
public-private bus partnerships between
entertainment providers and the Province of Brescia.
MIT Mobile Experience Lab: Anthony Rizos, Joseph Brown, Mingxi Li
101

VideoVoice
Live media kiosks at bus stops would give Brescia’s
youth a new, unique voice: short video content
broadcasted throughout buses, schools, and libraries.
Brescia Project Design Interventions
MIT Mobile Experience Lab: Anthony Rizos, Joseph Brown, Mingxi Li

Retractable Wand The functions of the Retractable Wand can be
expanded to include multiplayer bus games,
The Retractable Wand is an all-purpose
inter-and intra-bus chat, provincial services,
peripheral through which VideoVoice is ac-
reporting fare cheaters, summonning the
cessed. The wand is reachable by anyone on
police, and even for pre-ordering a meal to be
the bus.
delivered to your next stop.
To encourage students to use VideoVoice, we
User Scenario
imagine that competitions, with the prospect
of fame and prizes could serve as part of the
Whether seated or standing, reach up to the
motivation; or, teachers could assign video
ceiling and grab a retractable wand. Log in
homework for students to complete with Vid-
using your RFID bus pass. Record using wand
eoVoice. Further incentive could be given by
or watch on the main bus screen...
awarding creators of highly-rated videos with
benefits such as free bus rides, extra vacation
Beyond the wand...
from school, credit in class, and recognition
from peers, teachers, and coaches.
Augmented windows and ceiling allows for an
IMAX-style projection environment.
The Retractable Wand is easily accessbile to
all students because no laptop, cell phone or
Interactive touch screen glass allows users to
camera is required. We also considered that
join the videos...
there are often crowded conditions in the bus,
and we made sure that the wand is safe and
easy to use. We also intended for the Wand
infrastructure to be free and a part of the
institution
103

Introduction [Today]
Interaction [Tomorrow]
Emersion [+1 year]
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Introduction [Today]
Interaction [Tomorrow]
Emersion [+1 year]
105

Introduction [Today]
Interaction [Tomorrow]
Emersion [+1 year]
Brescia Project Design Interventions

107

Brescia Project Design Interventions

ECOWEARABLES
Responsive tattoos and bracelets can reshape the dialogue WE DECIDED to tackle two complementary
questions; first, how do we create personal
between the bearer and its environment for new kinds of awareness of the impact ones daily decisions
social interaction. make on the environment? And secondly,
how can we initiate group learning about
sustainable living?
Our goals were to foster awareness of sustain-
able decisions by inviting youth to make their
impact part of their physical identity, and to
employ public spaces effectively to allow for
group experiences.
We imagine a line of wearable bracelets,
which we call EcoWearables. EcoWearables
let you show off your environmental impact
everywhere you go.
109

Sources of Inspiration
We were inspired by the use of tattoos as a
form of personal expression. Also, we view
such wearable electronics as an evolution of
the Livestrong campaign (selling bracelets to
raise funds for cancer victims), whose popular-
ity swept across the U.S. With EcoWearables,
your impact on the world is measured (water,
electricity, participation, etc.), aggregated,
and combined to find your “ecoscore”, which is
downloaded to your wearable accessories.
Brescia Project Design Interventions

Your “ecowearable” brightens to
reflect your positive impact...
EcoScore
We imagine an EcoScore to be given to each
individual, as a measurement of that person’s
environmental impact. The Ecoscore could
reflect a person’s ability to use less energy
than his/her peers, the person’s personal
improvement over previous energy usage,
and his/her resourcefulness in making sustain-
able decisions (using public transport, sharing
rides, etc.) The EcoWearable would be aware Light
intensity
of this score and display accordingly, such as
by brightening to reflect the wearer’s posi-
tive impact. With EcoWearables, your impact
on the world is measured, aggregated and Eco-Score
combined to find your EcoScore, which is then
downloaded to your EcoWearable. For exam-
ple, the EcoScore would be adjusted as people
tap their ticket for a city bus or walk past a
wireless station, and EcoWearable brightens to
reflect your positive impact, helping you make
a big positive fashion impression.
111

With EcoWearables,
your impact on the world is
measured…
Water
Electricity
…aggregated…
…and combined to
find your
Participation “ecoscore”…
…which is
downloaded to
your wearable
accessories…
Brescia Project Design Interventions

113

EarthSwap
Mockup of interface for
sustainable knowledge exchange
(part broadcast, part input via phone or touch)
Shared Displays / Public Space
We designed the EcoWearables as positive
reinforcement of the environmental impact
we can all make as individuals. The bracelets
aim to inspire pride and friendly competition
amongst those who wear them. We therefore
continue to explore applications of integrat-
ing EcoWearables with the public space. We
ask, what opportunities does such a platform By adding ecology
create for interactive experiences with shared advice, people adding
‘leaves’ to the ‘tree’,
displays?
Precedent:
Ecotonoha by NEC
EarthSwap Concept Visualization
Brescia Project Design Interventions

EarthViz
Mockup of (broadcast) interface for
collective resource awareness
We propose three concepts:
• EarthSwap, an interface for sustainable The best
knowledge exchange, where people add tree!
Your
ecology advice as “leaves” to the “tree”. area
!
This idea is based on the precedent of
Ecotonoha by the NEC Corporation. This
interface would consist of two aspects:
broadcast on a public display, and input
via phone or touch from users.
• EarthViz, an interface for collective re-
source awareness. The virtual trees serve
as indices of the overall energy consump-
tion in individual areas, and the trees
collectively serve as a forest for environ-
mental awareness. This would be a broad-
cast-only interface.
• GroupShare, a touch interface for people The virtual tree as index of overall energy consumption in the area,
to find ride-sharing. all the trees consist forest for environment awareness.
EarthViz Concept Visualization
115

GroupShare
Mockup of (touch) interface for
group ride finding
Further Investigations
Finally we look further at the possibilities for
Possible Rides For Your Group
different forms of EcoWearables, including
augmentations for the bracelet so as to dis-
Owner Space Storage Desti.
play more information, or new technologies
Jim B. 2 Ppl None [View]
such as invisible tattoos that are printed with
Abbie B. 4 Ppl Trunk [View]
signal-sensitive ink.
In Return:
“Help me carry my groceries!”
Solomon B. Jenna F. David C.
Destination set to: Destination set to: Destination set to:
Home Groceries, then Home Groceries, then Home
GroupShare Concept Visualization
Brescia Project Design Interventions

EcoWearables as a sensor network and a platform for
EcoWearables as a sensor network and a platform for introspection - chemical sensors on the bracelet
introspection - chemical sensors on the bracelet could
could detect air pollution levels and dim brightness in response.
detect air pollution levels and dim brightness in response
117

Individual bracelet covers for different environmental causes - represents a “divide and conquer” approach
Individual Bracelet Covers for Different Environmental
to environmentalism through personalization
Causes - Represents “Divide and conquer” approach to
environmentalism through personalization
Brescia Project Design Interventions

119

Brescia Project Conclusions

CONCLUSION
121

Brescia Project Conclusion

To creatively imagine a new media system were developed and elaborated to the extent
to promote learning, sustainability, and civic possible within a short project, but the project
engagement, we used a multidisciplinary ap- details should not be taken too literally; they
proach. We approached the design question are intended primarily as suggestive starting
from an ecosystemic perspective, considering points for further investigation, development,
the problems and issues from diverse points of and critical analysis.
view: from the young citizen, to his/her com-
munity, to integrating the local transportation The close collaboration with the Province of
system, to rethinking the local transportation Brescia helped us properly frame the work and
system, to new types of public interfaces, to understand Brescia, the local culture, existing
harnessing the social, transportation, and ur- system, and its people.
ban network. We innovatively imagined new
forms of communication and services to foster This work has established a framework that
learning, knowledge-sharing, and social inclu- highlights perspectives to consider for further
sion. We investigated the use of new media investigations.
and communication technologies to promote
social sustainability and cultural enrichment
for location-based communities. We explored
innovative designs for embedding electronics
into the urban fabric, as well as into the public
transportation system, so that they may pro-
mote ubiquitous accessibility to information,
culture, and knowledge.
Our work does not see to identify possible
incremental improvements, but rather to
discover ways of fundamentally re-imagining
the entire ecosystem in response to the condi-
tions and possibilities made possible by our
current digital information era. Our proposals
123

Brescia Project References

REFERENCES
125

Berger, Doris, with Charles Esche, Mika Hannula, Andreas Spiegl, and Barbara Steiner
2002 Superflex, Tools. Walther Konig, Cologne.
Berridge, P. and Brown, A.G.P
2002 A Touring Machine.
Paper presented at the 20th eCAADe Conference, Warsaw (Poland) 18-20 September 2002.
Holmes, Tiffany
2007 Eco-visualization: Combining art and technology to reduce energy consumption.
Paper presented at the Creativity and Cognition conference, Washington 2007.
Knight, Michael with Ghouisia Saeed and Yu-Horng Chen
2007 Remote Location in an Urban Digital Model.
Paper presented at the Education in Computer Aided Design in Europe, Frankfurt, October 26.
Manovich, Lev
2002 The Language of New Media. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Mitchell, William J.
2005 Playing Words. Symbols, Space and the City. MIT Press, Cambridge.
2004 Me++. The Cyborg Self and the Networked City. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Papert, Seymour
1993 The children`s machine. Rethinking school in the age of computers. Basic Books, New York.
Brescia Project References

Zegras, Christopher
2001 The Potential for Using Urban Growth Management for Transportation System Enhancements in Developing Countries:
The case of the Santiago, Chile Metropolitan Region.
M.S. Thesis, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
2005 Sustainable Urban Mobility: Exploring the Role of the Built Environment.
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Glossary of Digital Media Terms
http://www.ucla.cyberstuff.net/glossary_digital_media.htm
127

Brescia Project Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to the collaborators from the provincial government of Brescia, Centro Innovazione e Tecnologie, who participated very actively
and constantly during all phases of the workshop. Their work, help, and support has been fundamental to the success of this workshop and
subsequent report.
Thank you to all the participants in the MIT workshop held at the Mobile Experience Lab, part of the MIT Design Lab, in the fall of 2007. We
would especially like to thank all the students, Colleen Kaman, Lorenza Parisi, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Daniel Cardoso, Michelle Petersen, Anthony
Rizos, Solomon Bisker, Joseph Brown, Mingxi Li, Zijian Li, and the course collaborators, Orkan Telhan, Sebastian (Guz) Gutmann, and Agnes
Chang, whose hard work resulted in the contents of this report.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the unstinting support and insightful guidance of Professor William J. Mitchell and Federico Casalegno
without whom this workshop would not have been possible.
Project Directors
Federico Casalegno
William J. Mitchell
Final Report Design
Agnes Chang
Photographers
Bo Stjerne Thomsen
Sebastian (Guz) Gutmann
Anthony Rizos
Content Editing
Daniel Cardoso
129

BRESCIA:
Promoting Learning, Sustainability,
and Civic Engagement through New Media
Educational Workshop Fall 2007
MIT Mobile Experience Lab
MIT Design Lab