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Educating Creative Technologists

by Dan Dixon on Dec 02, 2010

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Senior lecturer in creative technologies in a department of computer science and creative technologies\n\nProgramme leader for BSc Web Design\n\nAbout 4 years ago I made the shift into academia. Before that I racked up 10 years experience in the web industry working for a couple of agencies, headshift and syzygy as well as for the BBC. Holding senior production roles in those companies.\n\nCurrently I’m carrying out research in ubiquitous computing and pervasive gaming.\n\n\n
what does creative technology mean?\nwhat does a creative technologist look like?\ndo we need them?\ndo we need to educate them?\nand a few tips on some of the important aspects of the education process\n
So what do I mean when I talk about creative technologies?\n\nI’ll start off by saying what it isn’t\n
There is technology created for a creative purpose. And there are technologists and technical people who deal with this.\n\nFor example video cameras, photoshop, rendering farms that are specifically built for creative purposes.\n\nThere are technologists involved in this aspect, people making cameras or video editing software. But they although they are making tools for the creative industries they are not necessarily being creative with it themselves. \n
Then there is using these technologies for traditional creative uses. This could be graphic design, making music, editing a film, etc. Largely these days this means a computer, or something with a computer in it. \n\nSo this is being creative through the technology.\n\nThese are both technology as tools for creativity. There are people involved in the technology, and in many senses are often being creative. However this is not what I mean by creative technologists.\n
So what do I think a creative technologist is or does?\n\nSomething else\n\nThe previous examples are of technology as a tool. \n\nThe creative technologist is someone who uses technology like a medium or material. Like an sculptor uses clay or stone and a painter uses paint and canvas. Like a craftsperson or artist they really understand their materials, the properties and capabilities of technology, whilst at the same time being able to use, mould and shape it.\n\nThey are an artist, designer or craftsperson of technology. Not merely a user or a builder.\n\n\n
The creative technologist understands technology\n\nThey sit in that sweet spot where art, design, business and technology come together.\n\n* Technological expertise - a deep understanding of the nature of various forms of technology\n* Design thinking - an emotional, sensual, analytical and synthetic approach to creating things\n* Innovation and business context. Not necessarily a commerical business, but applies to public services, charity, etc. \n
Inter disciplinary is where people come together from different silos - academic research or intercompany collaborations\n\nMulti disciplinary is where you have heterogeneous teams. Different skills and capabilities, but everyone has a role - web development or the film industry\n\nTransdisciplinary is the situation where people share skills and can change their role dynamically to fit the team around them and the project they are working on. They could be a programmer one day and a graphic designer the next\n
I come from the Web industry, so I’m influenced by that.\n\nBut this also applies to industrial and product design, marketing and advertising, etc.\n\nHowever one we are facing a breaking down of technical borders. The web is ubiquitous, games are everywhere, holistic systems such as the apples and googles abound. Creative technologists can make sense of this border hopping. None of these areas exist by themselves.\n
So the question is why do we need this sort of person now? Why haven’t there been creative technologists all along?\n\nThere have been these people all along but there hasn’t been the large scale need for them \n
The time of engineers and engineering approaches\n\nLots of good ideas and creative solutions to problems that are still with us today\n
Computers in business and helping business. Creation of MacOS, Windows, Photoshop, etc.\n\nSo it is business people who innovated around technology and found good uses for it\n
The rise of the web\n\nHigh technology in the home, often outstripping what is in business. \n\nCompetitive edge is in creating technical experiences that are easy and enjoyable\n\nCompanies like Apple since Steve Jobs can back are like this\n\nWe get user experience design and service design\n
Nowadays computing is ubiquitous, we have information overload, a plethora of competing devices and gadgets that we don’t need.\n\nThe infrastructure is already in place, businesses are trying to exploit any and every opportunity they can and user experience design has become industrialised. \n\nInnovation needs a new approach that siloed approaches, and even inter and multidisciplinary approaches, can’t solve.\n
Three years ago no one was asking for them. Now there are many actual job adverts for creative technologists. And many more for people who have these skills. \n\nThis style of technology development is recognised by organisations like NESTA, the design council, the Technology Strategy Board, large companies like O2, Nokia, Google and the BBC are trying to leverage a new breed of innovative technologists.\n
Supply is low. There are some universities creating these people, but it is largely by accident.\n\nMost of the creative technologists have just evolved.\n\nSo how did they evolve and what are the necessary skills they need\n
T shaped people\n\nBill Moggridge - one of the founders of IDEO\n
T shaped people breadth and depth\n\nThe way they develop is up the T and then out.\n
architects, physicists, English literature\n\nCareer crazy paving\n
But that is probably stretching that metaphor too far\n\nBut not necessarily everyone has to be a creative technologist\n\nThere is room for engineers, designers, specialists in their fields.\n
Demand supply\n\nHigher Education can step in\n
Interactive Telecommunications Programme at NYU - Dennis Crowley founder of dodgeball and foursquare\nCreative Technologies programmes in NZ\nUniversity of Twente\n\nMultidisciplinary design programmes like Design London Centre (between imperial college and the RCA) for Centre for Cooperative Design at Cranfield\n\n
But there are a whole bunch of courses with creative technologies in the titles. A quick search on UCAS or whatuni will bring back a host.\n\nSome are computer science that are teaching graphics or video technologies. Some teach packages and skills. Some are very old hat with 90s terms like multimedia and still talk about CDROMS and virtual reality.\n\nMost of these are courses which teach about the technology used in creativity rather than how to be creative with technology. Subtle, but significant difference.\n\n\n\n
Move on to next slide quickly\n
What can HE bring\n
Delivering technology expertise through design thinking in an innovation context.\n\n* Technological expertise - a deep understanding of the nature of the technology\n* Design thinking - an emotional, sensual, aesthetic, analytical and synthetic approach to creating things\n* Innovation and business context. Not necessarily a commercial business, but applies to public services, charity, etc. \n\n
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Brian Shackel - a leading figure in HCI and human centred design\n\nGetting their hands dirty. The y had a background in repairing bicycles or building\n
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Pedagogically: Inquiry based learning\nAutonomy\nProject based\nProblem location and solving\nDirect and iterative feedback\nPromote the feeling of achievement and even a bit of competition\n\n\n
Lots of non-classroom space.\n\nMultiuse hallways are good. \n\nSpaces to socialise and work together\n\nMost of the things they learn will be via informal channels, literally in the corridor\n
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The use of technology requires a context and this needs to be realise first\n\nStudents get stuck in the hammer problem\nOr just don’t see the relevance of what is being taught\n\nThe problem space that someone is operating within, or the type of works needing to be created \n
things like, virtual reality, social software, pervasive media all expire and go out of date. \n\nwhatever seems cool and funky now may not be in 10 years time... or even sooner\n\nso trying to create a university course around them doesn’t work.\n
Really good incubation support. Not just an office with some IT support and someone to answer the phone.\nAble to get good business advice\nKeep getting input from staff\n\nBut also be something that staff or staff and students can get involved in.\n\nBusiness spin out and support so staff can work with students and students can flourish and thrive in. \n\n
It is amazing and rewarding to teach. \n\nTeaching this subject and in this style keeps you on your toes and the students can teach you as much as you teach them.\n\nWhich is useful when you live in such a fast moving field\n
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Educating Creative Technologists — Presentation Transcript

shepton mallet digital arts festival 28th november
dan dixon
creative technology?what does one look like?do we need them?why should we educate them?a few tips
creative purpose
creative use
design / tech / business
transdisciplinary
different industries
why now?
infrastructure
business technology
consumer design
computing is ubiquitous
demand
supply
not everyone
can we make them?
doing it right
but not
what can HE bring?
Scaling the supplyNot just skillsLifelong learningReﬂectionDeveloping a human ethos
delivering
The outstanding students all hadan outstanding capacity for abstractthinking, yet they also had a reallystrong grounding in physicalmaterials and tools. - Prof Brian Shackel
some tips
studio practice
space
start transdisciplinary
problems then technology
donʼt deﬁne your domain
incubation
it is amazing to teach
thanks for listeningand special thanks to the squaredcircle, one letter, one digit andpunctuation groups on ﬂickr, for theirimages.lucymay06, Leo Reynolds, what what,mag3737

Educating Creative Technologists

by Dan Dixon on Dec 02, 2010

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Educating Creative Technologists — Presentation Transcript