Creative Collaboration and the Future of Education

Andy Polaine, Omnium Project

30 August 2007, 10am – 12.30pm, Cost: Free

Overview

The past few years have been a buzz with terms such as the Creative Economy, social networks and Web 2.0. Yet many industries and institutions are struggling to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape, often mistakenly focus on the technological rather than the cultural shifts that make this change so fundamental. Collaboration and creativity have been part of designers' processes for years as well as being the foundations of the Web and there is much to learn from this rich history.

The Omnium Project was established in 1998 at the University of New South Wales to explore online creative collaboration. Since then it has linked over 8000 creative students, educators, professionals, theorists and writers from over 50 countries worldwide through its online projects, courses and communities.

In this seminar Andy Polaine explained Omnium's projects and approach in detail and related them to issues that face the future of education and interdisciplinary collaboration

Audience

Policy makers, educators, artists, teachers, sustainability projects, creative disciplines, working researchers and educational practitioners,scientists, graphic designers and all those who work across a range of disciplines or collaborate creatively in work or play.

Biography

In 1994, Andy Polaine co-founded the award-winning new-media collective Antirom in London and worked with clients such as the BBC, Levis Strauss and Co. and The Science Museum as well as exhibiting several interactive installations and performances around the world.

Andy was also a producer at dotcom giant, Razorfish, in the UK before moving to Australia where he started the interactive department of visual effects company, Animal Logic. He became a Senior Lecturer in Interactive Media at The University of New South Wales, Sydney and Head of the School of Media Arts before leaving to move to Germany, although he still teaches for UNSW online. He has also been a Guest Professor at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany and his research spans cultural futures as well as interactivity and play.

Aside from his academic life he works as an interaction designer, education consultant and writer and co-convenes the Omnium Creative Network, a critical forum for ethical art and design projects.

To reserve a place contact Event Manager, Yvonne Kincaid at [email protected] or call 0141 225 0103. Please note that places are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

60 Second Interview

What is the next big disruptive technology in your opinon and why?

Andy Polaine
I'm not so certain there is a single one, it's more that various technologies become linked together and powerful changes can emerge out of many small elements, many of which might not seem that noticeable now. Clearly mobile devices are going to play a bigger and bigger role, but again I suspect this might be more to do with more objects that are already mobile becoming networked that just phones becoming smarter, etc.

The most disruptive technologies tend to be those that aren't designed with that in mind necessarily, but are taken up by culture in ways and forms that are often very different from the original intention. The classic example of this is text messaging, but you see it in applications, games, online communities, buildings, machines, law - all of these get 'hacked' in interesting, often playful, ways and sometimes those hacks go on to create huge cultural shifts.

Lastly, if I was to place an easy bet, it's got to be something to do with sustainable energy production and consumption and transport. If I had my hand in government transport money, I'd be investing in trains networks at the moment.

Which single technological innovation will most effectively develop mobile learning and why?

Andy Polaine
I think we've seen the innovation already in terms of the ubiquitous network. As soon as anyone has affordable broadband wireless access - in whatever form - it radically changes the way in which they think about and use the Internet. It's just something that is 'there' in the same way as TV and Radio always have been. That means it's the first port of call for almost every activity in which you need to research, collaborate and communicate, which is arguably the core of learning and teaching. It also means everything can be time-shifted, so I think we'll see more changes in terms of the physical spaces and environments to reflect that, there are parallels here with what's happening in broadcast television too.

The affordable part is important, because I think that it's essential for third world and developing countries to be included in this process in ways that are probably very different from the current approaches. Most importantly for those environments is the fact that they're leapfrogging the West by going from nothing to mobile networks. Already mobile phones, for example, are an essential part of many people's lives who are living in very poor conditions. That's only going to grow and change - so access is really key.

After speaking at ULS on 30 August at Urban Learning Space, to those who have never heard of us, how would you describe what we do?

Andy Polaine
I see three main functions that overlap. One is the excellent seminar series, which you have developed so well and even for those of us who can't attend all the time you have archived excellently. A second is educational development at a more local level and working perhaps outside of the normal system of education, particularly with those people who might also get left behind and left out of those systems. Lastly research into new technologies and ways of working and fostering partnerships on those (and other) projects with some eminent bodies and institutions.

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• Presentation Andy Polaine Omnium Project Creative Collaboration