THE MEANING OF

KNOWLEDGE MEDIA DESIGN

CONCEPTS Peter Pennefather, PhD

Outreach Director, Knowledge Media Design InstituteAcademic Director, Laboratory of Collaborative DiagnosticsProfessor, Leslie Dan Faculty of PharmacyUniversity of Toronto, 144 College St, Toronto ON, M5S 3M2, CAN416-978-6607; p.pennefather@utoronto.ca

What is Design

• A sensemaking process where intentions are specified together with the thinges and concerns they relate to (Latour).

• These relationships are then mapped and significant information identified for acting on desired transformations.

• Plans and prototypes are then explored to synthesize information and to make sense of what can be done to act on intentions within identifiable constraints.

• In the face of always limited knowledge, design is necessarily provisional, subject to iterative redesign (messy/adaptive/complex)

What are Digital MediaDigital media are communication formats for sending and receiving information that rely on the power of digitally coding data (bits & bytes). Enables the Internet

.What are Digital Knowledge MediaDigital media become knowledge media when they are designed and used explicitly to share and build knowledge and support collaboration within a knowledge system

They enhance human thinking, creativity, communication, learning, etc within specific contexts and specific knowledge systems

Digital knowledge media are:formats enabling digitization of data and presentation of information so as to allow groups to build, represent, and mobilize contextualized knowledge within a system.

DefinitionsKnowledge: “justified true belief and acceptance” that increases capacity for effective action by a community sharing a common problem or goal.

It can be possessed by individuals and groups (Bray). It is community-based not commodity-based.

System: Organized set of procedures for accomplishing a task or a goal

Knowledge System: A means of applying knowledge

Socio-Technical Knowledge System: An approach to applying knowledge within complex communities that recognizes the interaction between people and technology in workplaces

Gestell (frame): “the reunion of the organising process, which overcomes in a felicitous way the dichotomy between the ‘structural’, i.e. static, aspects of infrastructure and their dynamics” — Ciborra & Hanseth, 1998; all that binds infrastructure together

Probing the Frame - Framing the Probe through a design process

Sanders E (2008). Interactions, 15(6)

Cultural considerations are needed to design knowledge media applications that build on articulated information with rusted

provenance to enable distributed knowing:

- what the function is about (identity/representation) (codification)

- how the function works (production) (abstraction)

- how the function is used (consumption/governance) (diffusion)

Community of Practice Circuit of Culture Information Space (Wenger) (Du Gay et al.) (Boisot)

Systems of Devices & Media(Technology)

Industrial Design & Engineering, ICT, Electronics, Informatics

Knowledge Systems(Place)

Academic Disciplines & Media Higher & Professional Education

People Seeking & Sharing Information(People)

Sense-making, Knowledge Building, Community-of-Practice Colleges & Universities, Internet, Libraries, Media, Publishing, Consulting

Knowledge Media Designa design process to explore ways of enabling

formatting of data and presentation of information so as to allow groups to build, represent, and

mobilize contextualized knowledge within a system

Integrative Knowledge Media Design Research Model

Syste

ms o

f Dev

ices &

Med

ia

(Tec

hnol

ogy)

Indu

strial

Des

ign &

Engin

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ICT,

Electr

onics

, Info

rmati

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Knowledge Systems

(Place)

Academic Disciplines & M

edia

Higher & Professional Education

People Seeking & Sharing Information(People)

Sense-making, knowledge Buiding, Community-of-Practice Colleges & Universities, Internet, Libraries, Media, Publishing, Consulting

Knowledge Media Designa design process to explore ways of enabling

formatting of data and presentation of information so as to allow groups to build, represent, and

mobilize contextualized knowledge within a system

Integrative Knowledge Media Design Research Model

Knowledge Media Designer

(knowledge integrationist)

Sub-Theme: Challenge:

Having Knowledge & Mapping Intentions

Visualizing of Actions & Consequences

Embodying Interactions & Solutions

Design & Wayfinding

Knowledge & Interdisciplinarity

Media & Embodiment

Matrix of themes and Challenges to be considered in the course

Assignments:

•KMD concept map assignment – 15% (due Tues. Oct. 9 online)

•A paired group presentation on course themes – 15% (over term)

•Active participation in class and online – 15%

•Specific KMD framework analysis & critique project – total 50% (5+5+15+25%)

•Summary Description of Design Brief (3 pages; see below) – 5% (Oct 29)

•Framework visualization & annotated bibliography informing framework – 5% (Oct 29)

•Presentation of framework design analysis & evaluation strategy – 15% (Nov 12,19,26)

•Final report (around 3000 words) – 25% (due Dec 22)

5. Public group presentation on KMD topic – 5% TBD around KMDI holiday party

Wayfinding, Sensemaking & Design Technology

• Wayfinding reflects a process for enabling dead reckoning and situational awareness for navigating built environments.

• Sensemaking reflects the process of navigating cognitive gaps through making sense of available data

• Design reflects a process of navigating the fit of possible solutions to existing needs so that an actions can be proposed

• They all attempt to build trust in symbols and signs that build bridges between past experiences and possible futures

• They can all be collaborative