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The number of web pages in existence today is estimated at anywhere from 25 billion to 1 Trillion and is
moving towards an infinite value. Having the equivalent of all human knowledge a mere Google search
away confers knowledge power on the average internet user that eclipses the wildest imaginations of our
predecessors yet, in order to fully utilize this incredible resource, requires that we are able to harness this
chaotic agglomeration by subjecting it to a process of refinement.

The rigour of computer science and library science has helped to make this infinite datascape easier to
navigate, search and visualize. As more of our economic activity migrates to this space, productivity gains
as well as new ways of interacting stimulate the emergence of novel economic patterns with new value
propositions. These emerging values do not conform to the old paradigms of vertical, hierarchal
organisation and functional specialization with their synchronized production of concrete artefacts.
Artefact production is an anachronism of an industrial age that we have been increasingly outsourcing and
leaving behind. We have migrated to a new space where value lies not in things but in relationships and this
new landscape has opened the door to a creative impulse that has not been experienced since the dawning
of the renaissance.

The adept is one who can work outside the traditional constraints of space, time and function and who can
assume a multiplicity of roles and adapt on the fly to rapidly changing environments. These participants in
the new economy will, by necessity, be effective in team-based approaches and organizations will need to
move to a rapid response or Just-In-Time operational model that can accommodate changes in the wind and
allow for innovation.

In order to allow for the incubation, acceleration and commercialization of ideas organizations will need
processes and infrastructure that allow for a design-centred approach that can quickly prototype, test and
refine ideas for market. Part of an effective infrastructure will be a cultural apparatus that promotes multi-
disciplinary collaborations that allow for the confluence of design thinking, new methods, materials and
technologies to solve problems in a myriad of domains such as healthcare, service sectors, security, finance,
etc.

Crucial to the success of this design-centred approach will be building the capacity to capture and curate
process knowledge on the fly in order to build a powerful, searchable knowledge repository that can be
drawn upon to inform other teams working on other projects. The ability to organize effective teams and
capture their experiences, as it happens, and to use this intelligence in debriefs to inform standards of best
practice will be an integral tool in the emerging economy. The ability to modularize the functionality of
knowledge assets in order to enhance their accessibility and usefulness as well as an ability to re-configure
and repurpose these assets for a variety of applications constitute an emerging skillset. (See Appendix 1
Attached)

Participants in the emerging economy will require broad base of skills that can be adapted to a multitude of
scenarios in order to collaboratively, co-create, curate, distribute and monetize digital assets and
experiences. Whether you are a Chef working with a programmer to produce an interactive mobile menu
application that will allow for people around the globe to participate in a cooking class from home or
whether you are a Palliative Care practitioner who is documenting patient care and interactions on a tablet
in consultation with a medical doctor, you will need to know how to work in a team in order to design
workflows and applications that help you to optimize your outcomes. Given that these complex systems are
rendered more usable through rich visual interfaces, at least a rudimentary knowledge of these processes
would be critical to establishing a common framework of practice around how information in the moment
is best captured and made usable. This forms the basis for a new class of participant in the emergent
economy that we can call the knowledge holder/creator. The knowledge holder must be adept at working
with programmers, engineers and designers to render their knowledge into assets and experiential
opportunities that are more accessible and usable by a broader spectrum of clients. The knowledge holder
will need to learn the skills of capturing and curating their know-how in ways that optimize this
accessibility and usability.

½    !
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This project used a team-based, distributed model of peer-to-peer learning that was designed as an adaptive
response to pervasive, persistent and aggressive change in technology.

By reframing traditional classroom roles and empowering students as co-creators/designers of knowledge,

over 150 individuals were soon doing the work that was done by only one. The ability to rapidly research,
demonstrate, document, podcast, archive and curate a myriad of learning experiences across a broad
spectrum delivered the power to generate know-how that was vastly superior in both quality and quantity to
what could have been done by a professor alone.

The fact that subsequent teams of students would assume stewardship of this resource meant that an
entirely new generation of stakeholders could work on updating and improving the resource by adding
searchability, improved assets, better organization, etc. Even if a new release meant that over 30 hours of
podcast instruction and hundreds of PDF manual pages were rendered obsolete, the new owners could cope
with this. While this would represent an unmitigated disaster for a group of professors this was a relatively
simple fact of life that could easily be remedied with another burst of creativity from its stakeholders.
Individually, the task was leviathan, collectively²it was relatively easy.

In this model the professor took on the role of mentor providing research direction that best tied to the
problems being tackled. Finally, the professor acted as a knowledge harvester²taking the best materials
and promoting their use within a content system by the broader student population.
This new methodology combined with some software and hardware infrastructure paved the way for
creating a Just In Time or RISK-based approach to learning (Rapid Integration of Skills and Knowledge).
Beta Lab (Knowledge Design Course)

While the provenance of this idea was borne in the context of teaching software to Graphic Design students
it quickly became apparent that the real potential for innovation lay in bringing design practice, RISK
methodology and Knowledge capture/curation infrastructure and know-how to non-traditional disciplines
in order to widen the net of inclusion and to ³push the envelope´ as it were in disciplines that, traditionally,
had not enjoyed the sort of knowledge/tech transfer that designers have enjoyed since the mid 1980¶s. It
occurred to me that a multi-disciplinary approach had the potential to float many more boats and provide a
context for rich interdisciplinary collaborations that would address some of the key skills and competencies
required by the communities that we serve²namely, the ability to collaborate and communicate
effectively.

A workforce that has the knowledge skill and infrastructure to capture and reframe the intelligence of their
respective fields delivers the capacity to transform those fields by making their know-how accessible,
searchable, transferrable, comprehensible and highly mobile. These new modalities have the added capacity
to generate revenue and promote great efficiencies while binding participants in the process to powerful
new modes of interaction and providing them with direct participation at the epicentre of the new and
emerging economy.

½ !
 

I have worked since 2003 on refining methods of peer-based collaboration within the context of design. My
students have self-organized, self-taught, demonstrated and published a wealth of materials in the three
primary areas of Photocomposition, Illustration and Page Layout/ Printing using Adobe¶s industry standard
toolsets. The learning was contextualized in solving three main problems: The production of highly realistic
illustrations using the two-dimensional medium of Adobe Illustrator and the compilation of a manual that
detailed the tools, tips and techniques necessary for accomplishing the task. Further explorations of
Photoshop were required in order to produce a compelling piece of cover art for the manual and InDesign
was used to publish the materials as a PDF book. Rather than learning being a series of seemingly
disconnected factoids, each element eventually took its rightful place in a sequence whose sum resulted in
expert and compelling works. All of the research presentation and publishing were co-ordinated and
executed in a collective fashion while the Illustrations, naturally, provided an outlet for individual
expression and grading. It was a blended form of learning that, while it allowed for a summative expression
of individual abilities, could not have been made possible without a concerted commitment to a group-
based approach to learning. Initially, Students not only showcased their individual talents (some of whom
won international design awards from Adobe) but they each shared the fruits of their collective efforts in
the form of a beautifully designed and extremely informative manual covering key functions of three very
key Adobe toolsets.

 #



In 2009 I participated in a joint research project with Apple Computer and three other Canadian universities
that allowed me to explore the potential for the creation and distribution of mobile learning assets for and
by students. This opportunity resulted in the generation of a rich, searchable resource that could be
configured and used both on an individual and a collective level. In addition to the usual production of
illustrations, cover art and how-to manuals, over 200 podcasts were generated many employing closed
captioning and several executed in other languages such as Spanish and Mandarin²effectively
transforming what would normally be considered as a roadblock to learning into a terrific learning
advantage. The racial and linguistic diversity of our large urban mosaic was changed from challenge to
opportunity by leveraging this inherent capacity to speak to the world. On conclusion of the research,
infrastructure was repatriated and, only recently, has it been re-established with the acquisition of a new
podcast and wiki server. Ideally, it would have been helpful to acquire a third authentication and sign-on
server but we are working on managing these resources in a very independent manner that allows us to
minimize reliance on IT resources and maximize experimentation and innovation by way of this relative
autonomy.

½ 

It occurred to me that the course should build incrementally in order to develop best practices, test
infrastructure robustness and requirements and that early iterations should be limited to design students
with proven capacity to work with these technologies and document their processes in a clear and usable
manner. Later iterations should ideally reach out to include other departments within our school in order to
allow them to explore untapped niches of opportunity in their own domains. Eventually, in the third phase
the course would encourage community members NGOs/agencies and private companies to partner with
the program in order to leverage our capacity for providing solutions to these problems. I envision a cross-
disciplinary team that would involve second or senior year students from various departments in order to
provide a broad base of skill sets, a variety of faculty consultants, an IT liaison, a community partner with a
problem to solve and a technology provider who sees in the community partner an opportunity to explore
untapped applications for their product. This ecosystem of stakeholders would then collectively define and
deliver innovation in the sectors represented by our community partners. The college itself could be
designated as its own community partner and derive benefit from the creation of a cutting-edge knowledge
ecosystem that buoys up underserviced areas. For instance, the simple inclusion of closed captioning as part
of any workflow by student researchers creates a direct benefit of inclusion for a broader swath of the
community!

$ ½
The benefits of access to pre-release (beta-level) engagement with toolsets are significant. Instead of
reacting to change, participants would have a role in shaping the changes affecting them by occupying a
seat at the table where decisions are being made. This ground-sourced form of participation is a trend that
will continue to grow and be incorporated in the development and marketing strategies of most leading
companies. Any institution that can incorporate this form of dialogue into its program cannot help but
assume a leadership role in shaping future trends and, as a corollary of this approach, its students are given
significant lead times that allow them to anticipate and prepare for the changes that will effect their
respective industries in ways that are profitable to them and the organizations that they work for.
Already the wheels have been set in motion with Apple Computer and Adobe Systems with respect to high
value strategic relationships that involve this sort of cutting edge research and curriculum.
Eventually, I envision an evolution of the lab where a multi-disciplinary team of students works with
faculty, IT, a community partner using pre-release technologies that are being tested on real world
problems²moving from scenarios of theoretical use to actual case use. Students and faculty would not
only gain experience in emerging technologies ahead of the curve, they would get to apply it in particular
instances relative to a problem identified in the community. They would also capture and curate this know-
how and report to the various stakeholders on progress. The beta providers would gain access to a team of
researchers who would provide critical bench testing of their wares and access data relevant to contextual
use scenarios as well as proof of use for new markets/customers. They also would share in the warehoused
knowledge and make this public on the release date. The fact that the beta providers could then offer the
know-how material that was produced to their traditional user base as well as to anticipated new markets is
a powerful incentive to participate. The college would have the advantage of having know-how embedded
in its participants but also in the form of searchable podcasts that could then be distributed to the broader
community on the release date. The students, too, would have established a leadership position vis-à-vis
this know-how and would have developed valuable research and collaboration skills in the process.
An opportunity also exists to license and distribute this content to create an income stream through
Knowledge channels such as Lynda.com, iTunes, etc.

Strategically, Knowledge Capture and its curation are highly significant in adapting to the skills and
knowledge vacuum created by the wave of succession caused by the Boomer generation¶s exit from the
workforce. Implicit knowledge held by Boomers, is in danger of being lost if it is not expressed, captured
and repurposed for a smaller, younger generation taking the reins. Much work needs to be done in helping
organizations acquire and utilize the capacity to capture and re-purpose the strategically important
knowledge that constitutes their intellectual capital and competitive advantage. It is entirely reasonable to
promote this form of Knowledge design and curation as a standard business practice.

£% &

An inaugural course launch in Knowledge Design has been approved and is slated for the May-June period
with a view to ramping up its cross-disciplinary reach and client focus on an incremental basis.

A


 
‡Lab space: Room to accommodate 15-20 people with tables in the centre to facilitate face to face
interactions. White boards around perimeter to allow detailing of discussions and prototyping.

‡Course Promotion/Recruitment (Posted promo videos on facebook, Posters have been placed around the
School, Video screen is displaying information. Information circulated to internal Newsletters. Recruit
from second year classes.

‡Interviews (Need to determine good fit to ensure success)

‡Podcast Server/WIKI server

‡Server function tested and verified

‡Server configuration documentation created and User groups generated.

‡Separate server space share points for databases and video storage

‡Creation of a separate boot partition containing customized browsers and beta software.

‡Need an advocate in IT who can assume an active role in supporting the project re: bandwidth, server
issues, etc

‡Need release time for technologists to immediately configure and optimize server and lab and install and
configure shells containing lab software.
‡Cameras/Microphones X 5 (Need to record Voice Overs and Presenters. Owen acquired resources for the
HAO.

‡Screen Capture Software for recording screen activity and doing closed captioning

‡Concept Mapping Software (Use TUFTS U. VUE or Inspiration)

‡Terms of Engagement Agreements/ NDA¶s, etc. Pre-release Software/Hardware and reporting structure

‡Service agreements with Tech providers to guarantee support.

„



 

10 workstations (use existing workstations in 140 as an interim)
User authentication server (original specification calls for this but was not granted. Acquisition should be
investigated for later phase)
VPN clients for senior administrators
Cross-disciplinary liaison to assist with outreach and building connections to other departments (longer
term²perhaps release time for me to build this capacity²Phase II).
Creation of cross-curricular (Gen Ed) Requirement or accreditation possibly incentivized by two credits?

(Phase II).
Ability to extend tenure of participants to more than one term (we need to build in overlap to allow for
Knowledge transfer and effective stewardship between students exiting and those entering for the first
time²PEER LAB model).

Commercialization business model with revenue sharing agreements between stakeholders (possible to
monetize content on social networks, iTunes U, Lynda.com, etc.)
Build a list of willing partners within the college with a view to a cross-disciplinary collaboration using the
lab approach.

Build a list of potential technology partners and build relationships and MOUs for future engagements
where we test the use of their technologies in solving a problem for a community partner.


!"#


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%

Adobe (Beta testing software), Apple (Testing new hardware/software), Gesturetek (Building immersive
3D, gesture-controlled environments and interactions), Strategic Transitions (Testing Universal Design
software for enabling language challenged students and visual process mapping software), RIM (Building
Applications for playbook and mobile devices).
Build a list of potential community partners and build relationships and MOUs for future engagements
where we assist them with solving a problem:

!"#


"

"



"

%

School of Design (New Knowledge Assets generated); Health Sector (Continue to help build virtual health
communities); Community Foundations (Citizens¶ Band Project: Train inner-city youth from at risk areas
on utilizing publishing and distribution technologies to tell their stories and build a community resource
hinged on micro-reporting); Community Services (Project Dream Catcher: Train and Work with Remote
Aboriginal Communities to Capture and Curate disappearing cultural resources using technology)

c  
The success of this enterprise is contingent on a number of factors. First, if the institution and its leaders
fails to understand what is at stake and what the benefits are, it will be difficult to promote the risk-taking
necessary to facilitate the acquisition of adequate resources and to experiment with new approaches in
delivery. Cross-disciplinary approaches are difficult to co-ordinate with willing partners. A climate of risk
mitigation will minimize participation in unproven territory and will default to a wait-and-see approach that
is anathema to innovation²cultural acceptance of risk taking is necessary. Binding agreements between
stakeholders need to be negotiated in order to ensure longer term viability. This will require signatories at
the management level to give the project the endorsement it requires and to negotiate relationships that
work to serve the interest of all parties involved. Other faculty and managers need to be educated on the
significance of the approach and how it is validated through research and is consistent with emerging trends
in experiential learning and is ideally suited as an adaptation and innovation methodology.
All stakeholders must perceive advantage in engaging with this approach and must be given a role in
determining the contours of the engagement. Exclusion of any one party could result in a disconnection and
a failure to ³own´ and promote the process towards excellence.

Given its marginal, off-grid approach adequate IT support for this project has been ad hoc in nature. Proper
resourcing of IT support will be crucial to the success of any joint venture and care has to be taken to
ensure clear and open channels of communication between our internal support and those of our technology
providers. Failure to ensure that our technology partners and our internal IT partners are aligned in their
respective tasks will result in technical impasses that will delay the move forward with project-based
research.

NDAs are extremely important to partners providing pre-release opportunities and cultivating a climate of
discretion and secrecy will be of the utmost importance. An interviewing process and the signing of binders
by participants can help to lend weight to this necessity and the violation of these agreements would,
understandably, do irreparable damage to the partner, the beta project and the reputation of the institution.
The lab and the participants will be under wraps until the release date at which point we will be at liberty to
share our successes and leverage any content/processes.

Non participation would effectively render the ambitions of this project to being moot and, so, proper
promotion of its merits to the college community, managers, faculty, students and the broader community
will be key to its long term success. Failure to promote the enterprise will result in its marginalization and
eventual decline.

Keeping the initial offering limited to a small, select number of students will constitute budgetary pressure
on the local level but will be necessary in order to ensure manageable success. The research-based focus
may well present opportunities to attract research grants from government agencies, internal funding as
well as our partners who will already be supplying in-kind investments of technology for our use but may
well provide additional funding. Our community partners may best be able to provide an infusion of
financial support given that we are helping them to solve a problem. The lab should be kept to a small
group of 10-15 students and the professor¶s involvement would require a release of two teaching blocks to
accommodate proper oversight. As the lab culture matures we may be able to move to a staffing model
where a student from a previous year is given the paying position of research lead and reducing the amount
of direct involvement by the professor.

Debriefing sessions will be crucial to monitoring the health of a project and for instituting best-practices
that will guide and inform future project participants. This will provide an opportunity to garner
feedback/ratings from the various participants. A reporting structure will be necessary in order to share
findings with the management layer and provide transparency and accountability on performance. Where
NDAs allow, opportunities should be sought for presenting findings in the public domain through
conferences, workshops etc. and victories and accomplishments should be celebrated in vehicles that are
accessible to all of the parties (Trade Magazines, Symposia, Conferences, etc.).

This project represents over seven years of methodically acquiring resources, experimenting with methods
and promoting its potential. I have every confidence that, with the proper support and dedication to its
vision, it will help to place our college in a leadership position not only in innovation in teaching and
learning but in providing new capacity to non ³design-oriented´ domains that will allow them to leverage
the power of the knowledge that they hold and to migrate that knowledge into more contemporary domains
that provide efficiencies as well as revenue-generating potiential.

James Kinney BSc; MTS

Professor, Graphic Design
School of Design
George Brown College
230 Richmond Street East
Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1P4

Tel.: 416-415-5000 x3290

Fax: 416-415-2094

E-mail: jkinney@georgebrown.ca

Web: georgebrown.ca/design