[iDC] introduction

[Orkan Telhan]

Hello everyone,

My name is Orkan Telhan. Federico Casalegno and I will be running a workshop called “Learning with Mobile x Printed Media” during Mobility Shifts. 

I teach at the School of Design in University of Pennsylvania and Federico runs the Mobile Experience Laboratory at MIT. We have been developing alternative interfaces and media for some time and would like to participate in the discussion by bringing some examples from our own experience with mobile learning.

During the workshop we will be using a custom location-based mobile video sharing platform developed at MIT, which has been deployed in Brazil, Italy and France and used in applications as diverse as photojournalism, civic media practices, tourism, and healthcare. 

One of our goals during the workshop will be to demonstrate the typical learning experiences we had with this platform and discuss how it can be opened up for new directions. For example, we will introduce a non-gadget centric model which uses low-cost, massively-deployable printed interfaces that present an alternative to the video-based learning. We will use this as a starting point to discuss how one can diversify the perception of mobile learning among different audiences and find ways to bridge it to other forms of learning that is rooted in culture, behavior, and tradition.

Looking forward to meeting you all in October,

Orkan Telhan
Federico Casalegno

Orkan Telhan is interdisciplinary artist, designer and researcher whose investigations focus on the design of interrogative objects, interfaces, and media, engaging with critical issues in social, cultural, and environmental responsibility. He is Assistant Professor of Fine Arts - Emerging Design Practices at University of Pennsylvania, School of Design. His individual and collaborative work has been exhibited in a number of venues including Ars Electronica, ISEA, LABoral, Archilab, Architectural Association, the Architectural League of New York, and the MIT Museum. He is working towards his Ph.D. in Design and Computation at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning.

Federico Casalegno, Ph.D., is the Director of the MIT Mobile Experience Lab and Associate Director of the MIT Design Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A social scientist with an interest in the impact of networked digital technologies in human behavior and society, Dr. Casalegno both teaches and leads advanced research at MIT, and design interactive media to foster connections between people, information and physical places using cutting-edge information technology. He has published several scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, books and articles. For the Living Memory, connected community project, he was awarded the Best Concept prize by the American Leading Industrial Designers I.D. Magazine, and the Silver Prize Design Concept by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).