A8TeamAwesome

A8TeamAwesome

To-Do

Create a response as a group to the following questions:

1. how and to which extent does the EDC support individual and/or social creativity?
2. which features of the EDC (if any) did you find interesting / impressive?
3. which features are missing from the EDC?

how and to which extent does the EDC support individual and/or social creativity?

The Envisionment and Discovery Collaboratory allows as user to interact with a computer in a new and unique way.  The user can be more creative because they are using something they've come to know in a completely different way. Because the focus is no longer on the screen, the user can interact with the machine physically. They can feel what they are doing to make changes.  The changes are actually happening with their hands, rather than with a white "mouse" on a screen.  The EDC is good for social interaction that involves debates.  Each of the users can more actively contribute through physical interaction. The EDC provides a new means for the users (in this case, members of poorer neighborhoods) to visualize their environment in a completely different way. This allows them to approach social problems with a new frame of mind and to see solutions that they would have not previously realized.

which features of the EDC (if any) did you find interesting / impressive?

The EDC is a very new take on the modern computer.  It does not simply take the computer and give it a new look.  It gives it a completely different look, feel and use. The computer begins to move from a tool for humans to use, but instead to a tool for humans to build with. There are current programs that spur creativity, but the way the user interacts with that program is the same as the last 20 years. The EDC can change that. Creativity can probably come much more naturally with a computer like that. The fact that the EDC was designed for people who are not necessarily every day computer users is very interesting in that it supports new levels of human-computer interaction.

which features are missing from the EDC?

The EDC could use several different interfaces. One would be a table. Another could be a wall. The EDC could adapt to whatever environment is most conducive for learning and creating in that field. Artists may like a table, but architects may prefer physical building blocks. The EDC is a great tool that should be applied to as many places as possible. Most likely the best way to improve the EDC would be to continue its development in order to increase its feature set.