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Call for participation in a workshop on 14th Sept, during HCI2006
(www.hci2006.org)
 
"Designing the Not-Quite-Yet: Ideas and Methods for engaging the Public
in a Digital Future of their Choice"

How do we broaden the constituency of design? How do we help people  
engage with social and political transformations engendered by  
technology? How do we enable the appropriation of an invasive, yet  
intangible, 'internet of things'?

This workshop will explore the potential of innovative methods, such as
performance, public art, games, etc, to:
* deliver methods that help people do 'design thinking',
* widen the design franchise,
* base the design of future technologies more closely on society's  
needs and desires.

The day is intended to open discussion on how to engage more people in
design in the context of an increasingly digital world - one in which
designed information spaces surround the ordinary spaces we occupy.
Ambient intelligence, pervasive computing, augmented reality, smart
buildings and clothes, identity tagging, . the digital future is
promised as connectivity 'anytime, anywhere', as seamless flows of
information between environments, objects and people. More than ever
this will see social practices and institutions embedded in technology. 

The social challenges arising from these developments have been noted,
but Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) specialists have not fully engaged
with the question of how to design for them. These challenges are
particularly interesting because they require users to think like
designers or submit to being run by the software surrounding them. This
workshop asks how we can create the competent and empowered
'end-designer'.

We would expect methods drawn from the arts, education and
science/social science to be relevant and we invite you to bring them
and share them at this event running during HCI2006. So if you work to
involve, engage or educate the public on the potential of digital
technology - especially in innovative or experiential ways - or you'd
like to know more about how to do it, sign up. The emphasis will be on
sharing practical work, not formal presentations.

A particular feature of this workshop is the participation of a group of
artists commissioned by Space (a London media arts and education
charity) under the umbrella of looking at the potential of identity
tagging technologies, such as RFID, and communicating this potential to
the public. They will be demonstrating their work on public engagement
to the wider conference during the afternoon. There will also be a
chance for other participants to showcase their methods alongside these
interactive exhibits. So, it is a chance to take HCI in a truly
interdisciplinary direction and feed this into the conference as a
whole.

Please note that attending this workshop is a little different from most
conference workshops as it is running alongside the conference itself
and parts of the day will see the two events merging. The approximate
schedule is as follows:

Meet 9.30 for brief introductions, before heading on to:

Alan Newell of the University of Dundee and Maggie Morgan of Foxtrot
Theatre HCI2006 keynote.

~11am - 1pm: Workshop participants share experience and practice.

~2pm - 3.30: A panel-type session will provide an opportunity for
leading experiential learning tasters and exhibit artworks/demos - this
will be open to the general conference to attend. Workshop participants
will lead this (mostly by prior agreement) and it will be a chance to
experience the methods talked of. 

~4pm - 5.30 Participants regroup, review progress and look to the
future. 

Attending: 
It is possible to sign up just for the workshop by paying the workshop
registration fee (this will include entrance to the conference sessions
mentioned above). If you are at the conference, you may sign up for the
workshop without cost by sending an expression of interest as outlined
below. (If you do sign up, you will be expected to attend all of it.)

Expression of interest:
In all cases, to participate please send Ann Light ([log in to unmask])
a description of your work/interest up to a maximum of 3 pages by 9th
June. Please include any practical activities you would like to lead in
the session and whether you are interested in demonstrating/describing
these to a wider conference group. You will be notified of our decision
by 16th June, in time for the end of early-bird registration (23rd
June).

Workshop organisers:
Ann Light is a member of the Interaction, Media and Communication Group
at Queen Mary University of London and co-runs a campaign called
"Transform-Ed" (www.transform-ed.org) on bridging the divide in
society's comprehension of the potential of digital networks. She is
chair of trustees for a digital media charity (www.fiankoma.org) and
edits UsabilityNews (www.usabilitynews.com) on a part-time basis. She
was once a drama teacher and still uses this background in her
interpretation of 'interaction design'.

Pat Healey leads the Interaction, Media and Communication Group and
Augmented Human Interaction Laboratory at QMUL. He is interested in the
potential of digital technologies to provide uniquely flexible media
which transform human communication. Pat's research applies models of
human communication - drawn mainly from psychology and sociology - to
understanding these processes.  

Gini Simpson is the head of SPACE Media Arts, based in Hackney, East
London. SPACE Media Arts undertakes large scale electronic arts projects
linking artists and communities and provides open access to new
technology in East London. This has included working with award winning
artists, street gangs from Bow and patients at a London psychiatric
hospital. Previous to this, Gini worked for DDB Advertising and Magic
Lantern productions iTV. She has produced art events nationally and
internationally, including the production of the first New Media marquee
and field at Glastonbury Festival.


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