A Framework for Capturing Creativity in Digital Fabrication

Abstract

Digital fabrication laboratories (FabLabs) influence how we think, ideate, do, make, and create. To enable the full capacity of materialization of the most creative ideas in the FabLab, a fundamental understanding of the processes in the FabLab is required. To accomplish this, we propose a framework for dynamically and ubiquitously capturing human-human (team) interactions, humantool/machine interactions, and human-design-object interactions in the complex scenarios that occur in the paradigm of making in FabLabs. The framework elaborates three methods. The first method produces categories of creative spaces about activities and users in the FabLab. The second method identifies interactions between users and tools, and between users. Last, the third method identifies indepth cognitive and thinking types of makers in the FabLab. The proposed framework can improve creative results and experiences of all stakeholders in the making process in the FabLab, and provide easy customization of the FabLab training for different audiences.

Affective Learning in Digital Education—Case Studies of Social Networking Systems, Games for Learning, and Digital Fabrication

“…The last case example turned the focus toward the teachers' and facilitators' point of view, investigating how they see making activities and how they understand what kind of support students need from them during these activities. This study, through the design principles of the Fab Lab activities, characterized the important factors that help teachers and facilitators to engage and support students' learning, such as implementing complex tasks, using digital tools, highlighting students' own roles and responsibilities, providing opportunities for reflection, encouraging trial and error, and providing flexibility in the timeframe (Blikstein, 2013;Georgiev et al, 2017;Hira and Hynes, 2018;Iwata et al, 2019). In addition to these principles, this study pointed out that adequate scaffolding is needed to improve opportunities for cognitively effortful and affectively meaningful learning.…”

“…In general, SNS, digital gaming, and maker education have become increasingly interesting as a learning context in a modern education, mixing technological and creative skills, exploration and discovery, problem-solving and playfulness, as well as formal and informal education (Connolly et al, 2012;Davies and West, 2014;Georgiev et al, 2017). These types of learning opportunities have the potential to impact current and future educational practices and pedagogy.…”

“…Since then, Fab Lab has arranged different types of digital fabrication activities for school groups. The activities have typically included 2D and 3D design and manufacturing, prototyping with electronics, programming, and utilizing tools and machines to fabricate prototypes (Georgiev et al, 2017;Iwata et al, 2019;Laru et al, 2019;Pitkänen et al, 2019).…”

Supporting Fab Lab facilitators to develop pedagogical practices to improve learning in digital fabrication activities

“…Since that, there have been continuing interests to understand the digital fabrication activities in the Fab Lab from the varying perspectives [e.g. [13], [28], [23], [30]]. For example, through Fablab4School -project (http://fablab4school.fi/), Fab Lab Oulu has arranged different type of digital fabrication activities for school groups [ [23]].…”

Meanings in Digital Fabrication

“…Blikstein points that the "students' projects should be deeply connected with meaningful problems, either at a personal or community level, and designing solutions to those problems would become both educational and empowering" [1]. Encouraging imagination without creating too many restrictions is a significant challenge for fabrication and prototyping courses [2,9]. Meaning making is essential in the process of design.…”