A.L.U., the Amazing Learning Unit at IPTComm 2011
Submission for IPTComm 2011:
DEMO: A.L.U., Amazing Learning Unit, and IMS Proof of Concept Project
DESCRIPTION: Alcatel-Lucent first presented A.L.U. at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress in February in partnership with LEGO and IMSA, the Illinois Math and Science Academy. This demonstration showcases the convergence of mobile sensing networks, robotics and communication technologies enabling new conversations and user experiences. The use case depicted in the above video focuses on supporting a child’s educational environment by delivering personalized and contextually relevant activities coupled with a learning network, which fosters sharing and collaboration in a playful setting.
PICTURES & RESENTATION: Click on IMS’ Amazing Learning Unit
The 3Q Model at IPTComm 2011
This is my talk submission for IPTComm 2011:
TITLE: The 3Q Model
SUBITLE: Innovation and Quality Management in the Internet Age
PRESENTER: J. de Francisco
ABSTRACT: Quality management in the Internet Age encompasses network and human factors engineering to further innovate. The 3Q Model involves:
- QoS –quality of service –> network reliability and traffic behavior such as available capacity, jitter and packet loss to name a few well known metrics.
- QoE – quality of experience –> user engagement metrics such as number and depth of sessions as well as social graphs, network effects, and perceived satisfaction levels as examples.
- QoL – quality of life –> well being metrics such as accessibility to ubiquitous broadband networks and applications as well as connectedness, data protection and privacy, many of which industry associations, advocacy groups and regulators are concerned with.
Techno centric engineering is no longer a recipe for guaranteed success. Designing user experiences by disregarding the need for adequate enough trade offs in terms of service levels can also undermine otherwise promising web based enterprises. Therefore, the 3Q Model’s holistic approach drives quality assurance and control processes not just to allow for consistent metrics and “service reliability” for the sake of it, but to leverage “design think” and “predictive analytics” to spur the development of innovative online services.
REFERENCE MATERIALS: note that this is not the IPTComm presentation version, which is in the works as of May 17:
IPTComm 2011 will be held in Chicago on August 1 and 2. Visit http://www.iptcomm.org/
the consentio platform
What follows is the proposal I am submitting to MIT’s EF White Board Challenge 2011. This concept, the consentio platform, evolves from an idea that I had shared in a previous post.
“The Web can be used to increase participation levels of diversify participation (…) to become more informed and connected (…) a new model of mobilization in which small-time investments by participants allow scores more individuals to participate –and to do so quickly.”
“Most of the barriers to group action have collapsed, and without those barriers, we are free to explore new ways of gathering together and getting things done (…) so much easier that, in fact, it is changing the world.”
Digitally Enabled Social Change. The MIT Press.
Trends:
Online communications and social media are helping bring about changes that range from addressing issues of interest to a local community to giving underdogs a fighting chance when campaigning for public office, as well as regime change.
Problem Statement:
Leveraging free social media means dealing with a fragmented set of multiple online platforms, whose set-up and administration still requires expert online consultants and dedicated resources. That translates into a significant amount of time and taxing efforts and energy which could otherwise be best deployed to further the actual subject that you are promoting and campaigning for.
Opportunity:
Consentio is set to become the Speaker’s Corner of the internet. A non partisan user friendly portal, a single destination enabling anyone to discuss matters of public interest and to promote and campaign for them as they see fit.
Consentio is a latin word, a fusion of cōn- (“together”) and sentiō (“sense; perceive; feel”). The “consentio cloud computing platform” is thought out as a free web service taking participatory democracy to new levels.
As a result, democracy can be now defined in the XXI century as [a] a system that empowers each single individual to make a difference by [b] partnering with any others to make things happen in [c] a free society.
“More participatory, the networked population is gaining greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action (…) social media have become coordinating tools for nearly all of the world’s political movements (…) communicative freedom is good for political freedom.”
“The political power of social media”
Execution:
Your messages and supporting content can be easily created and shared on Consetio, which will cross-syndicate any: updates, blog posts, pictures, documents, presentations, audio and video as well as meeting logistics by automatically populating well established social media services such as: Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, Tumblr, Flickr, Scribd, Slideshare, YouTube as well as Meetup and online conferencing and town hall meeting systems, to name a popular few and just to being with.
Consentio does the heavy lifting for you so that you don’t need to be concerned about managing the numerous user ids, interfaces, settings, different file formats, backups, updates, application programmable interfaces, and equally important: fragmented web analytics for each of those sites.
Moreover, Consentio’s dashboard aggregates all of the relevant web metrics so that you can focus on listening and monitoring your campaign’s progress and effectiveness with ease, taking prompt action as needed instead of being slowed down and distracted by technical challenges.
“The potential power of the Internet has yet to be properly harvested, but with over 150 million people in the United States alone having Internet access, e-fundraising is worth pondering (…) the overhead of e-fundraising is significantly lower than traditional methods (…) the Internet has provided immediacy that allows people to donate now.”
The Everything Fundraising Book.
Operating Model:
Consentio’s premium fundraising engine will support your efforts by helping you easily create and distribute online ads minimizing otherwise costly upfront expenses. Both Consentio’s premium service and your online ads are subsidized by a set percentage of the online donations that your campaign will be gathering. As easy as that.
Consentio, the Speaker’s Corner of the Internet Age.
“Freedom of speech is real. On a platform, or in certain recognized open air spaces like Hyde Park, you can say almost anything (…) if large numbers of people are interested in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech.”
Freedom of the Park by George Orwell.
Relevant posts:
following the money: from social media to social fundraising
“Traditional centralized command and control fundraising methods are far too expensive and impersonal (…)Social fundraising is all about reaching more people more efficiently with a personal touch that inspires
them to take immediate action (…) allowing volunteers to draw on their own experiences to craft a personal message for their friends and networks, an organization can broadly expand the reach and effectiveness of their fundraising efforts.”
Coalition for Social Fundraising.
Years ago I was working on a strategy project and was asked to estimate the size of the nascent online social networking and social media space. That’s a “follow the money” exercise, which involves the peeling the value chain’s onion. Back then everything was free in the land of social networking, though a first layer of transactional activities was already surfacing:
- offering basic services for free while expecting paying subscribers for premium features
- voluntary contributions to open source projects
- processing donations to causes
- enabling peer to peer micro-lending
- capturing personal information, then offering data mining and analytics as a service
- collecting fees from sales referrals
- delivering personalized, targeted, behavioral advertising and coupons
- conducting online surveys and “tests” as part of market research
- gifts and sponsorships geared to get bloggers to influence public opinion
- enabling viral marketing campaigns leveraging online networks
- social media monitoring, listening and reputation management
Did I forget any? If so, please let me know.
In any case, back then, at the time of my study, 2, 3, and 4 did not have the critical mass that social fundraising is now achieving. The fact is that the 2008 presidential campaign made quite clear that a long tail of small online contributions can deliver a decisive fund rising edge.
The below pictures are all hyperlinked and are just provided just to illustrate a variety of services in this new space:
Related links:
- Democratizing innovation: online and social venture funding
- Innovator’s dilemmas: revenue vs. value [1] – [2] -
Other blogs:
- 24 tools for fundraising with social media by Vivian Ramirez
- Social fundraising site raises $2 million of its own by Rip Empson
- 5 social fundraising alternatives to facebook causes by Geoff Livingston
- Small Online Contributions Add Up to Huge Fund-Raising Edge by Michael Luo
J. de Francisco blogging from Chicago on April 23, 2011
The WOW FACTOR -1
Emerging: “comprising cutting edge trends;” disruptive: “innovations the market does not expect;” the wow factor: “a strong, usually pleasurable effect,” “a sign of admiration,” “an outstanding success.”
E&D: “unscripted events involving people passionate about innovating in the information and communications industry.” E&D’S WOW FACTOR: “engaging conferences addressing the art of making a difference.”
Yesterday we held E&D’s WOW FACTOR #3, a TEDx-like morning long conference, which focused on the subject of “innovation, technology and education.” I am very happy to share that both the speakers and the audience were very engaged and that this activity delivered a wealth of insights. As a result, we were strongly encouraged to take the WOW FACTOR to the next level.
Back in 2009, we assembled the IID team at Alcatel-Lucent’s Solutions & Technology Introduction Department. IID stands for Ideation, Incubation & Demonstrations. Since, our research efforts have delivered new inventions, supported proof of concept projects involving cutting edge technologies and, most importantly, worked with a number of people in the company in a technical project management capacity to deliver high impact demonstrations at Mobile World Congress and at the company’s Executive Business Centers worldwide.
We kicked off ideation activities by scouting emerging and disruptive trends, which we documented in presentations shared among ourselves in early “ideashop” calls. It soon became clear that we needed to discuss our findings with other teams and organizations in the company to best fulfill our charter. That led us to craft the E&D Program, which we kicked off in March of 2010 with an annual two-day workshop:
- On the first day gathered some of the best talent in the company, delivering 20+ high energy fast paced presentations on critical topics. That was our “trendstorming session.”
- On the second day, we deployed our new ideation tools to map out trends and approached the bigger picture by sensing futures; then we focused on crafting concepts aimed to showcase innovative solutions for what’s next to come in our industry. That was our “brainstorming session.”
- By leveraging online collaboration tools we also enabled many others to review and to take advantage of these materials later on.
Since, we have publicly shared our thinking by means of presentations at industry events and successfully translated this effort into compelling proof of concept demonstrations portraying Alcatel-Lucent’s innovativeness. But, things could get even better if that “public discourse” permeated the entire IID cycle, instead of just benefiting from customers and industry experts’ feedback at the back end of our process.
So, E&D’s first Wow Factor followed in October of last year. We delivered a course on “Sensing the Future” and two dynamic “Wow Factor” conferences in 2010, which involved a variety of thought leaders from other companies as well as universities. Exchanging and contributing to shape new insights have become an invaluable exercise to us. We hear that it is also true for those who we interact with.
But, interestingly enough, some of the most significant benefits for my team have come embracing the entrepreneurial behaviors that these open conversations are fostering. That results in a contagious and a positive mindset yielding a skill set that transcends what the E&D Program was initially engineered for.
Related links:
J. de Francisco blogging from Naperville on April 7, 2011
IMS’ Amazing Learning Unit
“Bring creativity to your classroom (…) The activities cover content in the areas of math, science, technology and engineering, as well as language arts and literacy (…) Students of any age can build a robot, and age-appropriate robotic sets are available for every grade level. Each set contains the parts needed to build a fully functioning robot (…) Easy graphical programing is available at all age levels (…) Connect with other educators, coaches and enthusiasts (…) Create innovative projects.”
“Lego Education” brochures.
See more pictures on Flickr.
These are A.L.U., the Amazing Learning Units, part of a proof of concept initiative showcasing interactive robotics and rich communication systems. This is an open innovation project in partnership with Lego and IMSA, the Illinois Math & Science Academy.
We leveraged Lego Mindstorms as a rapid prototyping tool to deliver a mobile sensing network that augments children’s learning environment. A.L.U.’s first public demonstration was successfully showcased at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress just last month. Here is the supporting presentation:
What follows are tree basic use cases to begin with:
- Slides 4-7: Laia is in Barcelona playing with a doll, which A.L.U. #1’s senses and identifies of that of an astronaut. Note that Laia did not have to do anything, but just playing with the doll. Based on Laia’s profile and context, A.L.U. #1 delivers age appropriate interactive online activities for her to learn more about space exploration.
- Slides 8-9: Moreover, Patrick, who is in Boston, also happens to be engaged in a similar activity at that same time. Laia and Patrick are part of a secure learning circle set up by sister schools. They share interests and learning levels. A.L.U. #1 and #2 get connected to enable Laia and Patrick to see each other, play and learn together online.
- Slides 10-11: Parents and educators receive meaningful analytics on their kids’ learning activities on a secure website. They can also join the ongoing session to play and coach the kids from their phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and TVs, whichever is more convenient for them.
Thanks to Lego’s inherit versatility, each A.L.U. can be personalized, which is also the case for the online activities and overall communications system.
This proof of concept research project is part of a larger study on how to foster collaboration and innovativeness in our schools, aiming to take down the physical barriers that limit what children can learn in today’s classrooms. We welcome your feedback.
Here is a sample of emerging technologies and concepts being researched:
- Mobile sensing networks
- Internet of things
- Robotics
- Rich communication systems
- Subscriber data management
- Contextual awareness and personalization
- Social media and networks
- Analytics
- Augmented reality
About IMSA: a world class high school nurturing creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. IMSA also advances education through research, groundbreaking ventures and strategic partnerships. Faculty members include Presidential Award winners, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certified faculty, distinguished authors and fellowship recipients. All faculty have advanced degrees, with 51% holding doctorate degrees. In 1998, Nobel Laureate Dr. Leon Lederman became the inaugural Resident Scholar at IMSA.
About Lego Mindstorms: education sets, software, and activities leveraged as powerful tools that convers your classroom into a hands-on robotics laboratory. Your students will model real-life mechanisms and use creativity, logic, and problem solving skills to meet challenges while learning necessary science, technology, engineering, and math concepts.
About Alcatel-Lucent: leader in mobile, fixed, IP and Optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and services operating in 130+ countries. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost centers of research and innovation in communications technology.
Massive Change Network: The Plan
“The Massive Change Network (MCN) is a global design learning network. We are developing a global network committed to inspiring, connecting, and empowering entrepreneurial designers. Our ambition is to inspire a generation of designers to realize their full power and potential to change the world for the better (and launch new entrepreneurial enterprises to do it).”
Last Thursday I joined IMSA’s students and faculty to watch the “The Plan,” a Swedish 70 minute documentary featuring individuals who are leading initiatives aimed to change things for the better in their communities.
However, as inspiring as those real life stories are, a key take away is that these cannot longer be seen as isolated efforts. The fact that we are living in a networked society and have unprecedented access to information and communication tools. As an example, this movie’s event was jointly watched and discussed by a dozen of global locations listed below thanks to web conferencing, not to mention the information on this subject available on the Internet.
I would like to take this chance to thank Jim Gerry, Innovation and Intrapreneurship Director at IMSA, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, for having invited me to join this event. It should be noted that IMSA’s motto is “igniting and nurturing creative, ethical scientific minds that advance the human condition.”
Related posts:
J. de Francisco blogging from Aurora on February 26, 2011
Innovation and design thinking
“Design Thinking is a methodology for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success.”
“Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the "building up" of ideas. There are no judgments early on in design thinking. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phases. Outside the box thinking is encouraged in these earlier processes since this can often lead to creative solutions.”
The need for “design” professionals was first raised in the industrial revolution, in the later part of the 19th century. Mass producing manufactured products was all the rage, yet quality became an issue of concern.
The 20th century brought quality assurance. A practice initially concerned with things such as engineering for zero defects. Though, we have very little use for perfectly manufactured products whose usability and, most importantly, “meaning” fall apart in the hands of users. Therefore, designers are more focused on human factors and the overall user experience, which we now refer to as QoE, quality of experience, in the high tech industry. If interested in the topic, you might like to read my post on the Q3 Model.
At the turn of the XXI century, we seem to be rediscovering the term “design think” as a user and culture centric source of innovation. In a world of fast paced developments, designers are now raising to leadership positions formerly reserved to professionals from other disciplines. This begs the question: what’s design thinking really about, in simple terms?
- a user centric paradigm, which is concerned with quality and, therefore, puts people first,
- the ability to deploy divergent and convergent thinking fostering rapid modeling and prototyping,
- agile thought processes mashing up talents traditionally associated to either left or right brains,
- an interdisciplinary silo busting approach to experimentation and problem solving, the intersection zone between what has also been traditionally known as worlds apart, the blending of sciences and arts,
- last but not least, a cultural and innovation agent.
Keeping it even simpler, think of teams just applying a work mindset that Leonardo da Vinci already pioneered in the 15th century.
I am designer, therefore I think creatively ;-)
Related posts:
- Envisioning information – consultaglobal
- 3Q Model – consultaglobal
- About the difference between QoS and QoE – consultaglobal
- Innovation and the rationale behind emotional design – consultaglobal
- Defining and studying personas – consultaglobal
- What does motivate us? – the mile 0 project
- May QoL be with you – the mile 0 project
J. de Francisco blogging from Barcelona on February 14, 2011
Envisioning information to be able to innovate
“The world is complex, dynamic, multidimensional; the paper is static, flat (…) charts, diagrams, graphs, tablets, guides, instructions, directories, and maps comprise an enormous accumulation of material. Once described by Philip Morrison as “cognitive art.”
“To envision information –and what bright and splendid visions can result- is to work at the intersection of image, word, number, art (…) the principles of information design are universal –like mathematics.”
Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte.
Crafting a vision is key to innovating, helping others easily visualize it is a critical success factor. Moreover, just by engaging in the exercise of drawing it, we are better able to connect dots making new ideas surface, which fosters creativity and a far reaching thought process, one that goes well beyond what just communicating with words allows.
“Visual problem solving is ready to explode across business (…) a way to see hidden solutions (…) a way of approaching all sorts of business challenges, from idea discovery to concept development to communications to sales.”
“The back of the paper napkin” by Dan Roam.
“We take data and try to make it visually interesting (…) you have to make these things interesting enough so someone will read your story. If your image is flat and dull, no one is going to read the text.”
Best Jobs In Science: NASA Concept Illustrators Turn Raw Data Into Art by Clay Dillow.
J. de Francisco blogging from Chicago on February 6, 2011
