Friday 13th March 2009 12:00 pm
Lucy Bernholz: Design Principles for Field Building
How do digital realities influence field building in digital media and learning?
The literature on field building identifies four common elements--infrastructure, intermediaries, standards, and networks--that are shared by fields from ethnic studies to impact investing. The Digital Media and Learning initiative is helping to articulate the design principles that lead to those characteristics in a rapidly evolving, remix-based, and inherently cross-sector field.
My early thoughts on those design principles are:
1) Plan for remixing and re-using of core knowledge--core elements of a new field must be able to be used by those in other fields to advance their work (e.g., new media to learn to read or write, social enterprise that improves how public problems get solved).
2) Diversity of players and networks, methods and perspectives is key to meaning and survival. And, yes, it makes definitions and standards harder.
3) Be clear on what needs to be standardized (if anything) and what needs to remain open, flexible, and inclusive.
4) Activities for growth and identity matter more than the structures that provide them--identify what is needed, then be forward thinking in how these things get provided or done. (Form follows function.)
5) It will take longer to get there than you think, and it may never be “built” but always be “building.” If it ever is “built,” that is probably the moment at which it will need to be replaced or morphed into something else.
Category:
Like this post?
- Email this page using tell-a-friend, or
- Save it with one of these social bookmarking tools:
, or - View author profile for Lucy Bernholz.
