Here and There, Now and Then: Creativity, Design and Instruction for Hybrid Environments

Hybrid Environments– spaces where physical and digital elements are blended in-situ– have been growing and expanding over the past few decades. As these technologies become woven into our everyday lives, new challenges and opportunities emerge as they transform our experiences in our homes, workplaces, museums, and cities. Designing Hybrid Environments requires training in both the design of physical environments and interactive technologies. Cross-trained students in higher education need to be able to creatively respond and adapt to these emerging landscapes. Students must bridge fundamental knowledge in design, architecture, art, interactivity, and computation. This is a complex pedagogical practice. How are educators meeting this emergent need? The workshop’s primary goals are to (i) form a collective understanding of the current technological and pedagogical challenges to teaching the design and understanding of Hybrid Environments; (ii) bring together educators and practitioners interested in the future of Hybrid Environments, (iii) discuss creativity support tools as well as frameworks, methods, and approaches for teaching emerging technologies, (iv) form a multidisciplinary community to shape the future of pedagogical inquiry and implementation of Hybrid Environments.