Exploring Digital Collaborative Platforms in the Context of Environmental Problem Solving Using the Design Thinking Approach

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Environmental Education Across the Disciplines

Abstract

The paper presents first results from three-case study of the use of collaborative digital platforms by students of three Canadian universities when exploring environmental issues through design-thinking approach. We found that Information and Communication technology (ICT) implemented within a design-thinking process can allow students to gradually represent a given complex problem, to structure and to refine their representations of the problem and to better construct their knowledge, thoughts and ideas collaboratively with their peers. Our data also suggests that ICT can help students to identify the most important elements of environmental problems and to move forward to proposing prototypes of plausible solutions.

Authors

• Viktor Freiman, University of Moncton

• Liliane Dionne, University of Ottawa

• Vincent Rihcard, Université Laval

• Diane Pruneau, University of Moncton

• Michel T. Leger, Universite de Moncton

• Anne-Marie Laroche, Université de Moncton