Digital Digressions

Defining LEGO Systematic Creativity - research now live!

Interested in understanding the kind of creativity playing with LEGO bricks develops? Wonder no longer - a year long research project involving professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Westminster to name but a few, has now been completed - explaining not only creativity, and how LEGO play supports creativity, but also the role of play in creativity and how learning and creativity are linked. The full report is available for download at the new LEGO Learning Institute website.

More about Systematic Creativity here

and a talk by prof. David Gauntlett at the LEGO Idea Conference on Systematic Creativity here

and the LEGO Idea Conference itself here

and some background here

Bricks on wheels: London to Paris in support of the National Autistic Society

No more excuses - time to pick a challenge and go for it! I've picked mine for this summer and that is to ride my bike from London to Paris over 4 days in August in support of the National Autistic Society. These guys do some great work supporting children and their families deal with autism. And we at LEGO UK sponsor the NAS, so I thought I'd do my bit for this great cause. 

In fact, only last week, Thorkil Sonne, the founder of Specialistpeople.com, at the LEGO Idea Conference, delivered an emotional appeal for greater support and understanding not to mention appreciation for people with autism. I had been thinking about riding for a while, but this really made me sit up and listen - why only ride, when you can ride and help a good cause? Why not join me and do something extraordinary yourself! Details of the bikerides can be found here..

Making is Connecting

A great talk by Prof. David Gauntlett at the annual LEGO Idea Conference that I wanted to share with you. More thoughts about the conference here.

Siftables - Realworld digital manipulation

This is so great - saw this at MIT a few years ago and so pleased to see how much further this concept has evolved since then. Imagine if all those complex tasks you perform today with a computer, keyboard and mouse - could be done with gestures, simply by moving blocks around? Sounds like child's play you say. Well, have a look at this, forget touch screens and go for blocks instead!

What makes collaboration successful?

Collaboration is becoming increasingly important for both innovation and business success. It is also a key enabler to protect companies in the eye of the storm. Collaboration relies on individuals being accountable to each other ethically. 4 key principles are at the heart of this: Appreciation, Trust, Commitment and Recognition. Read more>>