PEEK/RE:search is a mobile and online tool for collaborative theorizing and “creative data” collecting.
It is a forum for posing personal hypotheses and questions, where the community shares their various opinions on the topic with supporting evidence that they may find in the real world (documented by photo, text, or voice) or in the mediated world (articles, documents, or URLs).
There are three modes of activity in PEEK:RE/search.
1. Initiating a new proposal
2. Responding to an existing proposal
3. Sorting and organizing responses to proposals
Inspired by something in the environment (an overheard conversation, a headline on someone else’s newspaper) one may choose to start a new proposal “thread.” The RE:searcher posts this new proposal with an argument and evidence to support this argument.
Alternatively, having a few minutes while waiting for the train, a RE:searcher may choose to browse through existing proposals. In that moment- or perhaps later in the day or week, a response to one of the proposals may come to the RE:searcher. She posts the argument with supporting evidence (the story of an interaction she witnessed, a photo of an architectural detail of the building across the street.)
Finally, a RE:searcher may be interested in viewing others’ proposals and responses online. He checks a proposal to which he himself responded the previous week. He navigates to the “workspace” where he drags and drops his favorite responses onto the main screen, groups them, and makes a mind map-like diagram. He then develops a new hypothesis in response to this proposal and saves his workspace diagram for others to see.
Our primary goal was to take advantage of therarely-appreciate learning opportunities that one may find during discreet moments of waiting or leisure time.
We also wanted to design a technological tool that brings the user back to his/her physical environment in such a way that they experience their surroundings and interactions in a more engaged and fulfilling way—a “looking tool.”
The “Workspace” page on the PEEK/RE:search website is the best venue for sorting through the various responses to a proposal. One may choose to group and organize select responses through the interactive and flexible Workspace interface that allows dragging and dropping, grouping, lassoing, and labeling responses and evidence, such that a media-rich mind map-like diagram is created.
Anyone who would like to state their opinion, hear others’ perspectives, and/or collect casual and creative data in the physical and mediated world.
(See user scenarios for examples.)
People like to share their knowledge.
(Rheingold quote about quick answers)
People want to have permission to interact with their environments on a new level.
People seek inspiration and desire a peek of curiosity.
People want to understand the world.
Learning is inherently fun!
Yes, definitely. One of our favorite aspects of PEEK is its flexibility. It is first and foremost a tool for sharing ideas, images, and inspiration. This structure is ideal for more formal learning environments such as classrooms, museums, travel, and even social support groups.
Great idea! We already thought of that! Although we do not intend for PEEK/RE:search to be used in formal research and data collection, it is an ideal venue to introduce students to research methods and some statistical terms. Because the topics are approachable and the setting informal, students may be more likely to want to “play” with the data, form hypotheses, and try to make sense of the various responses.
We would like to develop tools that facilitate this learning opportunity in the near future, such as data exportation and a coding feature.
PEEK/RE:search is scheduled to be released to the public in Fall 2006. However, the cell phone platform will be limited at that point. Within the six months that follow, new versions of the program will be released to open up the mobile portion of the tool to more participants. However, anyone with internet access will be able to participate in PEEK/RE:search online.
