6 Using Technology in Short-Term Experiential Activities
6 Using Technology in Short-Term Experiential Activities
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There are several stages in the execution of the experiential activity where technology can become a primary enabler for the organizing team as well as participants. These can include aspects such as communication, team formation, collaboration, and project submission.
There are many complex aspects and features of the experiential activity, which may include:
- Online/Offline Participant registration forms
- Promotion and Marketing of the event and promotional content
- Team formation: can participants find partners and form teams inside the platform?
- Community and team messaging functionality
- Livestream: does the platform provide a built-in livestream tool?
- 1:1 support: Is there dedicated support available to address participant concerns?
- Project showcase
One of the initial decisions the organizing team may have to make is to choose a platform to host the activity. While many events can be conducted purely through Microsoft Teams or Zoom, there is greater event cohesion if team members, stakeholders and mentors can collaborate, communicate and engage with each other directly through the platform in an end-to-end experience. Some organizations also have strict rules about which platforms are approved for participant use for privacy reasons. It is therefore important to collaborate invited stakeholders or subject-matter experts when selecting event technology.
Let’s start with the first component of the experiential activity workflow; creating the event.
Planning an Experiential Activity
Every experiential activity, such as a hackathon or design sprint, is centered around a common theme upon which the experiential activities focus the design challenges. For example, a hackathon based on the theme of workplace inclusivity and accessibility, may focus on design challenges focussed on assistive technology, attitudinal bias, workplace flexibility and accommodation. Based on the design theme you identify, you may need different technological tools to enable your participants to fulfill the above mentioned aspects. Below we will discuss some of the existing tools which can help with each aspect.
Participant Registration Forms
Google Forms is a free, user-friendly and general-purpose online form generator. All of the participant responses are stored in a Google Spreadsheet in the creator’s Google Drive. It is generally well-suited for ad-hoc purposes such as original research, customer satisfaction surveys, and participant registration. Google Forms can also automatically provide rudimentary analytics from participant responses.
TypeForm has excellent aesthetics and a pol