Abstract:

In this paper, we describe a teaching experience in training new generations of students - future designers of interaction with digital technology, products and services – on Sustainable Interaction Design, a perspective introduced by Eli Blevis, claiming that sustainability can and should be a central focus of interaction design. The experience took place at Politecnico di Milano and involved 35 bachelor's students of Interaction Design with different technical skills and cultural background.

The educational aim is to stimulate reflection on the theory and practice of how important it is to visualize Sustainable Interaction Design issues through the language of cinema for professional learning in Design. Through this approach, students were able to gain awareness of opportunities and risks of emerging technologies and, at the same time, familiarize themselves with the language of cinema and digital media by creating a short video as a way of sharing the knowledge acquired with a large audience.

The exploration of multifaceted points of view on sustainable interaction design was supported by a mixed teaching approach including ex-cathedra lectures, workshops, flipped classrooms, and discussions with experts. The interplay between interaction technologies and sustainable development was addressed in several fields, such as artificial intelligence and human rights, operational listening and surveillance resilience, interactive games and social equity, large language models and climate change, interactive devices and services sustainability.

Video topics and group formation have been agreed with the teaching staff according to students’ motivation and competences, and the video realization has been supported by an expert teaching Cinema course at the University of Milano Bicocca.

The students were divided into groups of four or five and were tasked with creating a short video consisting of a maximum of three 60-second shots in the style of the Lumière brothers (according to the primitive shooting method with the use of the fixed camera), which constitutes preliminary, useful or indispensable preparation in video making activity. Before shooting, they were asked to write a short script in relation to what and how they intend to represent, to translate it into a storyboard, and to deliver a list of scientific references to substantiate the addressed topic.

Finally, the videos were edited into a short movie projected in an open showcase at the end of the course and available for content dissemination in schools and events.
The results obtained highlighted the role of cinema and creative production in the learning process, as a medium that can greatly motivate student engagement, particularly in the phase of visualizing the issues that emerged, and the importance of interaction with peers in enriching the experience through the cooperative learning method.

Keywords:

Learning, sustainability Interaction design, Video Technology.