Reflecting on yesterday’s class

This week we were lucky enough to have guests Bree Smith from Mount Royal University, and Jason Cameron from the City of Calgary join our class and support our growing understanding of civic innovation and what it means for Calgary.

Bree shared her expertise in using StoryMap, a software that allows us to showcase different locations- local to international- and lead the user on an intuitive and engaging journey through enriching these locations with unique insights. Learning a tool like Story Map opens up a world of possibilities for those wanting to share unique perspectives on place and space, and we can’t wait to apply this tool to our own learning next month!

Jason’s insight working on Calgary’s downtown resilience and his emphasis on community and collaboration provided invaluable awareness for developing a larger context to frame our class's goal of supporting the creation of a civic user testing group in Calgary. Our discussion with Jason explored elements of inclusivity and exclusivity that exist in Calgary, and the barriers and opportunities this creates in terms of creating meaningful civic engagement.

A big takeaway we took from this class- and the course as a whole so far- is how many opportunities for civic engagement already exist in Calgary! Having the opportunity to learn about tools like Story Map that can increase the visibility of our civic spaces, as well as the vast opportunities and potential in Calgary’s civic innovation space has inspired us. We can’t wait to keep exploring! MM