Prototyping theory: Applying Design Thinking to adapt a framework for Smart Learning Environments inside organizations

Abstract

This paper inquires into how an empirical smart learning environment (SLE) framework is applied inside an established corporation. The authors investigate how an SLE framework needs to be embedded into a corporate environment to encourage employees to innovate sustained SLEs. This paper is based on the assumption that interaction and co-creation foster employees’ capabilities to adapt a theoretical framework to their workplace. While such frameworks are indeed made applicable for practitioners, the application itself is rarely properly investigated. The authors argue for the need to discover and emphasize the tactics, strategies, and practices to adapt frameworks into practice. Therefore, the paper introduces a five-day design sprint concept based on design thinking principles. It discusses employees’ application of the SLE framework, reveals current obstacles, and highlights the unexploited potential to create human-centered, strategically implemented, and innovative smart learning use cases.