This case study reviews the use of an ambient display system, dubbed Echo, for encouraging cross-disciplinary exchange about the design and role of technology systems. The study begins with a review of Echo: from the initial participatory interviews to the reflections and discussions generated by the installation. The second half of the case study analyzes why the experiment succeeded and where it fell short. To answer open questions about the experience, we look to the practice of dialogic aesthetics advanced by Grant Kester. We ask what it would mean to use the concept of the ‘character of exchange’ as a guide for the evaluation and design of cross-disciplinary exchanges.

In this paper we discuss the use of speculative design as an approach to developing technological fluency. We provide overviews of technological fluency and speculative design, trace their conceptual connections, and then outline the use of a speculative design approach to technology fluency programs, providing an example from a current project. We then conclude by discussing how a speculative design approach can extend the idea of technology fluency towards new directions: broadening common understandings of the practices of technology development and adding a dimension of criticality.