The Value of Using Visual Tools to Enable Students, Clients and End Users

This volume identifies and documents pedagogical and practice-based visual approaches to scaffolding and developing capacity for cross-disciplinary collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship. This first chapter introduces and contextualises the key themes of this book, outlining the value in supporting acquisition of cross-disciplinary collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship skills in students and why visual tools are particularly useful in doing this. Chapter authors, and editors of this book, have chosen to divide the content of the book into four sections : i) visual tools and artefacts for Cross-disciplinary Collaboration; (ii) visual tools and artefacts for Innovation; (iii) visual tools and artefacts for Entrepreneurship; and (iv) Integrated approaches using visual tools and artefacts. The main chapters take a social, cultural and historical look at the evolution of visual tools, followed by a final chapter which takes a look into future possibilities.