@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2026.1431, 

TITLE={From Kolòn to Digital Making: A Collaborative Platform to Support Innovation and Co-designing in Communities of Practice}, 
  
AUTHOR={Valérie Payen Jean Baptiste
, Kalliopi Benetos
, Schallum Pierre
, Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay
, Laurent Moccozet
, Valéry Psyché
, Jocelyne Kiss
, Giulia Ortolova, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Technology and Innovation}, 
	
VOLUME={11}, 

NUMBER={Issue 2}, 
	
YEAR={2026}, 

URL={https://openscience.fr/From-Kolon-to-Digital-Making-A-Collaborative-Platform-to-support-Innovation-and}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2026.1431}, 
	
ISSN={2399-8571}, 
	
ABSTRACT={This research presents an innovative digital platform that combines the Haitian kolòn model with the communities of practice theory to support projects’ co-design and collaborative learning in maker spaces. Built on a study involving 57 participants and five international maker communities, this platform has been designed to facilitate peer learning and skills development through a distributed mentoring system. Our results show significant improvements in collaborative capabilities and project success rates. The results highlight the co-creation process of a technological solution centered on a community-based, collaborative and inclusive approach. This work contributes to advancing innovation and skills development in the field of digital fabrication by providing a framework for ‘learning by making together’ that bridges virtual and physical maker spaces.}}