Reading Response 4

The readings this week have opened up new avenues for inquiry.  Our proposed prototype is targeted at children with Asperger’s, a syndrome characterized repetitive movements, social impairments, preoccupation with certain objects, and inflexibility on routines. (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm) What are the specific design requirements for this type of user?  Take a look at the video, "Leo's Social Story Made with Stories2Learn" posted below.

In this clip, the parent reminds the child, “you only have to touch it once.”  What can we learn from this product that will inform our design decisions?  If we know Asperger’s students are prone to repetitive behaviours, for example, how will we address this?  Sharp, Rogers and Preece identify constraints as “determining ways of restricting the kinds of user interaction that can take place at a given moment.” (pg. 31)  What constraints do we need to implement that would facilitate a productive and enjoyable experience for both the child and adult mediating the technology?

In addition to considering constraints for our product, our users also exhibit repetitive preoccupations with objects.  How can we ensure our users view our product favourably, and derive “pleasure and satisfaction when using it, looking at it, holding it, and opening or closing it?” (pg 15)  The interface must be engaging and intuitive for our target audience.

Another consideration drawn from this week’s readings is a tendency of humans to “treat tennis rackets, balls, and hand tools as animate beings, verbally praising them when they do a good job for us, blaming them when they refuse to perform as we had wished.” (Norman pg 136)  Asperger’s children can become very volatile when things do not go their way, as evidenced in the "Asperger's Child - Meltdown video below.

As we begin designing a software product for existing hardware, should we sell an accessory to protect that hardware too?  Iphone hard-shell protectors and accompanying screen protectors are available (http://www.zagg.com/), however, will the thin screen protectors hold up to an Asperger’s meltdown?  Should we consider a more durable, harder screen protector for this user?

These are some of the considerations we must address as we enter the next phase of our design.

Leo's Social Story made with Stories2Learn

Asperger's Child - Meltdown Mode

Reading Response 3

Take a moment to review the world’s worst website.  What makes it as terrible as it professes itself to be?  What improvements might you suggest and why? http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/

Years ago I presented this website to my grade 3 / 4 students as a critical thinking exercise.  My goal was to provoke thought into what makes for effective web design and provide samples of both “good” and “bad” websites.  I dug up a number of sites with consideration to aesthetics, intuitiveness, and usability.  From my years of web searching, I thought I had a reasonabl grasp of what made for effective design, however, having read through the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines document, I wish to reopen this.  Consider the link below:

http://visualculture.wisc.edu/

The usability article outlines a number of key design considerations, including layout and intuitiveness.  In terms of layout, the Wisconsin Visual Culture program website is simple, providing relevant visual content with minimalist sensibility.  There is nothing graphically intensive that would impact load times.  At first glance, the eye chart on the left is identifiable in its formatting, however, a closer examination reveals it represents characters from a variety of languages.  I infer this to mean the program is designed to meet a diverse range of learners.  The diagram of the eye to the right is also relevant to the content.

While the site succeeds in its aesthetics and load times, it is lacking in its intuitiveness.  The usability article stresses, “users will make the best use of Web sites when information is displayed in a directly usable format and content organization is highly intuitive.” (pg 9)  The coloured vertical squares provide no accompanying text, yet we are expected to intuit these will provide us with pertinent information.  I accept that this site is promoting visual navigation, however, if there is no text, there should be visual icons associated with each category.  How am I to reasonably intuit that a light blue square means ‘events’ while darker blue means ‘curriculum’ and ‘faculty members?’  In addition, holding the mouse over one of these squares extends a line to the eye diagram.  ‘Departments and units’ is at the back of the eye.  Does this mean it is of lesser importance than ‘Trans Conference,’ which is at the front?

I think a visual presentation for this website is an interesting idea, but it should not be at the expense of intuitiveness and usability.  This could be easily remedied through the use of quality visual cues and connecting these cues to fit with the diagram of the eye.  One way might be to imbed the categories in with the terminology of the eye.  For example, ‘Through the lens of curriculum’ could associate curriculum with a particular anatomy of the eye, and so on.  Otherwise, I think the eye must be separate and not interfere with the accompanying visual cues.

Portfolio Design Rationale

This web-based portfolio serves to document my journey of learning throughout the course of my graduate work in educational technology.  It houses current research and confronts academic queries to inform my thesis on creating a technological acquisition protocol in education.  The portfolio also provides a platform to open a professional dialogue with its core audience of instructors, administrators, and colleagues.

As a multimedia documentation hub, the portfolio allows for documentation of current and emerging technologies.  By accumulating relevant audio and visual material, it stimulates comparisons of technological advances and regressions.  Here we can critically engage with different design considerations sourced from a variety of fields.

The portfolio organizes my thesis research by documenting current factors in educational technology development and distribution.  The intersection between what designers promise and the perceived benefits to the user will be explored.  The criteria school boards currently use to determine the timing of when to invest in a technology during its product life cycle is of particular interest.

This documentation tool invites its audience to engage in a forum aimed at critiquing current technological designs, implications for learning, and future applications.  In this way, it is a living, interactive tool designed to spawn new questions and inquiries.  The portfolio is a culmination of current research in educational technology coupled with an opportunity to engage in an ongoing professional dialogue.

Reading Response 2

My father delights in new technologies.  He also curses their very existence.  These products promise to enhance his life with a host of intoxicatingly rich features, yet it is unlikely my father will reap their full benefits.  His attempts to sift through manuals and intuit different combinations of buttons to push often prove unsuccessful. However, this does not dissuade him from supporting the likes of Sony, Apple, and Toshiba.  Yet if these technologies are too complex for my father to use, why does he continue to buy them?  What are these companies are doing right?

Recently my father purchased a BMW X5 at around the time the company was commemorating its one-millionth sale. (http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/06/08/bmw-celebrates-production-of-1-million-bmw-x5s/)  As a proud owner of a new BMW, he made it a point to showcase its many features.  The X5 boasts the idrive control system, which integrates climate, sound, and navigation.  Technically, it is an impressive feature, however, the complexity of the interface and cumbersome mechanism to control it detracts from its overall usability.  The screen is accompanied by a clunky directional knob, akin to a CRT television before the invention of remote controls.  Consumer Reports would agree with this assessment as well, listing the idrive controls among the drawbacks next to fuel economy.  (http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks/2009-bmw-x5.htm)  My father would have known this as well as the likelihood he wouldn’t be able to use half the features, yet he still went ahead with the purchase.  Why?

Norman’s three levels of design, visceral, behavioural, and reflective, provides a framework for this inquiry.  The BMW X5 holds immense visceral appeal.  It is sleek, smooth, and sexy, perhaps even iconic. (See video post on BMW X5: Every moment has its icon).  As Norman states of the visceral, “make the car door feel firm and produce a pleasant chunking sound as it closes.” (pg 67)  From a behavioural standpoint, the vehicle offers fluid functionality and safety features.  My father refers to it as “the ultimate driving machine.”  Above all though, it is at the reflective level that the BMW X5 truly delivers.  The price tags are significant, attributing status to owning a BMW.  Also, the vehicle offers a plethora of technologically advanced features, from extendable sport seats to backup parking camera.  In addition, the one-millionth sale link above is accompanied by a blog.  This way, a community of BMW owners can connect and share their driving experiences, similar to what Vicente sites in the case of Palm and their “cool user story section.” (pg 105)  My father is now part of the BMW community.

While the X5 has much going for it from a design standpoint, it does not change the fact that my father cannot use many of the features embedded in this vehicle.  To what extent is the BMW design team aware of this?  Norman reminds us of Diesel’s marketing strategy, one that “deliberately confuses and intimidates.” (pg. 93)  Is BMW’s objective to inject a massive amount of technology in its vehicles to elevate its reflective appeal and status?  Is there reflective currency attached to mastering BMW technology, no matter how unintuitive it may be?

At the reflective level, technology creates a story, much like Norman’s Juicy Salif he finds “bizarre, but delightful.” (pg 113)  How willing are we to overlook unintuitive designs for the sake of a good reflective design story?  In the case of my father, the reflective design of the X5 is clearly the winner.  He has a story to tell.

BMW X5: Every moment has its icon