Modular learning environment

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Modular learning environment

University of Westminster

MA Design for Interaction

Designers: Simone Nogueira, Rodrigo Zuniga Andrighetti

May 2006


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Introduction

This project explores concepts of interaction on information environments during the

learning process. We have defined three different scenarios for our research. The first

scenario shows the user studying alone - an individual interaction with information; the

second scenario presents the user asking for help from a classmate by phone - a social

interaction supported by a virtual environment; finally we present a third scenario defined by

users studying in groups - an understanding of social interaction between students during the

learning process in the real environment (in situ).

I. Analysis

> First scenario

Daniel is a 19 years old university student. The semester is finishing and he is

preparing for the final exams. He is studying marketing, alone in his room. Forthis, Daniel has a table close to his bed where he has spread out all the relevant

information related to the topic that he is studying. The information is

displayed in class notes, books, photocopies, and other texts from the contents

of the course. He has also brought to his table a paper with notes from last

semesters course that has some issues related to this module. He has some

exercises that are difficult to solve. Now he is dealing with a problem and he is

unable to find the correct result, he is not able to understand why. Daniel tries

to find a similar exercise among his notes that was successfully solved, to see ifthere is a way to associate the formulas and understand the problem he also

checks the book, looking for something similar to use as a guide. He reads the

explanation that the course book gives and follows all the instructions, step by

step, but he is still not able to understand. Finally he gives up, and leaves it

until later.


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Design observations

Creating a personalized knowledge environment

One important issue that we have realized in this scenario is that the user spreads around him

something that we call the user defined knowledge environment. Daniel creates this

environment of knowledge around him in a natural way. Every time he needs some notes, a

book or text, he brings it to his table, uses it, and leaves it there, ready to be used again. This

knowledge environmentacts as a support for his studies. At the beginning we thought of this

environment of things spread out around him as something confusing and disorganised, but

after analysing it, we discovered that it makes sense, and it becomes for our understanding

now, one of the main elements of the study activity. The main characteristic of this

knowledge environmentis that it is defined by the user; remains always present and ready to

be used; is extensible and navigable; affords manipulation and reconfiguration in order to

create associations and comparison.

> Second scenario

Daniel is stuck on chapter 8 of the course book. The exercise that he was not

able to solve before is affecting his further study. So he gives up trying it alone

and calls her friend Sophie, to avoid wasting more time. She is at University

studying with other friends, so she is able to give him some help. Daniel

explains to her the problem that he has tried to solve. Sophie checks the same

book that Daniel has and they solve the exercise together step by step. Daniel

stops Sophie at the point where he has had problems, and asks her why she has

operated the exercise in this way. Sophie explains the reasons to him, while he

takes some notes. Sophie also gives the page numbers of the explanation in the

book. They hang up, and Daniel checks the information and the notes, solving

some more exercises. Now the results are correct, and he is able to keep

studying alone.

Design observations

Meeting in virtual environments

During this phone conversation, Daniel and Sophie needed to define what they are talking

about. The what becomes the virtual environment. Language becomes the main tool to


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create it. From this scenario, we realised that designing virtual environments for social

interaction are not about graphic interfaces or the Internet. The design of virtual

environments for social interaction is, in our understanding, about linguistic affordances of

mentally shared places. In this sense, graphic representation becomes an important part of

the communication process, but it is not t the virtual environment. The virtual environment

is the multidimensional space that lives in the users mind, which includes memory and time

as important dimensions. The understanding of an interactive virtual environment that

enables the activity of study and learning has given us a better approach in taking design

decisions about our project.

> Third scenario

A group of students are checking some exercises that they have done alone

before. They are comparing the results and looking at the different possibilities

to reach the correct result in each exercise. In one of the exercises, three of the

four student of the group have an incorrect answer. The one who achieved the

correct result takes his exercise, and does it again in front of the others,

showing the formulas and similar exercises that he has used to understand this

problem. The three students pay attention and take notes. When the explanation

is finished, the whole group is able to continue with the next exercises.

Design observations

A map of knowledge

As in the other scenarios, the study group works in a knowledge environment. They choose

different strategies to understand the content and spread it in their study space, exploring

every part separately. After they have explored the content alone, they present to each other

the parts that they are able to understand and the parts that they are not. Then, the users

study together and one of them acts as a guide for the others. The result is a group map that

represents the whole land of knowledge that they need to learn. And having this map, thestudents can check easily where they are, how much they have learnt, and what has been left

to study.


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II. Project Development

Intention

The design intention is to create a device that affords user manipulation of the learning

environment through a flexible and engaging interface. The main characteristic for this

environment is the affordability of communication during the learning process. For this, we

have defined the following requirements:

- Natural manipulation of the environment and the contents

- Representation of the whole knowledge environment at the same time

- Affordability of virtual and physical connection of a modular system

- Engagement of the user

Concepts for development

The visual possibilities of bubbles on a surface was our first idea for the development of a

modular learning environment but this was discarded because of the complex relations of

their geometry, although the structural concept of an organic system interacting and relating

to each other in a fluid context remained as a design concept. Finally, we found in the work

of Piet Mondrian a more appropriate system that contains the main characteristics of our first

idea of bubbles. We decided to use it because of the visual sophistication and geometricsimplicity.

Organic and geometric modular systems


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Manipulation of the environment

In our intention to create a natural way to manipulate the interface of the environment, we

have defined that the rectangular containers of information will react to the cursor like

liquid. This means that to expand and contract the files or menu it is not necessary to hold

the border or to click buttons. The concept works by manipulating the environment with the

cursor in the middle of the area, and moving it to the side, expanding the size like dragging a

liquid.

Concept for the expansion of the modules


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III. Project proposal

Product Design

Sketches and storyboards Graphic Interface


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First interface prototype

The device is articulated in two spaces, one for the manipulation of the information (left)

and one for the operation of contents (right). This duality enables the user to associate what

he is reading on the left with what he is operating on the right.


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> New scenario 1, step by step

Daniel is studying for his final exam.

1. He opens his device.

2. He goes to the menu and opens 3 files:

- One formula with the explanation and some exercises- Some notes that he took last night- A text that is related to the subject he is studying.

3. He starts solving the first exercise.

4. He has a problem, and goes to look at the explanation related

to that exercise.

5. The explanation is not clear enough to him, so he goes to the

menu and opens another text.

6. He checks the information, and now is able to solve the

exercise.

7. He checks the answer and is correct.

8. He goes again to the menu and opens another group ofexercises that correspond to last years exams.

9. He starts solving the exercises.

10. He has some problems again, and now uses the first

exercise that he had solved, to find common patterns to help

him to understand.

11. He needs to check some information again in the first text,

so he expands it.

12. Now, he keeps solving exercises, revisiting things that are

already open.


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Daniel Sophie

1.logs in, into the shared space

3. sends an invitation to

Sophie to meet him on the

shared space (the shared space

appears)

5. Sophie and Daniels cursors

appear on Daniels screen

7. chooses the problematicexercise in the left screen, and

display it on the shared space

(right screen), in the shared

Users Defined Knowledge

Context

12. Daniel shows the line were

he has problems (the cursor

points it out but it doesnt

operate, only Sophies cursor)

14. Daniel saves the shared

screen on his menu, and logs

out.

2. logs in, into the shared space

4. accepts the invitation

6. Daniel and Sophies cursors

appear on Sophies screen

8. the exercise is displayed on

the screen

9. Sophie sees the exercise on

her right screen.

10. she displays the formula

that she has on her left screen

on the shared space, on the

right.

11. Sophie brings the exercise

from her Users Defined

Knowledge Context and starts

explaining step by step, doing

draws and notes on the screen.

13. She finishes the

explanation, and logs out.


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1. The four students are studying together in the Library.

2. They connect their devices.

3. The environment becomes an in situ shared environment.

4. Erica goes to the menu, and opens some exercises from her menu.

5. Daniel and John do the same.

6. Steve is going to explain to his study group how to solve an exercise.

7. Steve opens the exercise.

8. He changes a screen from display model to operational model to be able to work on the exercise.

9. Steve starts to operate the exercise.


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Bibliography

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Ficher, Gustave-Nicholas.Individuals and environment: a psychosocialapproach to workspace. Gerike GmbH: Berlin, 1997.

Foley, James [et al.]. Computer Graphics: principles and practice. Addison-Wesley: USA, 1990.

Kay, Alan. User Interface: a personal view. In The art of human-computer

interface design. Laurel, Brenda. Addison-Wesley: USA, 1995.

Lidwell, William & Holden, Kritina & Butler, Jill. Universal Principles of Design.

Rockport: USA, 2003.

Malone, Thomas W.How do people organize their desks? Implications forthe design of office information systems. Xerox Palo Alto Research Center,

1983. http://delivery.acm.org

Papert, Seymour. Mindstorms: children, computers and powerful ideas.

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University Press, 2005

Modular learning environment

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