Problem to motivate and unify the semester’s work

The two assignments related to this problem

Learning is really importantThe web has many sites designed to enable people to learn

Can we do that better?

The two assignments related to this problem

Assignment goal:Create a web-based interface that is expressly designed to

support “people” in learning more effectively

Assignment goal:Create a web-based interface that is expressly designed to

support “people” in learning more effectively

This subject introduces web-tech basics sufficient for many, very interesting and different ways to tackle this problem. Web-tech means you can aim to deliver desktop to mobile and

even surface interaction and much more.If you know more, you are free to use that.

You will work in teams.Stretch task: backend in addition to pure UI prototyping

Assignment goal:Create a web-based interface that is expressly designed to

support “people” in learning more effectively

You should focus on particular user groups. You will learn most of you select a group that you can involve in your studies. And that is different

from you in important ways.Stretch task: create the UI so that users have some control over some

aspects that are important to their particular, different needs.

Assignment goal:Create a web-based interface that is expressly designed to

support “people” in learning more effectively

Begs the question: more effectively than what?Fair base level is classic web site such as

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox Newsletter Don Norman: Designing For People Stretch task: Make use of some of the literature on learning eg: people remember more about a text

they have just read if they are asked to answer questions about it; writing notes helps people to learn; asking people to self-assess their “Feeling of Knowing” the key elements helps people learn……

Introductory task

• Affordance• Learning about it

– Google search– About 457,000 results

• Sources– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance– http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/

affordances.html

http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/affordances.html

…. Norman (1988) an affordance is the design aspect of an object which suggest how the object should be used; a visual clue to its function and use.

“"...the term affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used. [...] Affordances provide strong clues to the operations of things. Plates are for pushing. Knobs are for turning. Slots are for inserting things into. Balls are for throwing or bouncing. When affordances are taken advantage of, the user knows what to do just by looking: no picture, label, or instruction needed." (Norman 1988, p.9)”

Norman thus defines an affordance as something of both actual and perceived properties. The affordance of a ball is both its round shape, physical material, bouncability, etc. (its actual properties) as well as the perceived suggestion as to how the ball should be used (its perceived properties).

http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/affordance/

Glossary » affordance

affordance• a situation where an object’s sensory characteristics intuitively imply its

functionality and use.• A button, by being slightly raised above an otherwise flat surface, suggests

the idea of pushing it. A lever, by being an appropriate size for grasping, suggests pulling it. A blinking red light and buzzer suggests a problem and demands attention. A chair, by its size, its curvature, its balance, and its position, suggests sitting on it.

• An affordance is a desirable property of a user interface – software which naturally leads people to take the correct steps to accomplish their goals.

• The common psychological term for this is stimulus-response compatibility.Related term(s): direct manipulation, stimulus-response compatibility

Note: Chapter 20 of the text explores this…….

That is reference levelThe term is very widely used so that

makes it worthwhile reading for interest

False cognitive affordances misinform, mislead

Copyright MKP. All rights reserved. 11

False cognitive affordances misinform, mislead

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Consideration of sensory affordances in design

• Dark symbols on dark background– Maybe cool and aesthetic– But poor as sensory affordance

Discovering what people can't tell you: Contextual Inquiry and Design Methodology

Hartson and Pyla: 1.3: From usability to user experience

1.3.1-5, pp 9-12, 1.3.9 pp 19-21

Phenomenological aspects of interaction

• Deriving from phenomenology– Philosophical examination of foundations of

experience and action

• Cumulative effects of emotional impact considered over long term

JK: Really means learning to appreciate different perspectives

15Copyright MKP. All rights reserved.

http://cogprints.org/1813/1/Image1.gif

http://brettworks.com/tag/woman-illusion/

Flipping phenomenon

http://brettworks.com/tag/woman-illusion/

Are you WEIRD?

Are you WEIRD?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic

Ethnography, contextual enquiry

• Learning – What people actually do now– About their worldview, values– About the context (of work, play, life…. time of

day, of year, in relation to deadlines, location)• Gaining awareness of the need to go beyond

your own worldview• Tacit knowledge

Homework• Auto-ethnography:

– Select something you would really like to learn about and think you should be able to make useful progress in 15 minutes.

– Write down a brief description of it and why you want to learn it.– Find some online resources to help you do that.– Read them and carefully make notes about the learning experience.– Record everything relevant about the experience, what went well, not so well,

delightful…. (about a page typed notes)• First step into more typical ethnography:

– Ask a friend to the above.– Record this too (about a page typed notes – make sure they view the notes and are

ok with what you have written)– If you are keen, it would be great if you do this for more than 1 friend.

• Create a set of at least 20 post-its (written neatly) with key observations about:– Positive aspects of learning from the web– Problems for learning from the web (say compared with other possibilities)

• Bring all the above to your lab next week