Tag Archives: Design

Lesson 10-Final Blog post, final thoughts

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Designing a curriculum with mobile devices allows many options to create and experience for the learner. Throughout our class readings we have addressed various issues in developing and using mobile devices in informal, formal and ubiquitous environments. Various factors such as the economic viability of the reducing costs of mobile devices, the accessibility to dependable Internet connection and the shift from absorption of knowledge to synthesizers and creators of new content is now achievable with mobile devices. The ability to connect asynchronously over time and distance, and additionally, connecting and expressing ideas through creative multimedia and social networks provides us with new ways to recognize and validate that learning has occurred through new forms of assessment.

Interestingly, enough aesthetics of designing the mobile device and software is a factor in the use of mobile devices.  Evangelos Triantafillou shows a need between design and or display of content. The conclusive recommendations, “Images on PDAs should be carefully selected taking into consideration the small resolution and size of the device” (Triantafillou, E., Georgiadou,E., Economides, A., pg.1329).  This recommendation shows the need for alterations to the design of the content to maximize the learning and assessment potential during the study.

Furthermore, the aesthetics of of mobile technology is shown to improve trust in product brands (Yung-Ming Li, Yung-Shao Yeh, (2010). Thus, one may assume that this trust is transferable to the design of an instructional content. After all, the software application could be considered a product with a company brand.

Now, we have seen that mobile devices allow people to develop online identities. However, the use of the tool may exhibit a different identity, the power user. In this course we have not explored the multi-faceted identities of the mobile user. Zhong explores this disposition in mobile users. How do we explore the designing of educational mobile learning for these users compared to those not considered power users? What is the difference in learning experiences between the two? (Zhong, B.,2013)

As more research is done, more understanding of mobile learning will occur. The question is whether the mobile device or the ubiquitous nature of the device or the combination of the two, enhance the experience, thus improving the learning potential of learners in general. Mobile learning is a new tool in the educational arsenal. In my personal opinion, the tool is limited to the effectiveness of the instructor. The difference now is, the instructor maybe the teacher, the instructional designer or the app developer and even the combination of all. Even though a learner may teach themselves with a tool, the tool is what another uses to facilitate the information.

 

Citations

 

Triantafillou, E., Georgiadou,E., Economides, A., (2008).  The design and evaluation of a computerized adaptive test on mobile devices, Computers & Education, 50(4), 1319-1330, (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131506001965)

Yung-Ming Li, Yung-Shao Yeh, (2010). Increasing trust in mobile commerce through design aesthetics, Computers in Human Behavior, 26(4), 673-684,(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563210000063)
Zhong, B. (2013). From smartphones to iPad: Power users’ disposition
toward mobile media devices. Computers in human behavior, 29(4),
1742-1748.doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.016

Designing with remote teams with UIE

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I attended a webinar, yesterday. UIE hosted and Jeff Gothelf presented on the topic of Designing with remote teams. I learned a lot. But what stuck out to me was one thing.

TRUST

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Trust was necessary for a relationship to be built between collaborators. When face-to-face this can happen organically. But in this day of distance workers, a team leader needs to use tools and tactics to facilitate a community and a group of remote teams. This is valuable information for me to use when working with my online classmates, in class classmates and in the future for in education. All forms of information will now be done at a distance, whether in academia or the corporate world.

Notes:

Designing with remote teams with UIE

Design Philosophy

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The philosophies we live by in life change daily from what we learn and experience. So, I thought I would share some of my Design Philosophies.

K.Y.A. – Know Your Audience

The audience is first for a reason. The content dictates who is spoken to and how the design should be communicated. Colorful cartoons are not appropriate for academic content. The content and visual need to communicate together. And the bigger the audience, leads to the next rule I follow by…

K.I.S.E. – Keep It Simply Elegant

This is a spin off the K.I.S.S. motto that prevails in a lot of approaches. And it is true. I use elegant for one reason. Elegance can equate to balance or a feeling of Zen. Simple approaches to communicate content is the most important approach because the content comes first! But easing the communication is done in other ways. Simple plain language and visual balance. The font, the color, and layout is so very important. One thing can communicate a lot paired with the content.

Design Versus Art what does it communicate!

In school, I had an Artist/Art professor say something that stuck with me. Professor Mark Messersmith said, ” Art is selfish, it is about what the artist wants to do.” This means how the artist feels, wants to communicate, and the artists choice of content. Plainly put, an expression of their perspective. Not the classic Art for arts sake!

Design is not that at all! Design is function for many. And when designing something, it becomes about how the other person feels or interprets the content. So, tying in the two previous rules, knowing your audience allows you to simply communicate something though what you design.