Posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’
Project Finalization
Goal: To create a more interactive environment in the classroom through networking of the students.
Product: Our product consists of transparent screens connected together in workstations. The workstations are then connected together along with the teacher control console.
Features:
-Drag and drop files from computer to computer
-Transfer the state on one screen in a workstation to another screen.
-Transparent screens with the image flipped on the other side
-Transparency Control Panel
-Touch Screen monitors (on both sides)
User Interface:
Student: Someone at one of the individual workstations will appear to have a normal desktop. On the right of the screen there will be a panel that can be expandable. On that panel you can see the computers that are being used on the network, and your relationship with said computer (open, request only, closed). Files and projects can then be dragged to another screen. If you are under the request only relationship with another computer and someone tries to send something to you, then you will receive a push notification at the top right of your screen, from which you can either accept or deny the file sharing. This relationship setting can be changed at any time by right clicking the computer on the expandable panel. In addition to the other computers on the expandable menu, here you will also find a meter for changing the transparency on your monitor.
Teacher: The teachers user interface will look very similar to the students’, but with a few minor changes. The first is that the teacher will not have any restrictions in sharing with any of the computers on the class network. In addition there will be a “Share All” icon on the expandable menu that allows the teacher to send a file to all the students in the class. Finally, the teacher will have an additional Projector icon that will allow he or she to put the things that are found up on the wall.
Audience:
The focus group for this product is current High School and College classrooms that are looking for a more interactive experience within the classroom. Whether that be English classes, research groups, design school, or any group oriented interactive class.
Observations and Summaries
Observations
- group of people squeezing onto one computer.
- one person does most of the work while other people just look on.
- Information sharing is easier because everyone is looking onto the
same screen but research is limited and severely slowed.
- Small space, uncomfortable and cramped.
- Person a wants person b who is controlling the mouse to click onto a
link but the person b cannot understand what the person a means.
Instead, Person a has to move the screen and mouse in order to get to
where he wants the group to go.
- group of people working on separate computers.
- people not interacting with each other a lot.
- each person is working on either their own part of the project or
surfing the internet.
- no way to make sure your team members are working unless one person
moves over to look at the other people’s screen.
- Person a wants to send person b some information he found. Person a
decides to email person b the work instead of calling him over to his
computer. Person b finds person b’s email useful and finds similar
information to send back to person a.
Interview Responses
The first group we interveiwed comprised of a Mechanical Engineer and a Environmental Engineer. They both were very excited about the product idea and were wondering if it was actually possible. In terms of privacy they didnt really feel like it was going to be an issue. One felt like his behavior online might be a little more cautious if he was using the product, but the general concensus was that
1) probably public setting – facilitating public face
2) libary just looking up things, not much facebook. could understand people being bothered public keeps it from being invasion of privacy – in private place like apartment
3) probably not, laptop for personal things – only use computer for homework subconsciously would make you behave differently even though nothing’s wrong
4) yes - be great because usually when you’re surro0unding a table, the screen’s tiny and everyone’s trying to see what you’re doing and trying to interact with each other, while few are trying to collaborate
5) file transfers, comparing work – autocad throwing files at each other right away to make sure things are compatible and fit up right
“““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`
The Second group was composed of ID and Architecture major. They seemed to be very on top of design, while at the same time not as proficient with computers as some of the other people we talked to. They were very interested in how the product would look like and how it would fit into a classroom.
1) “i’m cool with it”.
i feel it depends. it might be distracting and then privacy. if someone could see what i’m doing
i guess it depends on the setting
i get shy when i’m doing design – it’s like someone who hovers over youl, you know
i feel if you’re going to a coffee shop, you’re trying to be seen
sometimes you want to sit in the corner and do your own thing
i think it’d be good for teaching, especially for – currently classes have presentation screens, but if you had a smaller group or one on one – i think it’d be a really good teaching element
2) in this settinbg, people can see what you’re doing, and it’s ok, but i guess it depends on your expecation. not good in all situations. if you had a laptop, that would be awkward, but at the same time you have those tablet screens. i feel like that’s what it is.
3) yeah, i think i would. depends on what i’m doing. what if you did like story time for little kids, and it’s like a picture book, but you know the storyu. it’d be like the ipad but usable and worth it. it’s almost like a 2d product that’s 3d because it has a front and a back with no width. especially with icons, some icons look like people. you could see the back of people
4) i mean, yeah. i guess. i guess it depends. would you be able to interact with both sides. would it be like 5 people on one screen? but then it would be backwards, but then you could flip it. people prefer the mirror image of pictures because that’s how they see themselves, that might be cool.
i’m more interested in a tablet type screen you can use on either side. it’d be good for groups. what if it was were mirrored on both sides, and you were both working on it. you could work with a lot of different iterations of something. you could get different perspectives at the same time.
5) it’s like the DS mixed with an iphone. it’d just encourage laziness. hey, hey you, send me that. kthanks. you never see who people are because they’re behind computer screens, so you could see someone talking, and your head fades away and the presentation emerges. nice to have a really nice interface, and you could smack itm, and it’d go to another desktop. you hit it, and it’ll switch over. i think it would look really, really good in a situation in the multimedia section when you’re working with potential college students.
“““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`
The last group we talked to were the only people that weren’t into the product very much. They seemed to think the thing would be an invasion of privacy. When we started talking about the change of transparency and really getting into detail about the file sharing, they got more on board.
1) annoying. you’d be trying to focus on something, and you’d have top see everything behind your computer. difficult to use. have to get used to it. definitely be an adjustment. significantly different 0 to make the change
2) “i would not like that.” “invasion of privacy”
3) resounding yes. in class. professor knowing you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. knowibng not taking notes. at work, serious issue. might cut down on the facebook stalking,.
4) if you could figure out how to read it. “eh” “maybe” “yeah” “blah”
5) that’d be really cool.
Summary of Findings
Privacy is not as much of an issue as we thought it would be. Most
people are okay with the idea of using a transparent in a classroom or
public setting and would not change their behavior severely. Others
believe that they will change their behavior by taking notes more in
class and not going on Facebook as much at school or at work. Some
people believe that using a transparent screen would be awkward at
first and would take time to get used to. The use of transparent
screens might also be distracting if not in a classroom setting. One
group did not like the idea of a transparent screen at all.
All groups enjoyed our product’s use of information sharing and
thought it would be highly beneficial in their work. Sharing
information would be easy and allow for work to be collaborated more
readily. But at the same time, this ability could also promote
laziness and you would not see people face-to-face but it is great for
multimedia.
Change of Product Idea
The interviews were the best source for information regarding the specifics of our project and what needed to be changed and made better. The first group seriously loved the idea to be able to drag project files from screen to screen. This was a side of the feature that wasn’t really thought about before, but makes perfect sense. Where we had initially seen this as a way to share links, opening it up to any file type allows for an addition level of usage.
The second group we interviewed provided a totally different outlook on the product. They seemed to have more focus on usability. Their primary concern was the see-through technology not being as useful in certain situations. They brought up the point that sometimes you don’t want everyone in a room seeing what you’re doing, for instance if you’re working in the lab when class isn’t going on. As such we decided to add a transparency setting on your computer. If you want the computer to be transparent you have control over that. In addition the teacher of the classroom will have control over all the computers in the classroom as a way to set them all transparent during class.
The last group we interviewed commented some on the previous ideas but focused more on the idea of a tablet. What they wanted was a dual sided tablet so people can draw on each other’s screens, sort of like two people on a white board. We feel like this would be a bad idea, for when someone is trying to get a thought into a more concrete form, they don’t want people drawing while they are drawing. This idea did influence a change we want to make to our product, and that would be to make the screen a tablet. Since these products will be interactive, adding a tablet will allow people to draw what they are thinking in a program like paint and instantly share it across the group. If you’re not a tablet user, you will still be able to use the computer normally without this feature.
Experience Reflection
The data gathering experience was an excellent learning opportunity for us with regards to both the design process and our design itself. We came across different perspectives we had not previously encountered or considered with regards to the product. We noticed how subjects’ different frames of mind greatly affected their actions and answers. With this in mind, having a questionaire may not have been a bad idea after all. Design aspects we considered to be non-issues were brought up as points of debate, and new ideas for the product emerged during the data gathering. Examples include the mirroring of the screen versus forcing screen contents to appear correctly on both sides and adding a tablet to the screen. At several points, we found ourselves debating with the responses given by our subjects. We learned to temper our opinions with our subjects and vice versa. We still believe our choice of semi-scripted interviews was a good idea, but a smaller amount of structure to the scripting may have produced more opportunities for discussion with the subjects and yielded more valuable information.
2 min explination
Parts a, b, c
A)
The capability of the computer to exchange information quickly from one user to another is limited and often a hassle, requiring too many programs or windows to achieve a simple task. Our user tried to share some information he found online with his teammate on a project for class but was unable to do so without having to take an unnecessary number of steps. First, he copied the web address of the website he wanted to share with his teammate. Then, he opened a new web browser and then entered in the web address for his email server. After that, he signed into his email and waited for it to load. Finally he was able to compose an email and send her the information. However, because he was sitting next to her and wanted to share the information as soon as possible, he ended up spamming her email with each new piece of information he found. When she, too, wanted to share information with him, the same series of excessive steps had to be taken in order to achieve the same outcome.
In addition depending on what technology the user is using, the result could be more annoying. Yahoo users have single emails come up every single time someone emails you, even if its the same user. As you can see below, there are 6-7 emails all from the same person, clogging up an inbox.
Gmail users on the other hand have it a bit easier as it stacks into one email, making it less painful for the user. The number of emails shows up next to the name that they are from. Much cleaner.
Although the users interact with the computer, there is no sense of interaction with one another. The computers separate the users. Our two users do not interact with one another and are, more times than not, consumed in his or her own world. They each do their own work and look up the information they want to find and share it if they wish. The two users have no idea what the other is looking at or working on and must verbally ask or physically move if they wish to find out.
B)
In terms of the social aspect of our product, the Microsoft Surface was a product attempting to reach the same goal. The idea behind the Surface was to allow for interaction between multiple people at a single location using a table like computer. The problem with this is it didn’t allow for single user experience along with this. The Surface ended up being more of a expensive board game more than a interactive experience. This mistake could easily become an issue in our product as well. Integrating a new experience on the social level without taking away the single user experience is a fine line. The idea with our product is to have the social interaction that the Surface brings, along with the solo experience that being a computer allows.
Samsung has been working on an AMOLED technology, which will be very similar to what our product will end up using. The technology uses active matrices to allow the LED presentation to be presented on both sides of a transparent material. Samsung is currently working on a laptop that uses their AMOLED technology to be released later this year. We feel like using this technology in its current form would remove the single user experience from the computer interaction. The idea would be that if you were looking at the back of someone else’s screen, you would see a reverse image, which might spark interest and cause you to grab it onto your screen. If we were to use the AMOLED technology then the interaction between two people in the sharing of the product wouldn’t exist and the product itself would inherit a stalker like experience.
The closest representation of the file sharing experience in current products would be Dropbox. Dropbox is a file-sharing program that allows you to store up to 2 gigs worth of files online. From there you can give access to this data to other people that have Dropbox accounts. The issues with this program is the speed of the uploads and the lack of an experience. With our product we aim to fix both of these problems. First, since all the computers will be hardwired together, the speed at which file sharing will occur will be around the speed of accessing information off a flash drive. Second, because there are no upload/download speed issues, people can share in real time, which creates the user experience.
B)
Our product is a little difficult to grasp when it comes to gathering data on how it might be used. Interviews can be held in order to try and understand how people use computers, and how they interact with each other. In addition interviews can be held with professors that use interactive classroom technology in order to curve the product so that it is a helpful product in classrooms and not a hindrance. Questionnaires will not be terribly useful in the design of our product. Since we have no working prototype, specific questions about the product will be difficult to come up with. That said, we could poll users on general computer usage, or take a poll of people’s reaction to the Samsung laptop and whether they could see the technology being widely used. In the end, observation will be the most useful aspect of research that we will be performing. Seeing how people use computers, especially when they are in social environments, will give us pertinent information on how we can design our product to make the process easier and more interactive.
One of the techniques we will use when researching for our product is the Fly on the Wall technique. We want to be able to understand the process that people go through in current computer interaction, and take that knowledge to make our product fix the frustrations. Interfering with the current experience would affect the experience, and skew the results. A second technique we will use is paper prototyping. This is a key technique when designing any product and this is no different. Using paper prototypes of the product will help us nail out the details of exactly what everything should look like and how the social interaction will take place. It also will help people better understand our product as we give interviews and questionnaires about what they think will better the product. Another technique we will use in our research is scenario testing. Along with our paper prototypes, the scenario cards will help in interviews and questionnaires. Helping the user envision the product in every way will help us get feedback on certain attributes and how they will fit into the final product.
C)
Semi-scripted interviews will be our primary means of gathering data. This allows us to pose hypothetical situations to our target users and judge their reactions while still fishing for ideas to improve on the original design. Questions could include “Would you feel comfortable with others being able to see your screen at any time?”, “Would you change your computer habits if others would see your screen?”, “How often do you show or would like to show others things you find on your computer?”, and “Would the ability to show classmates your computer screen increase your productivity?”
Observation will also play a key role in our data gathering. We will observe students using computers in locations like the CM Lab to find what situations would require the services of our design most often, how to best implement it to make it a fluid component of the experience, and what features may be needed that way may not have considered yet.
Though questionnaires are often useful in research of this sort, we believe they would not prove to be a huge advantage for us. Much of our research involves placing target users in the proper frame of mind for the experience, which is an unsuitable task for a questionnaire.
Environment: Interactive classroom
Age Group: School-aged -> College
How would you feel about using a transparent computer screen?
How would you feel about people being able to view your screen? Do you
feel that it is an invasion of privacy?
Would you use the computer differently if you knew other people could
see what you were doing?
Do you think using a transparent screen would be beneficial in group
work? If yes, how so?
Would you use a feature that allowed you to drag and drop web
browsers, pictures, etc. onto other people’s computer screens?
For the instructor:
Do you see technology like this being beneficial in a classroom? If yes, how so?
How do you think this would change the way you teach?
Do you think that this way of sharing information could be distracting
or would it enhance the learning experience?
How do you think this would affect the students?
How do you think this would affect the way the students learn?
Do you think this would promote collaborative work in a classroom? If
yes, how so?
Five Ideas
1. Restaurant Idea: As you walk in you will sit down with your friends or date, and will eat appetizers with your desired guest. Then when you finish your appetizer you both will be moved per conveyor belts to a different table with different people and a different sort of food. This will encourage you to try new things with new people, which is always a conversation starter.
2. Ticket Stubs in Stores: Forces people to come to one location when they are done shopping. Allows people to talk about what they are getting and talk about different items. Possible to make it electronic with a scanner or something.
3. Removing Stalls from bathrooms: the stalls will be placed in a circle – this will break the social boundary that we have set within bathrooms and force social interaction or if nothing else group awkwardness.
4. Transparent Screens: allows you to see what people are looking at along with the ability to see their reaction to different things. In addition you can move your screen to their window or copy what they are looking at on your screen. Encourages social interaction as you cant hide what you are looking at, and also encourages pranks.
5. Movie Theater Competitions: The questions on the screen before movies become a competition between people at the movie theater. Prizes are awarded for the people that do the best. Allows for more opportunities for advertisements along with encouraging social interaction rather than sitting talking to only the people you came with
<u> Phase 2: Refinment of 2 Ideas </u>
Transparent Screens:
Features:-Able to see what other people are working on-Can move windows from your screen to another screen nearby-If approved, can send image to other groups in the class, and if relevant then you can send to the teacher’s computer-Request System so that you only accept windows from people you know
Description:Have small version of computers you can share with in the corner of your screen. You can then move single windows, or your entire screen over to other screens. The screens are semi-transparent so that someone can inquire about what you are looking at and ask you to send it to them. You can also see people’s facials reactions to different things, and inquire that way too!
Movie Theater Trivia:
Features:-Interface to answer questions as they are presented on the big screen-Keeps track of right/wrong answers and resets when the movie starts-Keeps track of a leader board of people who answer the questions correctly
Description: Much like in airplanes the interface will be in the back of the seats in front of you. As the questions are thrown up on the screen people will answer the question on the screen and get points for it. There will be some questions where speed is a factor and points are determined off that. About 5 min before the movie begins the winner of the competition will be given a ticket for free popcorn or drink. This encourages people to come to the movie theater early, which increases the amount of exposure to advertisement and also encourages people to buy more stuff at the counter. Who buy popcorn without soda?
Design Project 3
Transparent Screens:
Features:
-Able to see what other people are working on
-Can move windows from your screen to another screen nearby
-If approved, can send image to other groups in the class, and if relevant then you can send to the teacher’s computer
-Request System so that you only accept windows from people you know
Description:
Have small version of computers you can share with in the corner of your screen. You can then move single windows, or your entire screen over to other screens. The screens are semi-transparent so that someone can inquire about what you are looking at and ask you to send it to them. You can also see people’s facials reactions to different things, and inquire that way too!
Movie Theater Trivia:
Features:
-Interface to answer questions as they are presented on the big screen
-Keeps track of right/wrong answers and resets when the movie starts
-Keeps track of a leader board of people who answer the questions correctly
Description:
Much like in airplanes the interface will be in the back of the seats in front of you. As the questions are thrown up on the screen people will answer the question on the screen and get points for it. There will be some questions where speed is a factor and points are determined off that. About 5 min before the movie begins the winner of the competition will be given a ticket for free popcorn or drink. This encourages people to come to the movie theater early, which increases the amount of exposure to advertisement and also encourages people to buy more stuff at the counter. Who buy popcorn without soda??
Brainstorming List
facebook
internet
phone
myspace
fondue
alcohol
board games
card games
games
multiplayer
groups
computer games
computers
zombie games
preventing the zombie apocalypse
planning for the zombie apocalypse
parties
guilds
dance floors
clubs
class
band
music
concerts
bowling
pool
pools
bars
billiards
fraternities
sororities
greek life
competitions
events
dorms
communities
chatroulette
chatrooms
stickam
aim
msn messenger
omegle
/b/
message boards
skype
forums
yahoo messenger
gmail
gtalk
wikipedia
youtube
xbox live
itunes
4chan
adium
hangout spots
restaurants
vortex
sports games
football
baseball
basketball
hockey
swimming
tennis
olympics
skiing
watching movies
curling
interviews
pictionary
charades
apples to apples
driving
