Tuesday 15 June 2010

Using undergraduates in user-centric design process in learning technology developments

Overview and recommendations If you want to involve students in learning technology design teach them about learning. A good place to start in Honey and Mumford learning styles, as this allows them to see beyond their own approach to learninga provides a frame work for looking objectively at designs.

Undergraduates are the end 'users' of the learning technology universities put in place. The massive growth of online tools and services which give a far greater range for staff and students to utilise. VLE design is also trying to keep up with this, and incorporating new software tools within their existing systems. To help understand, develop and use the opportunities, user-centric or learner-centric design is being proposed. User-centric design requires the user to shift position from consumer of designs towards consultant/designer. There is a great range within this process of shifting power.
To successfully design in this environment requires a great deal of knowledge in a wide variety of fields. More importantly, it requires fresh eyes, and not a heavy handed stamp of the past. The problem with this approach is that users tend to view things from there current knowledge. What they know of, is expressed in their designs. Here's what I tried recently . Ideo is a famous design company that uses user-centric design. part of this process involves profiling imagined users to test ideas against. I spent 1 hour with a group of 35 students to teach them the four different learner 'profiles' within Honey/Mumford's theory. We then looked at a list of social software tools through the perspective of these 4 profiles in small groups, each student looked after 2 profiles each.
Although the learning style theory has been criticised, here we were just using it to open the students to consider beyond their immediate frames of reference.

The results were very positive with students understanding the profiles and identify opportunities and issues for each profile.

I also recommend 'design research' as a book with many innovative ideas on how to work with users

Overview and recommendations If you want to involve students in learning technology design teach them about learning. A good place to start in Honey and Mumford learning styles, as this allows them to see beyond their own approach to learninga provides a frame work for looking objectively at designs.

Undergraduates are the end 'users' of the learning technology universities put in place. The massive growth of online tools and services which give a far greater range for staff and students to utilise. VLE design is also trying to keep up with this, and incorporating new software tools within their existing systems. To help understand, develop and use the opportunities, user-centric or learner-centric design is being proposed. User-centric design requires the user to shift position from consumer of designs towards consultant/designer. There is a great range within this process of shifting power.
To successfully design in this environment requires a great deal of knowledge in a wide variety of fields. More importantly, it requires fresh eyes, and not a heavy handed stamp of the past. The problem with this approach is that users tend to view things from there current knowledge. What they know of, is expressed in their designs. Here's what I tried recently . Ideo is a famous design company that uses user-centric design. part of this process involves profiling imagined users to test ideas against. I spent 1 hour with a group of 35 students to teach them the four different learner 'profiles' within Honey/Mumford's theory. We then looked at a list of social software tools through the perspective of these 4 profiles in small groups, each student looked after 2 profiles each.
Although the learning style theory has been criticised, here we were just using it to open the students to consider beyond their immediate frames of reference.

The results were very positive with students understanding the profiles and identify opportunities and issues for each profile.

I also recommend 'design research' as a book with many innovative ideas on how to work with users

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