Blackboard’s User-Centered Design
One of my posts made it to the corporate blog.
Tags: [Blackboard, Partial Recall, usability, interaction design, information architecture, ui, ux, ixd, user experience]
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Rob Fay
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Rob Fay
ACU To Go Foward With iPhone Application Development
As a follow up to my previous post, Abilene Christian University announced that they will give iPhones or iPod touches to incoming freshman next year. What this announcement likely means is that there will be considerable pressure put on the university’s web developers to successfully integrate existing systems and external tools into one seamless experience for users. A demo is provided at acu.mobi (which they explain is best viewed in Safari as it’s designed for the iPhone).
I am heartened to read one quote from Christopher Gibbs, a programmer at ACU, when he states:
“There are a number of challenges when it comes to creating applications for the iPhone. I won’t go into all of them but the biggest is usability. Some people say content is king, well I say usability is king. This is true with any program or website but especially true on the iPhone, where you have a very limited interface.”
Some pressure might come from the administration on down in terms of what should be available, but I hope the team gets a lot of bottom up participation (i.e., students, non-tenured faculty, etc.) when they try to work on the how – how to implement features and functionality in both a usable and desirable way.
The United States is playing catch up with Europe in terms of our level of maturity with mobile devices, but this trend will certainly play out nicely in the education arena, particularly given the high rate (45% of teenagers of teenagers in 2005) already using mobile devices for a variety of needs.
Tags: [Abilene Christian University, iPhone, ubiquitous computing, e-learning, educational technology, Partial Recall]
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Rob Fay
A Vision of Ubiquitous Computing
I know I am an Apple fanboy (still holding out for the 3G iPhone), but I was inspired by the vision put forth by Abilene Christian University. Here’s a portion of their vision:
“In the spring of 2007, a group of educators, technologists, and administrators at ACU crystallized these ongoing discussions, producing a case for a new emphasis on mobile learning based on ubiquitous information access through powerful, portable, converged devices. Made possible by the broad capabilities offered by a new generation of these devices, we see the future of the university coalescing around the new opportunities that mLearning is bringing…”
The University is in the process of testing the iPhone to determine if the device helps students gain knowledge and get the most from their collegiate education.
As part of this vision, the University posted “Connected: The Movie”, which portrays the following:
“What might a university look like with a fully deployed program of converged devices like the iPhone? Connected is one possible vision. This fictional day-in-the-life account highlights some of the potential benefits in a higher education setting when every student, faculty, and staff member is “connected.” Though the applications and functions portrayed in the film are purely speculative, they’re based on needs and ideas uncovered by our research – and we’ve already been making strides to transform this vision of mobile learning (mLearning) into reality.”
Frankly, the possibilities put forth by this video make me want to go back to school! This vision also seems more readily achievable than Apple’s famous Knowledge Navigator concept video from 1988.
Tags: [Apple, iPhone, Abilene Christian University, ubiquitous computing, user experience, e-learning, educational technology, Partial Recall]
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Rob Fay
Games in Education
Although a majority of my career has been spent working as a contractor for the federal government, I’m now working for a company in the e-learning industry. Therefore, I’ve begun to follow technology issues as it relates to education.
Mark Wagner of the EdTechLife blog linked this interesting video [Quicktime movie] about how educators can incorporate games to facilitate learning. He created a webcast about video games in education, with interviews of Henry Jenkins, James Paul Gee, Clark Aldrich…
Gaming is getting much more traction in the education arena. There are some fantastic ways that students can learn while also having some fun. Hopefully this video will encourage you to see the possibilities.
[Runtime: 22:12 | Please make sure you have the latest version of Macromedia Flash installed on your computer to watch this video. To download it, please visit: http://www.macromedia.com ]
Tags: [Mark Wagner, EdTechLife, educational technology, video game, game, education]
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James Roberts V
Thanks for the comment – since I did get it from your site – I need to mention your site since that is where I got it – thanks a lot for posting it. I’m getting into my masters and I had to write a scholarly paper and try to get it publish – any ideas?
James Roberts V, 
TheBizofKnowledge 8:58 pm on 7/9/2006 Permalink
When I tried to play the video, I got an error saying that it was “currently unavailable.” At any rate, this sounds like a very interesting topic. I’ve bookmarked your site and will be checking back to watch that vid sometime soon.
Rob Fay 7:06 am on 7/10/2006 Permalink
Hmm…let me know if it continues. Of course you can go directly to the source. The initial link in my post goes to the source file in streaming Quicktime format. I simply asked the owners if I could post it to Google video so it would be easier to embed on this site.
Bea 2:48 pm on 8/19/2006 Permalink
I was able to view the video with no trouble… and I think the idea of games designed for use in the classroom will be well received. Teaching history and science in this way will help kids (those who love gaming) remember what they’ve learned by applying it to the game. If they are not excited about the game, or if it isn’t popular and talked about amongst the students, then I doubt it will have any more influence on their learning than a field trip. So the games will likely need to be as dramatic and challenging as the ones they play with on their computers at home. Educational games (computer or other) have their place in the classroom!