NM3221 - Mobile Interaction Design

The attraction factor of a device is increased with the possession of said device by more children. However if the device is part of the environment insufficient space for additional participants limit the interaction between children. Children also tend to “possess” the space and objects which they interact with. It is thus important that the design supports sharing and collaboration as in this observation, sharing was not an option as there were limited amounts of LEGO blocks at the pit.

We know that a water gun does not produce recoil like real guns. However, the boy mimics the behaviour of the recoil. This is most likely based on what he has seen or heard of before. The mimicry aspect of play is essential to learning – even though the water gun was not meant to be used this way, the child knows the relation between the form and the actual usage.

The boy wants direct validation of his creation – which not given by his mother. The more validation the child gets, the more pleased they are with the whole experience. Children do not mind validation coming from external sources – these include number of adult observers and other children looking on. Allowing a channel for clear representation of such validation could be a motivating factor for the child to continue “doing what he is doing” as he is “doing well” according to the validation.

Note: I found the jingle online - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vitw8d_jzGk

Devices can allow for personal space – on both child and caretaker parts. Not having to always keep a lookout on what the child is doing and instead have a predictable behaviour from the child allows the caretaker to break attention away temporarily and focus energy somewhere else. We can utilize this aspect in designing for better learning by designing devices or environments that allow educators to have time to prepare without having to constantly monitor the learners.

The compliment given so casually caught me off guard - though it has occurred many times before. Store owners seem to dish out compliments to almost everyone and people unwittingly at that point of time actually feel good about the compliment and thus order from the store. The store owners thus might have good reason to continue doing this as it seems to help with the sales of their food - after all, how can you say the food of someone who complimented you tastes bad?

The people looking for seats choose not sit at the tables with bags, even though there are halves where there are no bags. Also the students who left their bags at the table seem not be worried about their belongings. In the photo, two girls actually repeat this act twice - once to get their food, and another time to get their drinks. Could these students have a very high level of trust on their fellow peers in the canteen, maybe because they feel that the canteen is a generally safe place.

It is crowded during the lunch period. It is common that here are seats which are only taken by one person - which means three are available; in front, directly beside and diagonal of the person. Though there are groups of threes with a seat empty, most individuals choose to go towards tables only taken by one person and then seat diagonally beside them if no one is taking the seat. This to me indicates that although no one is sitting in the other seats, it is an unspoken guideline to sit at the seat which is furthest away from the person you just spoke to - maybe not to bother them any further or just because of the awkwardness of the situation.

It seems customary for an individual to offer to look after the belongings while others go order their food. The person who volunteers to do so usually does so alone and takes out some form of distraction or entertainment, usually a phone. It is unclear how the decision of who should stay is made, in most cases someone automatically volunteers to do so.

The two students have returned their trays after consuming their food. It is done in a casual manner - as if it is part of their routine. Many students eating at The Deck practice this behavior but we do not commonly see this behavior in public food centers. This means that conformity to the 'norm' might be a factor in the behaviors of students. Or perhaps NUS students are just too gracious.

Invasive technology can destroy or advance the local education ecology. Either way, the changes invasive technology brings can be complex and permanent.  It is difficult to introduce new technology which will propagate and thrive. Honey bees will not be able to survive in a place where there are no flowers. By introducing a technology that a community cannot support in the long run, the technology becomes scrap metal. Even after successful introduction of a non-native technology, it is a challenge to ensure that it does not degrade the local ecology. Sure, having honey is good but 500 honey bee stings can kill a child and it is not exactly easy to catch them all after releasing them.

Instead of trying to introduce a new technology, why not build on or improve one which is already prevalent in the community? With the mobile phone, education is not only able to reach children in developing countries but more specifically, in slums or shantytowns. Projects like ‘Nokia Open Studio’ (NOS) explore designs which reflect issues in the community, showcasing local innovation while involving the community in the design process of future technology. The insights of such projects are useful in identifying factors which could determine the impact of modifying current technology for the better, and naturally the acceptance and usefulness of a technology in the local ecosystem.

It is difficult to design for a limited amount of space especially when the space is not really much to begin with, like in mobile phones. It is not only about how to layout the elements of interaction, but also as designers we need to consider how the users will interact with the device. This complexity, in my opinion, is compounded by the fact that interaction with the screen might differ in children and adults. Though touch screen technology is still not considered ‘cheap’ and thus not available in less developed areas, it is worthy to note as interaction designers that designing for children definitely not the same as designing for adults as seen in this paper on touchscreen interaction patterns.

Education should be designed to support learning and learners. Scaffolding can be utilized in software, or by educators to enables the learner to actively build on current knowledge as well as draw on new knowledge in order to complete a task which without the scaffolding would not be possible. Scaffolding engages children while making the task at hand manageable. It also prevents children from becoming confused or lost as it guides the child towards achieving the correct solution for the task at hand. Similarly climber plants without scaffolding ends up in a messy heap but with scaffolding to support and guide it, they grow upwards beautifully.

The spread of education and technology seemed to be positive; empowering people, and bridging the digital divide. The issue of rural-urban migration in developing countries however, show how much of the education – with all the glorious technology – is catered for the urban environment and not the rural areas. We have to consider how the technological solutions, in which case the locals probably will need to contribute in some way, can contribute back to the community instead of draining local population because the education cannot be applied in the current ecosystem. Why teach someone to farm well in loamy soil and tractors when their environment is full of clay and hoes?

Another issue with adopting technologies with the powerful connectivity to networks such as the Internet would be security. Who is to say that the person chatting with a child during class is an educator or a peer within the class or even the school? And should something happen to the child, is the blame attributed to the technology, the parent, the teacher, the school or policy makers? As much benefits connectivity has, it also comes with its vices. Adoption of technology at increasing speeds makes security an alarming issue to watch.

An glaring issue would be the infrastructure required for the technology. The amount of time needed to implement the infrastructure, coupled with the need to train staff to utilize the technology and also the money to be spent in the actual acquisition and maintenance of the technology; all these issues need to be addressed before the pressure is put on the school to once again adopt a newer technology. Also the different needs in regions would likely cause schools to adapt technology at a different rate, again causing a greater divide.