NM4210 is a module in which I learnt many useful lessons regarding user experience design, from analyzing the needs of the user to applying various design principles to improve the product and using various user evaluation methods to gain a better insight about how the product should be improved to better suit their needs.
In particular, the final project is a valuable and enriching experience which not only requires us to apply all the lessons we have learnt about user experience design into a tangible product that meets user needs, but has also taught me about the dynamics of working in a team of people of different attitudes, backgrounds and working styles. The product that my team has designed, the ePan, is an entertainment system for Fish & Co. restaurant that caters to the entertainment needs of a broad range of diners who often frequent the restaurant. Hence, I learnt that while targeting such a broad group can be risky as the ePan is a “flexible” rather than a “specialized” system, it can also be a good strategic move for the company since we do not leave any diner out, and hence will continue to attract these different groups to continue patronizing the restaurant, in turn boosting profit margins. Having said that, designing for this product has been a challenging and eye-opening experience and the lessons that I have learnt from it, such as how to prioritize and balance the different and somewhat conflicting needs of different groups of users, are useful in gaining an insight into how real design companies work towards providing a value-added experience that leverages on brand image and visceral appeal, not just on the functionality of the product. I also believe that these lessons learnt will be useful to me if I should ever venture into the product design market in the future.
On a more general note, the course has increased my sensitivity to both good and bad designs around me in everyday life. I also think more deeply about more subtle design and usability issues in these designs in terms of the different dimensions – visceral, reflective and behavioural, that could either make or break the user experience. Hence I believe that such knowledge will be able to help me in future situations involving user experience, such as making more informed product or service choices or aiding my future company in assessing the effectiveness of our marketing or branding strategies such that they are more geared towards addressing the customers’ spoken and unspoken needs. Furthermore, I feel that lessons from user experience design can also be applied to non-tangible services as well, such as the choice of good-looking people to be customer service personnel that can also define the user experience.
Lastly, I feel that Reddy’s flexible and open-minded approach to this course is crucial in helping us better exercise our creativity in choosing a solution to address user needs. His tolerance for frequent experimentation and failures also makes it less intimidating for us to try different approaches, even if that means making mistakes along the way. That being said, the most important thing is for us to learn from our mistakes, as good designers in the real world would have done so, and never give up in pursuing a path that would lead to a satisfactory outcome for both the designer and the user. I believe that my teammates and I have done that, and hence we are satisfied with the whole learning experience. The road to producing our final product might have been a long and arduous one, but the lessons learnt and enjoyable experiences shared will stay with me for a long time to come.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
My Opinions on the User Research Smoke & Mirrors Article
In this article, Christopher Fahey debunks the necessity of excessive and sometimes dramatized or artificially-engineered scientific research that tries to jump to conclusions about the usability in web design or be a credible basis for the re-design process. At the same time, he waxes lyrical about the virtues of “less-rigorous” qualitative user research such as simple persona creation and card sorting exercises that treat user-centric design as what it is – a subjective experience.
I have to agree with most of this article, particularly the examples of many designers conducting unnecessary “scientific” research that tries too hard to impress their bosses, although their results may be skewed too much or misinterpreted to derive wrong conclusions, thus inaccurately reflecting users’ actual concerns about the design. It seems that in this modern, technologically advanced day and age, much emphasis is being placed on empirical research churning facts and figures that try to conclusively and objectively prove right the assertions and claims made by advertisers, researchers and others. I realised that most of this research has an ultimate agenda – profit-making because they are using these statistics to win consumers and stakeholders over. One such example that I find amusing are detergent advertisements that try to compare the effectiveness of their brand with a no-name “brand X”, often by means of a graph or chart whose validity is questionable. The same is echoed in the design world as well, as in Fahey’s example of the automobile website being one example whose approach steers towards making profits rather than focussing on the real needs of the consumer. I believe that the highly scientific and “objectified” culture that emphasises the measurable instead of the intangible is partially to blame for such a widespread phenomenon. Hence, until design firms employ bosses who empathize with the actual users’ needs and see the value of the “softer” aspects of research, even the analysis of passing comments posted on users’ blogs, it seems that the profit-driven scientific research is here to stay. That could only mean bad news for consumers as their interests (who may not be profit-enhancing for many firms) may be replaced or overshadowed by the lure of profits that potentially misleading statistic-churning research may bring the firm.
For our project, I can imagine what would happen if “scientific methods” over qualitative research were employed. As it is an entertainment system for Fish & Co., this scientific approach would most likely arrive at a contrived conclusion as to how our customers may use our product. If heat-tracking technology is employed, we might have drawn false conclusions if say, most of our customers’ eyes are trained on the buttons. It could either mean that they either admire our buttons’ design or are finding difficulty in reading the words, two very different reasons. Hence, getting feedback from customers via survey forms or interviews would have been much more effective in zeroing in on the true reason for their prolonged staring at the buttons. This being said, eye-tracking technology could be used to provide a quick preliminary overview of what customers’ attention is drawn too, which could help us to identify potential problem areas and further our re-designing strategies and processes by following it up with qualitative analysis. Hence, “scientific methods” may not be as contrived or bad as what Fahey is hinting at, if we know how and to what degree to use it, ie. as a complementary, rather than core, analysis tool that can give us an indication on which aspects to focus our qualitative analysis on.
Next, I would like to comment on Fahey’s take on the Organic and IDEO examples, whose approaches towards design he takes a dim view of. I tend to agree with his assessment about Organic’s Persona Rooms being a waste of resources and not adding extra value to the design process that good UI designers would have already figured out using instincts and common sense. However, the idea at its core is not scientific, in fact, it is user-centric, an extension of the persona creation that we are used to doing. It is also ironic because the persona is characterized by the appearance of a confined space, ie. a room, when he/she could have been outdoors doing so many other things such as playing sports or clubbing, or hanging out with a large group of friends, things that cannot be captured effectively in the room’s appearance. Hence I think such rooms are just a show-off tactic on Organic’s part because I feel that it restricts, rather than expands, what the persona could be like, something which a paragraph of words could do better justice to.
However, for the IDEO case, Fahey may have overstepped his judgment about IDEO packaging its design process to be idealized and fit-for-TV, simply because we cannot tell for sure if that video, though condensed, represents the actual workings of the design process in that company, which it very well could. I have seen the shopping cart video in another class and I have to admit, it looks very believable and impressive, and contrary to what Fahey mentioned, there seems to be little fakery in it as the designers in the video seemed all fired up and willing to make a positive contribution to the design process. Even the layout of the office looks less rigid than other offices with toys, basketball hoops and even hanging bicycles signalling that the workers have indeed incorporated their hands-on and “playful” and experimental approach into their office spaces. Then again, even if such approaches to design are not faked, it may not be applicable to all types of design, like for example, a corporate website which needs a much more structured design process than that of a shopping cart.
In conclusion, we can draw some very interesting insights from Fahey’s article as it illustrates the sometimes ludicrous and downright laughable extent to which “user research” in the real world is used to validate design researchers’ decisions in the re-design process. Generally, as we can infer while going about conducting qualitative methods in our projects, such scientific methods may not be as effective as at the end of the day since users’ needs, preferences and evaluation of our product are subjective and cannot be “objectively measured” by conclusive charts, diagram and statistics. Having said that, such methods can be used as a guide to better inform us which aspects of our design we should seek to improve.
I have to agree with most of this article, particularly the examples of many designers conducting unnecessary “scientific” research that tries too hard to impress their bosses, although their results may be skewed too much or misinterpreted to derive wrong conclusions, thus inaccurately reflecting users’ actual concerns about the design. It seems that in this modern, technologically advanced day and age, much emphasis is being placed on empirical research churning facts and figures that try to conclusively and objectively prove right the assertions and claims made by advertisers, researchers and others. I realised that most of this research has an ultimate agenda – profit-making because they are using these statistics to win consumers and stakeholders over. One such example that I find amusing are detergent advertisements that try to compare the effectiveness of their brand with a no-name “brand X”, often by means of a graph or chart whose validity is questionable. The same is echoed in the design world as well, as in Fahey’s example of the automobile website being one example whose approach steers towards making profits rather than focussing on the real needs of the consumer. I believe that the highly scientific and “objectified” culture that emphasises the measurable instead of the intangible is partially to blame for such a widespread phenomenon. Hence, until design firms employ bosses who empathize with the actual users’ needs and see the value of the “softer” aspects of research, even the analysis of passing comments posted on users’ blogs, it seems that the profit-driven scientific research is here to stay. That could only mean bad news for consumers as their interests (who may not be profit-enhancing for many firms) may be replaced or overshadowed by the lure of profits that potentially misleading statistic-churning research may bring the firm.
For our project, I can imagine what would happen if “scientific methods” over qualitative research were employed. As it is an entertainment system for Fish & Co., this scientific approach would most likely arrive at a contrived conclusion as to how our customers may use our product. If heat-tracking technology is employed, we might have drawn false conclusions if say, most of our customers’ eyes are trained on the buttons. It could either mean that they either admire our buttons’ design or are finding difficulty in reading the words, two very different reasons. Hence, getting feedback from customers via survey forms or interviews would have been much more effective in zeroing in on the true reason for their prolonged staring at the buttons. This being said, eye-tracking technology could be used to provide a quick preliminary overview of what customers’ attention is drawn too, which could help us to identify potential problem areas and further our re-designing strategies and processes by following it up with qualitative analysis. Hence, “scientific methods” may not be as contrived or bad as what Fahey is hinting at, if we know how and to what degree to use it, ie. as a complementary, rather than core, analysis tool that can give us an indication on which aspects to focus our qualitative analysis on.
Next, I would like to comment on Fahey’s take on the Organic and IDEO examples, whose approaches towards design he takes a dim view of. I tend to agree with his assessment about Organic’s Persona Rooms being a waste of resources and not adding extra value to the design process that good UI designers would have already figured out using instincts and common sense. However, the idea at its core is not scientific, in fact, it is user-centric, an extension of the persona creation that we are used to doing. It is also ironic because the persona is characterized by the appearance of a confined space, ie. a room, when he/she could have been outdoors doing so many other things such as playing sports or clubbing, or hanging out with a large group of friends, things that cannot be captured effectively in the room’s appearance. Hence I think such rooms are just a show-off tactic on Organic’s part because I feel that it restricts, rather than expands, what the persona could be like, something which a paragraph of words could do better justice to.
However, for the IDEO case, Fahey may have overstepped his judgment about IDEO packaging its design process to be idealized and fit-for-TV, simply because we cannot tell for sure if that video, though condensed, represents the actual workings of the design process in that company, which it very well could. I have seen the shopping cart video in another class and I have to admit, it looks very believable and impressive, and contrary to what Fahey mentioned, there seems to be little fakery in it as the designers in the video seemed all fired up and willing to make a positive contribution to the design process. Even the layout of the office looks less rigid than other offices with toys, basketball hoops and even hanging bicycles signalling that the workers have indeed incorporated their hands-on and “playful” and experimental approach into their office spaces. Then again, even if such approaches to design are not faked, it may not be applicable to all types of design, like for example, a corporate website which needs a much more structured design process than that of a shopping cart.
In conclusion, we can draw some very interesting insights from Fahey’s article as it illustrates the sometimes ludicrous and downright laughable extent to which “user research” in the real world is used to validate design researchers’ decisions in the re-design process. Generally, as we can infer while going about conducting qualitative methods in our projects, such scientific methods may not be as effective as at the end of the day since users’ needs, preferences and evaluation of our product are subjective and cannot be “objectively measured” by conclusive charts, diagram and statistics. Having said that, such methods can be used as a guide to better inform us which aspects of our design we should seek to improve.
Final Project – Designing an Interactive Product
Finally, we have come to the final project of the semester, which will take a total of eight weeks to complete. We basically have to design an interactive product to address particular need(s) of our target group(s) and come up with a high-fidelity prototype (not necessarily fully functional) by the end of the semester. My team for this project consists of Eunice, Wingyan, Huiyan and myself and during the first tutorial sessions after the mid-term break, we started brainstorming several possible ideas which include a database website for an orchestra and an online instruction manual for a camera. However, after consultation with Reddy, we finally decided on an idea which best suits our project requirements of a quantum-leap innovation which the previous two ideas are not – an ordering-cum-entertainment system for Fish & Co. Restaurant, the likes of which are not widely seen in local restaurants (Sakae Sushi has an online ordering system but is observed not to be widely utilized). The idea here is to facilitate the ordering process by freeing up manpower for taking orders in order to cut short waiting type for the dishes. At the same time, the customers can be kept entertained by our entertainment system so that they will not feel bored or restless while waiting for their food.
Background of Fish & Co.
Fish & Co. is a casual dining restaurant with over 10 outlets in Singapore. It has a nautical-themed ambience and serves all dishes Mediterranean-style – in a pan. It is known for its informal and sometimes humorous approach, such as the presence of fishy jokes on its website (www.fish-co.com/main) as well as scattered cards around the restaurant’s tables.
Phase I – Discover – Need Analysis
In the first phase, our task was to define who our target users are and conduct a needs analysis of our target audience. Some of us conducted a little ethnographic research by observing Fish & Co.’s customers during the peak dining hour (weekend 7-8pm) and taking note of some of the problems they encounter. Supplemented with our own experiences and those of our friends’, we came up with the following list of common problems faced by Fish & Co.’s diners:
1. To enhance diners’ experience in the restaurant
Hence, to provide a win-win situation that addresses the needs of both the customers and the restaurants, we have come up with a product – the ePan which is essentially an electronic device (we have not yet decided whether it is hand-held or an LCD screen mounted to a table) that incorporates the following features and accomplishes the following goals:
3. Themed games
- Occupies diners’ attention while waiting for food
For this week, we set about narrowing down and defining three groups of target users that we want to cater the ePan to:
1. Health-conscious (including young couples who do not have much time to cook)
2. Large groups of friends (usually teenagers or young adults)
3. Families with young children
Hence we set about creating our user profiles and personas for these three groups of people (1 & 2 being advanced users with children being novice users) and a fourth group – the anti-user (typically older, traditional “uncles” or “aunties” with little tech-savviness). I shall summarize our product benefit specifications below:
1. Physio-Pleasure
- Ability to identify healthier choice of food
- Easy to use and not mind taxing for users trying to relax
3. Psycho-Pleasure
- A lively and vibrant feel
- Relieve stress and stimulate customers intellectually by providing health facts
- Store high scores of customers who played the games on the entertainment system
Phase IIIa – Design Stage 1 (Information Architecture)
For this week, we delved deeper into the functionality requirements of our product. We had initial doubts about whether to go ahead with targeting such a broad range of users (as echoed by one of our classmates), but we decided to go ahead with these different features to target these different needs as we wanted to provide a complete experience for every diner who dines at Fish & Co. which is observed to attract these very different groups of people. Furthermore, since our technology (flash programming in this case) affords it, so why not?
Functionality of our product can be summarized as thus:
For our information architecture we just provided the workflow and processes (in the form of a chart) as well as scenarios as to what steps take place when different groups of customers with different needs enter the restaurant and utilize our ePan.
Since we have more or less detailed how these different needs are addressed and fleshed out the situations in which these different features are utilized, our next challenge is to come up with an idea regarding where and how to physically place our stylus-sensitive LCD screen (without the CPU) so that multiple users can use it with ease, while at the same time not obstructing waiters and other diners, especially since some of the outlets have limited space.
We generally have one screen per table mounted on the table (hand-held device is not feasible because the customers can easily steal them). How to do this is however a more tricky problem. However we have a few ideas:
Phase III – Design Stage 2 (Low-fidelity prototype)
Hence we went about sketching the design of each feature on pieces of A4 sized paper. We opted for a simple and clear layout with the five features of the ePan, as well as the “home” buttons and the sound toggle forming a row at the top of the screen, while the sub-menu buttons would be located on the left taskbar. The interface of the feature would thus be located in the space in between. This layout is very similar to what people encounter when surfing the web, hence will match real world expectations that will make using our system easy and intuitive (part of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 heuristics).
Figure: Nutritional Calculator Screen (Paper Prototype)
Figure: Opening Screen (Paper Prototype)
Figure: Opening Screen
In addition, the buttons were commented to look flat and there can be a better line of separation differentiating which are the clickable areas and which are not. The dark blue colour of the buttons too contributed to a “blue overload”, since the background was also blue, as commented by Reddy. These are problems that we hope to address when we present our final prototype the following week.
Finally, we have come to the final phase of our project. While continuing to work on adding and improving features of our high-fidelity prototype, we also tried to brainstorm and finalize what kind of holder would best suit our project. Wingyan managed to get a lamp holder from Ikea, as shown below:
Figure: Extendable Lamp Holder
A sketch of this holder is shown below:
Figure: Side view of holder with ePan slotted in
Figure: Back view of ePan screen being propped on the table
Background of Fish & Co.
Fish & Co. is a casual dining restaurant with over 10 outlets in Singapore. It has a nautical-themed ambience and serves all dishes Mediterranean-style – in a pan. It is known for its informal and sometimes humorous approach, such as the presence of fishy jokes on its website (www.fish-co.com/main) as well as scattered cards around the restaurant’s tables.
Phase I – Discover – Need Analysis
1. Orders taking significantly slower
2. Orders forgotten/mixed up by waiters
3. Time taken for orders to be served extended
4. Children bored and unable to run around the restaurant while waiting to be served
2. Orders forgotten/mixed up by waiters
3. Time taken for orders to be served extended
4. Children bored and unable to run around the restaurant while waiting to be served
We have also found out about what customers’ needs and expectations are. They include: 1) efficient service, 2) good food and dining experience that is worthy of the price and 3) choice of healthy food. The last need is especially pertinent in today’s health-conscious society which is plagued by the prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as cancer and diabetes, diseases which could be easily prevented by eating healthy.
As for the company’s needs, we have come up with the following:
1. To enhance diners’ experience in the restaurant
2. Win over diners so that they will keep coming back
3. Earn more profits
3. Earn more profits
Hence, to provide a win-win situation that addresses the needs of both the customers and the restaurants, we have come up with a product – the ePan which is essentially an electronic device (we have not yet decided whether it is hand-held or an LCD screen mounted to a table) that incorporates the following features and accomplishes the following goals:
1. Handheld electronic, wireless device / touch screen LCD
- To accommodate the small dining area
- Allows for easy play and maximum interactivity
- To accommodate the small dining area
- Allows for easy play and maximum interactivity
2. Online food ordering system
- Fast efficient and no frills way to order food at dinners’ own pace
- Fast efficient and no frills way to order food at dinners’ own pace
3. Themed games
- Occupies diners’ attention while waiting for food
- Diners won’t actually “feel” the waiting time
- Entertain diners, especially children
- Entertain diners, especially children
4. Fish and fun facts
- Allow diners to have information on their food and choose more healthily
- Allow diners to have information on their food and choose more healthily
Reddy and our classmates generally like our idea. They think that this device can come in handy to entertain single, hungry customers who want to kill some time while waiting for their food. The same can be said for kids (accompanied by their parents) who can get restless and run around the restaurants after they finish their food, disturbing other diners in the process.
However, one of our classmates said that there may not be an actual need to significantly cut the waiting time as after all, it is not a fast food restaurant and waiting is part of the dining experience. Also, Reddy suggested that electronic games for kids might not work out so well as they can be entertained by offline board games or cartoons instead. Taking these comments into consideration, we set about zooming in on our user profiles and needs for the following week. We have decided to go with our classmates’ suggestion and do away with the ordering component, since it has a totally different functionality from the entertainment system anyway.
Phase II – Define – Requirements Specifications
For this week, we set about narrowing down and defining three groups of target users that we want to cater the ePan to:
1. Health-conscious (including young couples who do not have much time to cook)
2. Large groups of friends (usually teenagers or young adults)
3. Families with young children
Hence we set about creating our user profiles and personas for these three groups of people (1 & 2 being advanced users with children being novice users) and a fourth group – the anti-user (typically older, traditional “uncles” or “aunties” with little tech-savviness). I shall summarize our product benefit specifications below:
1. Physio-Pleasure
- Ability to identify healthier choice of food
- Easy to use and not mind taxing for users trying to relax
2. Socio-Pleasure
- Allow interaction between multiple users at the same time
- Allow bonding between diners
- Allow interaction between multiple users at the same time
- Allow bonding between diners
3. Psycho-Pleasure
- A lively and vibrant feel
- Relieve stress and stimulate customers intellectually by providing health facts
- Store high scores of customers who played the games on the entertainment system
4. Ideo-Pleasure
- The entertainment system with educational and fun games suitable for families
- The entertainment system with educational and fun games suitable for families
To address these concerns, we proposed three features for the ePan: 1) cartoons for the kids, 2) stimulating single- and multi-player flash games for the older kid, hungry customer and the groups of friends, and 3) an educational game with heath facts for the health-conscious.
One feedback by our classmate is that the working executive may not want to be troubled by the kids making much noise while playing the games. Hence we suggested providing headphones for the kids so that they can occupy themselves and be still while watching the cartoons quietly (particularly after they finish their food before their parents).
One feedback by our classmate is that the working executive may not want to be troubled by the kids making much noise while playing the games. Hence we suggested providing headphones for the kids so that they can occupy themselves and be still while watching the cartoons quietly (particularly after they finish their food before their parents).
Phase IIIa – Design Stage 1 (Information Architecture)
Initially, for the health-conscious group of diners, we thought of creating another flash game to educate them about health facts about seafood dishes. However, since we already have other entertaining games in mind, we came up with something different which could be more useful to the heath-conscious diners – a nutritional calculator which calculates the nutritional content (such as saturated fats, sugars, cholesterol levels etc.) of Fish & Co.’s dishes to help these diners make a more informed, healthier choice when selecting items from the menu. They can also compare the nutritional content of different dishes to see which dish suits their particular health needs better.
Functionality of our product can be summarized as thus:
1. For Children (Age 8 and below) – Cartoons
- Short in Length (about 20mins long)
- Marine/aquatic theme
- Entertaining yet educational
- Audible, but not too disruptive to others (earphones provided)
- Short in Length (about 20mins long)
- Marine/aquatic theme
- Entertaining yet educational
- Audible, but not too disruptive to others (earphones provided)
2. For Health-Conscious – Fun Facts + ePan Calculator
- Displays the benefits of healthy eating and fun facts of Fish & Co.
- ePan Calculator enables diners to calculate nutritional information on the food, dessert and drinks being offered (eg. energy, cholesterol, total fat) to make a more informed choice
- Displays the benefits of healthy eating and fun facts of Fish & Co.
- ePan Calculator enables diners to calculate nutritional information on the food, dessert and drinks being offered (eg. energy, cholesterol, total fat) to make a more informed choice
3. For individuals or Groups – Entertaining Game
- Simple instructions
- Engaging but short playing time of 10-15 minutes
- Preferably marine/aquatic theme
- Competitive styled game eg. Racing or score the most points
- Option for single and multiplayer mode
- High score to be recorded into the system
- Simple instructions
- Engaging but short playing time of 10-15 minutes
- Preferably marine/aquatic theme
- Competitive styled game eg. Racing or score the most points
- Option for single and multiplayer mode
- High score to be recorded into the system
For our information architecture we just provided the workflow and processes (in the form of a chart) as well as scenarios as to what steps take place when different groups of customers with different needs enter the restaurant and utilize our ePan.
Since we have more or less detailed how these different needs are addressed and fleshed out the situations in which these different features are utilized, our next challenge is to come up with an idea regarding where and how to physically place our stylus-sensitive LCD screen (without the CPU) so that multiple users can use it with ease, while at the same time not obstructing waiters and other diners, especially since some of the outlets have limited space.
We generally have one screen per table mounted on the table (hand-held device is not feasible because the customers can easily steal them). How to do this is however a more tricky problem. However we have a few ideas:
1. Place the screen below a panel of glass under the table (not feasible because customer cannot use the ePan after his food is served)
2. Mount the screen to the corner of the table (could be bulky and blocking the diner sitting next to it)
3. Make the screen foldable/slidable and able to be placed under the table when not in use (technical constraints and hard to visualize, especially given the current holders we can get from shops)
2. Mount the screen to the corner of the table (could be bulky and blocking the diner sitting next to it)
3. Make the screen foldable/slidable and able to be placed under the table when not in use (technical constraints and hard to visualize, especially given the current holders we can get from shops)
Phase III – Design Stage 2 (Low-fidelity prototype)
Before we discussed how best to go about designing our low-fidelity prototype, Huiyan had an idea – to include a drawing pad which is very useful for every diner (from kids to adults) to exercise their creativity and entertain themselves by writing messages or drawing images which can be subsequently saved into a gallery and viewed by all diners. To filter out any obscenities, the management would have to monitor the gallery daily and remove any potentially vulgar images or messages.
Hence we went about sketching the design of each feature on pieces of A4 sized paper. We opted for a simple and clear layout with the five features of the ePan, as well as the “home” buttons and the sound toggle forming a row at the top of the screen, while the sub-menu buttons would be located on the left taskbar. The interface of the feature would thus be located in the space in between. This layout is very similar to what people encounter when surfing the web, hence will match real world expectations that will make using our system easy and intuitive (part of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 heuristics).
An example of the layout is showed in the nutritional calculator’s screen as shown below:
Figure: Nutritional Calculator Screen (Paper Prototype)Our opening screen will basically consist of an outline of fish showing a welcome message, as shown below:
Figure: Opening Screen (Paper Prototype)The outlines of the fish containing text also blend in well with similar images found on small cards on the restaurant table.
Phase III- Design Stage 3 (High-Fidelity Prototype)
Now is the time to translate our paper prototype ideas to the actual flash interface. As Huiyan is the most familiar with flash programming, she was in charge of the basic programming aspects while the rest of us did the buttons design, user testing and other miscellaneous tasks. However, we did not manage to incorporate all the features by the following week so we did the heuristic evaluation and usability testing with what we have come up with, which is basically just one game (Spot the Difference), one cartoon and the drawing pad.
The main negative comment we have garnered from the usability testing was that the opening screen consisting of several fishes containing information about our features (we have added more fishes to the one from the previous week) are too wordy. They are also confusing since they are unclickable, as shown below:
Figure: Opening ScreenIn addition, the buttons were commented to look flat and there can be a better line of separation differentiating which are the clickable areas and which are not. The dark blue colour of the buttons too contributed to a “blue overload”, since the background was also blue, as commented by Reddy. These are problems that we hope to address when we present our final prototype the following week.
Other than that, there were positive comments such as the ePan being generally user-friendly/intuitive, making good use of stylus technology (for the games & drawing pad) as well as incorporating interesting programmes to suit different tastes. Well it seems that our decision to cater to these different target groups is proving to be the right one.
Phase IV – UX Evaluation
Finally, we have come to the final phase of our project. While continuing to work on adding and improving features of our high-fidelity prototype, we also tried to brainstorm and finalize what kind of holder would best suit our project. Wingyan managed to get a lamp holder from Ikea, as shown below:
Figure: Extendable Lamp HolderIt basically consists of a clamp (to fasten to the table) and supported by two beams with a joint in the middle allowing the adjustment of height and lengthening of the screen which is fastened to the area shown by the lamp above. However more modifications need to be done, as the holder cannot be tilted 360 degrees and the supporting beams look flimsy. Also the holder for the screen (battery powered so wires are not needed) needs to be custom built to ensure that it holds it securely so that the screen does not fall off.
We presented our holder to the class and even demonstrated its use by clamping it to the table in the tutorial room. However most of them did not like it due to its bulky and flimsy appearance, which could potentially block other diners sitting across from it. Some suggested a portable holder whose position is flexible and easily adjustable and others suggested a handheld aspect to our tablet screen (not feasible as the tablet can be easily stolen). However Reddy did not like our current holder, so we have come up with another idea for our holder.
It is a stainless steel holder to be screwed to the underside of the table. The ePan can be slotted into it when not in use. In addition, we decided to make the ePan portable, so that it is now less cumbersome and more flexible to position on the table. In addition, the ePan screen has two flaps at the back that act as stands to prop the ePan at an upright but inclined manner on the table.
A sketch of this holder is shown below:
Figure: Side view of holder with ePan slotted in Figure: Back view of ePan screen being propped on the tableAs for our improved interface, we have added in the rest of the features (nutritional calculator and gallery) and background music while changing the intro screen (having the fishes appear one by one in an animation sequence so it does not seem to wordy) and the look of the buttons (change to orange and adopting a more 3D look). We have even added one more game with 12 differences to spot to provide more variety, as well as throw an interesting challenge to large groups of friends who can work together to spot all the difference. We even tried it out in class and our classmates had a good time trying to pick them out. Below are some screenshots of the improved interface:
Figure: Welcome Screen
Figure: "Fish the Difference" Game
Figure: Cartoons Screen
Figure: Nutritional Calculator
Figure: Welcome Screen Figure: "Fish the Difference" Game Figure: Cartoons Screen Figure: Nutritional CalculatorTo gauge users’ reaction towards the ePan, we have conducted a brief reaction checklist questionnaire using a 5-point scale for ten users (consisting of teenagers and working adults). We also asked them four open-ended questions about the interface readability, their likes and dislikes about the ePan and further comments for improvement. Our general findings is that the ePan generally satisfied their physiological needs as using the stylus pen was comfortable and intuitive. As for the psychological aspects, the ePan was generally easy to use and navigate to the different features, although users were more ambivalent about the ePan being “fun” to use. The sociological aspects did less well though, with a couple of the users not finding the ePan to be a great social-bonding or social image-boosting tool, probably because they might prefer to chat with their friends instead of play the multi-player games as a form of social interaction. However, the ideological aspects of the ePan scored rather well with the users, with most of them agreeing that the ePan projects a hip and cool image and that it blends well with Fish & Co.’s theme, décor and ambience. Most users also found issues with the readability of certain fonts whose colour clashed against the blue background, and did not like the lack of variety of programmes catered towards the older diners. However, they liked the colourful and vibrant feel of the ePan and acknowledged that kids would be thoroughly entertained by it.
However, we have acknowledged that this version of the ePan is not the final one hence the presence of incomplete features and broken links may have impacted on their experience of the ePan when they tested it. Hence, we set about making changes to the ePan based on the user feedback, though we were sadly unable to add a greater variety of applications to it due to time and resource constraints. Hence, after adding the finishing touches to the ePan which included background music, corrections to the colour scheme and an eraser icon next to the eraser tool in the drawing pad, we let the same ten users test the ePan again, while sending them another questionnaire to help us gauge if we have improved for the better since the last testing. Our findings were generally quite pleasing, that the interface has become much more readable and that the background music enhances the atmosphere of the ePan which contributes positively to the dining experience. However, some users still disliked the “childish-looking” interface which they feel is too elementary. As we are trying to cater to the needs of a broad target group, we have found this interface to be the best fit to project a fun image in line with Fish & Co.’s brand image, hence it is difficult to please everyone.
Given more time, we would have further improved the ePan based on these users’ feedback by conducting more extensive user research to better address the entertainment needs of the different groups of diners, especially older teenagers and working adults. We would have considered adding more applications such as movie trailers, advertisements and video clips that cater more towards this more mature group of diners. In response to complaints that the interface was too “childish-looking”, we might in future even provide customizable “skins” consisting of a variety of different colour schemes and themes to choose from that personalize the look and feel of the ePan based on individual diners’ preferences. We might also have added more interactivity to the ePan by using more animations and sound effects which would have made the ePan more visually and aurally appealing.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Assignment 3 - Learning Experience in LTs
For this assignment, Eunice and I aim to find out what are the problems surrounding NUS students’ learning experience in the Lecture Theatres (LTs), and what are the possible solutions to help improve the learning experience so as to make the LTs a more conducive place for learning.
Firstly, I shall define what is learning experience in this case. Learning Experience in LTs is not in the product (LT) itself but in the interactions inherent in an LT learning situation. This could include the students’ interaction with their classmates, the physical environment, the lecturers as well as the influence of time factors. So we shall divide our study into the following areas: human behavior (students and lecturers), time factors and environmental factors. We have decided to conduct an ethnographic study which involves observations of several lectures in progress in different LTs, as well as drawing on observations from previous semesters, since we have studied in NUS for three years. This is because observations of student and lecturer behaviour can help gain insights into what affects their learning experience, which generally stem from the three factors I have mentioned above.
Human Behaviour
Students’ Behaviour
1. Seating behaviour
Students generally tend to like to sit at the back of the LT furthest from the lecturer, and at the sides/end of the row of seats.
Possible reasons for sitting at the back are:
1) to “avoid” the close attention of the lecturer (such as being asked questions) and
2) to be better able to engage in other non-learning related behaviours (such as SMSing or playing games on their laptops) without being spotted.
It is a problem because:
1) it is counter-productive to learning,
2) students at the back tend to make more noise than those in front which can be disturbing to their classmates and
3) students who come late have to go towards the front of the LT to find seats, which can be distracting to seated classmates behind them.
Possible reasons for sitting at the ends of each row are because:
1) students are lazy to move to the centre of the row,
2) it is more convenient for them to move in or out of their rows (to go to the toilet, for example), and
3) it can perhaps to make it easier for their late-coming friends to spot them. Reserving seats at the sides for friends is also very common.
It is a problem because:
1) it is frustrating for students who come later and try to find seats,
2) there are occasional spilt drinks and upended pencil cases if students are not careful, and
3) for smaller LTs, such problems are more pronounced with less room in between rows.
2. Late-coming
Students are rarely in time for lectures, and most latecomers are observed to arrive between the start of lecture and 30 minutes after that.
Possible reasons for late-coming include:
1) Students taking their time to travel from other classes, project discussions etc. This is especially so if their previous class/meeting takes place in a different faculty or it ends behind schedule.
2) Their inability to wake up early for morning classes (related to time factor. See below)
3) Students’ late-coming bad habits. Some students do not make punctuality for classes a priority, so they take their own sweet time to come for class.
It is a problem because:
1) Latecomers’ movements and creaking of doors (also an environmental factor) could pose a distraction to students already in the LTs
2) The latecomers’ learning experience could also be affected. This is because they tend to miss out on important announcements being made at the start of lecture. Thus, they can be heard asking their friends for updates, adding to the chatter.
3. Absence from Lectures
It is observed that attendances for lectures are generally high at the start and end of the semester (particularly the last lecture, when exam tips are usually dispensed), while it tends to start to dwindle towards the middle of semester. There will be more absentees if the lecture is webcasted.
Possible reasons for absence include:
1) Attendance for lectures may not be taken. Hence since attendance usually counts towards the final grade (under “participation marks”), the lack of attendance taking for lectures makes it less compelling for students to turn up.
2) Students may not think it is important to attend all the lectures since they may choose to just refer to the lecture notes/readings and spend the time doing other things like project work (which are counted towards the final grade).
3) Lectures with webcast can be accessed from the comfort of home. Hence there is no apparent need to turn up physically.
It is a problem because:
1) Absentees from non-webcasted lectures may miss out on explanations of key facts/concepts and may be ignorant of important announcements. This could affect their performance for the module.
2) Their engagement with the content of the lectures is therefore reduced. This is because they could have missed out on opportunities to ask questions during lecture to clarify their doubts.
4. Passivity/Fear to Speak Up
We observed that most students fall silent when asked questions by the lecturer. These questions could be possible responses to discussion topics or opportunities to clarify any doubts. Such unresponsiveness persists even after the lecturer calls out names of students and repeatedly prompts them to answer.
Possible reasons for passivity include:
1) Asian mentality due to our relatively conservative culture. Asian culture tends to encourage passivity and compliance to our elders rather than speaking our minds and engaging in debate.
2) Learning mentality influenced by teaching methods in primary and secondary schools. These schools tend to teach content-heavy subjects that encourage rote-learning and memorization rather than active debate. Hence, students carry this learning mentality over to the universities.
3) Students’ fear of being laughed at or ridiculed by their classmates if they give “stupid” or incorrect answers. Again this is partially due to the Asian mentality causing many students not to be “thick-skinned” enough to dare to say anything remotely controversial in public and thus potentially losing “face”.
It is a problem because:
1) Students’ learning experience can be dampened as they do not actively engage in the subject matter. This is mainly due to them possibly keeping their unvoiced doubts to themselves.
2) Such passive behaviour tends to be “contagious”. . If one student does not speak up, no one else would, thus spreading a mentality of inhibition that could constrain their learning experience.
5. Noise-making by students
Students tend to make the most noise when important announcements are being made, as the time for a break approaches and towards the end of the lecture.
Possible reasons for noise-making include:
1) Students tend to ask their friends questions regarding these announcements rather than the lecturer himself (again attributable to the “fear to speak up” mentality)
2) Students anticipating a break tend to get more restless as they are looking forward to it
3) Students start packing their bags and slamming their books even before the lecturer finishes the last slide, perhaps to prepare to rush for their next class.
It is a problem because:
1) The additional noise can be disturbing and distracting for other students.
2) This can possibly result in missed details, which can include the lecturer’s explanation of complex facts and concepts, as well as announcements. The noise-making students and their classmates cannot absorb the lecturer’s elaboration of announcements and concepts due to unnecessary distraction.
Lecturer’s Behaviour
1. Lecturer’s delivery style
Many lecturers just drone on in a monotonous voice. They do not attempt to make their lessons more interactive. Their slides also contain just chunks of text with few pictures and videos.
It is a problem because:
1) It could be boring for students to listen to them for two hours
2) This often results in many students nodding off or becoming restless.
2. Lecture Notes
Some lecturers provide lecture notes only after the lecture and not before. This is not a popular move with students. Many lecturers eventually relent in giving students the lecture slides before the lecture after students email them to “complain” about not having anything to refer to during the lecture.
It is a problem because:
1) Students do not have much to refer to when it comes to following the lecture
2) This potentially makes them feel “lost” and less likely to digest what the lecturer is saying.
3. Guest Lecturers
Guest lecturers are usually outsiders from related industries, hence they may not lecture in a manner that sufficiently engages students as they may have little formal training in teaching. Students tend to shun guest lectures with attendance observed as being lower than usual unless the guest is a celebrity or famous corporate figure.
It is a problem because:
1) The students may not be able to relate what the guest lecturers are saying to their course material
2) Thus they do not feel that it is important to attend or pay attention.
Time Factor
1. Early Lectures (8am – 10am)
More latecomers and sleepy students are observed. Problem: The early time makes it harder to concentrate on the lecture.
2. Late Lectures (6pm-8pm)
Students are generally tired after a long day and are hoping the lecture will end soon to go for dinner. Problem: This may make them pay lesser attention during the lecture.
Environmental Factors
1. Front Door
Students come in by the front door when the lecture has started. Sometimes, people occasionally peep into the little transparent window of the lecture theatre door. Problem: It is distracting for students trying to concentrate.
2. Seats
Spoilt chairs are occasionally spotted. Also, the front few seats are usually unoccupied. Problem: Seats in LT are not fully utilized as these seats give an inferior learning experience.
3. Table (attached to LT seats)
1) It is too small.
Problem: Things are observed falling off occasionally
2) It is located at the right of the seat.
Problem: Harder for left-handers to write on it
4. Air-conditioning
Air-con temperature may be too cold.
Problem: The coldness is not conducive for learning
5. Look of LT
Some LTs look new while others look run-down.
Problem: Old LTs may appear to be less cosy and less conducive for learning because of the relatively low visceral quality it exudes
6. Sound level (sound system)
1) Lecturer’s voice may be projected too loudly through the sound system.
Problem: Uncomfortable for the ears
2) Or it may be too soft
Problems:
a) Lecturer’s voice hard to hear
b) Students’ talking may be more audible instead
7. Lighting
Lights are dimmed for better contrast of the screen (especially if video clips are being shown).
Problem: Dim lights may make students more sleepy
8. Seats Layout
Space between rows of seats is limited.
Problem: Students have to make way for people going to the middle seats, causing disruption to their learning
Cultural Solutions
1. Seating Behaviour
1) Have students sit at the front and in the middle of the rows. A possible way to encourage them to do so is for the lecturer to target those sitting right at the back first when asking questions.
2) Have tutors and teaching assistants sit at the back to monitor and warn students engaging in distracting behaviour
3) Penalize students who regularly engage in such behavior. For example, marks can be deducted from these students’ CA.
2. Late-coming
1) Take attendance during the first 15 minute of lecture
2) Encourage the early students to sit in front. This is so that their late-coming classmates can sit at the back.
3) Play interesting video clips at the start of lecture where applicable. This is to encourage students to arrive punctually.
3. Absence from Lectures
1) Mark attendance during lecture
2) Webcast all lectures. This is so that students can still “attend” lectures at their own time.
3) Leave blanks in the lecture notes for students to fill in. This way, students are more likely to attend lectures as they do not want to “miss out” on important details in their lecture notes.
4) Make students do graded reaction papers. This practice is commonplace in some NM modules such as NM1101E. These reaction papers can also be used to mark attendance.
4. Passivity/Fear to Speak Up
1) Emphasize that there is no right or wrong answers and that “stupid” questions are those that are not asked, so as to make it less intimidating for students to speak up
2) Students should be reminded to respect their classmates’ opinions. They should be warned not to laugh at them or aim personal attacks at those who speak up.
3) Give small rewards for lecture participation. This can be food items such as biscuits or chocolate bars. One innovative method practiced occasionally by one CNM lecturer is to randomly throw a packet of biscuits into the audience and the one who catches it can keep it but has to answer the question.
5. Noise-making by Students
1) Have students seek clarification from the lecturer when they have doubts regarding announcements, concepts etc. This is not only to minimize chatter among students, but also benefit other students’ learning experience since they may have the same doubts too.
2) Give about 2 breaks per lecture, with each lasting about five minutes each. This is so that the students will not feel so restless about having to listen for the lecturer for an hour before they have their break.
3) End the lecture five minutes earlier than usual. This is to give the students more time to travel to other classes for lessons, so they need not rush to pack their bags towards the end of lecture.
6. Lecturer’s delivery style
1) Lecturer can engage students more actively in the learning process. This can be achieved by asking thought-provoking questions and initiate small group discussions.
2) They can incorporate more multi-media in their slides such as images, sound, animations and video clips in their slides to sustain students’ interest.
3) They should trim the amount of words in their slides, just important points.
7. Lecture Notes
Provide lecture notes before the lecture.
8. Guest Lecturers
1) Lecturer should explain how the guest lecturers’ speech relates to the course material. He can even use points raised by them as examples that students can use to answer exam questions.
2) Guest lecturer could perhaps lecture for about one hour only. The regular lecturer can take over after the break and continue with the course proper.
3) Invite more “famous” guest lecturers where applicable. For example, one of our past semester modules invited Royston Tan to discuss his experiences in the local film-making industry.
9. Lecture Timeslots (Early/Late Classes)
Timetable committee should try to avoid planning for early/late lecture slots as much as possible (especially for large classes).
Technological Solutions
1. Front Door
1) Students who are late should try to come in quietly by the back door to minimize disruption
2) Oil the doors so they creak less
2. Seats
1) Faulty chairs to be replaced
2) Checks can be done regularly for faulty equipment. Or more efficiently, students can help to report on faulty equipment in the LT.
3. Tables (attached to LT seats)
Make bigger table for each seat in the LT so as to provide more comfort and space for note-taking.
4. Air-conditioning
1) Tweak the air-con temperature of the LT where possible
2) Otherwise, students can bring their own jackets etc. to keep themselves warm.
5. Look of LT
Refurbish the older LTs where possible. Design of LTs should include carpeted floors, comfortable chairs and a pleasant colour scheme to contribute to a more cosy ambience that is viscerally conducive to learning.
6. Sound level (sound system)
1) Lecturer to make sure sound system is functioning properly
2) Technicians to conduct regular checks
7. Lighting
Lighting should be kept at appropriate level at all times. Lights should not be dimmed when lecturer is not showing video clips, except perhaps the front-most light to ensure the text on screen is visible.
8. Seats Layout
1) Install shorter rows of seats with gaps in between every 5-10 seats or so. This is so that students do not have a hard time to get to the seats in the middle since they can enter through these gaps
2) Widen space in between rows to provide more comfortable leg room/space for bags.
Conclusion
From our ethnographic study, we can conclude that not all of the problems can be solved by the solutions we proposed. Instead, the onus should be on the students to do their part to pay attention and be considerate to their classmates. This is essential for their learning experience to be enhanced.
Firstly, I shall define what is learning experience in this case. Learning Experience in LTs is not in the product (LT) itself but in the interactions inherent in an LT learning situation. This could include the students’ interaction with their classmates, the physical environment, the lecturers as well as the influence of time factors. So we shall divide our study into the following areas: human behavior (students and lecturers), time factors and environmental factors. We have decided to conduct an ethnographic study which involves observations of several lectures in progress in different LTs, as well as drawing on observations from previous semesters, since we have studied in NUS for three years. This is because observations of student and lecturer behaviour can help gain insights into what affects their learning experience, which generally stem from the three factors I have mentioned above.
Human Behaviour
Students’ Behaviour
1. Seating behaviour
Students generally tend to like to sit at the back of the LT furthest from the lecturer, and at the sides/end of the row of seats.
Possible reasons for sitting at the back are:
1) to “avoid” the close attention of the lecturer (such as being asked questions) and
2) to be better able to engage in other non-learning related behaviours (such as SMSing or playing games on their laptops) without being spotted.
It is a problem because:
1) it is counter-productive to learning,
2) students at the back tend to make more noise than those in front which can be disturbing to their classmates and
3) students who come late have to go towards the front of the LT to find seats, which can be distracting to seated classmates behind them.
Possible reasons for sitting at the ends of each row are because:
1) students are lazy to move to the centre of the row,
2) it is more convenient for them to move in or out of their rows (to go to the toilet, for example), and
3) it can perhaps to make it easier for their late-coming friends to spot them. Reserving seats at the sides for friends is also very common.
It is a problem because:
1) it is frustrating for students who come later and try to find seats,
2) there are occasional spilt drinks and upended pencil cases if students are not careful, and
3) for smaller LTs, such problems are more pronounced with less room in between rows.
2. Late-coming
Students are rarely in time for lectures, and most latecomers are observed to arrive between the start of lecture and 30 minutes after that.
Possible reasons for late-coming include:
1) Students taking their time to travel from other classes, project discussions etc. This is especially so if their previous class/meeting takes place in a different faculty or it ends behind schedule.
2) Their inability to wake up early for morning classes (related to time factor. See below)
3) Students’ late-coming bad habits. Some students do not make punctuality for classes a priority, so they take their own sweet time to come for class.
It is a problem because:
1) Latecomers’ movements and creaking of doors (also an environmental factor) could pose a distraction to students already in the LTs
2) The latecomers’ learning experience could also be affected. This is because they tend to miss out on important announcements being made at the start of lecture. Thus, they can be heard asking their friends for updates, adding to the chatter.
3. Absence from Lectures
It is observed that attendances for lectures are generally high at the start and end of the semester (particularly the last lecture, when exam tips are usually dispensed), while it tends to start to dwindle towards the middle of semester. There will be more absentees if the lecture is webcasted.
Possible reasons for absence include:
1) Attendance for lectures may not be taken. Hence since attendance usually counts towards the final grade (under “participation marks”), the lack of attendance taking for lectures makes it less compelling for students to turn up.
2) Students may not think it is important to attend all the lectures since they may choose to just refer to the lecture notes/readings and spend the time doing other things like project work (which are counted towards the final grade).
3) Lectures with webcast can be accessed from the comfort of home. Hence there is no apparent need to turn up physically.
It is a problem because:
1) Absentees from non-webcasted lectures may miss out on explanations of key facts/concepts and may be ignorant of important announcements. This could affect their performance for the module.
2) Their engagement with the content of the lectures is therefore reduced. This is because they could have missed out on opportunities to ask questions during lecture to clarify their doubts.
4. Passivity/Fear to Speak Up
We observed that most students fall silent when asked questions by the lecturer. These questions could be possible responses to discussion topics or opportunities to clarify any doubts. Such unresponsiveness persists even after the lecturer calls out names of students and repeatedly prompts them to answer.
Possible reasons for passivity include:
1) Asian mentality due to our relatively conservative culture. Asian culture tends to encourage passivity and compliance to our elders rather than speaking our minds and engaging in debate.
2) Learning mentality influenced by teaching methods in primary and secondary schools. These schools tend to teach content-heavy subjects that encourage rote-learning and memorization rather than active debate. Hence, students carry this learning mentality over to the universities.
3) Students’ fear of being laughed at or ridiculed by their classmates if they give “stupid” or incorrect answers. Again this is partially due to the Asian mentality causing many students not to be “thick-skinned” enough to dare to say anything remotely controversial in public and thus potentially losing “face”.
It is a problem because:
1) Students’ learning experience can be dampened as they do not actively engage in the subject matter. This is mainly due to them possibly keeping their unvoiced doubts to themselves.
2) Such passive behaviour tends to be “contagious”. . If one student does not speak up, no one else would, thus spreading a mentality of inhibition that could constrain their learning experience.
5. Noise-making by students
Students tend to make the most noise when important announcements are being made, as the time for a break approaches and towards the end of the lecture.
Possible reasons for noise-making include:
1) Students tend to ask their friends questions regarding these announcements rather than the lecturer himself (again attributable to the “fear to speak up” mentality)
2) Students anticipating a break tend to get more restless as they are looking forward to it
3) Students start packing their bags and slamming their books even before the lecturer finishes the last slide, perhaps to prepare to rush for their next class.
It is a problem because:
1) The additional noise can be disturbing and distracting for other students.
2) This can possibly result in missed details, which can include the lecturer’s explanation of complex facts and concepts, as well as announcements. The noise-making students and their classmates cannot absorb the lecturer’s elaboration of announcements and concepts due to unnecessary distraction.
Lecturer’s Behaviour
1. Lecturer’s delivery style
Many lecturers just drone on in a monotonous voice. They do not attempt to make their lessons more interactive. Their slides also contain just chunks of text with few pictures and videos.
It is a problem because:
1) It could be boring for students to listen to them for two hours
2) This often results in many students nodding off or becoming restless.
2. Lecture Notes
Some lecturers provide lecture notes only after the lecture and not before. This is not a popular move with students. Many lecturers eventually relent in giving students the lecture slides before the lecture after students email them to “complain” about not having anything to refer to during the lecture.
It is a problem because:
1) Students do not have much to refer to when it comes to following the lecture
2) This potentially makes them feel “lost” and less likely to digest what the lecturer is saying.
3. Guest Lecturers
Guest lecturers are usually outsiders from related industries, hence they may not lecture in a manner that sufficiently engages students as they may have little formal training in teaching. Students tend to shun guest lectures with attendance observed as being lower than usual unless the guest is a celebrity or famous corporate figure.
It is a problem because:
1) The students may not be able to relate what the guest lecturers are saying to their course material
2) Thus they do not feel that it is important to attend or pay attention.
Time Factor
1. Early Lectures (8am – 10am)
More latecomers and sleepy students are observed. Problem: The early time makes it harder to concentrate on the lecture.
2. Late Lectures (6pm-8pm)
Students are generally tired after a long day and are hoping the lecture will end soon to go for dinner. Problem: This may make them pay lesser attention during the lecture.
Environmental Factors
1. Front Door
Students come in by the front door when the lecture has started. Sometimes, people occasionally peep into the little transparent window of the lecture theatre door. Problem: It is distracting for students trying to concentrate.
2. Seats
Spoilt chairs are occasionally spotted. Also, the front few seats are usually unoccupied. Problem: Seats in LT are not fully utilized as these seats give an inferior learning experience.
3. Table (attached to LT seats)
1) It is too small.
Problem: Things are observed falling off occasionally
2) It is located at the right of the seat.
Problem: Harder for left-handers to write on it
4. Air-conditioning
Air-con temperature may be too cold.
Problem: The coldness is not conducive for learning
5. Look of LT
Some LTs look new while others look run-down.
Problem: Old LTs may appear to be less cosy and less conducive for learning because of the relatively low visceral quality it exudes
6. Sound level (sound system)
1) Lecturer’s voice may be projected too loudly through the sound system.
Problem: Uncomfortable for the ears
2) Or it may be too soft
Problems:
a) Lecturer’s voice hard to hear
b) Students’ talking may be more audible instead
7. Lighting
Lights are dimmed for better contrast of the screen (especially if video clips are being shown).
Problem: Dim lights may make students more sleepy
8. Seats Layout
Space between rows of seats is limited.
Problem: Students have to make way for people going to the middle seats, causing disruption to their learning
Cultural Solutions
1. Seating Behaviour
1) Have students sit at the front and in the middle of the rows. A possible way to encourage them to do so is for the lecturer to target those sitting right at the back first when asking questions.
2) Have tutors and teaching assistants sit at the back to monitor and warn students engaging in distracting behaviour
3) Penalize students who regularly engage in such behavior. For example, marks can be deducted from these students’ CA.
2. Late-coming
1) Take attendance during the first 15 minute of lecture
2) Encourage the early students to sit in front. This is so that their late-coming classmates can sit at the back.
3) Play interesting video clips at the start of lecture where applicable. This is to encourage students to arrive punctually.
3. Absence from Lectures
1) Mark attendance during lecture
2) Webcast all lectures. This is so that students can still “attend” lectures at their own time.
3) Leave blanks in the lecture notes for students to fill in. This way, students are more likely to attend lectures as they do not want to “miss out” on important details in their lecture notes.
4) Make students do graded reaction papers. This practice is commonplace in some NM modules such as NM1101E. These reaction papers can also be used to mark attendance.
4. Passivity/Fear to Speak Up
1) Emphasize that there is no right or wrong answers and that “stupid” questions are those that are not asked, so as to make it less intimidating for students to speak up
2) Students should be reminded to respect their classmates’ opinions. They should be warned not to laugh at them or aim personal attacks at those who speak up.
3) Give small rewards for lecture participation. This can be food items such as biscuits or chocolate bars. One innovative method practiced occasionally by one CNM lecturer is to randomly throw a packet of biscuits into the audience and the one who catches it can keep it but has to answer the question.
5. Noise-making by Students
1) Have students seek clarification from the lecturer when they have doubts regarding announcements, concepts etc. This is not only to minimize chatter among students, but also benefit other students’ learning experience since they may have the same doubts too.
2) Give about 2 breaks per lecture, with each lasting about five minutes each. This is so that the students will not feel so restless about having to listen for the lecturer for an hour before they have their break.
3) End the lecture five minutes earlier than usual. This is to give the students more time to travel to other classes for lessons, so they need not rush to pack their bags towards the end of lecture.
6. Lecturer’s delivery style
1) Lecturer can engage students more actively in the learning process. This can be achieved by asking thought-provoking questions and initiate small group discussions.
2) They can incorporate more multi-media in their slides such as images, sound, animations and video clips in their slides to sustain students’ interest.
3) They should trim the amount of words in their slides, just important points.
7. Lecture Notes
Provide lecture notes before the lecture.
8. Guest Lecturers
1) Lecturer should explain how the guest lecturers’ speech relates to the course material. He can even use points raised by them as examples that students can use to answer exam questions.
2) Guest lecturer could perhaps lecture for about one hour only. The regular lecturer can take over after the break and continue with the course proper.
3) Invite more “famous” guest lecturers where applicable. For example, one of our past semester modules invited Royston Tan to discuss his experiences in the local film-making industry.
9. Lecture Timeslots (Early/Late Classes)
Timetable committee should try to avoid planning for early/late lecture slots as much as possible (especially for large classes).
Technological Solutions
1. Front Door
1) Students who are late should try to come in quietly by the back door to minimize disruption
2) Oil the doors so they creak less
2. Seats
1) Faulty chairs to be replaced
2) Checks can be done regularly for faulty equipment. Or more efficiently, students can help to report on faulty equipment in the LT.
3. Tables (attached to LT seats)
Make bigger table for each seat in the LT so as to provide more comfort and space for note-taking.
4. Air-conditioning
1) Tweak the air-con temperature of the LT where possible
2) Otherwise, students can bring their own jackets etc. to keep themselves warm.
5. Look of LT
Refurbish the older LTs where possible. Design of LTs should include carpeted floors, comfortable chairs and a pleasant colour scheme to contribute to a more cosy ambience that is viscerally conducive to learning.
6. Sound level (sound system)
1) Lecturer to make sure sound system is functioning properly
2) Technicians to conduct regular checks
7. Lighting
Lighting should be kept at appropriate level at all times. Lights should not be dimmed when lecturer is not showing video clips, except perhaps the front-most light to ensure the text on screen is visible.
8. Seats Layout
1) Install shorter rows of seats with gaps in between every 5-10 seats or so. This is so that students do not have a hard time to get to the seats in the middle since they can enter through these gaps
2) Widen space in between rows to provide more comfortable leg room/space for bags.
Conclusion
From our ethnographic study, we can conclude that not all of the problems can be solved by the solutions we proposed. Instead, the onus should be on the students to do their part to pay attention and be considerate to their classmates. This is essential for their learning experience to be enhanced.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)