Morville, P., & Rosenfeld, L. (2007). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (3rd ed.). Cambridge: O'Reilly.
chapter 1
highly valued principles of IA: change, balance between stability and flexibility & scalability
IA - defined:
structural design of information environment, shaping experiences with information through support of usability and findability (?? searchable & accessible?)
data - information - metada - knowledge
"invisibility" the concept of invisibility is important in emphasizing the need to make the transactions (with information & interface) transparent to the users so that they are not burdened with how to use the system. However, it is the job of information architects to make this invisible visible.
chapter 2
2 critiques on the chapter
1. IA as mediator: from my past working experience, the biggest role of IA is that of a mediator between disciplines. Once the client requirements are assessed, they are constantly in discussion with designers and technical staffs to address the requirements and to understand how they can be addressed. IAs do not come up with the initial design of functionality, it emerges in discussion between discipline leads. The implication, IAs are not specialists in any discipline but they need to have sufficient understanding of each discipline to understand the suggestions from each discipline and the rationale.
2. technology is no longer the center of attention in design of websites. Graphic design is. People are very easily sold by what looks good.
Factors that determine the distinct content of a site:
ownership, format, structure, metadata, volume, dynamism
An interesting observation of the readings on information architecture, design and more is that they are devoid of design intentions or purpose. All websites or information experience is provided with particular purose. In commercial world there is promotion and marketing in mind, in education there is pedagogical purpose and style in mind. These are hardly discussed and addressed by the literature, probably due to the fact that they are trying to cater to diverse industry.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Interaction Design IV
Steuer, J. (1995). Defining visual reality: Dimensions determining telepresence. In F. Biocca and M. R. Levy (Eds.), Communication in the age of virtual reality (pp. 33-56). Hilldale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
The author attempts at redefining the concept of Virtual Reality, emphasizing on the 'experiential' aspect of it rather than the technological definition, which limits definition of
1) unit of analysis
2) dimensions of VR
3) means for examining virtual reality in relation to other mediated experience.
Thus, the author defines it as
"Virtual Reality is defined as a real or simulated environment in which a perceiver experiences telepresence"
Communicator A <--> [virtual reality] <--> Communicator B
The concept of 'telepresence' refers to mediation perception (c.f. natural perception of presence), the extent to which on feels present in the mediated environment. This includes similar concept of teleoperation.
Dimensions of VR can be identified as
1. variables that induce the sense of telepresence (Sheridan, 1992)
Technological
a) extent of sensory information
b) control of sensors relative to environment
c) ability to modify the physical environment
task or context-based
d) task difficulty
e) degree fo automation
2. dimensions that define communication technolgies
a) vividness: breath and depth
depends on the breadth (the number of perceptual information available) and depth of sensory information availabe in each perceptual channel
b) interactivity:
refers to the degree to which users can participate in modifying the form and content of the mediated environment
depends on
b.1) speed
b.2) range (i.e. number of attributes in the mediated environment that can be manipulated)
b.3) mapping (i.e. which human actions are connected to actions within a mediated environment)
*****************
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). Engaging students in active learning: The case for personalized multimedia messages. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 4, 724-733.
Personalized message can induce
1. active engagement by learners
2. lowered cognitive load
3. better performance
Experimental manipulation presented instructions in personalized style or 1, 2, 3rd point of view.
Theoretical background
- cocktail party effect: people can easily detect personally relevant information while attentding to 2 conversations simultaneously
- self-referential effect: retention is facilitated when personally relevant information is presented
Assumptions were that self-referencing instruction will lead the learners to believe that they are the active participants of the learning process thereby promoting deep understanding of the material via increased elaboration of the material and less cognitive effort to process information. (interaction hypothesis c.f. transmission hypothesis)
The results show that while self-referencing effect manifest in better retention and transfer, it is not due to increased interest in the material. The paper fails to explain the mechanisms involved in the effect (the article goes as far as reducing processing effort and interaction with existing schema) but other hypothesis can also be suggested:
1. personalized message assists selective attention whereby personally relevant information is more easily attended to (and thus reducing mental effort)
2. implicit attention is increased due to induction of social context through informal, self-referencing message. the effect of social context on cognitive porcesses can be seen in social psychology literature.
The author attempts at redefining the concept of Virtual Reality, emphasizing on the 'experiential' aspect of it rather than the technological definition, which limits definition of
1) unit of analysis
2) dimensions of VR
3) means for examining virtual reality in relation to other mediated experience.
Thus, the author defines it as
"Virtual Reality is defined as a real or simulated environment in which a perceiver experiences telepresence"
Communicator A <--> [virtual reality] <--> Communicator B
The concept of 'telepresence' refers to mediation perception (c.f. natural perception of presence), the extent to which on feels present in the mediated environment. This includes similar concept of teleoperation.
Dimensions of VR can be identified as
1. variables that induce the sense of telepresence (Sheridan, 1992)
Technological
a) extent of sensory information
b) control of sensors relative to environment
c) ability to modify the physical environment
task or context-based
d) task difficulty
e) degree fo automation
2. dimensions that define communication technolgies
a) vividness: breath and depth
depends on the breadth (the number of perceptual information available) and depth of sensory information availabe in each perceptual channel
b) interactivity:
refers to the degree to which users can participate in modifying the form and content of the mediated environment
depends on
b.1) speed
b.2) range (i.e. number of attributes in the mediated environment that can be manipulated)
b.3) mapping (i.e. which human actions are connected to actions within a mediated environment)
*****************
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2000). Engaging students in active learning: The case for personalized multimedia messages. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 4, 724-733.
Personalized message can induce
1. active engagement by learners
2. lowered cognitive load
3. better performance
Experimental manipulation presented instructions in personalized style or 1, 2, 3rd point of view.
Theoretical background
- cocktail party effect: people can easily detect personally relevant information while attentding to 2 conversations simultaneously
- self-referential effect: retention is facilitated when personally relevant information is presented
Assumptions were that self-referencing instruction will lead the learners to believe that they are the active participants of the learning process thereby promoting deep understanding of the material via increased elaboration of the material and less cognitive effort to process information. (interaction hypothesis c.f. transmission hypothesis)
The results show that while self-referencing effect manifest in better retention and transfer, it is not due to increased interest in the material. The paper fails to explain the mechanisms involved in the effect (the article goes as far as reducing processing effort and interaction with existing schema) but other hypothesis can also be suggested:
1. personalized message assists selective attention whereby personally relevant information is more easily attended to (and thus reducing mental effort)
2. implicit attention is increased due to induction of social context through informal, self-referencing message. the effect of social context on cognitive porcesses can be seen in social psychology literature.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Interaction Design III
Dickey, M.D. (2005). Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53, 67-83.
Engaged learning (Jones et al, 1994& Schlechty, 1997)
consist of elements: focused goal, challenging task, clear and compelling standards, protection from adverse consequences for initial failures (??), affirmation of performance, affiliation with others, novelty and variety, choice, authenticity.
Game design can inform development of problem-based constructivist learning environment.
Strategies to engage users in game design & applicability to educational design
1. POV (player position or point of view)
"god's eye" view to more immersive environment, in line with the more active participation of learner's in the learning environment (learner control & engagement)
2. narrative
Narrative as a means of reasoning and of representation.
Narratives are inherently sequential and linear in nature, however game designs are nonlinear. One solution around the discrepancy is to allow branching stories according to user interaction/choice or allow dynamic access of different parts of linear narrative.
3. interaction
"hooks" afford actions and feedback to players
Hooks are types of choices a player makes in teh course of the game. (Howland, 2002)
i.e. action, resource, tactical and strategic, time hooks
(the concept of hooks as different types of choices available to users sounds similar to the issue of learner control which is much addressed in educational research. is it always engaging? is it always benefitial?)
a) 'setting' defines the gamespace supporting narrative and a sense of immersion through manipulation of physical(spatial), temporal, environmental (visual), emotional, ethical dimensions
b) 'roles and characters'
c) 'actions, feedback, and affordances'
rules define possible actions in strive of a particular goal
************
Schwann, S., & Riempp, R. (2004). The cognitive benefit of interactive videos: Learning to tie nautical knots. Learning and Instruction, 14, 293-305.
3 main characteristics of "new media" is defined as
1. non-linear structure
2. concerted use of a great number of different symbol systems
3. interactivity, which gives users the opportunity to decide on the "what" and the "how" of the information presentation
The interactivity (often referred to as learner control) is discussed in detail for the cognitive implications (direct experience vs media presentation; cognitive benefits of interactive visual media).
In non-interactive presentation, media-based information presentation restricts information processing to the perspective of the designers of the material. This could enhance the experience of information processing in comparison to direct experience by presenting in a way that assists for better comprehension. However, such approach is typically designed to address a general audience as opposed to specific cognitive characteristics of each user.
Interactive presentation affords "epistemic action" (Kirsh and Maglio, 1994) where by interactive manipulation of presentation by users allows users to moderate the amount of information, mental steps, speed at which they receive the information, facilitating cognitive processing. However, interactivity could potentially increase cognitive load (extraneous load) by requiring users to hold control-related information.
Therefore, interactive dynamic visualization can only benefit learners if
- interactivity allows users to substantially reduce the cognitive demands in processing the inforamtion
- cognitive load induced by interaction with the system is minimal
In the experiment presented in the article, where learners viewed video to learn how to tie knots of different complexity in either interactive (control) or non-interactive condition, learners took advantage of the controls provided with the video and demonstrated more effective learning outcome. However, there is a limitation in extending the results of the experiment to other dynamic visualization, for the learning material was mainly procedural in nature, and the interactivity was confined to 'control' as opposed to active searching for information, which most interactive media affords.
*************
Rieber, L.P., Tzeng, S., & Tribble, K. (2004.) Discovery learning, representation, and explanation within a computer-based simulation: finding the right mix. Learning and Instruction, 14, 307–323.
In an experiment, the researchers explored how graphical or textual explanation assist learners interacting with the system that uses Newton's law to kick a ball to a target. The result (as assessed by knowledge test on Newton's law as well as performance in the system itself) shows that graphical explanation was more benefitial. Thus, aligning the representation type of the feedback or explanation with the task demands is important.
Questions:
1. why are they referring to feedback literature when what they are providing is essentially a scaffold of information (information on the positioning of the ball)? Feedbacks in educational research pertains to the metacognitive information, assisting learner's with their self-regulation of their learning (i.e. knowing their own progress) as opposed to acquiring additional information.
2. textual feedback is not informative by design for it provides x,y coordinates of the target and the ball, implying that learners receiving such feedback had to mentally convert x, y coordinates into graphical representation, requiring an additional mental step, thus causing extraneous load, irrelevant to the concepts being learnt. This can be seen from the result where the M of principle learning for textual feedback is none different from Graphical interface without explanations and also from the frustration result. (no wonder!)
Engaged learning (Jones et al, 1994& Schlechty, 1997)
consist of elements: focused goal, challenging task, clear and compelling standards, protection from adverse consequences for initial failures (??), affirmation of performance, affiliation with others, novelty and variety, choice, authenticity.
Game design can inform development of problem-based constructivist learning environment.
Strategies to engage users in game design & applicability to educational design
1. POV (player position or point of view)
"god's eye" view to more immersive environment, in line with the more active participation of learner's in the learning environment (learner control & engagement)
2. narrative
Narrative as a means of reasoning and of representation.
Narratives are inherently sequential and linear in nature, however game designs are nonlinear. One solution around the discrepancy is to allow branching stories according to user interaction/choice or allow dynamic access of different parts of linear narrative.
3. interaction
"hooks" afford actions and feedback to players
Hooks are types of choices a player makes in teh course of the game. (Howland, 2002)
i.e. action, resource, tactical and strategic, time hooks
(the concept of hooks as different types of choices available to users sounds similar to the issue of learner control which is much addressed in educational research. is it always engaging? is it always benefitial?)
a) 'setting' defines the gamespace supporting narrative and a sense of immersion through manipulation of physical(spatial), temporal, environmental (visual), emotional, ethical dimensions
b) 'roles and characters'
c) 'actions, feedback, and affordances'
rules define possible actions in strive of a particular goal
************
Schwann, S., & Riempp, R. (2004). The cognitive benefit of interactive videos: Learning to tie nautical knots. Learning and Instruction, 14, 293-305.
3 main characteristics of "new media" is defined as
1. non-linear structure
2. concerted use of a great number of different symbol systems
3. interactivity, which gives users the opportunity to decide on the "what" and the "how" of the information presentation
The interactivity (often referred to as learner control) is discussed in detail for the cognitive implications (direct experience vs media presentation; cognitive benefits of interactive visual media).
In non-interactive presentation, media-based information presentation restricts information processing to the perspective of the designers of the material. This could enhance the experience of information processing in comparison to direct experience by presenting in a way that assists for better comprehension. However, such approach is typically designed to address a general audience as opposed to specific cognitive characteristics of each user.
Interactive presentation affords "epistemic action" (Kirsh and Maglio, 1994) where by interactive manipulation of presentation by users allows users to moderate the amount of information, mental steps, speed at which they receive the information, facilitating cognitive processing. However, interactivity could potentially increase cognitive load (extraneous load) by requiring users to hold control-related information.
Therefore, interactive dynamic visualization can only benefit learners if
- interactivity allows users to substantially reduce the cognitive demands in processing the inforamtion
- cognitive load induced by interaction with the system is minimal
In the experiment presented in the article, where learners viewed video to learn how to tie knots of different complexity in either interactive (control) or non-interactive condition, learners took advantage of the controls provided with the video and demonstrated more effective learning outcome. However, there is a limitation in extending the results of the experiment to other dynamic visualization, for the learning material was mainly procedural in nature, and the interactivity was confined to 'control' as opposed to active searching for information, which most interactive media affords.
*************
Rieber, L.P., Tzeng, S., & Tribble, K. (2004.) Discovery learning, representation, and explanation within a computer-based simulation: finding the right mix. Learning and Instruction, 14, 307–323.
In an experiment, the researchers explored how graphical or textual explanation assist learners interacting with the system that uses Newton's law to kick a ball to a target. The result (as assessed by knowledge test on Newton's law as well as performance in the system itself) shows that graphical explanation was more benefitial. Thus, aligning the representation type of the feedback or explanation with the task demands is important.
Questions:
1. why are they referring to feedback literature when what they are providing is essentially a scaffold of information (information on the positioning of the ball)? Feedbacks in educational research pertains to the metacognitive information, assisting learner's with their self-regulation of their learning (i.e. knowing their own progress) as opposed to acquiring additional information.
2. textual feedback is not informative by design for it provides x,y coordinates of the target and the ball, implying that learners receiving such feedback had to mentally convert x, y coordinates into graphical representation, requiring an additional mental step, thus causing extraneous load, irrelevant to the concepts being learnt. This can be seen from the result where the M of principle learning for textual feedback is none different from Graphical interface without explanations and also from the frustration result. (no wonder!)
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