This blog will be a sequence of short updates providing guidance on what to do. See What To Do on the Olin HFID wiki for a sense for what these updates will look like. The course calendar (under construction) will provide an overview of the semester, and this information will be redundant w.r.t. the calendar.
WTD
[Friday, Oct 1] Discussion, Wiki Gardening
Two things for today (possibly more):
- Take a look at our landing page. I've added a "learn a bit more" link. Fill that page in; I've left a note there to help get you started. I think it would be good if we all use that "About" page in our initial communications with the communities.
- Look at the OSDP pages. Read through the assignments carefully. As a class, discuss those assignments and calendar them. Where you feel it is appropriate, update/modify the assignments. I'm interested in seeing what changes you had to suggest on Monday.
With respect to the assignment editing, there is a reason. I used these assignments before, and made some changes then. As I brought them forward into this class, I've done some editing already... but it may be that there are aspects of the assignments that are not really appropriate given the nature of the work we're doing this term. (Specifically, we're working with real communities on real software, which is not how I ran the course last time.) Are the assignments reasonable, given our project? Are there changes that need to be made to fit your particular institutional context/the timeframe? (The projects ran for a whole semester in the last run; now you have two months, roughly.)
I'm comfortable suggesting you do this for many reasons. In no small part, it is because you are all upper division students engaged in a fundamentally customer-centered, human-interaction task that is, really, all about you. Having you take the first pass at these assignments is, in my mind, a good way of giving you more control over a process that you already own.
I'll drop another note later today re: next week. Monday, we'll take a look at your calendar and revisions, look at some models for what your final product might look like, and hopefully have some initial responses from communications with your project partners.
[Friday, Sept 10] Reading, Discussion
We'll read chapters 3, 4 of Snyder, chapters 2, 3 of Norman, and chapter 2 of Cooper. This may feel like a lot of material, but it is all related. Further, my goal here is rapid immersion – as we dive into our first testing experience, filling our heads with new ideas is a good thing.
We'll use Friday as a point to discuss the work of the week in the context of these readings, highlighting the practical and philosophical points from these readings that we might put into practice in our Fedora website testing.
[Fri, Sept 3] Reading, Wiki updates
First, we'll be discussing Snyder chapters 1 & 2. In addition, look at my sketch regarding the Fedora Website project, and read up on Máirín's thoughts and process there. In other words, get acquainted with her work-to-date. This will provide some background for our own thinking and discussion about the testing process.
Second, update your user page on wiki.rockalypse.org with a short bio. I'll make the photos I took of you available, and if you want, you can use one there as well.
Unrelated:
I wanted to keep track of these links, so they are here.
- Personas: Practice and Theory
- http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1240866.1240905
- Putting personas to work
- Defining personas in games using metrics
- Developing character personas and scenarios: vital steps in theatrical performance and HCI goal-directed design
- Geezers, turbines, fantasy personas: making the everyday into the future
[Wed, Sept 1] Community Interaction
What are the tools of the world of open source? Wednesday, we'll take a look at a few, and get started using those tools.
In preparation for this class, I'd like you to spend some time digging around the Internet and come prepared to discuss a few questions. These are questions I have not developed answers to as-of-yet, and would rather have some class input than be arbitrary.
- [ WIKI ] Should we have a class wiki? This would provide us with a place to have individual bios as well as write up each of our projects. (Wikis are common tools in the world of open source, and using one for the class might be a good idea, if nothing else then as practice.) Or, should we use/allow the use of Google Sites for writing up projects?
- [ BLOGS ] Should everyone keeping a blog as they work this semester? Instead of writing journals in Google Docs, everyone would be blogging their readings (as well as their project work), and we would then aggregate that work through a central feed. Thoughts?
- [ ELGG ] As something in-between the first two ideas, check out Elgg. Should we have an instance of this "social networking" software dedicated to supporting our course? Having never used it, I don't know what kinds of interactions it would enable/prevent/etc.
- [ RSS READER ] Do I need to introduce this, or do you all have/know how to use one?
- [ ANYTHING ELSE ] Any things I might be missing?
When I ask if there is anything I "might be missing," that implies a context. My reasons for suggesting the use of these technologies are twofold. First, I see them as a way for you to showcase the work you do in this very project-centric course. Second, these are technologies that provide a way of communicating your work back to the project you're working with. So, as you look at these tools, consider them in that light.
There is no journaling assignment for Wednesday, but I do expect you to spend some time thinking hard about the pros and cons of each of these technologies, and come prepared to discuss. If you don't use delicious bookmarks, I recommend you start doing so. This way, you can bookmark things and easily share them with others simply by going to your bookmarks online. (That is, you can bookmark articles or things that gave you new/related ideas, and easily get to them during a class session.)
[Mon, Aug 30] Reading, Discussion
Read chapter 1 of both Norman and Cooper. In Google Docs, write a short response to the reading, and drop that journal entry into your shared submission folder. (It will be named following the pattern 303:username.)
Your journal entry can be more or less verbose (2-3 paragraphs), and specifically I would use the journal as an opportunity to make note of/reflect on the reading in terms of your own experience. Feel free to highlight any particular points that you think are interesting/problematic, as they will then serve as starting points for discussion.
The journal is not intended as a "writing exercise" that I will be "grading," so much as a way for you to pause and reflect after/during your reading. It is a learning tool, and part of being an active and engaged reader.
Summary
Read chapters 1 of Norman, Cooper
Journal entry
[Aug 27] Getting Started
We'll meet, get an overview of the semester, and get moving for Monday.
