BTW, this “bubble” theory wasn’t arrived at, it was predicted all along. It was written up in Time Magazine, (if my memory serves me correctly) in the late 80’s. No more would we all sit in front of our TV sets at 8pm to watch The Cosby Show, and see the same news and same commercials. It was predicted back then that information would become very individualized. It even went so far as to suggest that it could defragment society so successfully that the great melting pot of information could work to keep some social groups down, feeding them advertisements that only perpetuate a particular demographics perspective and keeping them there, like liquor and cigarette ads in the projects. But most people will never know this is happening to them, so their view of the world will become quite small. I think this is especially true for the younger generations who will use their smart phones for almost everything. Smart phones generally offer up only one search engine: Google.

I am increasingly amazed at how fast information from my searches and fed back to me in a matter of moments through my Yahoo account or my Facebook, or otherwise. It actually has a creepy feeling to it and I find myself wanting to find smart ways around it.

What I do find intriguing is the virtual thumbprint of an individual’s psyche, from their search patterns. Now that is fascinating territory to me, and scary.. What can and will people, corporations, government do with that kind of information? Wait – didn’t we see this movie? Wasn’t it called The Matrix?

Alas, it comes down to checks and balances, educating the masses, keeping people aware of their own behaviors and choices. We’ve been riding the wave of the Super Information Highway, and it is doing exactly what they said it would do. Now, as individuals, we have to decide to be smarter than the machine, or be sucked down the rabbit hole. Think I’ll watch the Matrix today.

We might wish that we are provided with “unfiltered info”, but that is just impossible. If your search query matches with 300000 pages, you will not carefully study all the entries. They will be presented to you at least as a list, and you will skim through the top 100, at most. Such list would not serve to your best interests. Using the human brain metaphor, you just don’t want to overwhelm your consciousness with the raw sensory data that actually streams to you every second.

Thus, providing you with “most reasonable” guesses is not only desirable, it just happens automatically, even if the service provider doesn’t do any filtering (ie, you will use only the top 100 matches).

So, the big question is not whether we want filters there to be, but rather what the filtering algorithm should be like, and what possibility the should should have to configure it’s functionality.

The filter you described is called “confirmation bias” within the context of sociology(http://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html), and this personalized filter bubble will only cement the said bias. Making democratic debate more difficult, if not impossible at all(http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_the_lost_art_of_democratic_debate.html).

This product is a better user experience than reading a physical book. But it’s also a prime example of identifying a neat technology, and then finding a reason to use it in school, which is ass backwards.

Educators need to figure out what they want students to learn, and then find a technology that helps them learn it. Students could play forever with this book, but all they would learn is Al Gore’s view of how we solve our environmental problems. They would not learn contrary views, and they would not be taught to think critically about whose views they accept.

The successors to textbooks surely will be digital, but they won’t be a textbook at all.

They won’t be created by an education company that bends to politically driven agendas, a phenomenon that has been around long before last year’s Texas controversy;

“chapters” won’t reflect the perspective of just a few writers and editors, but rather the voices of thousands of scholars and educators;

in subjective areas, they won’t require students to memorize particular “facts” and viewpoints, but rather will encourage them to think for themselves, and form their own perspectives; and

they won’t impose a “one size fits all” approach to learning on a diverse group of students, with different interests, abilities and needs.

The successor to textbooks will be created by a group of passionate educators who collectively decide that no one should have “ownership” over what is taught in schools. It will leverage a curated collection of the best free content online, supplemented by some traditional textbook content in the sciences and math.

I was just thinking that there are already names for this sort of thing. We call them applications, interactive multimedia presentations, even websites. If someone put that in front of me and asked, “Do you know what this is?” I would confidently have several names for it, and book wouldn’t make the list. And I’m a huge fan of ebooks, I have two Kindles, so I don’t think it’s just that I’m biased towards bound material.

I’d really like to see some reading comprehension statistics on things like this versus more linear presentations of information too. I’m not just being critical, I’m genuinely curious about whether being able to interactively explore presented information leads to better, worse or the same retention as reading through it in the more traditional linear, guided way.

It’s incredible to uncover how our brain works, which once done, huge step for human beings. But still a ton of people who learn their second or third language not at the golden age can utilize the language freely as a native. When set in a place only the second language speaking, you’re pushed to learn and greater and faster improvement are made than only in language courses.

This proves how important it is to look after our babies and give them everything we possibly can to help them become happy adults. I’d like to take a moment to draw attention to Australia’s under-recognised childcare system. It always amazes me that people complain bitterly about the cost of child care, but it is this grossly underpaid industry that can ensure our babies get the best possible care available. Child care workers are highly trained in helping our babies learn, are taught the latest and greatest in cognitive development theory, and some of our babies spend up to a third of their time with carers. I don’t think our society praises these people enough for the great work they do. Child care is not a job for dummies, it’s probably one of the most important jobs out there.

here are some more figures on the critical period of language with colleagues following a discussion we had on this topic this morning and saw that it is in one of Patricia Kuhl’s papers here, if anyone is interested: www.life-slc.org/docs/Kuhl-brainmechanisms2010.pdf. It’s a fascinating article she wrote on this topic for Neuron Review.

This video points out many very current issues with our lack of evolution in the education system. The section on community learning and self teaching reminds me of the ted talks by Sugata Mitra. He portrays self learning as individuals teaching themselves, but also by students teaching students with the direction of a teacher. His studies show that students learn the material faster and retain it for a longer duration when they are actively teaching each other in a communal environment. Here is a link if you are interested. http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html

If we adapt to be more discriminating, within the existing sea of media, it might help us learn to master our attention spans.

Are children learning how to be discriminating on levels adults (with their ‘comprehensive education’) don’t appreciate or are children truly all at sea?

I know I can’t bear to watch “Horizon” anymore due to its repetitive nature (dumbing-down), but perhaps more information sinks in over the length of a modern “Horizon” in comparison to how much we really took in watching an old-style 1970s version. After all, if we only watch the first and final three minutes of a programme, we probably know the same as we would from watching the full show.

There may be two main functions of an educational system. One is about having a certain set of skills: the ability to multiply or list uses for a paper clip.

The other function is about developing members of a society, teaching people how to get on and interact with each other. This way people know how to use their skills to be successful. So we share stories with the next generation. We transmit culture.

I think this is a useful way to frame the decision-making process: what skills do students need now that the current system doesn’t teach well? And what social values should we be sharing with students that we aren’t now?

Students probably do need to learn more “divergent thinking” skills (problem identification, solution generation, decision-making) and implementation skills. In UK they call these “Enterprise” skills.

As far as the society side of things, I think the system is… continued here: http://www.timwoods.org/2010/12/28/the-innovation-gap-in-public-schools

I’m just so appalled how much time the people in the U.S. can spend in shopping and watching tv. Haven’t you guys anything more fun to do? I don’t understand this.

And why do people really consume that much anyway? Are they really so afraid of other people laughing at them if they don’t have the newest thing? Do they really think they will be happier consuming? It’s not that everyone, including those who made this film, doesn’t want the standard of living to increase.

It’s the fact is that 20 years ago when we were 4.5 billion people we felt we could afford to consume and be wasteful. Now we are 6.8 billion people and everyone wants to consume like us in the west.

Do you really believe it will work to double the number of people AND the consumption/person? Then you’re showing signs of either nativity, grave ignorance or poor math skills!Talking about “economics”. Guess why companies let things manufacture oversees?

Money!!! yes its cheaper. The machines cost the same, although labor force is lower its not the main factor, but there are not any kind of legal requirements. Well everything fine… Talking about economics, I personally wait the day china says “No more T-bonds or $”, maybe than the planet is saved.

When conventionally studied, we would never expect electronic games as a form of art. Yet upon further inspection, we cannot deny that modern electronic games contain many elements of what we would traditionally consider an art form. In fact, today’s top rated video games incorporates traditional forms of art, such as music, literary plots, and graphical art.

Video games are becoming so much more than what they were, and better than what other forms of contemporary entertainment has to offer. Where else can you interact with and change the plot of an epic story? Human imagination cannot be expressed more beautifully in the designs of modern games, like Flower, Fallout, and Peter Molyneux’s own Fable franchise (just to name a few good games that alliterate).

One of the largest drawbacks to computers is their ability to interact with us is limited to monitor, projectors, keyboard, mice, etc. all of which are fairly limited in use. Computers themselves know little about us and our actions. Games and experiments like this provide an opportunity for us to learn to create computer systems that CAN interact with us through voice and body language. There is also rudimentary efforts here to allow the system to learn/grow through interaction with us.

In the long run this could be revolutionary in how we interact with computers, having them be able to “talk” to us and understand our movements and actions. Think of the “aware” computers in star trek that you can just talk to and discuss problems with…

In order to reach some of those more difficult goals, steps like this need to be made. It has promise, and may lead to some surprising business applications.

I see a chance for programmers. Instead of programming all variables and conditionals, you could take your car on a trip and learn it to react in a proper way. Best driver in the country programmed into your board computer. Best teachers in the classes, better than any of us and much cheaper. All community of virtual personalities to help our disabilities. Developing this technology for games is only one step in many others to follow. It may begin as a game but I am convinced it does not end there.

The system is a full EEG, and also monitors emotional state and facial expressions. There are already a several users working on lucid dreaming – using the EPOC to pick up the dream state and then pushing stimuli (sounds and flashing lights) to the user so they know they are in the dream state and can take control.

What you describe as a statistical database of ‘pull’ brainwaves in the world is exactly what Walter Benjamin sought to achieve with his ideas on translation. He had a metaphysical concept of words (signifiers) and objects/notions (the signified). It’s been quite a while since I thought about that – I’m glad for the opportunity to ponder potential future manifestations of his vision.

The idea of using pre-defined brainwave patterns (brain) for tasks is much like assigning mouse-gestures (hand) or voice-commands (voice). It wouldn’t matter if a user mapped “monkey doing the salsa” thoughwave to “pull”. Even if the user visualized a monkey doing the salsa, the cube would pull.

This differs from the technologies where, when you think of ‘pull’, the ‘content’ of the brainwave is interpreted, as opposed to the pattern. Is that possible? Given all the languages & interpretations of ‘pull’, can that even be done? Maybe, with a statistical database of ‘pull’ brainwaves in the world! But still, that would be like a voice-recog. software listening to ‘what’ you are saying as opposed to ‘how’ you are saying something.

And the colors thing, did the headset ’see’ what color the user is thinking of? Or are colors mapped to wave patterns too? Means I still can’t show the world my concept-art?!

It is always interesting to see examples on how our minds work and how easy it is to link this behavior to our development and evolution in a logic way.

I believe that there is much truth to the saying: “The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know”
By getting educated you realize both how much knowledge there is in the world and how complex the world is. You realize that if you get a new idea or a theory, it is extremely likely that somebody have got the same idea before you and already tested it. If you never heard of the idea or theory before, it is extremely likely that it was false. Therefore you get in some way also skeptical when other people have ideas. I think therefore that it is not a coincident that skepticism increases with level of education.

Consider the question, “Why, given the fact that human beings have so much potential, so much intelligence… our cultures are so amazingly diverse and creative and our technology so advanced… Why are we committing species suicide by destroying the habitability of our planet?

Shermer’s lucid and highly relevant talk, using the powerful tool of scientific method as a means of examining the characteristics of our own mind and brain, give us a verifiable and objective answer to this question.

That answer is that human awareness is flawed and has become dysfunctional in the modern era. Sherner clearly delineates the nature of those flaws. Once we are aware of this, we can take action to ameliorate the destructive impact of those flaws in our awareness. This is liberation and freedom from ancient bondages and a small chance for our species to pull out of our nosedive before we drill a big hole.

The program is designed to provide a much more natural way for humans to digest large palettes of information without losing their way — an idea that anyone who has analyzed giant spreadsheets may welcome. And while it has something in common with spreadsheets and many other technologies, Flake says Pivot is so new and different that it’s difficult to even picture what it does without seeing it in action.

UX Design Workshop – Presentation Transcript

1. User Experience Design Workshop
2. What is UX?
   Workshop
   Techniques
   Fun
   Dialog
   UI Design
   Discussions
   UI Process
3. Do you really believe
   what your eyes see?
4. Do you really believe
   what your eyes see?
5. Charlie Chaplin – Illusion
6. Now that we know,
   what next?
7. Some Background
8. Usability Definition
   [Usability refers to] the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use." – ISO 9241-11
9. Who would be using this application?
   Where this user would be achieving this goal?
   What this user would like to achieve?
10. Persona
    UserWho would be using this application?
    Tasks profiling
    Can’t be “ALL USERS”
    Create Scenarios
11. More features less usability
    Understand primary tasks
    Focus on important things
    Goal What this user would like to achieve?
12. Personal Interview
    Email
    Surveys
    Context Where this user would be achieving this goal?
    Contextual Inquiry
    Focus Group
    Support Line
13. Enough theories, How
    do I design a web app?
14. This is where it all begins.
    What user want?
    Application Feature?
    BRS
15. This step transforms strategy into requirements.
    SRS
    Functional & UI requirement
16. This gives shape to the scope.
    Navigation
    Sitemap
17. It makes the site concrete.
    Wireframes
    Storyboards
    Prototype
    IA
18. Surface brings everything together visually.
    Graphics
    Icons
    Colors
19. Go low level and talk
    about design elements
20. Create accessible links
    Web users scan text
    User short & simple words
    Inverted pyramid writing
    Online vs. print content
21. Font
    Times New Roman is a common serif font
    Font
    Verdana is a common sans serif font
    Font
    Times New Roman is a proportional spaced font
    Font
    Courier is a monospace font
    Some gyan about fonts
22. Aoccdrnig to rseerach at Cmabrigde
    Uinervtisy, it deosn'tmttaer in waht
    oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the
    olnyiprmoatnttihng is taht the frist
    and lsatltteer be at the rghitpclae.
    The rset can be a total mses and you
    can sitllraedit wouthitporbelm.
    Tihs is bcuseae the huamnmnid
    deos not raederveylteter by istlef,
    but the wrod as a wlohe.
    Amzanig huh?
    Avoid italics
    Capital = 14-20% less readable
    Sans serif are build for web
    10 points or larger is safe
    font gyan continues
23. C a yureat is?
    You a e not radigths.
    W at arourea in ?
24. Get user attention
25. Do not use pure red or blue
    Do not use more than 6 colors
    7% of population is color blind
    Blue is a safe color
    Use of colors
26. Try this color illusion
27. Familiarity reduces learning
    Meaning less icons
    Inconsistent icons
    Unlabeled icons
    Avoid Popular metaphors
    Use of icons
28. Button = Action
    Link = Navigation
    Consistency
    Affordance
    Usage of buttons
29. Number of items
    Usage pattern
    Space constrain
    Searching capability
    Auto complete
    Radio button, dropdown, or shuttle
30. Suggest solution
    Prevent error
    Keep it together
    Think about the message
    Never show system errors
    Error handling
31. User Experience Design
    User Experience Design
    User Interface Design
    Human Factors Engineering
    Information Architecture
    Usability
    Human Computer Interaction