Week 4 Assignment
1. Reading Responses
“Participatory Design of Technology for Inclusive
Education:”
I thought that this case study for participatory design in technology for education was really eye opening for me in how having stakeholders as a integral part of a design process could be really beneficial. But I do see some of the downsides of this in that it requires quite a bit of education and former knowledge in order to properly get the teachers to start applying their design thinking to these projects. I think a important part of this case study and what the conductors of this study did well in my opinion was that they included a student participant in their classroom environment to see their most natural reaction to the product and also in how they kept up and adapted to the concerns of the teachers as this study progressed. As a whole I thought that the study did a great job at receiving participation from all stakeholders involved in the design process and I feel as though this would be really helpful for designers to then further develop products that could be more finished and considerateof all concerns. I also thought that the idea of teachers developing these tools specifically catered for individual students with disabilities was a really innovative and delightful way of furthering the possibilities of education for those students.
Education:”
I thought that this case study for participatory design in technology for education was really eye opening for me in how having stakeholders as a integral part of a design process could be really beneficial. But I do see some of the downsides of this in that it requires quite a bit of education and former knowledge in order to properly get the teachers to start applying their design thinking to these projects. I think a important part of this case study and what the conductors of this study did well in my opinion was that they included a student participant in their classroom environment to see their most natural reaction to the product and also in how they kept up and adapted to the concerns of the teachers as this study progressed. As a whole I thought that the study did a great job at receiving participation from all stakeholders involved in the design process and I feel as though this would be really helpful for designers to then further develop products that could be more finished and considerateof all concerns. I also thought that the idea of teachers developing these tools specifically catered for individual students with disabilities was a really innovative and delightful way of furthering the possibilities of education for those students.
“Design Practices: ‘Nothing about Us without Us’”
Reading this article was a very interesting experience- especially because I was not aware of the echo chamber memo from Google nor was I particularly educated about the statistics and inner workings at big tech companies in the US. Some of the things that the author points out were obvious in that the problems such as race and gender inequality align with those of other industries and society in general but I definitely found some points made by the author to be resounding and even remarkable. I think that people generally think of the tech industry to be very forward thinking moreso than other industries because so many companies market themselves as if they are (and maybe they are in some ways compared to others) and because technology seems so based on newness and innovation. I definitely was surprised to see the statistics about top executives at tech companies and I was even more surprised by the fact that cis male marginalization was being pushed and accepted in these environments. Moreover, one of the sections about diversity, user-centered design, and unmarked users struck me the most as something that I had never really thought in depth about before. The fact that even at an age where companies are proudly presenting themselves as a diverse working environment it is still realistically very hard for the existing work force in tech and design to design for people who are unlike themselves. Not because they are selfish, bad people but because it is in human nature to first think of one’s own interests and needs when developing a product. I think this was a very important topic that the author tackled and an issue that definitely needs improvement and thought.
Reading this article was a very interesting experience- especially because I was not aware of the echo chamber memo from Google nor was I particularly educated about the statistics and inner workings at big tech companies in the US. Some of the things that the author points out were obvious in that the problems such as race and gender inequality align with those of other industries and society in general but I definitely found some points made by the author to be resounding and even remarkable. I think that people generally think of the tech industry to be very forward thinking moreso than other industries because so many companies market themselves as if they are (and maybe they are in some ways compared to others) and because technology seems so based on newness and innovation. I definitely was surprised to see the statistics about top executives at tech companies and I was even more surprised by the fact that cis male marginalization was being pushed and accepted in these environments. Moreover, one of the sections about diversity, user-centered design, and unmarked users struck me the most as something that I had never really thought in depth about before. The fact that even at an age where companies are proudly presenting themselves as a diverse working environment it is still realistically very hard for the existing work force in tech and design to design for people who are unlike themselves. Not because they are selfish, bad people but because it is in human nature to first think of one’s own interests and needs when developing a product. I think this was a very important topic that the author tackled and an issue that definitely needs improvement and thought.
2. Documenting Arduino Set-Up
a. Blinking LED
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b. Button to LED
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