I tend to think that mobile technologies are making salient the importance of attending to the pervasive aspects of any technology. In the long run I suspect that conversations about immersion (i.e., the potential for Second Life, etc.) will be replaced by discussions about pervasive technologies (mobile devices, game consoles, etc.) in fields like the Learning Sciences. However, we are still very much in the infancy stages of developing methods for studying mobile devices in use. Here are some useful tips from AnswerLab on how to collect data on mobile device use in the lab and “in the wild.”
Tagged as:
learning sciences,
mobile devices,
user experience
Or will I just end up creating a password that I won’t remember tomorrow?
The password you entered is not valid
Please note that the password must respect the following rules:
It must contain between 6 and 12 characters. Use only characters from the following set: ! # $ % & ( ) * + , – . / 0123456789 : ; < = > ? @ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ [ \ ] _ ` abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz { | } ~
It must contain at least 4 lowercase letter(s) (abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz).
It must contain at least 2 numeric character(s) (0123456789).
It must not contain more than 2 identical consecutive characters (AAA, iiii, $$$$$ …).
It must not contain your user name.
It must not contain your email address.
It must not contain your first name.
It must not contain your last name.
Photo by joi on Flickr
A 13 year old tries out the Walkman for a week.
On the form factor:
From a practical point of view, the Walkman is rather cumbersome, and it is certainly not pocket-sized, unless you have large pockets. It comes with a handy belt clip screwed on to the back, yet the weight of the unit is enough to haul down a low-slung pair of combats.
On learning to use the antique:
It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.
Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn’t is “shuffle”, where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down “rewind” and releasing it randomly – effective, if a little laboured.
I told my dad about my clever idea. His words of warning brought home the difference between the portable music players of today, which don’t have moving parts, and the mechanical playback of old. In his words, “Walkmans eat tapes”. So my clumsy clicking could have ended up ruining my favourite tape, leaving me music-less for the rest of the day.
Tagged as:
digital media,
learning,
Walkman
Photo by craigfinlay on Flickr
I don’t want to deride the many benefits of digital media, but I think it is worth spending a bit of time pointing to one particular aspect of physical media that is worth defending. A few months ago my grandmother passed away after a long and happy life. Included in the few things left behind in her small apartment was a rather extensive collection of photographs spanning 87 years. My grandmother was not known for her photographic skills, but she did keep pictures from many of the people and events she encountered. Written on the back of the photographs were some essential details–names, dates, and places–that provided us with a wonderful opportunity.
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Tagged as:
analog,
digital media,
learning,
physical media
Construction workers in Hannover Germany uncovered an unstable World War II bomb. It never ceases to amaze me how the things that we create can live long past their expected life with significant consequences well into the future. The area was cleared and the bomb was safely detonated, but that’s not always the case.
I think this happens in much subtler and less dangerous ways everyday. I have an on going project that involves photographing empty phone booths where ever I find them. Sometimes the neglect of these spaces is quite evident; there is tons of graffiti, a broken handset, or wires coming from where the phone was at one time. In other cases, the space has found some new use as a display or information source. Sometimes it is just empty. Almost always it is clear that though the space was designed for a technology and activity that we no longer need or use like we once did it still very much is apart of our world.
Tagged as:
nothing in particular,
unintended consequences
I recently discovered UXpod which features an excellent interview with Google’s User Experience Research Manager, Patrick Larvie. Hearing his story and research approach I can see how Google has been able to move use of the Internet forward in so many ways. Not to give him more credit than he deserves for what happens there, but if he fits in as a part of the leadership then it says a lot about what is valued at Google.
My sense is that Patrick’s approach to user experience is compatible with Distributed Cognition in some rather important ways. Distributed Cognition is an approach to studying cognition in which the traditional boundaries between individuals and the material world are dissolved at the outset of an analysis. The focus is on how information is represented and processed across people and materials, rather than just inside of people. It was initially developed by Ed Hutchins as a means to more tightly integrate culture into the analysis of cognitive activity, more recently it has been picked up in segments of HCI and the Learning Sciences as an approach to the design and analysis of technology in use.
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Tagged as:
culture,
Distributed Cognition,
Google,
learning sciences,
user experience,
uxpod