The Big Question:
Why do kids need a new user experience? Is an interactive toy the answer?
The Research Questions:
01. What kinds of toys will help kids learn?
02. Who and which age group of kids can be the best target user group? under age 5? under age 14?
03. What kind of toy products kids (user) and their parents (buyer) want?
04. What lessons can be learned by playing with the product?
05. What can be a visible result or invisible result after use of the product?
06. How does the product integrate with our local environments?
07. How can I measure the educational level of playing with the toys?
08. Where and when kids go into a group and play together?
09. How many and what kind of sensors do I need for making a new user experience?
10. How can an interactive toy give kids a new user experience and a new joy?
11. How can an interactive toy give kids a benefit? Is it good for education?
Sangyun Han
Han,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list of questions. You have considered issues of market size and composition; technical questions, experimental design, and usability testing. Your design research process should lead you to a better understanding and greater empathy for your user.
Keep in mind that as you do this research, your growing knowledge about the subject will lead you to revise the questions you are asking, so the list should remain fluid. In particular, your Big Question (hypothesis) should evolve a lot.
steven
Thank you Steven for the comment. As I said on the last meeting, I am thinking and thinking again about an educational + interactive toy system for kids to think about how and what things can be learned effectively by this new toy. One of many possible options is for our environments, energy consumption, and sustainable solution, even though, they are young kids yet. Of course, entertainment and enjoyment of playing with the new interactive toys are the most big part of the system, since it seduces kids to start playing with the toys and together with other kids, and then they will learn naturally.
ReplyDeletehan,
ReplyDeleteI believe that learning systems are one of the most important areas where innovation is needed. Technology can be used very effectively for teaching many things. Recent research shows that curricula delivered by computer is as or more effective than learning in a classroom with a live teacher. And, just like the guy who made adjustable glasses because there was a shortage of optometrists in Africa, we should develop effective new ways to improve learning where no teachers are available. There is way too much ignorance in the world, and if people know more, there will be fewer wars and suffering. The most damaging behavior comes from ignorance, not malice.
The key to creating learning systems that work is to do a lot of testing. The only way you can be sure if your users are learning is to test them before and after they use your product. If you create a very clean experimental design, and find a large enough group of users to try it, your chances for success will be improved.
I suggest that you begin reading about how children and adults learn. There are many theorists working in this area. One of the best, in my opinion, is the philosopher John Dewey (one of the founders of the New School). Please take a look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey#On_education. this is a good place to start learning about Dewey's theories. Also, look at Maria Montessori, Ivan Illich, Rudolph Steiner. I strongly believe that learning is improved when students engage with tangible materials with their hands in a creative undertaking, using three-dimensional manipulables as they internalize complex spatial concepts. This kind of cognitive exercise has been show to build focus and mental agility. You should also start looking into Oliver Sacks, a neurologist who writes about how our senses work by looking at case studies of patients who have lost specific capabilities. And, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, writes very thoughtfully about how we perceive the world, often by studying optical and other types of illusions.
I am hoping that you can become an expert in some of these areas now, before you go very far with the actual design. If you understand the mental processes of how people learn, you will be able to design a new educational toy that will really help people become smarter!
steven