Real Learning gains with iPads in Primary School

Photo from the onebillion project.

Three cheers for the onebillion project and EuroTalk Software whose carefully crafted math programs for students in Malawi  have shown to triple math knowledge in 8 weeks compared to standard practice.  Attention to instructional and interface design tailored to local needs has no doubt played a critical role.  The University of Nottingham's Randomized Controlled Trial is a useful example of a thorough evaluation process for eLearning.

I asked the project team how they charge the iPads which can, of course, be a prohibitive issue for many without reliable sources of electricity.  For the test school, they created a charging station for 25 tablets in the one office with electricity. Now they're setting up solar charging stations with panels on the roof which will have the capacity to charge 25 iPads overnight.  Where there's a will and creativity, there's a way.

The onebillion project has created math learning apps available in many different languages including an English language 3-5 maths app.

Read more about the program and the onebillion project.

The PBS Kids Lab

Best part of the job?  Playing educational games.
Take an online field trip to the the PBS Kids Lab on your lunch break today.   It's a great place to check out new developments in educational online games and mobile apps created by the long-time leaders in children's educational entertainment.

Get physical, situated and embodied with some of their delightfully web and mobile camera enabled experiments in augmented and virtual reality gaming for kids.  This big kid, for one, had a blast.

Elegant activism - Infographics at Bashir Watch

BashirWatch.org is an impeccably crafted site that succeeds in allowing users to explore difficult but important information in ways that add clarity and interest.  Bashir Watch is an organization promoting the prompt arrest of Omar Bashir, the Sudanese leader behind the genocide in Darfur.  There is a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court for multiple counts of human rights abuses but he remains free. 

The message of the site is utterly to the point, and they take care to present users with the facts that back it up. They balance clean text and carefully selected imagery in a deliberately restrained way that never overwhelms. Like an increasing number of sites today, they have opted for one scrolling page, which makes it easier to casually move through more information without the "commitment" of a click.

But what's most interesting for learning interface designers are their information visualizations, including an elegant interactive timeline, which can be explored in multiple ways, and an interactive travel map with hotspots to drill down to detail.  Check it out (and sign the petition).

Extreme Accessibility - How to save lives with eLearning

Far from the typical audience of corporate or university eLearning, Thare Machi Education designs lessons on topics like human trafficking and cholera for learners who are extremely poor, mostly illiterate, totally unfamiliar with technology and speak hundreds of different languages.  How's that for a brief?

Graceful interface scaffolding - Learning from Letter School

Letter School, an app by Dutch game maker, Boreaal, is one of the several apps on the market created to leverage touch-screen advantages for supporting preschoolers in learning to make letter shapes.  Like the others, kids use their finger to trace and write letters of the alphabet.  

The animations and sounds in Letter School are delightful, but what I found especially notable was the app's excellent design for gracefully fading scaffodling (akin to seemless contextual help)...   

On Memory and the Life of Maps

There are so many childhood objects that leave indelible marks as one grows up, from the microscope that gives you a secret window into invisible worlds, to the medical kit which made you a superhero with the power to fix people.  In his articles, The gears from my childhood, renowned MIT professor and educational technologist, Seymour Papert, explains how playing with and loving gears gave him a conceptual model that lasted a lifetime.

Upon undertaking a mental hunt for influential childhood objects myself, I ended up in a kind of serenade to maps and memory.  Rote memorization is nearly tabooed in these days of Active Learning and Google access (and with good reason).  But what I learned from maps is that, perhaps, there's a modest place for it yet...

ELearning for Healthy Minds

A growing number of learning programs dedicated to psychological wellbeing are finding their way into schools and workplaces across the globe.  This is probably due, in part, to the concern over technology-induced stress and mounting scientific support for the value of practices like mindfulness and meditation.

This new type of education has begun to manifest digitally in the form of mobile and web programs like MoodGym and the Mindfulness app.  Wellbeing programs, including the myriad that target physical health, often leverage personal analytics and visualizations to support reflection.

The recently launched, Smiling Mind, boasts an elegant, welcoming, and cleverly all-ages appropriate interface design.  This program of "modern meditation for young people" is sponsored by non-profit organizations like the Inspire Foundation, leaders in psychology interventions for young people.   It's entirely free, so why not try it on for size, or share it with someone in your family.

Technology designed to support wellbeing (which certainly isn't always a learning program) is referred to collectively as Positive Computing.  You can find out more about the field at PositiveComputing.org.

Caution: Color, culture and convention

As designers of learning experiences, we know that color can have a powerful impact on learning. It can improve recall, understanding and appeal when used well. But it's easy to forget how culturally embedded color meanings are.  Americans, for example, can forget green is only the color of money in the US. While red indicates debt and downturns in the financial world, it's prosperity in China. And just as white is for weddings in some countries, its reserved for funerals in others.

Even within one region, different interest groups or industries may have different associations for color.  So, to avoid color faux pas, know your audience. Then check out a color symbolism list or book, or enjoy David McCandless’ cultural color wheel for an elegant visualization of the meaning behind colours in various cultures.

TocaDoctor - An Irresistible Ed App Interface

Toca Doctor is so gorgeous I had to blog it.  With its retro chic style, adults are transported while kids have the bright aquas, pinks and yellows to guide them through a collection of quirky doctor puzzles.  Move the germ through the brain maze and out of the nose, pull the thorns from a sore foot, or mop up and bandage an abrasion.  Instructions are clear, and function without words.  this app is delightful to use and is also a lovely example of how a restrained but vibrant color palette can be used effectively, even for kids.

The Institute for the Future

If you haven't already, head to the Institute for the Future (IFTF). Their site abounds with projects and infographics of interest to eLearning Interface Designers.

For example, they have a project on The Magic of KidsTech which shares insights on unique applications of technology, such as mobile apps, for kids learning, health and wellbeing.

Reknowned game designer Jane McGonigal is an affiliate, and she explores how games can be designed to foster profound experiences that change people and improve the world (see Evoke)

The IFTF also has a project on the Future of Learning.
Check it out.

Educational Apps connect learners with scientists

Educational apps can connect students with science and scientists with students in remarkable new ways.

Take Project Noah with its stunning interface and jaw-droppingly beautiful photos taken by volunteer nature spotters across the globe. This web community gives learners of all ages a unique  networked learning opportunity: Learn about animals and plants while you contribute to scientific research.

Learners scout their yards, parks or forests for animals and plant species, snapping photos on their smart phones along the way.  These spottings become part of a collected knowledge base on the location and movement of species that is invaluable to ongoing research.  You can even contribute to specific missions, like the international spider survey or the global schoolyard bio-blitz.  iSpot (sponsored by the UK Open University) provides the same opportunity with a focus on UK regional wildlife.

Crowdsourcing at its best, nature spotting is great for learners and scientists alike, but scientists are also giving data back to the crowd.

Stanford scientists publish their shark tracking data through the "Shark Net" app so that learners can indulge their passion for predators of the deep by tracking real sharks live on their iPads.  You can also read about their bios (the sharks, not the scientists), and manipulate 3D models of great whites like "Tip Fin" and "Mr Burns" while checking their stats.  It's like interactive baseball cards for ocean lovers.

The app is delightfully free, but they welcome you to contribute to shark research by pledging an app-sized donation which unlocks an extra shark: "Scar Girl".  How clever are these guys?

But don't take it from me, Asia who's 9 says "When I grow up, I want to be a shark scientist because white sharks rock!"  She posted that message onto Tip Fin's profile.

Two inspiring examples of creative digital learning experiences with excellent e-learning interfaces to seal the deal.

UX and UI for eLearning - Presentations online

The eLearning Guild recently hosted an online forum on Graphic design and UX/UI design for eLearning.  One of the highlights for me was the talk by Erin Sappington Kreb and John-Carlos Lozano of SweetRush.  Their slides were impeccable and their advice well communicated.

In a later session I presented a series of research-based guidelines for eLearning interfaces to a dynamic audience of instructional designers, managers and visual designers who made a wonderful momentary community, sharing ideas and experiences.

You can still view presentation recordings on the eLearning Guild Website.

The world is your controller

Ever fantasized about dumping your keyboard and controlling your computer with play dough or fresh fruit?    Well maybe not yet, but MIT Media Lab is making nerd-dreams come true with the soon to be released "Makey Makey".  It's a freakishly cool device that allows you to plug nearly anything that can conduct even small amounts of electricity (ie. potato) into your computer and use it as a controller.  No for real.

At a mere 40 bucks a pop, every designer can have one of their own to take plugging away wildly into the artifacts of their lives (pets not recommended) for a taste of some pretty impressively embedded computing.

Joking aside, I can't think of a better prototyping tool for handheld control devices.  You can mold that clay on the spot, try it again, adjust for ergonomics and continue your game of pong.  Moreover, what an incredible way for kids of all ages to engage in learning.  Thanks for capturing our playful imaginations, Media Lab.  

Experts call for more "Learning experience design"

Janet Kolodner at ICLS 2012

I was ecstatic in the audience of Pierre Dillenbourg's talk at last week's International Conference of the Learning Sciences when he made an open call for more work to be done on HCI for Education. Later, in an interactive poster session of innovative learning technology, ISLS society founder Janet Kolodner echoed agreement for this need, appropriately recasting it as "Learning Experience Design".  This triggered additional comments from the crowd on the unique role of graphical user interface design in the learning context.

The work Dillenbourg showcased was created by a multi-disciplinary team, and as a design solution to a problem they discovered through observation (not a technology-led approach). This narrative is utterly in tune with user experience design methods. Moreover the results, such as the lantern he showed (pictured here) were effective, elegant and appropriately minimalist - again, design thinking principles at work.

Lantern awareness tool

I'm inspired that even the research leaders at conferences like ICLS are beginning to articulate the need for a greater focus on user interface and experience design for learning.

I look forward to a new era that brings the fields of the learning sciences and user experience design together so that we can finally take a principled, research-based and human-centered approach to the design of user interfaces and experiences for learning.

Workshop / conference on educational interfaces

The third annual Workshop on Educational Interfaces, Software and technology, associated with CHI 2012, aims to combine "the pedagogical expertise of the cooperative learning, and learning sciences communities with the technical creativity of the CHI, UIST and interactive surface communities."

Held May 5-6, You may have just missed it this year, but the papers are now online, and keep your eye on this workshop, as they plan to make it a conference within two years.

Online Forum on Visual Design for Learning!

This August, the ELearning Guild will focus one of their Online Forums on visual design for learning.  Graphic Design, UI Design and Visualization for eLearning will be held this August 23-24th and attendance is virtual (via Adobe Connect) so come as you are.  I have been invited to speak at the forum and will present:  "Guidelines for Effective learning Interfaces".  More information is available on the Elearning Guild Forums website.

The Future of Learning Interfaces

Future learning interfaces (including multi-touch tables, motion-sensitive interfaces, and physical and tangible computing) represent just one of the topics to be addressed at this year's International Conference of the Learning Sciences (to be held downunder for the first time).

How to design for future learning interfaces will be addressed in the Pre-Conference Workshop:  "Digital Ecosystems for Collaborative Learning (DECL 2012) - Embedding Personal and Collaborative Devices to Support Classrooms of the Future.  Workshop organizers include Pierre Dillenbourg, James Slotta, Mike Tissenbaum and more.  Find out more on the ICLS website.

Glamming up research

The folks at web and print media at the University of Sydney have just done a fantastic job with a brilliant little interactive that makes the importance of research and research funding accessible, appealing and audience driven.  It's a lovely example of infographics, crowd sourcing, and live stats in action.  It's a model in web seduction that seeks to educate the public while shaping their path of involvement into issues that are traditionally very obscured and obfuscated.

Check it out:  What matters to you.

The Multimedia Principle - A quick guide

infographic by: Indi Samarajiva

The Multimedia Principle: When designing for learning, use words and graphics rather than words alone.

This little starlet of learning research is both well-established and deceptively simple.  Introduced by multimedia learning guru, Richard E. Mayer, it's at the core of what we do, but it has some important caveats.  it's a staple concept in instructional design practice, and its overt relevance to interface design decisions makes it essential career food for Learning Interface Designers.  Take a bite...

4 principles for the design of game interfaces

The latest issue of User Experience Magazine features a gem of an article for those looking for a very brief intro into basic heuristics for game design.  "Designing Game-Based Tools for Youth" By Sarah Chu and Constance Steinkuehler reveals findings from their research into the UX of the massively popular and massively multiplayer game, World of War Craft.   Their conclusions...