New 3D & Wearable Devices for Learning

In 2014 we saw an explosion of suddenly affordable cutting-edge devices hit the consumer market and some learning designers and researchers are already bringing them into real and virtual classrooms.  If you missed out on some of these game-changing devices and what they might do for learning, check out the following 2-minute cheat sheet.

Note: Special thanks to Jim Cook & Jai Honeybrook-Carter at the Innovation TechLab at the University of Sydney, Rob Manson & Alex Young at BuildAR, and to the staff at the Powerhouse Museum for sharing their experiences, showing off their gadgets, and catalyzing change.

Online Forum on Visual Design for Learning

This November, the ELearning Guild is putting visual design in the spotlight.  The Online Forum "Making Learning Memorable with Graphics and Visual Design"will be held November 13-14th and feature 12 speakers from across the industry.  Attendance is virtual (via Adobe Connect) so come as you are.

I have been invited to do the closing session at the forum and will present:  "Bringing It All Together: Optimizing the Graphic Interface for Memory, Engagement, and Learning, ". 
Check it out on the Elearning Guild Forums website.

Learn Strategies for Better Interface Design for Learning

Eminent eLearning Coach, Connie Malamed is also a master of graphic design in the eLearning context. I had the honor of being invited onto her podcast to talk about how interface designs impact learning. Her show is a gift to the industry offering a wealth of insight from experts in a broad range of areas.

In my interview, we cover the user interface, video, social learning and community building, how to cut cognitive load in graphics,  how to support visual perception effectively, and the surprising findings about emotions and learning.

Subscribe to her podcast or head direct to the episode 16: Strategies that Improve the Interface to Learning.

image source: WebIconSet.com

Holograms - the future of Learning?

Why skip class for a 3D game when you could be missing out on holograms back in the lecture hall? Doctors Kapil Sugand and Pedro Campos of St. George's Hospital and Imperial College in London, developed a technique to project 4 meter tall holographic urinary tract systems, skulls and other biological artifacts direct into the classroom.  Their goal is to improve medical education through innovative multimedia teaching methods that can be used to supplement traditional methods.  According to BBC news, "The pair have spent £10,000 building up a small library of 3D animation lecture aids - including a sequence which outlines the various effects of malaria on different parts of the human body."  That would certainly get me to lecture.

Find more at the HALO project page.

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...

Paper still the cutting edge

Amid the carnival of EdTech excitement you'd be forgiven for forgetting that our digital technologies are still just tools, added to a bag of tricks that has accumulated over millenia.  Sure, there are some tools we'll probably never go back to (punch cards? slide rules?) but then there are the work horses that have survived for a reason, like pencil and paper.

Educational interface design researcher, Sharon Oviatt and colleagues presented a study ("Quiet Interfaces that Help Students Think") in which students working on math problems worked faster, remembered more, and made fewer errors on paper (regular and digital paper) than they did on tablet-based UIs.  The difference was most dramatic for low-performing students.  Some of their comments are telling...

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.

EdTech for kids - the tablet explosion

The LeapFrog LeapPad 2

 Apparently IT parents had to wrestle for their iPads one too many times, because the world is suddenly a fireworks display of tablets and digital devices for children, customized to be safer, cheaper and more educational than the parent version.  New learning devices open up opportunities for new learning apps and interfaces, and thus more exciting work for elearning interface designers.

Electronic toy manufacturers like LeapFrog and VTech offer dedicated learning tablets.  The LeapPad and InnoTab (now each in their second release) look and act just like real tablets, complete with dual-facing cameras and wifi connections. However (and I'm not suggesting this is a problem) they're limited to playing educational apps produced by the vendor (no Angry Birds!).  These devices are geared towards younger kids (ages 3-9) and at under $100, provide an option for parents who wish all that screen-time was doing some good.  

LeapFrog also makes the LeapsterGS, a handheld gaming device, like the Nintendo DS (aka. kid-mesmerizer) but again, this one runs educational games that you can download from the LeapFrog store or purchase as cartridges.  I can almost hear the millenial moms mumble... "He's been on that thing for 7 days straight, shouldn't we put it away?  Oh no, it's educational."

Welcome to kids computing

Once it's no longer cool to have a tablet with rubber corners or a princess theme, kids in the modern world can graduate from learning tablets to Android-based kids tablets.  Again, these are designed to be both cheaper and safer than a standard adult tablet and they are pre-loaded with access to learning apps, kid-safe music stores, and stuff pre-teens like.  

The Nabi Kid's tablet.

These tablets, like the Nabi and Meep!, retail at between $120 and $200 and rather than being tied to a particular vendor, have access to the range of Android apps available,  Angry Birds included. 

 Here's hoping the growth in kids computing will support a surge of interest, creativity and research into the design of effective learning interfaces.  

Of course more complex devices with short life-spans add to plastic and electronic waste, suck up finite resources and potentially decrease face-to-face interaction and physical play.  Nothing comes free.

At the same time, I think of the unique opportunities these devices may afford to children with disabilities.  The iPad and similar tablets have already proved to be life-changing assistive technology for kids with autism and other disabilities.  Tools like Nabi and Meep, which reshape the iPad experience into one that is more kid-appropriate and affordable, could prove to be transformative.  

Are there any kid tablets in your house?  

Are they an e-learning miracle or just more e-waste? I would love to hear your thoughts...

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.

UX for Learning - Design guidelines

UX for Learning - Design guidelines for the Learner Experience was just published in the online professional publication UX Matters. In the article I elaborate on a list of practical guidelines drawn from multimedia learning research.  Check it out.

eBook on graphic design for eLearning

The eLearning Guild has now released 62 Tips on Graphic Design, UI/UX Design, and Visualization for eLearning - the companion eBook to the upcoming online forum on this topic (to be held online on the 23-24 of August).  The eBook is free to download and contains tips provided by the forum presenters (of which I am one, so let bias be noted ;).

Research on innovative learning interfaces

I was delighted to come across Incaa Designs, a non-profit organisation that "researches, designs and evaluates the impact of innovative educational interfaces."   "Interested in ensuring that educational technologies improve the learning opportunities and lives of all people" they publish on the use of a variety of technologies for different types of learning. I was especially inspired by their notion of "quiet interfaces".
Find out more at Incaa Designs.

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 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...

Francotoile - language learning with video

FrancoToile is a showcase in presentation simplicity. It's a resource for French language learners, created  in Canada that leverages what web video has to offer to expose learners to the various sounds, dialects and slang of native French speakers from diverse communities across the globe.

Learning Interface roundtable debrief

The 2011 Learning Technology Research Fest, held annually at the CoCo Research Centre in Sydney,  was as stimulating and spirited as last year, and this year's roundtable menu featured two sessions on learning interfaces.  These roundtables emphasized the general agreement that this area needs special attention and gave some glimpses into the future of learning interfaces...