Ryan Cortese - Week 9 Blog (Late)

Chapter 7 talks about how many users instantaneously make judgement about websites when they pull them up. They are able to take in the whole thing and that affects their feelings about it. The principle "providing ease of learning" is completely illustrated here. When I pull up a website I already know the things that are going to be needed to operate it, as well as how to find the information that I am going to be looking for. By already having these pre-concieved notions a website must be intuitive and provide easy learning for me to use. A good website at conveying a positive first image while also providing for ease of learning is simple, our university web page. WWW.IUB.EDU It provides a simple to use interface while also helping to brand the university. Uses the schools colors as well as images of landmarks on campus to brand, while having a very simple toolbar at the top that helps to navigate easily to where you desire to go. I believe this is a great example of the correlation of a instantaneous judgement that is made for ease of learning and how it can be conveyed.

Final blog - Mark Rodriguez

This class and other things over the semester has helped me learn to take risks and attempt my ideas. I used to spend a lot of time second-guessing, but being in a team helped me explore my ideas with people i've met. I feel like i learn in a new way now because i look over things several time and test them several times. I'm going to be spending the summer trying to get back into better groves of eating, drinking, and caring for my community around me. Being more bold and meeting my neighbors or strangers at places that seem to have something in common with me. I'll be moving to Baltimore for an internship and i hope to learn a lot of people and try and lot of new things from that city, philly, dc, and New York. Hopefully I could put things i've learned in this class to use while i work and socialize in the new place i go to.

Nik Spurgetis - Final Blog Post + A Couple Late Ones...

Okeydokey, along with my final blog post due tonight, I am also including in this post blog assignments 12 & 13.


14

This class has, hands down, been the best I've ever taken at IU. A metric for my enjoyment of any course (or general endeavor in life) is how intellectually stimulating it is, and I300 certainly caused more neural activity than the godawful-yet-required "professional writing skills" course I was also enrolled in this semester (seriously, the English department should be ashamed of the W231 curriculum, or perhaps the lame professor who ran us through it, or both). Thank you, Marty and Sam and the rest of the AIs/mentors for not being lame!

I do constantly find myself critiquing the design of things in everyday life, thinking of ways they could be made better, as well as giving me a greater appreciation for the things done just right. I guess you could say that the class has actually changed the way I think, and that is a great gift.

Life is one big design game. Each day is an iteration--building off of yesterday, you know what you have to change in order to keep improving. You design your conceptions and worldview through experience so that you may pass down your wisdom to those looking up to you in the best way possible, providing ease of learning. And of course, you have to learn how to work as part of a team if you want to accomplish pretty much anything in life.


13+12

Writing the previous assignment AFTER the final assignment is kind of weird, because it seems like some of the things I said for 14 also apply here, and vice versa...oh well.

The main thing I learned during this course was not really something completely new, but it sure was driven home. It is related to that famous proverb, "Necessity is the mother of invention." There are plenty of designs that probably just came to people in the middle of the night in a dream, or while bored as hell, or drunk, or whatever, but the real winners are those that began with a problem, were followed by research, and ran from there.

As a hopeful future project manager/career HCI designer, I will take away almost all of the concepts from I300!

Final Blog - Janelle Velkoff

Designing my life... As far as things I have learned about design, slow change has been a big part of it, along with iteration. Learning small things like making design as invisible as possible and that you don't absolutely have to get it right the first time you try. Design is a continuous process, just like life. If you screw up in life you aren't going to just quit and never try again. Even if you didn't screw up, for the most part I feel like people are continuously trying to improve themselves. Constant change goes with design but also goes with our lives, I've learned that you never have it right, there is always room for improvement. If I feel content with my life that means there is certainly a way to take it to another level so that I feel GREAT about it. That's what I've learned to work on, never settle because you hit a deadline, if it was worth working on before then it's worth continuing to work on today.

I've absolutely loved this class and I accredit that all to Marty, a wonderful professor who truly cares about his students. The first prof I have had at IU that really takes a deep interest in his students and pushes their learning past the textbook. I can honestly say I will miss I300!

Ryan Cortese - Week 7 Blog

I am not an I300 loser

Ryan Cortese - Week 12/13 Blog

Coming into this class I had very little design experience. It was interesting because I had always worked with my Dad on construction on our house, refinishing the basement, making a brick walkway to the backyard, rebuilding the deck, or doing electricity work. I just figured that design would be similar, tear something down, asses and build it up better only to be structurally sound. It became so much more, the first class learning the idea of playing the whole game introduced a whole new aspect of design to me, one of more thinking an less brute force. A true thinking process of creating something that would be obvious to users. While we were designing inherently different things considering technology and physical structures, there are so many gaps that can also be transfered. What I am taking away is the idea that good design is truly never finished. While at some point it is practical to actually release your product, there are still iterations that can be made, and ideas that can built upon and improved, and then ultimately taken to parts of a completely new product or design.

Ryan Cortese - Final Blog

For me, this course has truly been a breath of fresh air. I am originally a business major who takes one informatics class a semester to get his human centered computing minor. I found that this class more than just teaching me about all the course concepts was able to be a relaxer and put things in perspective. Especially the journey was something that I enjoyed. In the business school down the street where you are constantly bombarded by how much you need to be developing and constantly networking, keeping up on financial news, worried about the next steps for certain companies, learning many aspects of business at the same time, it was great to take a walk down the street to the Geology building twice a week and listen to a song then discuss aspects of what made design good. The best part is that these ideas we have learned can be applied back to that business world, I designed the sketches and idea for my Target Case Competition groups interactive Target Kiosk. This truly has been a rewarding semester.

Final Blog - Stephen Miller

It's interesting, because the farther I've moved in education "getting it right" has been emphasized less and less while "trying again" has been emphasized more and more. This is something that has already started to make a difference to me. Rarely is something done right the first attempt, whether it's a design, an Illustrator project, a bike ride, a video game, or a relationship. I've always taken a kind of haphazard approach to life, just rolling with things as they come. This kind of attitude should be cultivated to some degree, but I'm now coming to realize that extending that attitude to all aspects of my life at all times is foolish at best, outright stupid at worst.

Life takes work.

No amount of intelligence can help one to avoid that fact. And I know it seems obvious, but there is a lot wrapped up in that one sentence. Life doesn't just take work, it takes pointed, focused attention to detail over time. All of the things I mentioned above should be revisited, reevaluated, reworked as needed. And certain things definitely require more attention than others. Relationships, for instance, require constant attention. That shit is not easy. And while it's not easy, it's worth it. Work on them, invest time in them, discuss, change as needed. Because when it's all said and done, all we've got at the end of things is the people around us.

That's what I learned in I300.

Last Blog-Steve Flockenhaus

I enjoyed this class in a way different from any other.  The way the class was taught, teaching us to relax first (perhaps with a song) and truly try to focus on the next step.  This class taught me to think about things in life differently.  Mostly now when I think about a technology or some other innovation, I simply think about what I would have done differently and more importantly about what other people might do differently.  It's interesting (and a little bit difficult) to put yourself in another person's shoes to try and attack a problem.  

Slow change has been a pretty heavy topic discussed the past several weeks.  Slow change is important because it allows you to recognize a problem and see how you yourself change throughout the solution.  In doing so you learn new things about yourself and even perhaps through future interactions with others, will learn something valuable about them too.

Evan Samuels - Blog post #14

In my last blog entry, I said that this course wasn't the most engaging than some of my other classes and I stand by this statement. It was good that we got a lot of exposure to "playing the game" of HCI design, which was an effective teaching strategy. However, many of the projects we did weren't very analytical because we just focused on repetition of the same things. It would also been best to generate some discussion on usability tests. It would have been helpful to do more discussion with AIs and with peers instead of just doing things over again.

As for personal development, I always try to get the most out of my classes and my experiences in college. I am very thoughtful and analytical and always try for details and to seek as much knowledge as I can. Unfortunately, this class wasn't up to par except for a couple instances. One was when I was partners with Russell Conard for project 5- he was very detailed and great worker and leader. The other most productive moment was getting feedback from Will Ryan for our project 6 presentation- he brought up some very interesting details and gave good advice that we Could've thought more about in our project. Also, even though it was a lot of responsibility, I was team facilitator for project 6, which has been a useful resume builder and was an interesting teamwork experience. I think I can improve my organization skills and influential skills- I understand what needs to be done, but it is hard to get others to understand what I know needs to be done.

I will continue to take interesting classes in Informatics, CMCL, and HCI and I will continue to seek opportunities to analyze situations and learn with my peers and not just settle on the basics. I always try to give everything my best and take away as many positives as possible. Right now, it is a challenge to get an internship, not because of the lack of opportunities, but because I am so focused on school that I miss opportunities. When I do take advantage of opportunities, sometimes I am too detailed and spend too much time on it. I need manage my priorities and structure my ideas before I write/act on them.

Last Blog Assignment - Yong Hyun Kim

Designing my life? Even though I have learned in this class that designing the obvious is a good way to design certain thing, I don't want my life to be obvious. As a matter of fact, I can't not say that I agree with everything taught about design in the class, but I do believe that I've learned something different which other classes don't teach. Most of all, I've learned new ways to think about things in my life, even it's not very important to me. Now I know that if I think again and again with certain thing in my life, I get different answers everytime. And I believe that the answers I get from my life everytime are meaningful to me, and affect me in certain ways to change how I see and recognize things. I appreciate Marty for providing such a great class throught the semester, not only for the intellectual and educational stuff provided, but also for making me more of a deep thinker. By the way, losing 2^n points for missing a class is too harsh.

Jeff Lewis blog 14

I have learned many things from taking this class. The most useful thing that I found out during this class was to not care so much about the future. I need to relax and enjoy the present day and not freak out about some dumbass internship or some lame job this summer. I have the rest of my life to work. I have not completely stopped being productive by any means but I have decided to cut all the unnecessary stress that comes with thinking about the future. So next semester I decided to take a fun class. I will be scuba certified after next fall. RACK BALL

I have enjoyed your realistic attitude this semester. Wish more professors shared your mentality.

Bethany Hufford - Final Blog

First of all I have learned that the professor definitely makes the class. This could have very easily been a class I didn't enjoy with projects that I didn't really care about but I loved this class! I think it definitely ranks in the top three most useful classes I've taken at IU. We've learned things that we can actually apply to our lives both personally and professionally. Secondly, I've learned that i need to take advantage of my time here at IU. It's going way to quickly and I don't want to regret missing out on all the opportunities that are offered. And lastly, I think maybe I've gained a little more confidence in myself in that I won't fall on my face in a real job. I have an internship this summer and I'm pretty nervous about it but this class has taught me that I can work well with a team and contribute great ideas and not so great ideas and be ok with both.

Chris Hall - Final Blog

If this class has taught me anything it is that the enjoyment you get from a class is totally related to the professor who is teaching it. I can honestly say this is one of the most enjoyable classes I have had so far at IU. To quote a friend of mine “this is one class you don’t have to talk yourself into going to”. As for what this class has taught me in the scope of life, I would have to say that it didn’t change my views on what learning is and how learning can be achieved. Honestly I think the stuff I learned in this class, both technical and general life lesions, will stick with me better than most of the stuff I have learned at IU because I enjoyed learning them.

As for slow change in the context of this class, I think that I am finally starting to see that coming to IU might actually have been a good decision. This is something I have been tossing back and forth for a long time, ads to whether or not I made the right choice. But I think I did.

So thanks to you Marty for a great semester and an unforgettable class.

blog 14 - kym pagel

I'll be honest I don't do this touchy feely crap, especially about classes. However, I will try. Two key concepts in life which have been driven into my head as a result of taking the class are 1. repetition is unavoidable + necessary aaand 2. you gotta just bite the bullet and do whats best for you, even if it sucks. You have inspired me to work on my own slow change projects, like extroversion and leadership skills.. even if it sucks. Mostly as a result of you, I've decided to go to the Snoop Dogg concert. I do love hip hop, just the crowds and loud noises frighten me so I don't normally attend concerts. Another big step is that I just published that fact to the world, sweet.
To summarize my experience in I300: good class, great teacher, awesome music.

Week 14 Blog Assignment

Designing Your Life

That’s the topic of this blog assignment. We spent an entire semester talking about human-computer interaction design; you know, designing the obvious. And perhaps you’ve learned something along the way; not just the intellectual skills, not just the things you learn in order to pass a course, get the grade, but real things — the things that are truly important. Slow Change. Not twitter, not IM, not your cell phone — not the high school-like chatter that occupies so many of our conversations: "she said …; he said …" Really, who cares? WTF does it really matter? I’m talking instead about Slow Change. Important stuff. Life stuff.

Did this class teach you to take a risk? To learn in a new way? Did it make you think that on the next iteration of “playing the [design] game” you might actually change something about yourself? When will you stop taking from the planet and give something back instead? What are you planning to do to minimize bad habits and focus on the new and healthy?

I realize this note is a bit strange. Hey, it’s the last blog note! Let’s mess it up a little bit. Give me something interesting to read this week. It’s just between you and me. No one is watching. Have fun. The deadline is the last day of class. An easy 15 points.

Evan Samuels - Blog post #12 and 13

When I came into this course, I knew a little about HCI already. I knew about researching how people interact with computers and getting info directly from user to help guide objectives and the design of the final product/service. What I learned from this course mainly supported what I already knew about usability research and testing. I mainly learned was the specifics, like iterative, multi-layered, focused concepts and the specifics of usability testing.

However, I have not learned much more about HCI other than what I already knew. I would have liked to practice usability tests more in in-class exercises so we can get advice from AIs in class, as well as from peers. I am very interested in how technology is used and why people use, and I would have liked to do more in usability testing. I also would have liked to talk about the 7 themes of design more (and maybe even implement them in our projects too). I also would have liked to focus more on research. Research is a crucial skill for everyone's futures and I would have liked to start research more in earlier projects to support our findings instead of in the last project.

The main things I am taking away from this course are from project 6. I am team facilitator for Team Zazu and I have gained valuable experience managing my team and how we approached the solution, which I can now proudly put on my resume. I also see more potential HCI as career, but more generally in business, as a project manager, or a variety of other roles (not just as a designer).

Blog 12 & 13 - Stephen Miller

It’s difficult for me to quantify everything I’ve learned in this course, as most of the changes for myself are intangible and are manifested in an adjusted mindset and worldview. Some of the more concrete things I have learned include the importance of iteration, research, and developing user-centered design. While these may seem obvious, as far as I am concerned they might as well have been alien concepts. Research especially was something I paid plenty of lip service to prior to this class, but more often than not I would come up with an idea, find research to fill in the edges and then leave it at that. I300 showed me the importance of allowing research to shape my ideas and even allow for drastic changes as a result of things found during research. Iteration is something that should be extended to all aspects of life. Try, try, try, try again is truly a mantra to live by. It’s rare for human beings to get something right the first time around, and I300 really demonstrated this fact and the benefit of working on things more than once. Finally, user-centered design is essential. While inventing a kick-ass new gadget is lots of fun, if people don’t need it, then what’s the point? I300 really taught me the value of putting the human aspect before the technological.

Blog 12+13 Mark Rodriguez

Throughout this course I've learned so much about the design process. I thought I had known a lot from taking architecture classes in the past, but this brought a whole new dynamic to the game. I've learned about this "Game" that is in design that includes creative thought, reiteration, challenging others, and testing yourself. The game is full of all these processes that come together to create a design that fits a user. The Game is repetitive, but the reiteration really helps a design, and helps designers get a better understanding of what users want/need.

I'm taking a lot away from this class. In fact, almost every software and web page design i see I always have a critique for it on the spot. But not even just software and web design, almost everything I see that has some sort of intuitive design to it, i have some kind of comment about how to use it. I really enjoyed this class and think that Marty's style of teaching and our text really helped us LEARN the material.

Blog 12 & 13 Tanner Sheridan

Coming into I-300 I knew very little about design and human and computer interaction. I have learned all of the words and terminology that surrounds the process of playing the "whole game" of design, but more importantly I have learned that there is never a perfect design and that iteration and testing a crucial to the design process.

I have learned the importance of keeping the end user in mind, but at the same time being able to be computer imaginative(if the medium is technology) and awake users to needs and wants that didn't know they had.

Along with these concepts and processes I have learned a lot of valuable skills about teamwork and problem solving that will surely serve me well in the future.