Sep 30, 2009 0
This is depressing
I ordered pad thai from a Pittsburgh food truck, and this is what I got. I gotta start bringing my own dinner to campus.
Sep 25, 2009 0
Interaction Design Jargon
I am learning new words, and some new meanings for old words, in the course of my graduate education and thought it might be helpful to start compiling a list for my own reference. Keep in mind that these are the definitions I have pieced together from various readings and, as such, they may be incomplete, wrong, or atypical interpretations of their use within the design discourse.
affordance
noun
invitation to a particular action
A rubber sheath of a suitable diameter on a kitchen gadget, for instance, may be an affordance to grip that spot.
feedforward
noun
relating to control design (buttons, knobs, touchscreens, etc.), communication of the purpose of an action
The iPhone’s “slide to unlock” message, as a feedforward mechanism, communicates the purpose of the sliding action.
inherent feedback
noun
feedback strongly coupled to the action
The audible click when one presses a mouse button signals that the mouse has registered the action.
teleological
adjective
the philosophical study of design and purpose
Sometimes academics casually strew words throughout their papers that I’ve never heard of and can’t find in a standard dictionary. I’ve included a few below. Please comment with their meanings if you know them.
inforced
verb
heterarchical
adjective
“…it fails when applied to problems that involve people as informed agents, in heterarchical forms of organizations like markets.” – The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design
praxiographic
adjective
This one, I suspect, is rooted in the word “praxis,” which refers to practice as opposed to theory.
Sep 20, 2009 1
Acorn starch
Sep 8, 2009 0
I never can tell…
I noticed this sidebar alongside the page of a reading I was assigned for my design seminar. Suddenly I feel extra motivated to finish my work for that class. No need to upset the professors…
Sep 5, 2009 0
Curried split-pea soup with squash and raisins
I picked up the squash for this soup at the farmers market in the Strip District this morning. I’ve no idea what kind it is, but in its pre-cut state, it looks a little like a mini-watermelon that swallowed one of those Star Men from Super Mario Brothers. Also, can I just say that starting today, I am a big fan of raisins in soup?
Sep 3, 2009 0
Design process as a pretty flower
Prefaced by a florally-inspired infographic, this article on the design process fits it with what I’m learning in design school now.
http://www.designtoimprovelife.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=17
Also on the website are the 2009 winners of the INDEX award. Inspirational stuff!
Sep 1, 2009 1
Thoughts on teachers
The role of teaching assistant is new to me, but after one week, I have already learned three things from peeking on the other side of the student-teacher divide.
Realization #1: Teachers have lives outside teaching.
This may be a throwback to the egocentric perspective of childhood, but I am still adjusting to the realization that instructors don’t simply appear at the start of class and dissipate after class into the ether to dream up new assignments while us students deal with all the trials of “real life” – all that stuff that we think our teachers don’t appreciate, like all the work we have to do for our *other* classes, our mile-long list of errands, that social event that’s going to take up our entire Saturday… Turns out, our instructors have stuff like that to juggle, too – stuff that gets in the way of their being able to flawlessly anticipate their students’ needs and questions.
Realization #2: Teachers have two jobs.
Like other professionals, teachers have to be knowledgeable about the subject they teach. Unlike other professionals, they cannot dedicate forty hours a week to continually develop that knowledge because they have to – oh yeah – teach classes. In addition to keeping their specialized knowledge current, they also have to develop the skills to effectively convey that knowledge to other people – people of differing backgrounds and priorities who all have their own preferred styles of learning.
Realization #3: Teachers are learning how to teach while they are teaching.
There is no universal solution for getting knowledge into someone else’s brain, let alone thirty different brains simultaneously. Teachers have their experience and perspective to guide them, but they also use student feedback to do their jobs effectively.