*This is an evolving post!
Thinking about “the user”
In the conception phase of designing a learning experience, the path of (1) selecting a design focus or (2) identifying the users feel symbiotic and simultaneous tasks. How to choose a starting point 1 or 2? That’s where we are in my #ed113 course at Harvard, identifying our users which blossom into personas.
As a UX researcher by trade, I am familiar with jumping into a project ordained by stakeholders. We jump into projects well after conception, already bearing momentum. I enjoy chatting with test participants, customers/potential customers, devising a methodology, running user testing, creating/analyzing surveys and card sorts, the whole UX gamut. My coworkers and I talk about behavior, incentives, intuition, affective design all day-for fun, we chat affordance and metaphors.
I’m not there just yet, however. By Valentine’s Day, my project remains undefined.
#ED113 Week 4 Assignment
- I need to interview/ observe your learners by next week, but doing what? Perhaps I can have a simple wireframe mockup and get opinions about the path they might take through a basic concept.
- Define the questions I plan to ask?
Basic skeleton for devising your user personas…
From John Muir, in order to devise a user persona, consider:
- “Abilities: cognitive, physical
- Personality: attitude/motivation, learning preferences, self-monitoring (metacognitive strategies for learning)
- Literacies: computer/tech, online learning, subject matter, domain-specific scholarly activities, textual, visual
- Sociocultural: family, economic status, geography, organizational affiliations
- Biological characteristics: age, gender, possibly race/ethnicity”*
Reads & References
- Julie Dirksen, Design for How People Think (Usable Learning)
- Shalom Goltz, A Closer Look at Personas: What They Are and How They Work
- John Muir, User Personas in Instructional Design
- d.School, Institute of Design Stanford, Interview for Empathy
- Design Thinking for Museums, How to interview visitors for empathy
Image my own. Iceland, Feb 2016.
XO,
H
Hannahloulou 