UX Continues....
Published on Mar 16, 2016
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
UX Begins September 2014..
Our first official UX began last fall and Brittany and I covered ground all over the bay area from public school, montessori, Headstar, Daycare, many libraries and even some homeschoolers....
We traversed a wide variety of different learning environments
We worked in both the private & public sectors...
Sant Rosa
Older group
Spranger Public School
Sant Rosa
Older group
Spranger Public School
We observed:
We experienced excitement among diverse, multi-age, children... We witnesssed:
ENGAGEMENT
All of the children we worked with were enthusiastic, motivated and excited to play with us!
Collaboration
We were surprised how the situation was a natural fit for collaboration among all children, they wanted to play together - they helped one another, and learned from each other. It was powerful.
INTUITIVNESS
No matter of level all kids just plain "got it" they knew what to do without verbal instructions.
Jane Lindner's grand neice,
Jane Lindner's grand neice,
serious thinking....
This particular little boy could already read at age 4, he was mesmerized by the mechanics, you could feel how hard he was thinking.
MAGICAL MOMENTS
Children were delighted while learning and didn't want us to leave.
slick...
Actually think that this game looks slicker than todays version....
Fall 2014
We had very few instances of bugs with the hardware last year, on this particular visit to a daycare with preschool minoritieswe were unable to get the app and hardware to work together.
Observations
WE LEARNED& REPORTED BACK:
iPad slips off stand
Letters disperse across floor or table, may not be a bad thing
Starting from the left isn't always intuitive to (especially young children 2-3)
First box doesn't align with first letter space on the app screen
"I" in the app is different from the physical "I" letter] piece
"M" and "W" are difficult to tell apart from one another
We video taped all sessions and took detailed notes.
Design Changes...
Design changes happened.... whether they were a an improvement or a detriment.
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We presented our take-aways and discussed optimal changes
TAKE TWO: Kiddie Academy
Fall 2015 - Phase Two
Fall 2015 Almost the same app...
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We still saw the same delight! Choco is extremely ADHD his teachers reported that he was able to foucus on approrpriate behavior so that he could participate in gameplay.
We know that KIDS, PARENTS, TEACHERS are the beginning developers, essential to start with them
Know your audience!
We expanded
Our In-house Beta Tester
AWE
The preschool age was the sweet spot.
Did we adapt to our a findings?
Did we hear what the teachers and children were saying?
Kids can't close the lid, virtually impossible unless you line up all the letters exactly.
BUTTON PICK
Kids obess over the button1
Kids loved pressing the on and off button! Should we consider moving it or making it more subtle?
Added LED lights
to help with left to right dirrectionalit
break down the category of “children” into smaller age segments....
There is a huge difference between a 2 year old and a 6 year old...
Photo by a4gpa
UX specialists recommend segmenting children into at least three distinct age groups: ages 3-5; ages 6-8; and ages 9-12. Each age group has specific traits that need to be addressed in the design.
EFFICACY BASELINE
We did a an informal pre and post assessment and saw growth amongst all of the children.
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- KIDDIE ACADEMY - Martha
- KATIE & her daughter
- 7 HEADSTART Centers SF - Brigette
- CAROL - 9 Centers
- Represent SOCIOECONOMIC Differences
Our UX goals on hold, we are waiting for another app.
4 different demographics
We will reach out to a larger demographic in our next phase of UX.
Photo by Peter Ito
Finding the balance
Finding the balance is a fine line, UX can lead the way in refining our product.
You will need big, bold, cheerful colors and pictures to hold the attention of children and help them navigate.
Color is imperative for learning, we have done the research - now let's act on it.
Photo by Auntie P
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We need to use all of what we have learned and work together making the best digital educational product ever...
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Using the wisdom of those that truly understand this space can make or break an innovation.
They have always known “reset” and “undo” and “play again.” They see technology as a tool for expression, experimentation, and communication. And designing for these little people is more challenging and more exciting than it’s ever been before.
We need to hire the experts in this evolving territory, we need to use their expertise to guide us.
We need to get experts who know the kids digital space
We have reached out and know that these experts are not just avaialble but very excited, many have already signed NDA'S.
We’re starting to realize that we need to maximize the time that children spend using technology.
It is not just gaming, we need to find that fine line between educational and edtertainment to succeed.
OUR PRIMARY FOCUS
We are a curriculum based reading readiness program that needs to follow a scope and sequence, nonsense words have their place but should not be the primary focus.
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We have discussed diagonstics, we have yet to implement any.
To our generation it seems a little unnatural and magical. To kids it actually behaves more like they would expect. They touch it and it moves...
We have crossed the line, if you are presently 5 years old you know of no other world than the iPad...
Bottom Line
We had all the components in 2014: the engagement, the collaboration, the magic... why are we not further along?
One of the reasons iPad technology is very intuitive and easy to use for toddlers is that they can directly control things in the virtual world. They can touch an object and move it.
This "child driven" concept is an imperitive part of the recipe for success, are we making that our primary focus?
Where are we now?
Where are we now? I'm not sure, have we actaully regressed?
VIDEO
The placement was invisible to the kids....
We were surprised that not one child picked up on the lights as a prompt of where to put the letters! Should we reconsider placement?
