Creating User Interfaces

1. Creating User Interfaces Reflect on VoiceXML Computers in teaching. Teaching project assignment. Classwork/Homework: brainstorm ideas. Make proposal. Prepare for guest.

2. Reflect on VoiceXML • Different • But similarities to other interface challenges • Think about the user (caller) • Defend against errors • Provide effective ways to recover from errors • Trade off: explicit choices versus more natural, free, interchange • May be effectiveness vs satisfaction vs efficiency • Features you may not have explored • Mixed initiative; barge-in; scope • ???

3. Computers in teaching • Just more "drill and kill" or • practice in less threatening, perhaps even fun setting • Appropriate mixture of information and practice • Video (just more TV), pictures in place of real subject or variety of modalities suited to subject • Makes work easier or makes work harder • Raise standard for writing • Raise standard for depth of research

4. Teach or test • Does program/product teach or only test? • Again: improved drill may have value. • Duolingo very limited instruction • Can participate in community • Can access other sources

5. Online education • Totally online • Flipped classroom • Hybrid

6. Challenges • Difficulty of evaluating • Who is the user? For example, some studies of online education indicate it does work well for the most-motivated students • Problematic measure of time on task

7. A story • Study involving students who created presentations on the Civil War versus regular study • Initial standard test showed no difference • Follow on test, with room for deeper answers, showed significant difference • Ignored 'time on task': the students building presentations did spend more time.

8. Recall • Importance of identifying users • Class assignment may not have the challenge to pick the hardest case • Effectiveness: did the user learn something • Satisfaction: would they come back (continue) • Efficiency: time, …

9. In this context • Cognitive load: make sure your program is making the student work on the right things, not basic logistics. • Levels of learners?

10. Assignment • Pick something that someone may want or need to learn about or how to do or… • Technology is HTML5 JavaScript • Make proposal • I will respond with approval and/or suggest changes • Presentation of plans, including target user • The student(s) • Build and test on actual users • Try to incorporate findings • Presentation of final project and observations

11. Ideas • Decimal or binary or hexadecimal arithmetic • Credit cards (compound interest) • Anatomy • Geography • map of countries surrounding Crimea? • US states • Reading music • Musical pitch • Cooking or cooking techniques • When is it better than recipe • Design • Layout • Choosing fonts • ? • Use of tablet, phone, computer, ….

12. Ideas • Off-side rule in soccer (other sports?) • Strategy in any game • Spatial relations • Orientation of cards, cubes, etc. • VoiceXML???

13. Next class • Bill Junor of CTS coming to talk (and hear) about our experiences using Banner (myheliotrope) • Prepare comments and questions • Think about user tasks • Total system: hardware, software, people and procedures • Note: difficulties of retrospective study • Comparing it to last time