Survey Results and Project Proposal

All of the information is based on the results of the STAR chart survey using the following website: http://blackboard.georgetowncollege.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listLearningUnit.jsp?course_id=_1975_1&content_id=_51659_1&step=6

Here are the results from the STAR survey for my school:1. Hardware: high tech2. Connectivetivity: mid tech3. Content: mid tech4. Professional Development: high tech5. Integration and Use: mid tech

Based on my answers to the survey, my school is considered to be a the high tech level.High tech educational benefits according to the survey are: improve higher-order thinking and research skills, greater information resources available for research and education from Internent and CD-Rom, most students/teachers able to communicate with parents, experts, other students and teacher outside the schoolI was surprised at high-tech level of my school, I would have perceived my school to be more of a mid tech. After reading and responding to each of the survey questions, I began to realize the amount of technology that my school does have even though it is not just found in my classroom. My school district is really good at trying to improve the use of technology within our schools.I think that my school could definitely improve on the integration and use of technology on a daily basis. The school where I am teaching now is getting a new school next year so I think that we will definitely be able to improve on our integration and daily use of technology. We will have the writing tablets and plasma screen tv's that will display the information on our tablets. I believe that this will definitely help to improve the instruction that is taken place. Our school just got new student computers this year which is definitely going to be a big help for when our students begin working on their portfolio pieces. We are also starting to do more professional development trainings in order to help the teachers become more familiar with the technology that we available within the school.

Since I am taking this class as EDU 586 I have to do the unit plan. I plan to design a unit on multiplication and try to implement various instructional technology tools to help students understand the concept of multiplication, such as various interactive websites, the use of hands-on manipulatives, graphic organizers, etc. I will use excel to keep a record of student progress throughout the unit.

Reflections of Readings and Posters

Design principles help people to use products because the information is usually detailed in explaining how to use the product in an organized fashion. Plus most product manufacturers have tried to think through all of the possible questions and/or configurations in order to make the product more user friendly for the consumer. But as mentioned in the article, even though experts know a lot about the products they are making it "does not guarantee that they can effectively teach someone how to use it" ( "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School", 1999. p. 37). I do belive that a many product designers spend time researching and/or reviewing research in order to learn how most people learn in order to relay information/directions to their consumers effectively. My group worked on Golden Rule #1 of Interface Design which states that the user should be placed in control when using a product. One of the six principles of expert/novice learning that could apply to our rule would be principle 1 which says that experts notice meaningful patterns of information. I think this relates to our interface design because there are some meaninful patterns that need to be changed in order to make the Hershey's bottle a more meaningful product. The six principles interrelate so in a way they all can apply to golden rule #1 of interface design because they are working together to make the product more user friendly.

Golden Rule #1

The first golden rule of interface design is for the user to primarily be in control. Myspace.com would be an example of a bad interface design that violates the first golden rule due to the fact that it specifically violates several of the principles. When setting up and navigating through a myspace page you are required to primarily use the mouse or otherwise you will be continuously hitting the "tab" key in order to move from one aspect of the page to another. The keyboard can really only be used to input personal information as well as messaging. First when you set-up a page you must do things in a specific sequence and it must be done in one setting or you will have to begin the process all over. For the older generation, the terminology is not user friendly using words such as blog, upload, profile, etc. They webpage does not allow you to undo things without hitting the backspace/delete key or redo things if you were to accidentally delete them.In order to improve the Myspace experience, I would set it up where you could set up your account in intervals if you chose instead of making a user do so all in one setting. I would want the software to be easy for people of all ages to use. As of now the website is for more experienced computer users and/or younger people who are in their teens and twenties, and it does not provide the beginner with the option of step-by-step instructions to help you relaz while putting together your individual page. I would also provide links that would make it easier for users to set-up their page with background displays, font, and graphic designs that they would want/need in order to make thier page look appealing to others.