Design Process
https://deco3500-2018.github.io/ClaireandtheGoodBois/
Simply enter any username you would like on the first page and press enter, then continue through the prototype until the end and press continue to see another phrase.
For this project, the main domain considered is ‘learning disabilities’. Specifically, we are concerned with raising awareness of learning disabilities through empathy, specifically Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a fairly common disorder with an estimated 5 - 10% of the global population having the disorder (Dyslexiahelp, 2004).
As students with learning disabilities often perform worse than their non-learning disabled peers, the disadvantaged students might experience the feelings of isolation and lack of worth that are common in underachieving students (Wolfe, Fantuzzo & Wolfe, 1986). Additionally, due to their invisible and sometimes difficult to define nature, some students may be misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed completely, further exacerbating existing issues (Kelman & Lester, 1997).
In a 2014 paper by Coulton et al., concepts of empathy in the design of interactive system are explored. While they identify different kinds of empathy with varying levels of ‘depth’ (cognitive, affective, and compassionate), they also state that there exists great difficulty in facilitating experiences that deliver different kinds of empathy. A key insight into designing for empathy is that “leveraging a pre-existing shared interest between the users provides basis from which empathy may be developed” (Coulton et al., 2014). They apply this in a provided example in which they designed a digital candle for a church community that allowed infrequent visitors to have a constant presence and maintain a continued connection.
By raising awareness of the unique problems and circumstances that learning disabled people face, the average person might display more empathy and understanding, leading to better social dynamics and academic performance for all involved.
Leo is a web application that targets teenagers and teaches them awareness and empathy towards children who have learning disabilities, primarily dyslexia. The user must attempt to decipher a phrase that has been distorted in order to simulate how a child with dyslexia may perceives words. This is done in an attempt to elicit empathy from users towards those with dyslexia.
Initially domain research was conducted, this involved research into different aspects of the prototype, specifically dyslexia, systems that elicit empathy, and augmented reality(AR) systems for learning. This was done gage a better understanding of problem space that was being targeted as so the best system could be designed to raise awareness, and so that a target audience could be determined. From this it was determined that an AR simulation would be the most viable in order to engage high school students with the struggles of those with dyslexia, thus forming the original concept.
From this original concept more research was done into the accessibility AR systems in classrooms it it was determined that the technology needed to be changed, more details on the switch can be read here. More research was also conducted into different types of learning disabilities(Auditory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia) in order to determine whether the system would function on one disability or multiple. After the first stand up it was determined that the project would simulate two disorders those being Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia. But due to time only one simulation was created that being for Dyslexia simulating the reading.
Through out the semester interviews were conducted with three high school teachers, and one dyslexia sufferer to gain a better understanding of not only dyslexia on a everyday basis but also how the system could be incorporated into a class room. More information as to the results of interviews with teachers can be found here, and the interview with the dyslexia sufferer here.
A low fidelity prototype was designed in order to obtain some early stage feedback on our systems design. The prototype was made using the Figma program. The system did away with the original idea of utilising AR technology as the research stage found that AR technology was not suitable for raising awareness on a large scale due to its rarity. User testing was performed using the low fidelity prototype with a variety of University Students. Feedback was also gained from tutors and fellow team members. Evaluating the participant feedback determined that participants found the prototypes colour scheme childish and disorienting and its functionality to be needlessly complicated. (More info on user testing can be found here.)
- Designing the Low-Fidelity
- Designing the Medium-Fidelity Prototype
- Conducting User Testing of the Low-Fidelity Prototype With University Students
- Conducting User Testing of the Medium-Fidelity Prototype With High School Students
- Designing Layout for Brochures
- Editing Brochure Content
- Interviews with teachers
- Interview with dyslexia sufferer
- Creating phrases & conducting user testing with them
- Research into dysgraphia
- Research into dyslexia
- Front-end coding of prototype
- Re-design of prototype
- Multiple methods of trying to gain access to users
- Content for brochures
- Design for poster + some content
- User testing of the final proof-of-concept prototype
- Research into Dysgraphia
- Contributing to Designing Medium-Fidelity Prototype
- User testing with Medium-Fidelity prototype with various students
- Dyslexic User interview
- Poster