Firstly it was important to research the validity of the problem space of year 9 and 10 students requiring assistance to learn design theory. By researching the Australian curriculum details on what is involved in their curriculum are as follows:
With the core principles of what students need to learn established it is important to establish if design knowledge is being properly retained. as a result of research into studying practices it was established that in order to properly form long term memory of study material, students must include two core practices:
This concept redesign online testing to gamify the process by emulating cards deck gameplay. Adapting this to multiple choice would make testing more engaging and memorable.
flaws: this concept while interesting does not utilise the unique challenges of the problem space and does not provide the required mental load necessary to form memory.
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This concept was aimed to replicate a natural about course knowledge by compelling users to actively recall past learning content that they have previously inputted. Over a period of time users would detail all that had learned that day and would be tested on later dates to recall that knowledge. This repeated interaction would eventually instil that knowledge through active recall. However, this concepts would be extremely hard to replicate to feel natural and develop given time constraints.
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The designer card game concept is a card game aimed to condense the entire design process into a short game that compels players to replay due to the randomization of card output sequence. These output sequences generate a design brief that players have to follow.
The tangibility of this game is EXTREMELY important as incentives collaboration as well as linking sensory motion of picking up placing and sketching to transferable skills and memorization. By replaying game users will ultimately remember design skills such as:
While being tangible the card game utilises UI Elements of usability:
Brief creation
A consistent issue that was identified was the product cards often confused players, this was later identified to be their lack of knowledge of more advanced/UX technologies such as wearables and XR technology. With one participant stating mid testing
“What is smart clothes?”
This was an oversight on the target users' knowledge of these particular design terms.
All users approved of the game and had an understanding of how the game is meant to be played by understanding the clear relationship between the card packs forming a brief. Many users wished to play the game again, indicating that there is a great level of replay ability within the card game.
In regards to the mobile application, the users were intrigued by the use of NFC stickers as a technology they had very little experience with it in its current form of stickers on game packaging. In regards to the functionality users found the system to feel slick and intuitive.
All users were extremely confused by the product card, as they were not familiar with the products that are common within the UI/UX field such as smart and XR technology. The design clearly did not account for this possibility, which was an oversight as these are terms and ideas that this group of users are not fully accustomed to.
During the testing of the mobile application, there were some concerns about the way in which instructions about lesson plans were conveyed, as there was not enough of a detailed list on how to perform the actions. This issue with the user interface was expected as this was still being redeveloped just before testing.
introducing packaging for the card game came highly recommended by all users. Many attributing that it was an expected item of the card game experience.
Utilising the description from Persona cards, Product cards need to establish a clear understanding of the product function and application through text.
The digital learning tool should have its order of contents reorganized to appeal to the intended users of teachers.
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Implement minor UI and Layout adjustments to keep the visual style consistent while placing greater emphasis on the written instructions.
The time to complete the game should be reduced to provide an extra level difficulty and pressure for players.
The card game helps students quickly ideate multiple designs from randomly generated design briefs created by the card pack combinations. Followed by a short presentation portion in which players learn how to communicate their ideas to others.
The short duration of the game pushes players to not focus too much on a singular idea with the added benefit of engaging the teachers classroom while having a minimal impact on the time required to teach their established curriculum.
These cards familiarise players with personas, understanding how a users needs impact the processes which is communicated through points on the respective card.
With a product card a player are given a product they must design around. These products can be unfamiliar to certain players, as such all cards are given a brief description of their function and interactions.
A context card establishes the constraint of an environment or activity, forcing players to make a connection between product persona and establish a relationship with all cards in potentially extremely unlikely or even impossible theoretical designs.
The online digital resource familiarises users on the both the instructions and purpose of the game with a step to step guide. Additionally the resource contains guides for teachers on lesson plans and alternative forms of teaching that fit the needs of their classroom.
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Through NFC packaging users are able to use their mobile device are able to access the online digital resource by placing their mobile device on the packaging's NFC sticker. Allowing for a clear link between the tangible experience of the game and the digital resource.
