Information+Design+Summary

Below is the newest version of the Information Design Summary - it is 3 pages in Word. If we have 3 pages for this section, 3 for the Interaction Design summary (or so), then that will leave us up to 6 pages for the Presentation Design - introduction, data, and analysis - I think that seems reasonable. If need be, we can go back to the beginning sections and cut. Have a read ... see what you think. Thanks, R Great Robin...hope all comments were a help not a hindrance!

New Summary: Information Design The information design stage of product development is “the process of clarifying your communication goals and arranging your content into a design that serves those goals” (Kristof and Satran, 1995, p. 7). In this phase of the design process, we investigated the social problems that children with Asperger’s Syndrome have, specifically the inability of children with Asperger's to read and respond appropriately and confidently to social cues. Our goal was to help these children negotiate their social worlds by creating an interactive product that was "easy to learn, effective to use" and would provide "an enjoyable user experience" (Preece, Sharp, & Rogers, 2007, p. 2). We researched existing solutions and found that the development of social stories is a well-documented and empirically proven method of developing social skills in children with autism. We investigated video-self modeling as a way of developing social stories and found that, although proven to be effective, the process was lengthy and involved many steps and various hardware and software supports. We found two applications that provided some, yet not all of the options we were looking for and at this stage decided to develop an alternative design that would meet our requirements (Preece et al., p. 17). Our idea was to take video-self modeling a step further and to create an application that would be able to handle both the hardware and software requirements in an all-in-one device. We considered various contexts where such an application and/or device might be applicable and practical. Essentially our discussions revolved around several questions: Who would use the product? How would it be used? Where would it be used? What activities would be involved in interacting with the product? (Preece et al., 2007, pp. 5-6) Conversations with potential users confirmed our direction as they indicated ease of use through an ‘all-in-one’ application would be desirable. In addition, users indicated that although social stories created with still digital images were effective, they would be very excited to be able to use video-self-modeling in the form of a quality, interactive social story resource/application. Initially, our idea was to build on the interactivity displayed in the Xbox 360 Kinect gaming peripheral. With this device, users would be ‘recognized’ by the system and would be able to converse with in-game characters. However, we continued to value the ‘ease of use’ factor, including being able to capture images from social scenes wherever and whenever they may occur. Although the idea of video-self-modeling in the gaming forum was attractive, we soon realized that in going this direction we would be limiting the portability and ‘all-in-one-ness’ that we were trying to achieve. Kinect is also a new product designed specifically for one video design system. In addition, we considered the install base of the Xbox 360, cost of purchasing hardware, and uncertainty around the future success of the Kinect product. The decision was then made to limit the application to hand-held devices (smartphone, ipad, ipod) or laptop/desktop computers. At this juncture in our deliberations it was clear that we would benefit from, as Preece et al. (2007) state, "bringing together people with different backgrounds and training", which would provide for "more ideas being generated, new methods developed, and more creative and original designs being produced" (p. 11). This meant not only pulling together our small group's ideas and pooling our strengths, but also sharing our ideas informally and formally with colleagues, subject and technology experts, friends, family members, and anyone whom we thought could bring a perspective to bear on our initial thoughts and ideas. Again, according to Kim in Preece et al., "what one person values as important others may not even see" (p. 11). Although our application is intended to benefit children with Asperger’s Syndrome, the target users for our application are the parents, educators, and caregivers of children with Asperger’s. Nevertheless, we needed to keep the specific needs of the children in mind and be cognizant of the fact that the children would be present and active during the creation of social stories. Following the guiding principles concerning usability goals outlined by Preece et al. (2007, pp. 20-29), we limited the ‘flashiness’ of the interface and decided to create screens that were attractive, clear, and simple, yet not distracting to children with Asperger’s who have the tendency to become fixated on subjects/objects of interest. At this point in the design process we developed our conceptual model using a flow chart framework that mapped out the envisioned interactive path that people would follow and the junctures at which the user would be presented with choices (Preece et al., pp. 51-53). Through consultation with design experts, we concluded that external storage of stories would be a key element in our design. By integrating video into the creation of social stories, we understood that file sizes would be increased. As an added benefit to users and in order to free up memory, we provided the choice of saving in a ‘cloud environment’, or on the user’s own device. An extension of the ‘cloud environment’ is the creation of a community of users that have the option to share social stories amongst themselves. Future plans for the online community include chat rooms for users to consult each other on issues of concern.

Old Information Design Summary: **Summary: Information Design**

The information design stage of product development is “the process of clarifying your communication goals and arranging your content into a design that serves those goals” (Kristof and Satran, 1995, p. 7). In this phase of the design process, we investigated the social problems that children with Asperger’s Syndrome have, specifically the inability of children with Asperger's to read and respond appropriately and confidently to social cues. Our goal was to create an interactive product that was "easy to learn, effective to use," and would provide "an enjoyable user experience" (Preece, Sharp, Rogers, 2007, p. 2), whilst benefiting our identified learners in negotiating their social worlds more appropriately. Our initial task, therefore, was to define "the nature of the problem space" (Preece et al., p. 46), by researching and identifying what what was currently available in this realm and how we could innovate or improve on such resources.

We researched existing solutions, and found that the development of social stories is a well-documented and empirically proven method of developing social skills in children with autism. We investigated video-self modeling as a way of developing social stories and found that, although proven to be effective, the process was lengthy, involving many steps and various hardware and software supports. Our idea was to take video-self modeling a step further and to create an application that would be able to handle both the hardware and software requirements in an all-in-one device. W e immediately considered various contexts where such an application and/or device might be applicable and practical. Essentially our discussions revolved around several questions: Who would use the product? How would it be used?Where would it be used? What activities would be involved in interacting with the product? (Preece et al., 2007, pp. 5-6)

Conversations with potential users confirmed our direction as they indicated ease of use through an ‘all-in-one’ application would be desirable in an application. In addition, users indicated that although social stories created with still digital images were effective, they would be very excited to be able to use video-self-modeling in the form of a quality, interactive social story resource.

Yes, Robin - I think it's fair to cite that we consulted the autistic specialists at University School. The program is called CSSI (Communication, Sensory and Social Interaction Program). Weblink [] These teachers reported great enthusiasm for a quality, interactive social story resource. At present, these teachers are accessing resource material through a Speech Language Pathologist who is looking specifically at iPad and iPod touch apps to support learning. This specialist has provided us with a host of apps which are currently being offered to students on the autistic spectrum (I will email you all the Powerpoint with tons of cool stuff).

Initially, our idea was to build on the interactivity displayed in the Xbox 360 Kinect gaming peripheral. With this device, users would be ‘recognized’ by the system and would be able to converse with in-game characters. However, we continued to value the ‘ease of use’ factor, including being able to capture images from social scenes wherever and whenever they may occur. Although the idea of video-self-modeling in the gaming forum was attractive, we soon realized that in going this direction we would be limiting the portability and ‘all-in-one-ness’ that we were trying to achieve. Kinect is also a new product designed specifically for one video design system. We considered the install base of the Xbox 360, cost of purchasing hardware, and uncertainty around the future success of the Kinect product. The decision was then made to limit the application to hand-held devices (smartphone, ipad, ipod) or laptop/desktop computers.

At this juncture in our deliberations it was clear that, as Preece et al. (2007) state, we would benefit from "bringing together people with different backgrounds and training", as it would provide for "more ideas being generated, new methods developed, and more creative and original designs being produced" (p. 11). This meant not only pulling together our small group's ideas and pooling our strengths, but sharing our ideas informally and formally with colleagues, subject and technology experts, friends, family members, and anyone whom we thought could bring a perspective to bear on our initial thoughts and ideas. Again, according to Kim in Preece et al., "What one person values as important others may not even see" (p. 11).

Although our application is intended to benefit children with Asperger’s Syndrome, the target users for our application are the parents, educators, and caregivers of children with Asperger’s. Nevertheless, we needed to keep the specific needs of the children in mind and be cognizant of the fact that the children would be present and active during the creation of social stories. Therefore, we limited the ‘flashiness’ of the interface and decided to create screens that were attractive, clear, and simple, yet not distracting to children with Asperger’s who have the tendency to become fixated on subjects/objects of interest. O ur conclusions were drawn from our attempt to follow the guiding principles concerning usability and user experience goals as outlined by Preece et al. (2007, pp. 20-29). These were revisited later as we moved into the interactive phase of our design process. At this point in the design process we developed our conceptual model using a flow chart framework that mapped out the envisioned interactive path that people would follow and the junctures at which the user would be presented with choices (Preece et al., pp. 51-53).

Through consultation with design experts, we concluded that external storage of stories would be a key element in our design. By integrating video into the creation of social stories, we understood that file sizes would be increased. As an added benefit to users and in order to free up memory, we provided the choice of saving in a ‘cloud environment’, or on the user’s own device. An extension of the ‘cloud environment’ is the creation of a community of users that have the option to share social stories amongst themselves. Future plans for the online community include chat rooms for users to consult each other on issues of concern to caregivers of children with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The ideas of 'cloud storage and retrieval' and a possible 'online interactive, sharing community of users' became one of the main issues that elicited feedback from, and discussion with, our peers after we presented our information design proposal. (The information feedback on our Information design should perhaps also be in the interaction design summary. Keep in mind that the entire report is intended to be only 10-12 pages ... Michele really emphasized SUMMARIZE :-) )

(I haven't included any references to usability in this document - they may need to be added-- This may pertain more to the Interaction Design section. Here we should reference regarding our searches for other devices and apps. that we discovered and evaluated, plus cite where we got some semblance of ideas around social stories and structuring...even though we have cited them in previous phases. I think this would include Chris's staff and contacts? Also, I believe demonstating how we follow the guidelines we have learned about in such text as Preece and the like.)