Showing posts with label 08 Spring Semester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 08 Spring Semester. Show all posts
9.21.2008
5.28.2008
Learning Community : Advocate Feeback
At midpoint of the semester, I made a connection with a parent advocate at the Autism Society of North Carolina. She is also has a 23 year old autistic son. I met with her for over two hours. During that visit, she provided useful information and shared stories about her son. Meeting with her informed decisions I made in the "exchange" portion of the parent experience.
After final review, I met with the same parent advocate and one other parent to share the final outcome of the project. I was very nervous to show them the results as they were the true experts in the community. They had very positive feedback and wanted to know when and how they could use the system. I felt like I had teased them with something they could really use. We did brainstorm other ideas that would be helpful for their autistic children as well as themselves. Their response to my project made it feel worthwhile and inspired me to continue further exploration.
After final review, I met with the same parent advocate and one other parent to share the final outcome of the project. I was very nervous to show them the results as they were the true experts in the community. They had very positive feedback and wanted to know when and how they could use the system. I felt like I had teased them with something they could really use. We did brainstorm other ideas that would be helpful for their autistic children as well as themselves. Their response to my project made it feel worthwhile and inspired me to continue further exploration.
Learning Community : Faculty Feedback
(meredith) important for next round, to choose a subject matter where you can control the imagery yourself.
(denise) reminds her of early nineties experiments with technology and interface design. she wants to know what can you bring from the physical world into the online world but adapt it to make sense to the constraints of the new platform, keeping in mind that the early experiments failed, how can your design thinking reinterpret new approaches now.
(santiago) can the advocate interact with the parent during the review process as well?
(angela) appreciates how you crossed between navigation and information into what she calls an application. by pushing data in, you were creating meta data,,, which made the information experience work and much richer.
great the you broke down different ways of reading the information. its not about just navigating through information but about collecting info as one moves through the system... the system becomes intelligent as you move through it
video presentation became limiting. wished it was a little bit more informative. takes up 75% of the screen, so it would be best to figure out how to get more of visual information as one moves through the information
good job of accommodating many styles of information all of them together.
think of ways in which the data drives the design experience.
how to build one context after another....
(scott) imagery is very sentimentalized, and to him, shows no kind of autistic behaviors. photography might not be the way to go?
(santiago) not either or, but look at the function that these visuals will need to serve.
(angela) play with the interface and fill it in with many kinds of images (cartoons, illustrations) that will allow you to see how they behave.
(denise) reminds her of early nineties experiments with technology and interface design. she wants to know what can you bring from the physical world into the online world but adapt it to make sense to the constraints of the new platform, keeping in mind that the early experiments failed, how can your design thinking reinterpret new approaches now.
(santiago) can the advocate interact with the parent during the review process as well?
(angela) appreciates how you crossed between navigation and information into what she calls an application. by pushing data in, you were creating meta data,,, which made the information experience work and much richer.
great the you broke down different ways of reading the information. its not about just navigating through information but about collecting info as one moves through the system... the system becomes intelligent as you move through it
video presentation became limiting. wished it was a little bit more informative. takes up 75% of the screen, so it would be best to figure out how to get more of visual information as one moves through the information
good job of accommodating many styles of information all of them together.
think of ways in which the data drives the design experience.
how to build one context after another....
(scott) imagery is very sentimentalized, and to him, shows no kind of autistic behaviors. photography might not be the way to go?
(santiago) not either or, but look at the function that these visuals will need to serve.
(angela) play with the interface and fill it in with many kinds of images (cartoons, illustrations) that will allow you to see how they behave.
Learning Community : Parents of Autism
Parents of Autism : a learning progression
The possibility that your child might be autistic is just the beginning of the learning process if you are the parents of that child. When the final diagnosis is reached, parents are faced with a wide range of emotions along with a series of questions that need answers. Situations vary as each child has a unique position that falls somewhere along the autism spectrum. One common factor with every diagnosis is the immediate need for knowledge by the parents. Regardless of the age that the child is diagnosed, or their placement on the spectrum, each family grows with and through autism. Parents require precise knowledge surrounding topics that affect their child at specific times in their life. The information and increased responsibility can quickly feel overwhelming for the parents.
Autism is a complex disorder that parents are unexpectedly forced to confront when their child is diagnosed. Due to this complexity, finding thorough information and those who provide it becomes an unneeded burden to collect and locate. It is important that the parents recognize themselves as part of a learning community so that they know they are not alone in this quest for information. Decisions relating to education, medical care, and even common daily routines need to be addressed, and through the connections within their community they can make well-informed choices. The communication with other parents, experts, and family members becomes crucial as they work towards their goal of providing the best life for their child as well as fulfilling a need to understand how they experience the world.
The possibility that your child might be autistic is just the beginning of the learning process if you are the parents of that child. When the final diagnosis is reached, parents are faced with a wide range of emotions along with a series of questions that need answers. Situations vary as each child has a unique position that falls somewhere along the autism spectrum. One common factor with every diagnosis is the immediate need for knowledge by the parents. Regardless of the age that the child is diagnosed, or their placement on the spectrum, each family grows with and through autism. Parents require precise knowledge surrounding topics that affect their child at specific times in their life. The information and increased responsibility can quickly feel overwhelming for the parents.
Autism is a complex disorder that parents are unexpectedly forced to confront when their child is diagnosed. Due to this complexity, finding thorough information and those who provide it becomes an unneeded burden to collect and locate. It is important that the parents recognize themselves as part of a learning community so that they know they are not alone in this quest for information. Decisions relating to education, medical care, and even common daily routines need to be addressed, and through the connections within their community they can make well-informed choices. The communication with other parents, experts, and family members becomes crucial as they work towards their goal of providing the best life for their child as well as fulfilling a need to understand how they experience the world.
Learning Community : Final Interactive Experience
The information I pulled for my concept map informed the projects for the rest of the semester. We had three specific interactive projects that involved our community at various levels. I chose to combine all three into one cohesive interactive experience for a member of my learning community. This is what was presented at my final review to my peers, faculty, and guest critic, Angela Shen-Hsieh (President & CEO of Visual i|o).
The following describes the goals of each phase/project (as outlined by Dori Tunstall's presentation, Micro-analysis of a community—five experiential elements):
project one : community identification
life goals: What matters most to parents of an autistic individual is to understand how the child experiences the world so that they can provide the best possible life.
historical consciousness: Parents recognize their child’s current phase.relationships: Parents find information by connecting to other people in their community; these people include support groups of medical experts, family, and peers.
agency: Parents choose what information they need at a particular time.
organizational structure: Experienced parents become advocates for new parents in the community.
project two : exchange
life goals: Experienced parents want to provide support for other parents in their community, thus becoming advocates.
historical consciousness: Parents develop a sense that many people have learned to deal with the challenges of autism.
relationships: Parents view the advocate stories, developing a foundation for trust.
agency: Parents chose to schedule face-to-face chats with the advocate, to further discuss the topic and related issues or experiences.
organizational structure: The parent and the advocate review files and information together so that the parent can begin planning a sensory diet for their child with a occupational therapist.
project three : collaborative task
life goals: Parents of autistic children want to help their child establish self-regulation capabilities through daily sensory activities.
relationships: Parents and the occupational therapist work together to plan and implement the sensory diet.
agency: Parents have a great deal of responsibility in choosing, conducting, recording, and analyzing the daily activities over a span of several weeks.
organizational structure: The occupational therapist reviews the parent’s documentation of activities then provides comments and an assessment.
historical consciousness: Parents view the progress in achieving specific goals set by the occupational therapist.
Screen shots of the interactive experience:
NOTE: The videos in this are purchased from istock.com and do not accurately represent autistic children. I was at the mercy of stock footage. Also special thanks to Marty for being my parent advocate actress.
The following describes the goals of each phase/project (as outlined by Dori Tunstall's presentation, Micro-analysis of a community—five experiential elements):
project one : community identification
life goals: What matters most to parents of an autistic individual is to understand how the child experiences the world so that they can provide the best possible life.
historical consciousness: Parents recognize their child’s current phase.relationships: Parents find information by connecting to other people in their community; these people include support groups of medical experts, family, and peers.
agency: Parents choose what information they need at a particular time.
organizational structure: Experienced parents become advocates for new parents in the community.
project two : exchange
life goals: Experienced parents want to provide support for other parents in their community, thus becoming advocates.
historical consciousness: Parents develop a sense that many people have learned to deal with the challenges of autism.
relationships: Parents view the advocate stories, developing a foundation for trust.
agency: Parents chose to schedule face-to-face chats with the advocate, to further discuss the topic and related issues or experiences.
organizational structure: The parent and the advocate review files and information together so that the parent can begin planning a sensory diet for their child with a occupational therapist.
project three : collaborative task
life goals: Parents of autistic children want to help their child establish self-regulation capabilities through daily sensory activities.
relationships: Parents and the occupational therapist work together to plan and implement the sensory diet.
agency: Parents have a great deal of responsibility in choosing, conducting, recording, and analyzing the daily activities over a span of several weeks.
organizational structure: The occupational therapist reviews the parent’s documentation of activities then provides comments and an assessment.
historical consciousness: Parents view the progress in achieving specific goals set by the occupational therapist.
Screen shots of the interactive experience:
NOTE: The videos in this are purchased from istock.com and do not accurately represent autistic children. I was at the mercy of stock footage. Also special thanks to Marty for being my parent advocate actress.
2.06.2008
Learning Community : Interactive Concept Map
While working on the 2D printed version of the concept map, we had to work through an interactive presentation format. It helped to organize the information and think about how it would be presented. This is intended to be operated by me in a presentation. There are rollovers and buttons that get the viewer into more information.
NOTE: this was officially my first experience using the program Flash.
The Interactive Map
NOTE: this was officially my first experience using the program Flash.
The Interactive Map
Learning Community : Concept Map
I chose the learning community of "parents of autism". What attracted me to this community was their immediate need for information and understanding. It is also a community that involves emotional relationships, ideology, and communications. Autism is a highly charged topic and the need for understanding is necessary for parents of a child with autism.
This is a concept map that outlines the members of the community, the needs, and a brief glimpse into the information that is gained from the connections made in the community. This is a tool for academic purposes only, primarily my personal academic purposes. The concept map helped me to learn and define the community. In order for me to understand, I set the map up in phases of the parents, from the point of being "expecting parents" to becoming "parents of an autistic young adult".
Contact me for a higher resolution file.
Bibliography:
“Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)”. University of Michigan Health System. 25 January 2008..
Autism For Parents blog. 20 January 2008.
Autism Society of America. 20 January 2008..
Autism Speaks. 25 January 2008..
Connor, Michael. “Children on the autistic spectrum: Guidelines for mainstream practice.” Mike Connor. 1999. 23 January 2008..
Gray, David E. Autism and the Family. Springfield, Illinois. Charles C. Thomas. 1998.
Leong, Sylina, B.S.W., R.S.W., Jenie Mathew, B.S.W., R.S.W., and Sandra White, B.A. “Helping Siblings Understand Autism
and Encouraging Positive Relationships”. Society for Treatment for Treatment of Autism, 2002. 24 January 2008..
Ozbayrak, R. Kaan, MD. “Meeting the Challenges of Adolescence.” ASPERGER'S DISORDER HOMEPAGE. Ozbayrak, R. Kaan, MD. 24 January 2008..
National Institute of Mental Health. 25 January 2008..
“Newborn Characteristics. North Scottsdale Pediatric Associates, P.C. 24 January 2008..
Parker, Jonathan, and Peter Randall. Supporting the Families of Children with Autism. West Sussex, England. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1999.
“Process of Identifying and Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders.” MentelHelp.net. CenterSite, LLC. February 14, 2006. January 23, 2008..
The Autism Education Network. 25 January 2008..
The Jordan Ralls Foundation. 26 January 2008..
The National Autistic Society. 2008. 20 January 2008.
This is a concept map that outlines the members of the community, the needs, and a brief glimpse into the information that is gained from the connections made in the community. This is a tool for academic purposes only, primarily my personal academic purposes. The concept map helped me to learn and define the community. In order for me to understand, I set the map up in phases of the parents, from the point of being "expecting parents" to becoming "parents of an autistic young adult".
Contact me for a higher resolution file.
Bibliography:
“Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)”. University of Michigan Health System. 25 January 2008.
Autism For Parents blog. 20 January 2008.
Autism Society of America. 20 January 2008.
Autism Speaks. 25 January 2008.
Connor, Michael. “Children on the autistic spectrum: Guidelines for mainstream practice.” Mike Connor. 1999. 23 January 2008.
Gray, David E. Autism and the Family. Springfield, Illinois. Charles C. Thomas. 1998.
Leong, Sylina, B.S.W., R.S.W., Jenie Mathew, B.S.W., R.S.W., and Sandra White, B.A. “Helping Siblings Understand Autism
and Encouraging Positive Relationships”. Society for Treatment for Treatment of Autism, 2002. 24 January 2008.
Ozbayrak, R. Kaan, MD. “Meeting the Challenges of Adolescence.” ASPERGER'S DISORDER HOMEPAGE. Ozbayrak, R. Kaan, MD. 24 January 2008.
National Institute of Mental Health. 25 January 2008.
“Newborn Characteristics. North Scottsdale Pediatric Associates, P.C. 24 January 2008.
Parker, Jonathan, and Peter Randall. Supporting the Families of Children with Autism. West Sussex, England. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1999.
“Process of Identifying and Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders.” MentelHelp.net. CenterSite, LLC. February 14, 2006. January 23, 2008.
The Autism Education Network. 25 January 2008.
The Jordan Ralls Foundation. 26 January 2008.
The National Autistic Society. 2008. 20 January 2008.
1.13.2008
Workshop #1 : Dori Tunstall
The spring semester has started off well, although, I'm a little anxious about revisiting my conflicting thoughts on the Internet. What has brought these conflictions to mind once again was our first workshop of the semester.
First, I must explain the workshops. Meredith has arranged for a few guest lecturers for the semester (bios here), they do a lecture at the College of Design and then a workshop with the GD grads. Our first guest was Dori Tunstall, design anthropologist and strategic planner. She challenged us to think about communities and even more specifically "digital communities".
Before her arrival we had to do some readings:
The Anthropology of Online Communities
by Samuel M. Wilson & Leighton C. Peterson
The Center out There: Pilgrim's Goal
from History of Religions by Victor Turner
The last one I need to get the name of.
All the readings proved to be helpful for our 2 day workshop with Dori. She introduced us to a model that is used to analyze and understand community; she had previously used this model in the corporate environment of Sapient to help define their team communities (I had Hallmark flashbacks when seeing this). The model uses five experiential elements: Agency, Organizational Structure, Relationships, Life Goals, and Historical Consciousness.
Our assignment was to chose a "digital community" and analyze it against the model. This is where the conflictions began. Personally, I do not actively participate in any online communities. I am a "lurker" but not a participant. Facebook and LinkedIn are technically the only ones I have a profile on now and I am still trying to figure out my positions in those spaces. So when faced with analyzing a community I found that I was struggling with what that is. I went to tripadvisor.com and lastfm.com and found that I would have to invest too much time working my way through the ins and outs of those communities. I ended up choosing one that is very simple and special to a select few. See my pdf for the details and analysis.
** Side note, as I write this the 60 minutes special is featuring the
23 yr old that started Facebook.
First, I must explain the workshops. Meredith has arranged for a few guest lecturers for the semester (bios here), they do a lecture at the College of Design and then a workshop with the GD grads. Our first guest was Dori Tunstall, design anthropologist and strategic planner. She challenged us to think about communities and even more specifically "digital communities".
Before her arrival we had to do some readings:
The Anthropology of Online Communities
by Samuel M. Wilson & Leighton C. Peterson
The Center out There: Pilgrim's Goal
from History of Religions by Victor Turner
The last one I need to get the name of.
All the readings proved to be helpful for our 2 day workshop with Dori. She introduced us to a model that is used to analyze and understand community; she had previously used this model in the corporate environment of Sapient to help define their team communities (I had Hallmark flashbacks when seeing this). The model uses five experiential elements: Agency, Organizational Structure, Relationships, Life Goals, and Historical Consciousness.
Our assignment was to chose a "digital community" and analyze it against the model. This is where the conflictions began. Personally, I do not actively participate in any online communities. I am a "lurker" but not a participant. Facebook and LinkedIn are technically the only ones I have a profile on now and I am still trying to figure out my positions in those spaces. So when faced with analyzing a community I found that I was struggling with what that is. I went to tripadvisor.com and lastfm.com and found that I would have to invest too much time working my way through the ins and outs of those communities. I ended up choosing one that is very simple and special to a select few. See my pdf for the details and analysis.
** Side note, as I write this the 60 minutes special is featuring the
23 yr old that started Facebook.
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