20ten Concept Presentation

Coping with Information Overload

Concepts for the University Community

Juliana Diaz | Adam Howard | Jenny Shirey | Ruqian Zhou


Concepts for the University Community - March 3, 2010 - 20Ten Graduate Studio II - School of Design - Carnegie Mellon University

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Research Recap

Information distribution & life cycle

Methods

»» Five»Touchstone»Tours

»» One»Survey

Results

»» People»spend»a»great»deal»of»time»»managing»communications»and»information

»» Most»prefer»e-mail,»but»many»find»»that»it»is»a»burden



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Positioning Statement

Information overload in higher education

University faculty, staff and students all experience information overload. Each of these groups needs a better way to manage information through feedback, filtering and timeliness.



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Additional Research

Information overload

2nd Survey

» 65%»of»people»say»less than half»of»e-mails»are»»relevant

»» 53%»say»e-mails»about»events»are»“hardly ever” of interest

»» Campus»bulletin»boards:»“cluttered,” “messy,” and “crowded”




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Generative Stage

Creating a concept matrixOrganizations

(offices)

1 to

Everybody

1 to

Targeted Group

1 to 1

Eductation

(Higher ed) Eductation

(Primary ed)Families



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Axis 2

Generative Stage

Getting some clarity



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Generative Stage

Evaluation of concepts

Looking over what we had

»» Using»evaluation»worksheet,»we»looked»»at»each»concept»separately

»» Ranked»ideas»using»two»primary»criteria:»»Potential and Difficulty

»» Initially»our»idea»was»to»evaluate»individually

»» Decided»to»leverage»group’s»collective»»experience»to»obtain»more»balanced»evaluation

Concept Evaluation

Idea

Difficulty

6Potential

4



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Generative Stage

Mapping & selection



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Touchscreen terminals allow communication across a campus as well as a means of tapping the university knowledge ‘cloud.’

»» Immediate»RSVP»or»feedback»for»event»announcements

»» Pose»research»questions»to»the»campus»community

»» Ask»fellow»students»for»advice»or»directions

»» Watch»real-time»video»of»events»and»post»»a»response

»» Follow»information»trends»on»campus

Concept I

Campus information cloud



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Cumulus

Concept I

Campus information cloud: story

Tom is doing research in the university library and can’t find the information he needs. He gets frustrated and packs his things to leave. On his way out, he notices the Cumulus screen and stops to write out his question before he leaves.



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Concept I - Story

Campus information cloud: story

Professor Baker is researching a topic closely related to Tom’s, but works in a different department. He sees Tom’s question on another Cumulus screen and decides to answer. The Cumulus system notifies Tom about the answer, and he is able to finish his research. He keeps in touch with Professor Baker and becomes a research assistant later that year.



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Proactive linking

»» When»research»is»being»conducted»it’s»hard»to»know»what’s»available

»» Knowing»who»is»also»working»on»this»is»equally»difficult

»» Looking»for»local»faculty»with»the»correct»type»»of»expertise

»» Multiple»departments»tackling»similar»ideas»»but»isolated»by»departmental»barriers

Concept II

Research hub



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hub

Concept II - Story

Research hub: storyMark has spent various days researching a topic for a paper. He’s found too much literature to sort through and wants to discuss his ideas with someone who is also working in this area. When Mark downloads material from the Research Hub, the hub tells him who else is engaging that material. The hub can also point Mark to faculty within his university or at other universities.



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Gain control over information overload

»» Relevant,»filtered»information

»» Tangible:»people»can»interact»with»and»move»elements»around

»» Upcoming»events»are»highlighted

»» Self-updating:»old»information»fades»away

Concept III

Bright board



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brightboard

Linda is walking by the Bright Board. She is attracted by a live lecture. Linda uses the touchscreen to interact with the lecture, and finds a workshop next week. She sends the details to her online calendar.

Concept III- Story

Bright board: story



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Bulletin boards

»» Time-lapse»film»to»see»how»people»interact»with»bulletin»boards»on»campus

Research hub

»» Try»out»systems»that»currently»exist»online»(zotero,»for»example)

Possible Next Steps

Next: analyze current systems



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1. Collages (ways of visualizing experiences)

»» Visualize»current»experience»vs.»ideal»experience

»» Example:»“describe»your»current»experience»with»CMU»bulletin»boards,”»»and»“describe»your»ideal»experience»with»»CMU»bulletin»boards”»

Possible Next Steps

Next: participatory design



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2. Paper modeling»»(participants»use»components»to»come»up»with»a»concept)

»» Participants»visualize»what»their»ideal»research»hub»would»look»like

»» Participants»visualize»way»to»share»questions»and»interests»with»campus»community»(“Campus»Cloud”»concept)

Possible Next Steps

Next: participatory design



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»» Questions?

»» Comments?

20Ten final words

Thank you!

Education

20ten Concept Presentation