The world has changed, and it isn’t going to stop. Technology has become and is continuing to be a vital and necessary part of our world. Almost everything we have and everything we do has some sort of technology attached to it and we seem to be living much fuller and perhaps optimised lives. But, with social technology only really coming about since the dawn of the internet. Where does this leave the generations who were born with a rattle in their hand instead of a 32GB, 4^rd generation, retina display iPod touch?

 

Something makes me think that the gaps between generations are getting bigger. I can remember visiting my grandparents not too long ago. As usual she was sitting on the same chair she has had since before I was born. I was on the other side of the room on my iPhone talking to 5 different people at the same time. When she looked up to me and said, “Get off that thing, your generation never talk to people anymore!” to which I replied “I am talking to 5 different people at the same time”, “that doesn’t count” she said. Maybe she had a point! That I was being rude by not talking to her, the person in the room.  However, it was her belief that my generation talks less than hers that surprised me. To her, a phone is for contacting one person at a time through speech. To me, it is for keeping up with my social life, communication to multiple people through voice, text and video chat. No wonder we both have different views on the social role of technology.

 

Now I realise I must not generalise. I’m not saying that there are not tech savvy old folk! I’m just saying that on average, elderly people know more about knitting than the ins and outs of TVs and computers. The rise of the “silver surfers” proves that there are an increasing number of elderly people willing to embrace the new generations most popular habit, the ‘web’. In an article about the NHS becoming more online based, BBC news reports “We have an increasingly web-savvy ageing population who use the health service regularly and have a strong interest in seeing it improve.” (BBC Editorial, 2012). Although there are these precious few exploring the internet, these people are still a very small part of the growing elderly generation. But why?

 

I was born in to the generation where computers were becoming mainstream. I still remember the noise of dial-up internet when I was 8 years old and being totally fascinated with it. My Granny’s reaction was fear; she thought she had “broken it”. I suppose it’s because my generation shaped what we know as modern technology, and todays generation have been born into a world where it is difficult for them to socialize without a computer. A study by the National Literacy Trust says “Children ‘more likely to own a mobile phone than a book’” (Paton, G. 2010). Is this a sign of things to come? I didn’t own a mobile phone until I was going into high school. Are children going to be born owning a mobile phone, playing Angry Birds instead of going out and running about like crazy for hours on end?

 

Perhaps it’s not the technology that is causing this social divide but more the way in which it is introduced to the public. Maybe it’s the marketing man that is responsible for elderly people being afraid of computers. One such example where a product has successfully been introduced into multiple generations is the Nintendo Wii. In the games console market there is a fierce battle between who will sell the most units, games and make the most money. Traditionally video games have been marketed toward young males with games that include high graphics, violence, guns and action. Nintendo decided to take a different approach with their “Touch! Generations” concept focusing more on family oriented game play using intuitive motion controls, simple clean interfaces and less about the graphics. This meant that it had a lower price than the competition and looked “friendlier”. Their plan worked perfectly and something happened that had never happened before. They “touched” more generations. Nintendo Wii’s were introduced into old folks homes to encourage the residents to get up off their chairs and play virtual bowling and tennis. The reason why this worked was that there were very little buttons to push and actions involved more intuitive movements e.g. a swing of the arm rolled a bowling ball or swung a tennis racket. An article from DailyTech announces “Nintendo console has officially gone geriatric“ (Yam, M. 2007). The article interviewed residents and got the response, “I’ve never been into video games, but this is addictive,” said 72-year-old Flora Dierbach. “They come in after dinner and play. Sometimes, on Saturday afternoons, their grandkids come play with them … a lot of grandparents are being taught by their grandkids. But, now, some grandparents are instead teaching their grandkids.”(Yam, M. 2007). This shows that technology can bridge the gap between generations, it can have a social role in helping us talk to people of all ages. Something that, without these carefully marketed products, would not have happened.

 

So with the proven potential that technology can have a socially positive role in the world, where does this leave us now? Is it responsible for websites such as Facebook to encourage young people to join them and use their network as a communication tool whilst forgetting about older more difficult to reach generations? My Granny recently bought my old iPhone and slowly has been texting me more and more due to the more traditional keyboard being similar to her typewriter. As a result I now communicate with her much more than I used to. Does this not show that given the chance elderly people will try to embrace new technology? If this is the case then do technology and developers of technology not have a social role and obligation to keep the gap between generations at a minimum? Is it not possible that in the future you could see grandparents and grandchildren alike enjoying new and exciting technology, on the same road, experiencing the same journey? The future is digital, and it is for us all!

 

References:

 

BBC Editorial. (2012). ‘Silver surfers’ should be listened to. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17056861. Last accessed 21 Apr 2013.

 

Paton, G. (2010). Children ‘more likely to own a mobile phone than a book’. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7763811/Children-more-likely-to-own-a-mobile-phone-than-a-book.html. Last accessed 21 Apr 2013.

 

Yam, M. (2007). Children ‘more likely to own a mobile phone than a book’. Available: http://www.dailytech.com/Wii+Invades+Retirement+Home/article6191.htm. Last accessed 21 Apr 2013.

Today we met up in the media labs and I sent the group the work that had been working on over the last few weeks. Martina worked on the presentation side and Lauren wrote up text so we could work out what to say. Then I compiled the videos onto iMovie and we all worked together to decide what clips we needed. I had to re-export my after effects clips as they were too large and the computer could not keep up with the resolution of them. I then also inserted them into iMovie and Martina make the title graphics and captions whilst we worked out what text to put in them. Background music was chosen and and slight transitions were added to the videos and captions. Then final video was then exported. Hurray!!

I believe that we worked really well as a group. We all had our own skills and we each delegated tasks based on them. In terms of what i learned, after effects was a bit learning curve. Yes, maybe i did take on more than I should have but with lots of hard work and research I feel I have good knowledge of a very useful program that I’m sure will use again. In the end I think we have a really great video because of an interesting concept and great branding. This has defiantly been a good project!

 

For the concept video we need to use everything we have researched and leaned in the last few months to create a 2 min concept video which shows how the prototype works in a real world environment. I did some research and it seemed that the only way to achieve what we wanted was to learn Adobe After Effects. I offered to research and make the scenes that would require visual effects, not realising what an undertaking this was.

Over the next few weeks I worked on after effects to create the glass like effects needed for the video. I continued to follow YouTube tutorials which have proven very helpful and found quicker and more effective ways of rotoscoping which I now realise was a huge undertaking but seems to be paying off. The group have seen the video in which I have replaced a poster with one that Martina designed and they seem to be very pleased with it because it looks quite realistic.

 

Recently we have been working on the app that the user would use to connect with their partner and share data with them through the glass screens. I also made a crude prototype website that would allow the user to experience the types of functionality that they would on the glass screens. Together with these, we went back to the McManus but this time went to a room where we were met by employees of the museum. We showed them the website and the phone app and recorded their reaction through a video camera. We then used these clips and what we learned from them to make a small video with the questions we asked them and the answers they gave to allow us to spot weaknesses in the concept. We realised that resizing text was an important aspect for people as without it groups such as the elderly, would not be able to use the app. We made the video in iMovie with a mixture of recorded footage and still cards with the questions on them to separate clips. We then presented this to the class and received useful feedback.

 

Today we combined 3 groups into one to discuss our ideas and how we should develop them. We got some good advice about what to focus on and he seemed to like the fact that we had lots of details about what exhibit we would focus on and what the main features we should focus on in our mockup would be. We then got to hear about the other groups projects which was quite interesting because we were able to learn about what they were thinking and relate some ideas to our own. I particularly liked Ioana’s idea of the longer that you stand at an exhibit the footsteps would change colour.

 

By using the research and advice we were given over the last few weeks we decided on a concept that we call NoteMap

The main aim of note map is to allow a couple to discover new things in museums but also have the ability to contact their other member easily and have them discover something that they may not thought they were interested in before. To help focus our ideas we were asked to produce a storyboard and a wireframe.

The storyboard above shows that the couple enters the museum, downloads the app and connects phones by simply “bumping” them together. They then move on to discover exhibits in their own time. They are able to swipe information of interest onto their device and post notes to their partner by swiping them onto the screen. The partner then gets a notification and a map to where the note has been placed, they then walk over to the exibit where the glass cabinet turns into a display that shows information and the note. When they leave they can then compare notes and review information.

This wireframe indicates how the phone interface and the virtual glass interface will work, showing the features of the program and how you would enter each part of the app.

 

 

A lot has happened over the last few weeks. We were asked to go on a kind of “speed dating” session which involved taking our insight cards and using them to brainstorm with other members of the class, then move onto another person with another set of cards. This allowed us to come up with lots of different ideas to aid us in creating a concept.

At the end of the session we were told to pick our favourite idea and permanently group up with the person and then develop our idea further. I grouped up with Martina and later, Lauren joined us. We decided that an interesting idea would be to try to tackle the problem of couples not being able to have a fully rich experience as they are too easily pulled away by their partner who does not have a specific interest in the same thing you do.

More to follow…

For this semester we were given the brief:

 The year is 2023 and the McManus gallery, Dundee is reopening after being given a facelift to exploit the latest developments in display technology. All the outdated rectangular lcd screens have now been removed and every surface in the building is now capable of behaving like a screen. Your brief is to design an experience prototype that helps increase engagement across the visitor experience utilising this new technology. the prototype must function between multiple display scales from small personal devices to large public displays. The design concept should focus on a user group of couples visiting the museum at the same time. The design concept must be grounded in detailed ethnographic observations of the museum context and visitor behaviour.

 

To being, we were given a group of two or three of the class to set off and go to  the mcmanus gallery in Dundee to observe the actions and behaviour of the visitors for research later in the project. When we got back we compiled these notes into three main “insights” to then turn into insight cards

The first card, entitled Legibility focuses on how easy it is to read the signage and navigate from it. It reads:

The McManus fails to display information on exhibits in a way that is legible to all members of the public. This is particularly apparent with the older generation, who strained to see much of the information the plaques regarding the exhibits. This hugely impacts their enjoyment of the museum, as they may have difficulty accessing all of the information that they desire

The second entitled, Engaging Senses came about after seeing a group of adults with learning difficulties who were frustrated by the lack of sensory entertainment and exhibits available. We realised that simply looking at information isn’t enough these days. The card reads:

In the McManus there is not a lot of interaction between people and objects. Out of peoples senses, the only one that was active with all the exhibits was that of sight. To explore new objects people want to see, hear, feel, smell and sometimes even taste. Without being able to do these things people have an incomplete experience of the museum.

 

The final card focuses on the layout of the museum itself. We decided that the building wasn’t laid out in a way that has a beginning and an end. There is no path to allow an optimal visit, with the visitor easily viewing everything there is to offer. Instead they are forced to “stumble” upon rooms. The card reads:

At The McManus there is no immediate path to pass through each of the rooms, and no directional signage. This resulted in us returning to many of the same rooms again and again unintentionally. This creates a disjointed and somewhat confusing user experience of the museum

 

 

Well it has been a while since my last post but so so much has happened! We now have a working site with most of the features functional. Craig has really taken to the php side and I have learned so much about css (I dont even use design view on Dreamweaver anymore!) and chloe is doing well on the sql. We all seem to

be preforming really well. We now have a user profile page, home page, and login page with the ability to

add users and have posts for each user. I also think the whole look and feel of the page is stunning. The main presentation for the site is on monday and I feel like we have a concept that has developed into a really meaningful and relevant social network site. We do have a few things to optimise and add such as the upload menu bar that I have been battling with but im sure with a little more work we will complete everything.

 

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