reVu
A study to increase depth-of-processing
Note: This article is the an overview of the reVu project that was designed and prototyped as an experiment into how common design principles can be used in education. To view the entire project, click here.
Problem & Objective
There are many different e-learning resources for students and professors but each tool focuses on different styles or methods of teaching. While these methods have their benefits, a hybrid environment would have a more positive experience on a student’s studying experience. Once created, this hybrid can and should be used to optimize student understanding in and out of the classroom. This project will be used to experiment how basic design principles can not only enhance educational resources, but create the hybrid environment by combining teaching methods in an attempt to increase the overall depth of processing and long-term memory by college-aged students.
By enhancing traditional teaching and studying styles with the principles below, I believe that the app I am designing will create an environment where students are more motivated to study, which will result in better understanding of concepts and the long-term memory of that information.
Hypothesis & Principles
Chunking: The concept of chunking information into 3–6 modules has been proven to accomplish my objectives. For this reason, the app will be structured as such. It will also create consistency with current e-learning environments, such as Canvas.
Gamification: The implementation of games, flashcards, tests, and badges will increase student engagement in the studying experience by providing an interactive way to learn or study the content that accompanies the game elements.
Visual Weight: Visual weight will be used to “exert force” and draw attention to the most important information within the modules. This content will typically be related to specific objectives and/or test questions
Findings & Feedback
After designing and prototyping an app that reflected the “best practices” for the principles I had chosen and researched, I was able to do a basic demonstration and explanation of the app to my target audience. I found that they really liked the concept of earning coins to purchase materials, and that they would use the app to study. However, a survey I conducted at the end of my experiment provided different results than I had hoped to accomplish. Through my survey, I found that similar to my app design, people find videos and text as the most valuable studying resources. However, I had also placed a lot of emphasis on practice tests, but learned that students care more about the flashcards than a test. The survey also proved that while I had hoped and researched how visual weight would draw attention to specific pieces of information, the way it was designed in the app didn’t make a difference in whether they understood the information
