Project Overview — “Launch”
An Interactive Learning Workplace
We’d love to share with you our design case of building an interactive learning workplace. Let’s start with a high-level overview :-)
Problem Statement
We conducted solid researches on currently existing tools for interactive learning workspace, from technology-orientated to learning-centered, from low-tech to high-tech, we regard our product lays in the upper right corner.
The question we were trying to answer is how might we create a technical solution which is non-distracting and easy-to-use for students to better manage their project and document their work, aligned with the learning goals in a PBL course?
Concept statement
The solution we came up is a workplace with interactive whiteboards and tables, together with an online collaboration platform which can:
- Save students’ creative work like sketches and notes
- Provide enriched information to help them create prototypes
- Document students’ work process with pictures, audio, and video
- Organize their work artifacts and share them with the instructor
Vision Statement
We believe that introducing an interactive learning workspace to the classroom will allow students to develop documentation and project management skills, and allow the instructor to better assess and refer to the students’ work.
Design Process
Learning Outcome Indicators
We are expecting our product to assist students in better learning procedural skills (documentation skill + project management skill) and developing dispositions (ownership + social awareness).
Documentation Skill
Our product can help students learn visual documentation and develop documentation strategy.
With the screenshot, picture and video button on the bottom, students can make motion media, still photography, and audio recording of technical and nontechnical events while they occur, thus conducting visual documentation.
For the same type of work, they have the freedom to choose what kind of documentation they want, e.g. deciding whether to take a video or picture. As a result, they can develop their own documentation strategy.
Project Management Skill
Our focus is to teach students scheduling and time management skills.
With the Project Timeline function embedded, students can create their own Check Point to share with the instructors and group members. They can also add folders along the process. In this way, they need to consider what is the best way to schedule their project process. Instructors can look into the checkpoints to see whether students are making reasonable ones.
Ownership
Taking ownership is not just finishing a task, or working on a project; it means making it your mission to see it through. We want our product to help students develop this sense and take ownership of their own product.
For each team’s product, they will have this collaboration workspace where has each team members’ name and their project brief description. By having this place, students can see this project through in just one place.
Social Awareness
By using our product, students can better showcase their work to the community.
