Week 5

Team Current had a productive week filled with research, meetings and a presentation. We got the opportunity to observe students at the Museu de Electricidade, speak with the President of MITI and present our progress to our peers and instructors.

Interview with Nuno Nunes

The Research Lead, Christyne, wrapped up the previous week by preparing for an interview with the president of MITI, Nuno Nunes. Christyne and the Tech Lead, James Budday, prepared for the interview by discussing the interview guide and reviewing the topics they wanted to cover with Nuno. The goal was to learn more about his experience with researching sustainable technology and behavior. He discussed how the energy industry is conservative and he informed us that he could get us in touch with relevant contacts. He also discussed the eco-feedback projects within MITI and how we could incorporate some of them into our project. He also suggested conducting cultural probes during our research process. Nuno offered plenty of valuable information and Team Current will discuss how they can incorporate this feedback into their research and design process.

Observation at the Museum

Team Current conducted their first exploratory observation at the museum on Wednesday morning. The team began observing a group of 11th grade students as the tour guide led them through the museum. James and Christyne focused on person-to-person interactions while Bria and Stephanie focused on person-exhibit interactions. We quickly debriefed after the observation and debriefed again the next day by conducting a casual affinity diagram. We learned which exhibits were the most interesting to the students and we discussed the teacher’s role in this context. We also discussed other museum visitors and how they interacted with the museum exhibits.

Quarter-Term Presentation

Team Current ended the week with a presentation that allowed us to share our progress thus far. Our Project Manager, Jessica, helped us prepare by providing a quick overview on presentation skills. Our Creative Lead, Bria Best, designed the PowerPoint.

During the presentation, we discussed our client, our roles, our research to date and our upcoming research. We received some feedback regarding our stakeholders and our challenges. We also received suggestions on museums that we could visit in Lisbon.

Stay tuned for an update on Week 6 about our visit to Lisbon and the Madeira Story Center!