Proposal - deco3500-2018/TeamTeamyTeam GitHub Wiki

Introduction, Domain & Problem Space

Social media has impacted society heavily with its rapid expansion and integration into daily life. There are currently around 3.196 Billion people registered to some form of social media (Kemp, 2018). Facebook, currently being largest and most heavily used platform has 70% of users logging in daily (Palmer, 2015). Social media has revolutionized the way that we communicate and share our experiences. However, because it is such a recent development, people are still very unaware of the impact it can have on younger generations. There is a lack of understanding around the permanence of a digital footprint and the overall impact it can have on mental health and safety. Messages, posts and images can be downloaded, saved, forwarded to other people, or uploaded to other sites. Even if the if the content has been deleted or removed, the digital footprint remains, putting users a great risk of cyberbullying and/or influencing a user’s reputation in the future (Chadwick, 2014). It has been found that children (aged 5-12) can be technically clever online, but lack an understanding of the possible implications of their actions, especially regarding issues such as security, privacy settings, predators, abuse, and bullying. Safety issues are a big concern when it comes to youth on social media, especially since it is nearly impossible for most people to be completely anonymous online (Buchanan, 2016). Therefore it is crucial to educate on the immediacy and longevity of digital content. The system being created hopes to motivate change towards a healthier relationship with social media, through educating children on its benefits and risks in a safe, interactive environment.

Our project aims to educate children on appropriate online behaviours through empowering teachers to immerse themselves in their students’ social technologies. Utilising the domain, “Motivating Change”, the team wants to create a collaborative, interactive space that encourages children to have healthy relationships with social media. Our project does this by introducing social media in a controlled environment before the kids have a chance to join widely unmonitored social media platforms. We hope to achieve this with tangible computing and social technologies. This technology will not be designed to be mobile, but rather specific to the classroom, as this will encourage students to understand the importance of having a time and place for social media. Because we are targeting young children, around the ages 7-10, we wanted to combine some tangible elements to encourage interaction. This age range was selected after research established that the usual age range for kids starting to use technology was around 10 to 12 (Longfield, 2018). The platform will allow teachers to monitor the behaviour of the students, who can upload tasks and questions for the class to respond to.

Design Opportunity / Concept

Most social media platforms have a minimum age limit of 13, however, research conducted by the U.K. Children’s Commissioner shows a growing number of children under the age of 13 are using social media, with 3 in 4 children aged 10-12 having their own accounts (Longfield, 2018). As identified in our introduction social media has an impact our daily life, consequently this is influencing our mental well-being. Social media platforms can have both a positive and negative impact on the mental well being of students, it has been proven that healthy interactions with social media consistently result in positive emotional outcomes (Suphan & Mierzejewska, 2015). It has clearly been identified that social media use impacts our well-being, for better or for worse, this reinforces the need for children to learn how to responsibly interact with social media at an early age to foster positive interactions. Our project will address the issues through intervening at an early age motivating change about how we perceive social media through empowering teachers and students to engage in discourse about social media and its impact.

The project aims to produce a collaborative space creating awareness and providing education around social media use, enabling teachers to guide students about the benefits of social media if used correctly. This will provide children with a better understanding of issues surrounding social media such as: Permanence of digital footprint, Cyberbullying & Anonymity and help them understand what is appropriate online behaviour. There are reports that social media can lead to depression, envy, decreased self-esteem and risky behavior. However, there are also reports that social media is an important medium for adolescent self-expression, communication and peer feedback (Argo & Lowery, 2017). The target audience are children in conventional classrooms that are under 10 years old, as research suggest ¾ of 10-12 year olds are on social media (Longfied, 2018) . The technology will assume that users have no experience with social media thus, design considerations will be made to allow users to learn as they interact with the project.

The solution can provide a more appropriate method of content delivery as children are motivated to learn through play (Robertson, Morrissey, & Rouse, 2018) thus, allowing them to interact with a system will innovate the current learning methods. It is essential that the current curriculum is integrated into the system as it is has been designed by experts in learning at the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The project does not aim to change what children learn instead it looks to address a new way to deliver content that will provide students with passive learning about social media and its impacts through a controlled environment. We will work closely with teachers, gathering qualitative data around how to integrate the solution into the classroom.

To foster this learning environment, the project will take design cues from tangible computing practises. This will provide children with physical affordances catered to their lack of experience with social software, specifically social networking. This approach is effective because children are more engaged in learning that provides hands-on experience (Chen, 2017). Social Software was termed by Clay Shrinky (2002) as: “all uses of software that supported interacting groups, even if the interaction was offline.” Social software has become commonplace in our daily lives not just through the means of Social Media platforms but also through the way we collaborate. The project will provide the students with experience in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) which has become standard in our interconnected society. The project will aim to provide teachers with the ability to introduce the benefits of CSCW & Social Software to foster positive interactions and experiences.

Concepts of Ubiquitous Computing should be applied to the project as it will enable the tangible computing aspects to take form in a much more native format in regards to the environment. This allows for CSCW in a non-invasive format, existing examples such as the SMART Whiteboards have already been installed in over 250,000 classrooms (Maingat, 2006). The SMART whiteboard was adopted early with majority of purchases from 2005-2006 because there is a desire for this form of technology however, the design flaws and poor interaction design made it difficult for schools to justify the hefty price tag associated with the products. Similarly there are plenty of existing child friendly social media platforms such as: Kidzworld, Grom Social, Club Penguin etc. however, again these systems are not perfect solutions. They are online meaning fully open to the public, this is concerning because the monitoring is mostly automated which is not an ideal solution as automation can be worked around. This means that often the children’s social networks are no safer than the existing social networks.

Our system will take design cues from these existing solutions however will look to innovate the space mitigating pitfalls. We will be designing software that is completely disconnected from the online social media environment and is to be monitored by teaching staff. This allows for a nurturing introduction to the online environment and means teachers have the opportunity to discuss topics such as cyberbullying, anonymity and permanence of digital footprint before kids are met with the sometimes harsh reality of Social Media. It provides kids with the opportunity to learn healthy habits with regards to social media through the empowerment of teachers. The project will however primarily be an educational tool that blends into the schools ecosystem as we are not trying to disrupt the classroom.

Plan of Work

Table 1: Timeline of work breakdown.

Milestone	Week	Description
Team Charter	6	Deliverable
Design of interviews	6	Interviews will be targeted towards primary school teachers to find out how collaborative communication technology could be best incorporated into the classroom.
Proposal Document	6 & 7	Deliverable
Conducting Interviews	7	Conducting the designed interviews by organising with primary schools or contacting known teachers.
Observations	8	Observations focussed on the behaviour of young students in a teaching environment, and their response to teaching techniques.
Low fidelity prototyping	8	Low fidelity paper prototypes created based on research into the problem space, as well as requirements gathered in interviews and observations.
Stand-up	9	At this stage, a solid concept should be formed with valid justifications for design decisions.
User testing	9	User testing conducted with primary school teachers and students to gain feedback on the low fidelity prototypes
Development	9 & 10	Creating a high fidelity prototype based on the feedback from user testing
Stand up	11	At this stage, we should have a proof of concept prototype ready for evaluation from users.
User testing	11	User testing the proof of concept prototype with teachers and students to evaluate its success.
Promotional materials	11 & 12	Creation of promotional materials for the showcase, including posters, a video and/or website.
Iterating prototype	12	Final changes to the prototype, based on user testing, before showcase.
Showcase of final prototype	13	Deliverable

Team

Zoe:

My strongest areas are designing, building physical prototypes and developing and analysing user research. Some of the areas I really struggle in is coding, however if necessary I would be willing to try and help the team with this area. In this subject I hope to developing some of my design and building skills, as well as finding some interesting research about the particular topic we have chosen.

Kate:

My strengths, in the context of this project, are in user testing, researching and designing. I enjoy, and feel that I’m pretty good at, gaining meaningful information from users and applying that to design iteration. I am also skilled in creating promotional material, such as posters, websites and videos, so can contribute to this aspect of the project. While I do have an understanding of programming, I would consider this my weakness as I’m often limited with what I can create based on my abilities. Through working on the project, I hope to become more skilled at creating a product suited to the needs of the end user. Since I, nor our peers, would not be potential users in this space, I have no biases in how the system is used. I’m hoping to learn from the target users (teachers and primary school students) and work with their needs to create something that is useful to them.

Max:

My strengths relevant to the project include User Experience design, and graphic design including branding for the system (logo, poster etc.). I’m not super confident in programming languages other than HTML, CSS, and JS, but should be able to learn and handle other languages for the benefit of the project. In this course, I hope to achieve a working prototype for a system that has gone through several design cycles/iterations and fulfills the purpose outlined in the proposal.

Aiden:

Much like my team members, I have a strong focus towards User Experience design. I am a confident communicator which makes user testing and interviewing a strong suit of mine. My critical thinking makes me effective in developing and iterating low fidelity prototypes, I can effectively interrogate user testing results to identify issues in design. I have ample programming skills with majority experience in C# and common HTML stacks, however, lack the finesse required of polished products. I hope to build upon my established design skills adapting from minimalist design to something that will appeal to the younger target audience. I will assist in ensuring that the team is confident with our prototype through encouraging regular discussion enabling our focus to be specified on design insights that drive the project to improve.



SCORE Analysis

Strengths (Team and Concept):

Design Experience: Each member of the team is majoring in either UX Design or Multimedia Design, and is comfortable with a wide range of design tasks and problems. Across the team we have experience with PhysComp and Digital Prototyping courses, which are closely related to the design aspects of Social & Mobile Computing.

Familiarity and Attitude: The team is familiar with each other; each of us have successfully worked with each other on both currently active and previously completed projects. We also have a positive attitude towards the course and coursework, and there is a mutual excitement in regards to developing the proposed concept.

Access: The team has decent access to user groups, and a willingness to organise meetings or interview sessions with teachers (one of the two primary user groups). We also have access to a workshop and tools for any physical construction that may be required.

Challenges (Team and Concept):

Restricted Fields: Being all UX or Multimedia designers could also present one of the biggest challenges. The team is relatively weak in regards to programming, and all generally share the same level of skill in this area. This could make programming tasks difficult, and also hard to delegate in terms of skill level. It’s likely that no member will be enthusiastic about these tasks.

Users: While one of our two user groups are primary school teachers, the other one is the children that would actually be using this technology in the classroom. Interviewing and user testing with children could present big challenges in many ways. Not only is it challenging to keep young children on task and providing valuable feedback/information, but organising user testing with children in the classroom could be almost impossible as parental consent would be required and class would be disrupted even for a fast testing session.

Resistance to Concept: We’re aware that despite the positive outcomes that we’re hoping to achieve with this proposal, there is the potential for resistance to the core concept of “social media/technology in the classroom”.

Concept: There are certain challenging elements of the concept that could prove difficult to solve. This includes the physicality of the system (do we limit the proposal to classrooms with iPads? Do we limit the system to one central device?), and striking the balance between using the system to incentivize classwork and using the system so much that it becomes distracting/the sole focus of the classwork.

Options (Opportunities and Risks):

Concept: With the concept, there is a great opportunity to heavily incentivize effective learning and quality classwork in a way that the young students of today understand and respond to. We can also design a system that prepares children for the inevitability of social media, teaching them how to use it correctly and safely. While there is the potential for very positive outcomes from the concept, there is also the risk of designing something non-beneficial. The system design has to be just right; if it’s too engaging then it becomes a distraction and negates the influence of the teacher and the purpose of the system. However, too “educational” or un-engaging and children may not even want to interact with the system, again negating the purpose of the system.

Workload/Approach/Team: There is the opportunity to reinforce good team dynamics, have a positive experience and learn more about teamwork, delegation, and the balance of responsibility. Also, there is the opportunity to produce a working prototype to test the effectiveness of the concept and similar designs, gaining insight on the advancement of technology in education and the use of social technology in the lives of young people. At the same time, there is the risk of unfairly delegating teamwork/being unfairly delegated to, mix-ups, confusion, letting down/being let down, and all of the other negative possibilities in teamwork. Also, there is the risk of gaining irrelevant information from the children that form half of our user base while user testing or interviewing (if these are even possible). How to sort the bad information from the good? There is the risk of incorporating this bad information into the concept.

Responses:

Positive: Teachers could respond well to a system that helps children behave and incentivises better work. Parents could respond well to a system that teaches their children how to stay safe on social media. Children should respond well to an engaging design that rewards good work.

Negative: There is the potential for major resistance to the concept of social technology in the classroom, even with the positive goals and effects. It could be seen as a distraction, a waste of resources, a degradation of the station and influence of the teacher in the classroom, and even an invasion of privacy without the correct understanding/context of the system.

Effectiveness Evaluation:

The design work for project should be generally effective and of a high quality, based on the predominant skills of the team. This includes wireframes, branding, UX design, etc. Any programming should be doable, but may require a concerted team effort in some instances, drawing resources away from other aspects. Leveraging the power of tools like Unity and appropriate plugins may play a large role here. Also, the physical elements of the design may be fairly challenging to prototype, and access to relevant technology may play a role in the efficiency of the process.

The access to teachers makes that side of the project accessible and researchable, but the probably lack of ability to interview children and test the project in a classroom environment could result in one-sided research and generally less effective product. Finding ways to counteract this imbalance is of a high priority.

Overall, the problem area is engaging and has the potential to be rewarding. The concept itself seems to be appropriate for this area, and integration of the concept into the existing education/classroom system has been identified a serious design consideration. The team is excited about the positive aspects of the project, and the negative aspects have been identified in the SCORE as considerations for moving forwards, and can hopefully be designed for and overcome.

References

Argo, T., Lowery, L. (2017) The Effects of Social Media on Adolescent Health and Well-Being. Journal of Adolescent Health V60 (pp. S75-S76) Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X16307273

Buchanan, R. (2016). Digital footprint of children: latest research on the issues and implications. Retrieved from https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=1938

Chadwick, S. (2014). Impacts of Cyberbullying, Building Social and Emotional Resilience in Schools. Springer Science & Business Media.

Chen, C (2017) Hands-on Learning Benefits. Retrieved from https://demmelearning.com/learning-blog/hands-on-learning-benefits/

Kemp, S. (2018). Digital in 2018: World’s internet users pass the 4 billion mark - We Are Social UK. Retrieved from https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018

Longfield, A - U.K Children's Commissioner. (2018). Life in Likes. Retrieved from https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/publication/life-in-likes/

Maingat, M (2006) More than 250,000 classrooms now equipped with SMART Board interactive whiteboards. Retrieved from https://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/more-than-250-000-classrooms-now-equipped-with-smart-board-interactive-whiteboards-472906

Palmer, M. (2015). How social media sites compare as advertising platforms. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/91a471be-ea87-11e4-96ec-00144feab7de?segmentid=acee4131-99c2-09d3-a635-873e61754ec6

Robertson, N., Morrissey, A., & Rouse, E. (2018). Play-based learning can set your child up for success at school and beyond. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/play-based-learning-can-set-your-child-up-for-success-at-school-and-beyond-91393

Suphan, A., & Mierzejewska, B. (2015). Happy Online and in Real Life Too?: How Social Media Interactions Affect Real Life Well-being of Students in the U.S. And Germany. In Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Social Media & Society (pp. 8:1–8:8). New York, NY, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2789187.2789189