The way the semester’s work was structured, we worked on smaller segmented explorations which lead to the final piece of interaction leading to learning. Depending on how we worked during the semester, we each ended with a complete project or with various smaller projects. In my case, I redesigned the earlier explorations to make them fit under the same umbrella. I realize that it is hard to understand what I did without undergoing the user interactions, but here I made some screenshots of the overall system which show the general aesthetics and parts.
After spending some time with the community and the information derived from the concept map, it was the moment to understand how to define an exchange of information between some of the members. This insight lead to a crucial part of the semester’s design work.
My concept map of undergraduate students engaged in software learning.
As each of us began to research into our chosen communities, Meredith and Amber introduced us to concept mapping. We read Joseph Novak, D. Bob Gowin and Hugh Dubberly, all proponents of using this strategy as a mean to create understanding between members engaged in performing a common task.
In order to carry out the projects of the semester, we were advised to select a group or community with which we would want to work all semester long. Since I am currently a co-instructor at the sophomore level of the undergraduate program, I am particularly interested in the student’s software learning curve. Illustrated here is the charter that I devised after spending some time trying to understand this group. I found it interesting that one could look at the group solely based on the physical interactions between the members or take their online interactions into account and experience a completely different audience.
This semester is about learning communities. It’s about using interaction to bring together a group of people performing a common task.
To kick start the creative insights and interactive explorations, Meredith invited the design anthropologist Elizabeth —Dori— Tunstall to make a presentation on her work on communitas. As part of her visit, we had to select an online community that we thought could be analyzed thru the lens of the various aspects of what makes up a communitas: historical consciousness, life goals, organizational structure, agency and relationships. I chose facebook, and what follows is my study of some of the key features which bring the community together.
Armando Rigau currently pursues a Master in Architecture I at Cornell University. He received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy with History and Spanish minors from Georgetown University.
