Bloomington has a growing awareness of how Web 2.0 can be used to create community, promote business, and share resources. With access to news still constrained by the timing of events, I think Twitter just showed it’s value as a catalyst for the spread of information … at least to those making use of the channel.
Where is the power in design?
Even in the best of classrooms, decisions are severely constrained. You are assigned seats, follow a dictated schedule, work independently, talk at prescribed times, and compute known solutions. As class sizes grew, so did the level of control exercised by the teachers. Typical students lack the power to make decisions. This is not because they are not capable but because the teacher hasn’t first given up her power. Applied to interaction design, this issue of power affects both the user and the designer.
Nitpicking Jurasic Park
Carter wandered into the kitchen this morning, eager to tell me about his night with Daddy. Carter: Daddy told me the Jurrasic Park story last night but he’s not very good on the dinosaurs. Me: Umm- he didn’t actually write the story, he’s just retelling it. Carter: Well, he wasn’t very good with the dinosaurs [...]
Building sustainability through design
Sustainability is a hot topic. Partial credit goes to Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that preceded the movie. In the world of human-computer interaction, designers are now thinking deeply about the consequences of their creations. Last spring, IU School of Informatics professor Eli Blevis presented his research paper—”Sustainable Interaction Design: Invention & Disposal, Renewal & Reuse“— to the international CHI community in San Jose, California. This seminal work jump-started formal research about how design and sustainability are related.
I am 92% Dennis Kucinich
National politics is depressing, and it has been for a while. My expectations for what a liberal candidate should be like have been lowered again and again, occasionally finding glimmers like Paul Simon and Paul Tsongas. The Change.org candidate selector confirmed what I already knew: Dennis Kucinich is the best match for me.
Passionate Users
Passion is the driving energy that powers people through problem solving, experimentation, and creative expression. Each learner has her own path and threshold to passion based on figuring out what matters deeply to her. In education, this is particularly important. Passionate people are more tolerant of failure, more willing to struggle while learning new skills, and take great pleasure in refining technique. Design has two incarnations, the process and the object, and passion is evident in both.
Blog World Expo
The Blog World Expo is taking place on November 8th & 9th in Las Vegas. The list of speakers is impressive and would be worth the $75 if Vegas was within walking distance. The nice thing about missing a conference on blogging is that there is sure to be some blog posts about it.