Posts

QoR Synopsis

  My main approach for this module was use of the library as at the beginning of the module I lacked confidence in my ability to find research material given how little I used it during my undergraduate degree. I used this module as an opportunity to strengthen my research skills to find relevant books and journals. Additionally, I used lecture notes as a reminder of what was said during each lecture and my personal main takeaways. I found the lecture time to be really stimulating for my focus and some of my best ideas/thoughts originated whilst sat listening to presentations and discussions. I didn’t use a sketchbook much, only a few times throughout the project but when I did, I used it for visual development as well as a way to understand my thoughts in a visual manner. I found it useful for mind mapping and ‘play’ purposes, which is how I developed my idea both conceptually and as a visual outcome. Initially the most challenging aspect of the module for me was understanding the...
Post a Comment
Read more

How can materiality enhance the user experience in your own practice?

  As a creative practitioner with a keen interest in education and communication, I have found through my research that materiality and creative thinking can help to create an inclusive and engaging piece of learning material.  Originally, I set out to answer the question of whether or not physical elements of design can help increase engagement and focus with learning for individuals like myself who have an attention deficit disorder or dyslexia. I wanted to explore the idea of ‘levelling the playing field’ between those who fit into the ideal learning style for school settings and those who do not. As someone who struggled throughout school and was not seen as overly intellectual/intelligent until I reached university, I wanted to look into ways of communicating visually.  As my research progressed, it became clear that the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on individuals with learning disabilities but rather an inclusive way of educating for all! Fairly early on I had the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Constructing the presentation, through the use of materiality

Image
 I was always going to use some form of hand rendered design to construct the presentation because of what the project was! I just didn't quite know what that element was going to be or how it was going to look. Following on from the watermark design I wanted to create something along those sorts of lines, communicating throughout the presentation that it was about inclusion but in a way that didn't take away from the information on the slides. I started with ink, edited and randomly placed within the space with a low capacity: Just didn't quite feel right to have such an intense font alongside an laready quite intense background, in terms of the solid lines of the words. However, using a softer font took away from the legibility so it was clear there needed to be a more even ratio of hand rendered to digitial... Watercolour! Softer lines and softer colour without editing, I just didn't know exactly where to go with it. At the time, I was planning the content of each sl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Developing a visual response

Image
 Whilst it may not be a requirement of the unit to produce a creative outcome, I still wanted to at least start to visualise the concept I've grown throughout this project if nothing else for my own clarity. Throughout the project I've mentioned this concept of a 'mini scavenger hunt' and collected ideas for interactive and engaging means of education (activities) that could be included. I wanted to find as many ideas as I could that would relate to the different learning styles, to create an inclusive piece of learning material.  I didn't manage to come up with quite as many ideas as I had hoped for but nonetheless there is quite a large selection of both activities and outcomes for the information gathered to be presented through. I started to make a few connections through the activities as well, that link to the idea of the information gap. There are a number of activities that link to the information gap here, such as the QR code poster, the quiz and riddle, to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning style test & Active learning (what is it?)

Image
 Whilst I knew learning style tests existed, I don't think I've ever actually taken one... so I did - 10 questions to figure out how I learn best! Quick and easy. I'm not sure if it is actually meant to be that short but said 10 questions covered the main areas of learning (reading ability, methods used to remember information etc.) https://arden.ac.uk/what-type-learner-are-you Having recently been tested and diagnosed with dyslexia, I already knew this (and became increasingly obvious throughout uni anyway) but had I taken a similar test when I was younger and actually taken the time to stop and think about why I was actually struggling. I of course can't, as a designer, produce a learning style test nor do I think it would be particularly helpful anyway but it's good context to look into. Having read into learning styles, it's a bit overwhelming seeing just how many theories there are over different learning styles and preferred methods for learning but it wou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Further research and thoughts on education & inclusion

Image
 Following on from reading the ways of learning, I wanted to expand my knowledge and gain some more ideas/thoughts and given that the entire concept of this project is surrounding inclusion and 'levelling the playing field', the title 'Learning Styles and Inclusion' seemed liked a good place to gain some insights. Whilst there were a few useful insights, a large majority of the (much thicker) book had either already been covered in the previous book, was purely noting studies that didn't seem all that relevant now, without much in the way of analysis or was just too broad for this project. Of course it's good to gain as much info as I can but as I'm not a teacher and will have no control over the environment which any learning materials I may/could produce would be used within, reading in depth into how to create an effective learning environment or similar isn't helpful. My notes and photos are as follows: Mainly just quotes that stuck out to me. The fi...
Post a Comment
Read more