Best education apps for 2007
Tech Crunch links to Larry Ferlazzo post on top education startups of 2007. Cool stuff.
Permalink | Thursday, December 27, 2007
Taare Zameen Par
I don't usually watch hindi movies, let alone blog about them, but this one is unique. Taare Zameen Par, which translates to "stars on the ground" is a story about a slow learner, a dyslexic child, living in modern India. Actor/director Aamir Khan nicely portrays the web of ignorance around the mainstream Indian parents and their obsession with "toppers" and high scorers and the Indian education system, which strives to satisfy this obsession by way of rote and punishment. Caught in this web is a child who can't seem to understand why he can't fit in. Catch this movie if you can, you won't regret it.
Permalink | Monday, December 24, 2007
Two talks on learning & technolgy
Seb Schmoller links to Dylan Wiliam, Deputy Director of the Institute of Education talking about learning with technology and Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google, talking about learning in teams. Notes, slides and MP3 recordings are available. [via David Weinberger]
Permalink | Sunday, December 23, 2007
Sketchboards
Brandon Schauer from Adaptive Path has written an article on another low-fidelity idea generating tool that he calls the "sketchboard".
"The sketchboard is a low-fi technique that makes it possible for designers to explore and evaluate a range of interaction concepts while involving both business and technology partners. Unlike the process that results from wireframe-based design, the sketchboard quickly performs iterations on many possible solutions and then singles out the best user experience to document and build upon."
Permalink | Thursday, December 20, 2007
Ostensive definition
Was listening to the Gary Klein conversation and came across a word he used - ostensive definition. Looked up Wikipedia and this is what it means:
"An ostensive definition conveys the meaning of a term by pointing out examples. This type of definition is often used where the term is difficult to define verbally, either because the words will not be understood (as with children and new speakers of a language) or because of the nature of the term (such as colors or sensations)."
Gary was talking about the fuzziness of words when trying to explain matters. Sometimes with only words, the true picture does not get communicated. Using concrete examples of action or behavior gets the message across much more effectively.
Permalink | Sunday, December 16, 2007
Blog on KM & intranets
Simon Goh is going through a major knowledge management project and is blogging his about his experiences. He has a post on preparing content for the intranet when you have a large pool of contributors. Good points. [Disclosure: we worked on the project together.]
Permalink | Saturday, December 15, 2007
10 Ways To Get Design Approval
Paul Boag gives us 10 ways to ensure that our designs get the sign off. A client I'm currently working with reminded me that is not enough to do research on users but to also understand and discover the real needs and wants of the stakeholders. I think this point, which Paul also lists down, is one that can tip the balance one way or the other.
Permalink | Friday, December 14, 2007
Typographic Contrast and Flow
Looking at styling your text? Nick La gives you a whirlwind tour of what goes into styling type. Short and sweet.
Permalink | Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Infographics: being and doing
Venkatesh Rajamanickam has written 2 articles on infographics. Part I is about defining infographics and Part 2 is about creating infographics. Wonderful stuff.
Permalink | Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Gary Klein on team knowledge
Head over to Patrick Lambe's chat with Gary Klein on team knowledge. Hats off to Patrick for making these gems available to the rest of us.
Permalink | Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Karim Rashid in Singapore
Yesterday I went to the Karim Rashid talk, or should I say 'show', at NUS. This is the first time I've seen an industrial designer command such a rock star status. The talk itself was different. He spoke impromptu for an hour, covering topics like 'what is design?', 'what is beauty', and 'who is the designer?'. While he was talking, the large screen behind him beamed a slideshow of his 500+ products. This I thought was very clever. The slideshow gave him opportunities to stop, look over, pick a design and then talk about it.
The one image I took away from the show was of the immense confidence Karim had about himself and his environment. It looked like nothing can stop this person from doing what he wants. I think all this has to do with the range of experiences he's had over the last 20 or so years designing products for different companies.
But there are two more angles to this, which I think is what differentiates a Karim Rashid from the hundreds of other IDs toiling away in different levels of obscurity. First, he has created his own signature when it comes to creativity and innovation around mass produced items. And second, he knows how to communicate and work the media.
It seems that experience alone is not enough. While many of us treat experience as a historical after thought, Karim, I think, likes to treat experience as something he'd like to pass through in the future.
Permalink | Friday, December 07, 2007
Building the UX Dreamteam
Anthony Colfelt talks about the essentials skills that go into making the UX dream team. And these are research, information architecture, interaction design, graphic design and writing. IMHO we also need someone who sees the big picture one who can position value even before it gets to the team.
Permalink | Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Building Enterprise 2.0 on Culture 1.0
I know I'm late on this one, but wanted to keep it in my "stock of ideas". Wonderful stuff from Nathan here on working an intranet using wikis.
"Success is defined by what we do, not what we have the opportunity to do. Implementing a Wiki isn’t success, building an organisation that will take collective ownership and collaboratively edit content is. Technology creates opportunity for changes of behaviour and helps shift the conversation away from excuses (it’s too hard) to reasons (it’s too risky)."
James and Patrick have also penned their views on this post.
Permalink | Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Queen: Say It’s Not True
If you are a Queen fan like me then you'll want to download their latest song -- Say It's Not True -- a song for Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS campaign. The song is provided as a free download to mark World AIDS Day (Dec 1, today).
Permalink | Saturday, December 01, 2007
12 things journalists need to know to be good futurist reporters
As future/foresight reporting is all the rage nowadays, it's worth going back and taking a look at the 12 points Jamais Cascio had written a year ago:
- Nobody can predict the future
- Not everyone is surprised by surprises
- Even when it's fast, change feels slow
- Most trends die out
- The future is usually the present, only moreso
- There are always options
- Dinosaurs lived for over 200 million years
- Gadgets are not futurism
- Sports scores and stock quotes" was 1990s futurist-ese for "I have no idea;" "social networking and tagging" looks to be the 2000s version
- "Technology" is anything invented since you turned 13
- The future belongs to the curious
- "The future is process, not a destination."
Permalink | Saturday, December 01, 2007
Getting Started in Information Architecture for the Web
A good IA primer by Tom Watson at Blue Flavor:
"I hear all the time that there isn’t one “correct” way to do a process, and that’s true but not thinking about information architecture is like setting sail on creating your website without charting a course. The site will get built, and it will likely go astray, get lost or never reach port. Without at least thinking about the information architecture your site will likely not be that useful, fun-to-use, or exciting to users. Setting that course is critical."
Permalink | Friday, November 30, 2007
Realists vs. Idealists
A nice post by Bob Sutton on realists vs. idealists when it comes to innovation. Sutton says that although the realists may seem to be winning the innings, the game depends on the idealists. Check out the exemplary New Yorker graphic that Sutton has on his page.
Permalink | Thursday, November 29, 2007
Intranet Information Architecture
Latest by Jakob Nielsen on intranet IA:
"In our study, task-based structures often endured better than intranets organized departmentally. In our user testing of intranets, we've also found that task-based navigation tends to facilitate ease-of-learning. Thus, the benefits for IA durability are just one more argument in favor of adopting a task-based structure for your intranet."
Permalink | Thursday, November 29, 2007
Understanding Web Design
As always Jeffrey Zeldman gets to the heart of web design in just the right way:
"Although a great site design is completely individual, it is also a great deal like other site designs that perform similar functions. The same is true of great magazine and newspaper layouts, which differ from banal magazine and newspaper layouts in a hundred subtle details. Few celebrate great magazine layouts, yet millions consciously or unconsciously appreciate them, and nobody laments that they are not posters."
Permalink | Sunday, November 25, 2007
How to Get Started with an Expertise Transfer Programme
Lots of fantastic stuff from Patrick Lambe on expertise transfer and knowledge retention.
Permalink | Friday, November 23, 2007
Choosing a Content Management System for your web project
Short and sweet article on selecting a CMS from BlueFlavor:
"Types of content you may find managed in a CMS include news stories, blog posts, photos, videos, events, and more — or, in many cases, some combination of several different types. While it’s important to understand that content management is a people process, not a technological one, there are many CMS tools available that can help. Which one is right for your website?"
Permalink | Friday, November 23, 2007
Long vs. Short Articles as Content Strategy
Jakob Nielsen on when to use short articles and when to use long articles. As expected the answer "depends" on your users "dietary" preferences.
- If you want many readers, focus on short and scannable content. This is a good strategy for advertising-driven sites or sites that sell impulse buys.
- If you want people who really need a solution, focus on comprehensive coverage. This is a good strategy if you sell highly targeted solutions to complicated problems.
Permalink | Sunday, November 18, 2007
Visualising the Pulse of the City
Interesting article at InfoVis describing new visualization methods to reveal various facets of urban life such as where people gather and how they move and how news of an important event travels through the city.
Permalink | Friday, November 16, 2007
E-learning samples
Cathy Moore's list of interactives and e-learning is a handy resource to have at hand when looking for ideas and inspiration.
Permalink | Sunday, November 11, 2007
Planning & Sustaining Wiki-based Collaboration Projects
New article over at PebbleRoad:
"Many organizations are experimenting with wiki-based collaboration projects. But only a small percentage of these projects make it past the initial excitement or pilot phase. One of the reasons for the drop-off is that there’s not enough thought given to them other than deciding which wiki product to install. This article presents a framework that can help groups wanting to use wikis for internal projects better plan and sustain their collaboration efforts."
Permalink | Saturday, November 10, 2007