HCI Disciplinary Commons Portfolio - Fiona Fairlie
Context Commentary
I lead the Human Computer Interface Design module within the Division of Computing and Creative Technology in the School of Engineering and Computing at Glasgow Caledonian University, a large, modern, successful post-92 university. The university has good physical resources with an attractive, modern campus; well equipped rooms and access to up-to-date industry standard software. I am currently module leader for the Human Computer Interface Design module, the Multimedia Learning Materials and Interface Design module and am Programme Manager for the Diploma of Higher Education in Multimedia Visualisation with Product Design. I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
The Creative Technologies area of the school runs a variety of programmes, notably a number of 2+2 degrees which take students articulating from FE colleges with HND qualifications and allows them to ‘convert’ these to a degree in one year or an Honours degree in two. The division is staffed by specialists from a number of disciplines including Graphic Design, Product Design and Audio Engineering as well as more traditional Electronic Engineering, Software Engineering, programming and HCI backgrounds. As a division we aim to produce graduates who have the skills to work in the multimedia and internet industries . To this end we try to equip students with “a range of digital and practical skills which can support the development of products and services and which demonstrate a creative ability in the interpretation of information and user expectations”.
Students arriving onto the courses I teach include a large proportion from “non-traditional” backgrounds. Many are the first member of their families to enter higher education, some enter directly into the third year of a degree course and need support in settling into a new environment. The 2+2 courses also take students from internal University Diploma courses. University Diploma courses typically have entry qualifications of 3 Scottish Highers (BBC) or 2 A levels (CC). Both the HND and UD courses have a relatively practical, hand on approach to learning.
When reflecting on how my teaching of these students fits with the divisions’ generally stated aim I have come to the conclusion that I have the following main hopes for the students: that they graduate as confident, independent lifelong learners; capable of logical thinking and problem solving in a creative environment, comfortable with current underlying theories and confident in their ability to move with technology. In trying to produce graduates with these qualities I seek to encourage students to actively participate in the learning process, rather than passively learn. I encourage an informal approach to learning where students can view themselves as equal partners in a process of discovery.
Socrates is still viewed as one of the western world’s great teachers: yet he is frequently quoted as saying ‘all I know is that I know nothing’, I have known a number of contemporary professors who said much the same and the more I study the more I am aware of my own ignorance. In contrast I am frequently told by students “I know Flash, Photoshop…” . I see my role in the education process being to suggest greater possibilities, explore new ideas and encourage the discovery of information. I try to question students in such a way as to lead them to arrive at a deep understanding of the subject and an awareness of its extent and its relevance to their work for themselves.
The HCI module I run has been tailored to meet the needs of students coming from a practical design background and is taught by both designers and people from more technical disciplines. It aims to provide a targeted introduction to the key issues involved in screen based interaction and to the process of interface design for graphics and multimedia students. As such it covers a subset of the topics covered by conventional introductions to HCI. The module carries 20 credits and is one of six modules studied over the course of an academic year. It is delivered over a period of 12 weeks in Semester A to about 90 students during their first year of studying at degree level and so one function of the module can be seen as providing a bridge from further to higher education.
Our HCI module is practically driven with a coursework element which runs for much of the semester and develops an interface from concept through storyboards to working prototype with students receiving feedback on their design throughout the process. The informal lab/studio setting is familiar to FE students and helps to build their confidence while the ongoing dialogue engendered can be used to encourage students to start thinking in a more abstract way and to start applying theoretical concepts to their work. One of my main aims for the module is to move students from the position where success is defined as “I can use the software package” through “What can I do with the software?” to “How can I use the software to solve a visual problem?” to the position “How can I facilitate an appropriate interactive user experience (using current software)?”
The artefact that I have chosen to illustrate the context in which I work is a montage created from storyboards drawn by students studying this year’s HCID module. It is intended to emphasise the students’ design background and the practical nature of their course.
Updated: 22 April, 2008 | Site
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