Date: October 9, 2008.
What I have learnt by reading the first three chapters of Norman’s book so far?
In the real life there are many bad designs surrounding us. The designs are of arbitrary, unnatural, and complicated unnecessary functions and design concept. A typical example is the telephone design. The number of functions and required operations exceeds the number of controls. The trends will have to go on because of the business and economic factors. However, consumers evoke good designs. Further, the author summarizes the followings principles for a good design:
• Visibility. For a good design, the correct parts must be visible and the correct message must be convey to users when users interact with the products.
• A good conceptual model. A good design must be supported by a good conceptual model, because it serves humans and must interact with human psychological properties. For example, it allows us to operate the products and predict the effects of our actions.
• Mapping. It refers to that a good design consists of the relationship b/w controls, and their movements and the results caused.
• Feedback. For this aspect, a user is able to get an expected result. It sends back to the user information about what action has actually been done and what result has been accomplished.
I also learnt some basic principles of psychology.
• When human conducts a complex action (how humans conduct complex works is one of the central schemes of this book), a goal is formed in his mind, followed by three stages of psychological or behavior stages: intention, action sequence, and execution.
• A mental model is formed in the process of conducting the complicated work as the mental guideline. This is a conceptual model, the ways toward work objectives, including the categories of the tasks, the previous experiences as analog or references, the possible procedure of events or instances consisting of the work, the possible results and significance of the outcomes caused, etc. These models are essential in helping evoking our last experiences, predict the outcomes of our actions, and handle unexpected occurrences. Knowing a little psychology knowledge is vital for a designer because our products eventually are to serve humans.
In additioin, I am particularly interested in the following viewpoint or principle:
Everyone forms his own theories (mental models) to explain what they have observed. People do tend to find causes for events, and frequently find an explanation of their own to a thing. I agree on it. For a class, although the classmates attend the same lecture from the same instructor, each person may form a different system of concept and knowledge. It is also right that our explanations are based on analogy with past experience, while experience that may not apply in the current situation.
An observation on the effects of computers on forming and development of human senses
Digital technology has caused widely and deeply revolutionary effects on traditional education modes and activities. In this aspect, FU’s online class has made huge contribution to it. It makes it possible that more people accept training and education, particularly making long distance education and training possible. However, I also observe some negative things. It uses e-media as the channels of communication among students and an instructor. Any teaching activity and communications b/w both sides of teaching and studying are put in the entire virtual environment. It eliminates possibility of face-to-face communication, and as the result raises the barrier of exchanging of information. People exchanges information only via e-mails or live lectures. Vision, face expressions, the sixth sense, feeling, and body languages have been degenerated and not useful.
If a child takes such kind of classes from his elementary school to college education I believe that he would lose the above basically physiological functions, at least in part, that is inherited downstream to him through long evolutionary process of humans and that should have been developed well in the process of his growth and development, according to Larmarckism, an evolutionary theory.
The conclusion is that online class will be developed faster and may have wonderful perspective and markets in the future. However that there is quite big space necessary to be improved.
