Reading Response for 9/30/2024
Why Tangibility Matters: A Design Case Study of At-Risk Children Learning to Read and Spell or Drive
This article examines how tangible objects like Phonoblocks can positively impact students who have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects learners' ability to hear and write. This is known as a “phonological deficit.” Phonoblocks is a Tangible User Interface (TUI) that addresses this deficit by utilizing large 3D letters, a platform with letter slots (and LEDs), and a touch-based laptop display. The TUI system helps students acquire skills in reading and writing.
Bennett, Cynthia L., and Daniela K. Rosner. “The Promise of Empathy: Design, Disability, and Knowing the” Other” (full article, NYU Drive Link or ACM Database)
This paper examines the empathy phase in human-centered design and its shortcomings. Designers who actively try to empathize with the user rather than include them in the design process actually create more problems than they are trying to solve. It is beneficial to include people with disabilities or from underrepresented communities than to try to simulate their lived experiences.
Ruha Benjamin, “Rethinking Design Thinking” (excerpt from Race after Technology, 116-119) pp. 116-119 (Drive or NYU Library whole chapter is included but only excerpt is required).
This excerpt defines Design Thinking and Design as “colonizing projects” that are ambiguous in nature and try to rebrand age-old problem-solving methods. However, design thinking does not really have some sort of “newness” to it. It needs to be decoded and presented in a way that is more accessible to minorities and outliers.
One takeaway.
Reading about this sort of TUI is inspiring and makes me want to work on these sorts of design projects. ED tech tools such as Phonoblocks should be utilized by teachers at Learning Difference (LD) and public schools nationwide.
It is truly impossible to design for someone with a disability without including that person in the process.
I agree with the author that Design Thinking is only sometimes effective. Creatives do not work in a linear way like the author describes. Additionally, it excludes artists and designers from a more lowbrow (art) or trade (fabrication/design) background.
Connection to a real-world example.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia as a child. Reading this article made me reflect on my childhood education experience. I wish these learning aids were available when I was younger.
While reading this, I am reminded of the power of outliers. It is usually the most non-assuming people closest to the problem who find the best solutions. Van Phillips, the inventor of the FleexFoot, became an amputee at the age of 21. His accident led him to design one of the most innovative prosthetics for paraplegic athletes.
At the end of the section, the author describes “code-switching” and how speaking to students in a common language helps learners retain information. My high school art teacher taught graphic design, color theory, and letter structure using graffiti letters (and their historical significance). The impact she made on my life (and career trajectory) is unparalleled by any other teacher.
Burning question(s)
For the creatives who have used the design thinking process. In what ways do you feel like you have been guilty of not assessing the problem accurately? What projects have you been a part of that have failed due to the use of the design thinking process?