Student Posters
CH12001 • 31 MARCH-5 APRIL
Design and Implementation of an Educational Technology
for a Historic Home
J o s h u a T. C o t h r a n
Georgia Institute o f
Technology
327207 G T Station
Atlanta, G A 30332
+1 404 206 4363
gt7207b@prism.gatech.edu
James Clawson
G e o r g i a Institute o f
Technology
326933 G T Station
Atlanta, G A 30332
+1 404 235 3467
gt6933d@prism.gatech.edu
ABSTRACT
Rhodes Hall, a turn-of-the-century home in Atlanta,
Georgia, occupies a significant place in the cultural
heritage of the South. Using the iterative design process,
we have broken down the design space of Rhodes Hall and
found ways to implement useful technologies. Methods of
data collection include research, interviews, monitoring
tours, and other techniques. Based on this data, we have
designed a prototype for an educational software package.
The software will improve the quality and experience of
learning for middle school students visiting the historic
home. Beginning January 2001, we will revise and
implement the design, carrying out formative and
summative evaluations of the sofiware.
Keywords
Education, goal-based learning, field trip, history, historic
home, interactive, technology, middle school
INTRODUCTION
Rhodes Hall is a historic home located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Built at the turn of the century in 1904 by Amos Rhodes, it
is a museum that depicts what "high-class" life was like in
the post-reconstruction South. In addition, it is currently
home to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, a
nonprofit organization committed to the restoration and
protection of Georgia's historic resources. The Georgia
Trust opens Rhodes Hall seven days a week for both school
and general tours and also books private engagements in
the evenings as a way of supplementing income. Our
project aims to improve the Rhodes Hall experience using
current technology.
UNDERSTANDING THE DESIGN SPACE
Before attempting to design sottware for Rhodes Hall, it
was necessary for us to gain an understanding of the
problem. We began to evaluate what Rhodes Hall means,
as a building, a cultural artifact, and an educational vehicle.
Jehan Moghazy
Georgia Institute of
Technology
350539 G T S t a t i o n
Atlanta, G A 3 0 3 3 2
+1 770 723 1667
gte396p@prism.gatech.edu
Tours
Our first step in this process was to take tours of the home.
There were several members in our project team; we toured
the house individually and in pairs to gain different
perspectives on the design space. On our tours, we took
note of various factors, including the physical space, tour
organization and style, personalities and abilities of
docents, etc. As we visited the home, we began to gain a
better understanding of the Georgia Trust's reasons for
preserving Rhodes Hall. On one of the tours, we were
given an opportunity to shadow a group of sixth-grade
students from a local middle school on a field trip to
Atlanta. We saw groups of students participate in
collaborative activities facilitated by the docent. In one
activity, the students constructed an image of Rhodes Hall,
placing felt cutouts upon a board as they discussed the
architecture of the home. Afterwards, they exited the
building together and, in small groups, matched names of
each architectural element to its picture on a diagram while
inspecting the actual exterior of the home. It was on that
day that we first began to fillly realize the potential for
software to supplement the experience of a field trip to
Rhodes Hall.
Interviews
Based on the data collected so far, we identified several
stakeholders whose involvement and support would be
necessary for the success of the software: teachers, docents,
the administration of Rhodes Hall, and students. Based on
these findings, we conducted qualitative interviews with
representatives for each stakeholder. For each interview,
we sought to better understand the stakeholder's role and
point of view, and to take account of the resources
available regarding the sol,ware.
Research
In addition to tours and interviews, we conducted
independent research. Our. areas of interest included
techniques for producing educational technologies, existing
uses of technology in historical contexts, and heuristics for
designing meaningful human computer interactions.
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Student Posters
DESIGNING THE TECHNOLOGY
Analyzing Data
Once we had collected sufficient data on Rhodes Hall, it
was necessary to apply analysis techniques to give our
design structure and direction. With stakeholder analysis,
we analyzed interview data in terms of the background,
expectations, and preferences of each person's role. With
CATWOE charts, we examined the problem in terms of
clients, actors, transformation, weltanschauung, owners,
and environment. Next, we began to design scenarios to
evaluate the needs and opportunities of the design situation.
Scenarios also helped us to recognize the tradeoffs of
potential design ideas in advance. In the process of our
analysis, we were able to identify a specific target audience
and purpose for our software: improving the experience of
middle school students visiting Rhodes Hall on field trips.
Curriculum Considerations
For determining the subject matter of our software, there is
valuable pre-existing resource---the curriculum standards
provided by the state of Georgia for middle school students.
Georgia history classes are primarily taught in fourth and
eighth grade, which gives our design an even clearer focus.
By designing the lessons we provide to be applicable to
state standards, we ensure that the technology we provide
will have a direct and measurable effect on the students'
classroom learning experience. Also, state-directed content
provides us with a wealth of resources already used in
schools, many of which are easily transferrable into an
electronic medium.
Applying Educational Paradigms
From our research findings, we decided to design software
that followed a constructionist theory of learning.
Constructionism is the belief that learning occurs most
effectively when in the context of constructing something
public, with shareable, critiquable externalizations of
knowledge.
Establishing Technologies
In keeping with the constructionist approach, we followed a
goal-based scenario style of educational technology. In a
goal-based scenario, students are given situations to which
they must respond and based on their answers, they receive
appropriate feedback and guidance. The software that we
have designed will be used by groups of students at their
schools before and after visiting Rhodes Hall, using
internet and/or CD-ROM technologies to deliver the
software to computer labs.
An example of a scenario that students would encounter is
"Planning a Party at Rhodes Hall." In the software,
students will be presented with questions and given three
options from which to choose. For example, students will
be asked, "What kind of transportation will guests be
arriving in?" and be given a choice between a bicycle, an
automobile, or a carriage. Initially, students will not be
told what the correct answer is; their decisions will be
based entirely on their preconceived notions of culture and
history. The students' answers will be saved until after the
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CHI 2001 • 31 MARCH - 5 APRIl,
field trip, at which point students will work together to
review and change their answers if desired. Information
and hints will be provided in a multimedia format. Only
then will students be told whether they decided upon the
correct answer, after which they will be able to discuss and
present their findings to their classmates.
By asking students questions before the field trip, we prime
them for the learning that will take place during their visit.
When they arrive at Rhodes Hall, students will already
have an appreciation for the historical and cultural
significance of the home, and will have goals in mind to
make their visit more enriching. The post-field trip review
will further reinforce the knowledge gained during their
field trip, and strengthen the connection between the
students' classroom learning experience and the learning
that takes place during the field trip.
PROTOTYPING
Currently, we have developed a solution prototype in the
form of screenshots, following Nielsen and Molich's
heuristic guidelines and the design specifications described
above. We have begun to perform heuristic analysis of our
prototype, working with middle school students to find
ways that we can improve our design.
FUTURE WORK
Beginning January 2001, we will be transforming this
project from a design into a fully functional piece of
software. As our prototypes become more developed, we
will be evaluating the design continually~ We will use
predictive modeling, KLM-GOMS, Fitts' Law, and other
approaches to improve the usability of our interface.
Qualitatively, we will study the students', teachers', and
docents' experiences with the soRware, using individual
responses and focus groups to acquire feedback: on
learning, ease of use, and other factors. Quantitatively, we
will use laboratory tests to evaluate usability, and pre- and
post-tests with the software to evaluate learning benefits.
When the project is completed, we will carry out a
summative evaluation to ascertain the efficacy of our
design.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Rhodes Hail, Wendy Newstetter, Mark Guzdial,
and our team members that have made this project possible.
REFERENCES
1. Kearsley, G. "Learning with Software." educafion.au
website, http://www.educationau.edu.au/archives/cp/,
1996.
2. Nielsen, J. "Enhancing the Explanatory Power of
Usability Heuristics." CHI 94 Proceedings, Addison
Wesley/ACM/SIGCHI (1994), pp. 152-158.
3. Raskin, J.
The Humane Interface.
Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 2000
Reading,
4. Reeves, T. "Evaluating What Really Matters in
Computer Based Education." education.au web site,
http://www.educationau.edu.au/archives/ep/reeves.]htm,
1994.
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