How Cognitive Ergonomics can be used to Inform Interactive User Design
Within New Media.
I
have decided to answer the above question as it is something that has
interested me since the rise of touch devices. It’s fascinating how old
mechanisms have been tailored to function so well on a whole new interface
system, and I’d like to explore how we are now adapting and refining to these
new technologies that are changing the way we live our lives.
Key Research Areas
Evolution
of New Media, what it encompasses and why it is directly linked to cognitive
ergonomics.
The
evolution of touch screens and how they have been influenced by pre-existing
cognitive ergonomics.
The
relationship between user input and the direction of new user technologies.
How
users are more familiar with a range of technologies that use the same core
interactions.
Technologies
‘expectations’ of a common user, and its efforts to introduce harder to reach
audiences to new systems.
How
technology is advancing and incorporating and building upon existing user
interaction.
Examples
of why it is so important for users to understand an interface (e.g. Three Mile
Island nuclear power plant disaster).
Research Material
Books
· The Design of Every Day Things
– Donald Norman
· The Laws of Simplicity – John
Maeda
· Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Internet
· Wikipedia
· Ergoweb
· Apple
· Android Developer Blog
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Week Commencing
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Specifics
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October
31st
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Cognitive Ergonomics and its direct
impact on New Media.
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November
7th
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How touch screens have been shaped by
pre-existing cognitive ergonomics and user interaction of similar devices.
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November
14th
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How people are relying more on digital
interfaces in every day life, and how this allows for more complex
interaction and interfaces.
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November
21st
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Tailoring systems which feel natural to
both completely new users and existing users of the technology.
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November
29th
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Advancement of technology using the
existing knowledge level of the ‘common’ user.
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December
6th
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Structure the essay and ensure each
section flows to the next, refine areas that need more detail.
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December
13th
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Deadline
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