Olga Werby

Olga Werby, Ed.D., has a Doctorate from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on designing online learning experiences. She has a Master's degree from U.C. Berkeley in Education of Math, Science, and Technology. She has been creating computer-based projects since 1981 with organizations such as NASA (where she worked on the Pioneer Venus project), Addison-Wesley, and the Princeton Review. She conceived, designed, and illustrated the award-winning "Field Trips" series of programs distributed by Sunburst Communications. Olga has a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Astrophysics from Columbia University. Olga currently teaches interaction design and cognitive theory at the American University in Paris and the University of California at Berkeley Extension Program. She was part of the faculty of San Francisco State University's Multimedia Studies Program, the Bay Area Video Coalition, and the campus of Apple Computers. Olga is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. She also holds a California teaching credential and is part of the San Francisco Unified School District where she often tests science-related curriculum materials in public elementary and middle schools.

Conceptual Design, Cultural Bias, Flow, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Language, Perception, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Scaffolding, Working Memory

The Haptic Feel of Books versus eBooks

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We’ve traveled to Rome for our family vacation this year, and aside from a few summer reading books that I couldn’t find in an eBook format, we relied on our two Kindles and 3 iPads for our family reading needs. This is the second summer we brought primarily electronic versions of books—”The Count of Monte Cristo” is much easier to read when it fits into your hand and doesn’t weigh a ton… In the days before the Kindle and iPad, we carried an extra suitcase just for books. But there are drawbacks to buying and reading eBooks. Below are some of my thoughts and experiences—the cogitations of a voracious reader. Time & Progress As I was reading my novels, I found myself repeatedly trying to figure out where in the book I was. How far along was I? When is the next natural break (chapter, section end)? How many pages are there to the end of the chapter, end of the section, end of the book? These were not idle curiosities about my reading accomplishments, although when you do finish reading the book version of “The Count of Monte Cristo”, you do have a sense of having read something. An…

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Ethnographic & User Data, Pipsqueak Articles

Social Networks

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Making Money on a Bet Yesterday, I came across a little post on LinkedIn: L.G. update: “I have a bet with one of my colleagues today. He thinks that using LinkedIn is a waste of time and does not see the benefit. So he has agreed to give me £1 for every like/comment I get. Considering I have over 2000 connections I reckon I will get £300 easy out of this. Start liking this update people!” It wasn’t from anyone I knew. But a LOT of people I did know (and are linked to) commented and liked this update. I added my like as well. To date (the original comment was made 2 days ago), there are 6,298 likes and 1,286 comments! Mr. L.G. stands to make some money here. With Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, all pushing the value of social networking, it was interesting to see this little experiment making a direct conversion from social networking to money. And it’s not over—the post sparked an emotional response among the members of LinkedIn. The emotional trigger is still there. With each new like and comment, the temptation to add another like on the pile grows. It’s contagious!

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Conceptual Design, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy

Good Idea, Bad Idea

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In the spirit of Animaniacs’ “Bad Idea, Good Idea,” enjoy the following product ideas. And for those who’ve never heard of Animaniacs, please watch the short segment (you can see more on YouTube!). Need a bit of assist in your bedroom? Add springs for the extra bounce. Find yourself in need of a sure grip? Make room for fingers. Short on space? Don’t waste the cupboards under each stair. Need more animation in the morning? Use the light. Bored with tea? Get a personal assistant. Worried about your waistline? Get measured. Live to serve? Bump it up. Too sure-footed? Make every climb a challenge. Too close? Give your photos some distance. Product design is limited only by imagination. A Short Introduction to Animaniacs’ “Bad Idea, Good Idea”

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Pipsqueak Articles

ICT & Human Rights

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IADIS conference is fast approaching. It will take place at the end of July in Rome, Italy. I’m chairing the ICT & Human Rights panel. Here’s a list of speakers and their topics. I’m also attaching the poster for the session. Please feel free to pass it on to those who might be interested in this topic. Thank you! I hope to see some of you in Rome! 2011-06-29 ICT Human Rights Poster Download ICT & Human Rights Monday, July 25th 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. This panel is dedicated to discussing how Information and Communication Technologies can be used to advance human rights around the world. Individuals can impact society, react, and reach out with the aid of technology. ICT is a powerful tool for encouraging, teaching, and protecting human rights. To learn more, please visit the IADIS web site: http://www.ict-conf.org/panel.asp To continue the conversation beyond the conference, please join our LinkedIn Group: LinkedIn: ICT & Human Rights linkedin.com/groups/ICT-Human-Rights-3398838 Presenters Dr. Miranda Kajtazi “Information Inadequacy in Information Society: Advantages of ICTs” School of Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden Dr. Sarai Lastra “ICTs and Children: Bridging the Gap between Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives” Universidad del Turabo…

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Cognitive Blindness, Conceptual Design, Diagnostic Errors, Errors, Featured, Mirroring Errors, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Scaffolding

Empathy on the Brain

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Empathy is a necessary component of product design. To design and make something that is comfortable to use for someone else, requires the maker of the product to imagine how another human being would feel while using it. This is a hard thing to do. Medical students have to take “bed side manners” classes that explicitly teach empathy for the patient. Some design schools do the same (check out this video in Product Design Resources). Fortunately, humans come equipped with a special region in the brain whose job it is to help us see the world from another’s point of view. Here’s a short introduction by Rebecca Saxe, “How we read each other’s minds.” So when we go to the movies, we relate to the characters and feel what they feel, and cry when they are sad, and laugh when they are happy, and cringe when things get awkward, because we have the Right TPJ (or RTPJ) region in our brain just behind and above our right ear. We aren’t born ready to use this part of our brain, as the experiments described by Dr. Saxe in the video show. It takes a long time for this social problem solving…

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