Q1DaraCunningham

Document Q1DaraCunningham

1. Your Name

Dara Cunningham

2. Your field of study?

Joint PhD in Design and Planning and Cognitive Science

3. In which semester of study are you?

5

4. Why are you interested in taking this course?

My research centers on applying user centered design methodologies to the built environment, particularly to pervasive computing environments. I am interested in how pervasive computing can be used to gather information about the actual use of an environment with the goal of improving design methodologies and how pervasive computing can be used to make our environments more "user friendly" and adaptable.

5. What courses / work activities / background knowledge do you have which might be relevant to this course?

I have a Master's Degree in Information and Learning Technologies and about 20 years experience with teaching using technology, including the past 8 years teaching and designing online courses. I also have more than 20 years experience working with computers and design. In my PhD program, I have taken a mix of design, planning, computing, and cognitive science classes. I teach project management, e-Commerce, Web design, Web marketing, Information Design, and Graphic Design classes.

6. Indicate your own digital literacy / fluency:
6.1. Describe your programming experience (languages, projects)

I have more than 20 years experience working with computers and designing with computers. I teach HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I've been coding Web sites since 1995. I have some experience with PHP and Python.

6.2. What applications are you familiar with (e.g. Photoshop, Canvas, Dreamweaver,...)?

Adobe Illustrator - began using 1991 Adobe InDesign - began using 2004 Adobe Photoshop - began using 1991 Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver - began using 1999 Adobe/Macromedia Fireworks - began using 1999 Adobe/Macromedia Flash - began using 2000 Microsoft Office - began using 1989 Microsoft Project - began using 2000 Microsoft Publisher - began using 2004 Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server - began using 2007 Microsoft Visio - began using 2000 Microsoft Word - began using 1987 Quark XPress - began using 1989

7 Give a brief description of the most important book / article which you have read with respect to the topic of the course.

My favorite book on designing for users is The Design of Every Day Things by Donald Norman. The Design of Everyday Things introduces some of the ways that the discipline of cognitive science can be applied to improve designs. Norman argues that people should not need instructions or training to use objects but, rather the designer should have a good grasp of the way people perceive the world around them and apply this knowledge to the design of objects that are intuitive to the user. "Design is an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating" (Norman, 2002, x).

8. What do you hope and expect to learn from this course?

I expect to learn more about the impact computers have had on the human experience and about how to make this impact more natural for the user. I hope to apply what I learn directly to my current PhD research.