January 30, 2018
Piloting the Design Challenge: A Visit to iDEA High School
Blog post written by Jasvir Dosanjh and Jessica Nuse
This week we visited iDEA High School in Tacoma to run a mini design challenge with students to build robot prototypes. The visit allowed us to share our knowledge about human centered design with teens and also pilot the materials for the Social Robot Design Challenge.
About iDEA High School
iDEA is an alternative school that specializes in industrial design, engineering, and art. The school highly values community, empathy, thinking and balance. We came to iDEA to conduct a trial run of the design challenge. In a span of three hours, we did a crash course on human centered design and worked with students through each step to build a robot prototype.
Teaching Human Centered Design
To teach human centered design, we conducted a three hour workshop in which we:
- Introduced the concepts of human centered design via a series of videos
- Provided a series of activities to explore the design process using a Powerpoint presentation and handouts.
We stepped through three main areas of the design process, including:
- Research – First, students got into teams of 4 and brainstormed a list of questions to ask their users what their needs are. An example of a question a student might ask is, “Think about a specific time you were stressed out at school. What did you do to feel better?” After generating a list of questions, the students interviewed other teams and took notes about what they learned.
- Ideation – After gathering research, the students began brainstorming and designing their robot. They began to sketch what the robot may look like and incorporated the features and constraints of the robot in their designs.
- Prototyping – Finally, after drawing and brainstorming, the students brought their designs to life. The students were given cardboard boxes, scissors and tape to build their prototype.
Within the design challenge, the interview phase seemed to be the most challenging for students. We noticed that most students used our examples of questions to ask one another what the users would want in their robot instead of coming up with their own questions. In the future, we may want to go further in depth explaining this stage, and support the students more with the research phase.
During the prototyping stage, the students’ engagement significantly increased. Students were gathering materials, laughing, smiling, collaborating their ideas, working together, borrowing materials from other groups, helping one another among groups and improvising. The students were so engaged, they were pleading for more time. We went with the flow of the students, allowed them more time and ended up skipping over the testing and iteration stages. For our next session, we need to work on timing to ensure we have enough time for prototyping and testing.
We wrapped up the class with presentations from each group. The students were very engaged during presentations. Everyone listened intently, and made comments on what they enjoyed about each other’s robot, and what was most significant to them. We then opened the Q&A session, and students had many questions concerning college, adulting, and how we cope with stress.
Robot designs
The presentations were so great to watch, as the students brought their ideas to life. With each robot being so unique, we were able to get a lot of insight for our design challenge.
Dealing with stress
The students came up with a variety of innovative robot ideas. The designs were all different but included functionality to help reduce stress in their lives. A common theme of positivity, encouragement and liveliness emerged between the robots.
Providing reassurance
Students really appreciate the support from their teachers and would like a robot that is encouraging with its movements and speech.
- When describing the features of the robots, some of the students said the robot should be able to give you a pat on the shoulder or a high five.
- One group mentioned they wanted their robot to sound like their favorite teacher because he always made them feel better.
- Another group said laughing is a great stress reliever and wanted their robot to tell funny jokes.
Robot size and durability
- Some students preferred a life size robot, so it would be noticeable and feel more realistic. This group wanted the robot to feel life-like, so they could receive a hug, pat on the shoulder, or engage in a positive conversation.
- Other students wanted a small robot that could be pet-like, because it would make them feel safe and have a little buddy to be around. With the smaller robots, the students focused on a massage and conversation from the robot.
- Most of the groups mentioned the importance of durability. Students felt the robot should be strong, so it won’t break if needed to travel and ensure life guarantee.
Physical stress relief
- One group specifically wanted the robot to have a punching bag feature, so if the students were in a bad mood or frustrated, the punching bag could assist them in cooling down.
Cleanliness
Students really care for the environment. They are aware of trash being a problem and want to be a part of the solution. Students said a clean environment is equal to happier people.
- The group with the punching bag feature added an empty bag of fritos to their prototype to indicate a trash bag. The trash bag would pick up trash.
- One group was inspired by WALL-E, and the main function of their prototype was to pick up trash.
What we learned
We learned a lot by piloting our design challenge materials.
Our main takeaways are:
- Be patient with students’ engagement
- Because all schools are different, we will need to adapt the workshop needs for each school’s characteristics (specifically, splitting up groups, time structure and topics of discussion)
- Short videos worked well
- Students were most engaged during the hands on activities
- Students are paying attention (even when they seem like they are not)
What’s up next
We learned a lot piloting our materials at iDEA! Thanks to HCDE alumni Jaleesa Trapp and her co-teachers Linnea Bostrom, & Kelilah Anders and all the students who participated in the workshop. Next, we are heading out to more schools in Tacoma and Seattle to start working with teens as they build social robots.
