Stanford University

1

• Masters Project Review
• Produced by
• Tacy Trowbridge
• Reviewed by
• Josie Chou
• Nancy Daniels
• Nicole Reynolds

2
Summary of project

• Digital Voices is a web based program designed to
  help chronically ill children and their siblings
  express themselves in multiple art forms while
  developing communication and technology skills

3
Learning problem

• Identification of learning problem
• Children have an immediate need to communicate
  about complex and difficult issues.
• Issues
• Children need to advocate for themselves and ask
  questions about their medical care
• Children may feel isolation while in the hospital
  or home-bound with chronic illness
• Troubles establishing social connections
• Difficulties for school staff/hospital staff and
  adults/parents to anticipate needs.
• Goals
• Primary develop better self-expression and
  communication skills
• Secondary build technology skills and knowledge
• Develop artistic expression and enhance
  creativity
• Normalized childhood experiences
• Opportunity to develop social skills

4
User description

• Middle school children ages 10-13 years
• Children with chronic or long term illnesses
• Most of these children are house-bound or in
  long-term hospital stays

5
Scenario of use
Amys story
6
Conceptual framework

• Multimedia utilized as an effective tool for
  creative expression and communication
• Community based environment (situative) for
  learning about technology and providing new
  methods of communication
• Deweys philosophy of child centered learning
  learning is active and dynamic rather than
  passive or static
• Duckworths idea of placing children in an
  environment where they develop understanding also
  informs the central objectives of the curriculum
• Gardners work on multiple intelligences informs
  the ideology of the curriculum (mediums for
  self-expression are intentionally varied to
  acknowledge different abilities).

7
Design process

• Four factors informed the design
• Need to promote childrens self-expresion and
  assertiveness
• Need to support children transitioning to regular
  school environment
• Constraints of hospital programming
• Results of STARBRIGHT research

8
Design Process

• Defining and researching the learning problem
• Design rationale
• Initial design
• Iterative designing
• Final prototype
• Assessment

9
Evolution what changed?
From
To
Format Online zine with an editor Collection of connected web galleries
Audience Children in hospitals Children with chronic illnesses
Direction Hospital facilitator Largely self-directed and motivated with opportunities for direction by a faciliator 
Technology Technology-rich hospital setting Range of possibilities starting with a computer with Internet access
Location/Access Hospital, through facilitator Flexible, anytime  
Workspace Hospital server or computer Web notebook 
Management Hospital site Digital Voices  
Interaction Guestbook Individual responses
10
Evolution what remained?
Goal Enhance self-expression and communication
through technology Audience Children needing
health care Form of expression  Multimedia
written word, voices, art, music, movies Focus
 Child-centered Learning style  Exploration and
discovery
11
Features and functionality

• Centralized community for children
• Teaching of new technology through modeling
  between students (artwork/music/poetry/video)
• Provides gallery space and forum for children to
  display and teach about their creations
• Socialization environment for children who are
  alone
• Building connections between home and other
  community groups (childrens groups
• Influence transition between being ill and at
  home and then having to go back out into the
  social environment

12
Design studies

• Digital Voices carries out a number of design
  studies to prepare for the prototype.
• Interviews with doctors, a Child Life specialist,
  teachers, volunteers and children
• Observations at a local children's hospital
• Literature reviews on mental problems that the
  chronically ill children face and application of
  art therapy, and play therapy
• Researches on the existing programs like
  STARBRIGHT and other web sources
• Study the technology effects from social proof,
  intrinsic motivation, and reciprocation
  perspectives

13
Strengths of the design

• Safe and accepting environment for children
• Tailored to situation and environment that fit
  the user profile but was accommodating and
  flexible
• Innovative, thoughtful and well researched and
  planned
• Involves important members of the childs
  community (parents, siblings, doctors, teachers,
  etc)
• Creative, respectful and sensitive

14
Weaknesses of design

• Somewhat isolating community aspects need
  improvement through more interactive means.
• Are we able to test whether or not the
  experiences of these children are normalized
  children may try to avoid social settings where
  they still feel different may have trouble
  separating from this environment into external
  environments.
• Children with illnesses restricted to resources
  (expensive medical treatments, etc, which prevent
  them from allocating money to computer systems,
  etc
• Graphics dont really reflect sensitivity and
  thoughtfulness they are harsh and rather
  unfriendly colors.

15
Next Steps

• Improve community aspects by engaging children
  through more interactive means (video
  conferencing between patients) or bringing
  children in the hospitals to engage together.
• Study results of children who have gone back out
  into normal society and report on their social
  experiences. Determine if this project is
  actually normalizing for the children.
• Determine how many children have access to these
  resources those who dont should have networks
  within the hospitals.
• Redefine the site design to make for a
  child-friendly environment.