iWitness ReviewSteve Anderson, Stacy Patterson, Josh McVeigh-Schultz, and Holly Willis

Institute for Multimedia LiteracyWednesday, July 28, 2010

design challenge•How can the design of iWitness support a user experience that serves two foundational goals?

• users should engage materials from the archive with depth, sensitivity and sophistication, in effect becoming mini-experts on the archive and its testimonies

• users should develop a reflective understanding of their own position in relation to the testimonies via a core set of media literacies, ethical commitments and effective work strategies

user input•Initial user testing indicates that one key user demographic – namely teachers – is receptive to the contextual materials provided.

Our goal, then, is to most effectively incorporate the Connections by heightening their relevance and integration with core user operations on the site.

tactical not graphical•We see the solution not in terms of finding the right location on the screen but in finding the right moments and context for insertion

interventions•5 key moments of intervention

• the first time a user visits the site• the first time a user returns to the site• the first time a user watches a testimony• the first time a user begins/completes an activity (students)• the first time a user designs an activity (instructors)

kinds of connections•• Information on the archive and the process by which testimonies are captured

• Suggested research strategies

• Questions of interpretation, framing, perspective

• Big Picture Context: understanding the relations of testimony to history

• Key areas of investigation for students/teachers

intervention #1(first visit to the site)

•• Landing page to frame experience

• Video tutorial

intervention #2(first return to the site)

•• Welcome back

• Update

intervention #3(first testimony viewing)

•• When the user interrupts a video testimony or initiates a new search, a screen appears that offers a relevant Connection.

• While a user is watching a testimony for the first time, a link appears, offering to open a window with a relevant Connection.

intervention #4(complete an activity)

•• A Connection related to research suggestions could appear as a pop-up or link when an activity is first undertaken.

• Alternatively, the system could cycle through a collection of Connections each time an activity is undertaken or completed.

intervention #5(design an activity)

•• A Connection or cycle of Connections related to designing activities could appear as a pop-up or link when a user begins to create an activity.

• Connections must seem fresh and relevant; repetition should be avoided and connections to the user’s current activity on the site should be apparent.

short term suggestions•1. Create a video tutorial outlining the intended user experience and goals and link it to the current home page.  2. Create video screens or bumpers to deliver relevant Connections in main video viewing window.

3. Create links between Connections and video content. 4. Create links to Connections offering design/activity suggestions.

medium-term suggestions•1. Implement close tracking of user activities while logged in to the site; match Connections with user actions (e.g., Welcome Back messages, Connection recaps, Community activity summaries, suggestions, etc.) 2. Create a new landing page for the site that includes the video tutorial and additional setup of the desired user experience.

long-term suggestions•1. Create a user workspace, where users can

gather, annotate and output collections of the most relevant Connections. We imagine these to be draggable modules that could include text blocks, images or videos.

2. Create mechanisms to reward users for demonstrated mastery of the Connections material; the more a user engages the Connections, layers of increasingly complex materials are unlocked.

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