Jordon Lovig ETEC 540

It took me a grand total of seven minutes and eighteen seconds to finish the exercise, which I feel is probably pretty standard given the obvious design challenges. To be honest, I’m a pretty big fan of brain teasers, and I do have an interest in UX design, so despite my frustrations I found this to be a pretty entertaining task.

Something I found interesting about the game is how it used multiple modes of communication to manipulate the user. Vague and misleading text was present pretty much everywhere but it also flipped the script on other tradition signifiers. For example it’s pretty much universally understood that the color green refers to “yes” but in this case, it actually corresponded to a negative response, which was pretty confusing right from the get-go.

Unfortunately for me, things didn’t really get any easier as the exercise continued. Nothing really behaved as expected. Drop down menus asking to select a date defaulted to the year 1900, not the present year, resulting in far more scrolling than necessary. Months were listed in alphabetical order, not chronological. Even once I finally managed to navigate the menus and indicate my date of birth, it still asked me to enter my age, which should be totally unnecessary.

The section where I was required to enter biographical information (name, title, gender) certainly gave me pause for thought. The fields of entry were all quite counter-intuitive which was to be expected at this point. However what I found especially interesting is that the form required me to select a gender that matched my “title”. For example, when I chose “Mr.” as my title but “female” as my gender, it gave me an error message and did not allow me to process. This got me thinking about the nature of asking for personal information in the first place, and why it is even necessary to do so. UX issues aside, why does it matter if my gender matches my title? Or to take it a step further, why do I need to indicate my gender or title at all?

Recently in my role at Capilano University I participated in a gender diversity audit, where we took a close look at the information we ask students to submit to the institution. Something we discovered in this process was that there is so much biographical info we ask for that we don’t actually use in any meaningful way. Sex as assigned at birth doesn’t appear on class lists, transcripts, diplomas or other documentation. So why ask for it at all? As a result of this audit, we’ve begun eliminating unnecessary data points from our student systems at CapU and the student body is very pleased with this. I think moving forward, we’ll be seeing more institutions take a more intentional approach when asking for personal information- only collect what is necessary.

This is especially important when filling out forms on the internet, because you can never be quite sure who exactly this information is being shared with. Typically you do have to provide consent, however the legal language can be vague and confusing. In the exercise for this task, it only asked me to accept cookies at the END of the process, which is certainly not a best practice when it comes to data collection and privacy.

Overall, this was a pretty entertaining exercise. I felt it was a great demonstration of what NOT to do when asking for people to share information. Hopefully these are lessons I can continue to bring forward with me in my professional practice.

This was a very interesting exercise. Curating the full list of 27 tracks down to 10 certainly wasn’t easy, and as I worked through the list I found myself editing my choices several times over. One thing I noticed right away is that it would be impossible to avoid my own personal biases when making my selections. Music is far too personal an experience, and any attempt to relate these pieces to my personal experience of the human condition is bound to reflect my own attitudes and beliefs. With that in mind, I simply chose to acknowledge that my bias would be present, and choose the ten tracks which I would personally want to launch into outer space as an introduction to humanity to the rest of the universe. So without further ado…

Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43

I thought this was a fitting introduction to the record, as it provides a vivid description of the flora and fauna of the planet it originates from. It could invoke imagery of our environment in the listener, providing some context for the remaining tracks. It’s also Carl Sagan’s favorite track, and that fact alone merit’s it’s inclusion.

“Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38

For me, this one had to make the list as it’s really the only example of modern, contemporary music. As such, it sounds very different from other pieces on the record, and I think it could give the listener an idea of how music on earth has evolved over the years.

Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. 4:40

I really appreciated how the podcast pointed out that this piece was included due to it’s mathematical elements. Obviously, we’d have to assume that any potential audience likely does not speak English (or any other human language) but math is universal. I think there’s a good chance that any advanced civilization would analyze the recording mathematically, so including this track is a good idea, and a reminder that not all forms of communication have to be traditional language.

“Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15

I’m a big fan of Blind Willie Johnson and early American Blues, so this one is included for personal reasons. I appreciated how the podcast pointed out that they also wanted to “make a good record” when selecting their tracks. Based on that, this one has to be included.

Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51

I chose to include this selection due to it’s minimalist nature. I like the idea of basically just a single instrument performance. In a sense this is an expression of music as a solitary pursuit, which I feel it is for many people, myself included.

Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo,” collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18

In contrast to the previous selection, the inclusion of this track shows the power of music as many voices coming together in harmony. The song is also a call to action, which I feel is very important- music can be a solitary pursuit, but it can also have a collective purpose, and this is a fine example of that.

Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor. 2:55

I think the list wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of opera. This track really demonstrates the power of the human voice, which is really the first instrument. Here, the orchestra serves to support the singer’s voice, and being an opera, the voice doesn’t just sing a song, but it tells a story. I’m not the biggest opera fan, but it’s a fine example of how music can be utilized to weave a narrative, so I felt this one was important to include.

Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20

I suppose it’s subject, but in my personal opinion, this is probably the most well-known piece of music, so I chose to include it in my curation of ten. The opening bars are iconic- I feel that most people, particularly in what we refer to as “western civilization” could probably identify the piece within the first few moments.

Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08

I felt it was important to include this track because it’s a great example of how music doesn’t necessarily have to be based on melody or harmony, but can be rooted in rhythm. The use of percussion instruments really makes this one stand out, and it illustrates how music is experienced very differently across cultures on our planet.

“Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05

I really liked how the podcast mentioned that this track was a representation of the lonely voyage that the spacecraft would be taking, so I chose to include it. I also think we could extend that metaphor to our planet earth, which is on a lonely voyage in our own solar system, and the only planet with intelligent life that we are aware of. Broadly speaking, I think this shows how music can be used to represent bigger ideas, and that’s very important.

For Task 7, I’ve chosen to provide a slightly updated version of the image used in Task 1. My reasons for this include the fact that the original image was a relatively low quality and not suitable for multi-modal approach I had in mind. Additionally, I’m reading a new book, so I wanted to provide an updated image to reflect where I currently am on my learning journey.

With this in mind, I chose to take the original static image and turn it into an interactive piece using a free web application called Genial. Using this application allows me to place interactive buttons on each item in my bag which then link the learner to an additional source of information, providing context and further learning opportunities. The great thing about this is it allows content to be displayed in multiple modes- videos, sound clips, games and interactive web applications.

Enjoy!

Direct link: https://view.genial.ly/62c4c955d27e63001ace2aa3/interactive-image-interactive-image