finding your voice

It never takes long to determine who the “talkers” will be in class. These are the people who ask most of the questions, respond to most of the questions asked, or simply engage in conversation. Yes, there are the talkers and the listeners. And if you look carefully, these often fall along cultural divides. The largest percentage of talkers is Americans. On the other end are the … well, you know who you are. Sometimes the divide has little to do with cultural background and more to do with shyness or simply individual personalities. Sometimes the divide is about being an undergraduate in a graduate class (really, in most cases the difference is one or two years of being a student).

This is going to be a challenge for everyone. Talkers need to refrain from jumping in at every opportunity. Listeners need to think more quickly “on their feet” and take the risk of speaking up. We all need to be patient with each other and ourselves.

There are cultural differences in what people are used to in the classroom. Perhaps some of you would like to share your experiences as a comment to this post.

But being here in the U.S., in this program, in this course requires you to engage. This can occur in many ways: in the Tuesday/Thursday lectures or in smaller group sessions (like the Wednesday night session); in blogs (this gives you an opportunity to think before you speak/write); and of course in team settings.

Choose your way, but over time explore other ways. Remember, you’re here to be “uncomfortable” (that’s another way of saying that you’re here to be a learner rather than a performer or an expert). And for some, that might mean talking LESS or not being the first one to talk. It’s all about learning.

it’s a mystery

I don’t know who’s more excited about the first lecture — the students (mostly first year Master’s students in HCI/design, but also a hand-full of other graduate students and several advanced undergraduates) or me.  It’s strange. Even after teaching a version of this course for over 22 years, I still put a lot of work into preparing for it. The preparation began last spring when David Royer (my graduate assistant) and I analyzed last year’s class to find out what worked and what needed improvement. Then over the summer I began the slow process of review and change. Over the last three weeks, I’ve put a couple hundred hours into preparing the materials, the new communications systems (which I needed to learn myself), and thinking through the examples and specific plans for the first day. I’m exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. Will they even notice?

So, for those of you reading this blog without much context, let me tell you about the course. It’s about HCI design. When I first came to the School of Informatics in 2001, I told the dean that I would be willing to direct the program (now under the very able leadership of Erik Stolterman) if we could emphasize design (vs. cognitive science, usability engineering, or more traditional areas of HCI). I argued that the future of HCI was design, and that if we were to distinguish ourselves as a program, this should be our emphasis. He agreed (not so much philosophically, but he was in desparate need of a leader so it was an easy sell). My first job was to hire a colleague, and I had the good fortune of being introduced to Eli Blevis. Eli and I agreed strongly on how to build the program, and we set out to do it. Much of what’s here today is a result of our collaboration, although Erik Stolterman, Youn Kyung-Lim, and Jeff Bardzell have added very important dimensions to the program. But to return to this course, the emphasis is on design. Here’s the overview document: Course Overview (just for the record, it’s copyrighted material, so please don’t copy it without permission and attribution).

I organize my course around these features:

• Seven themes or big ideas of design. I don’t believe people can or will remember lots of details, but they can remember seven big ideas. These are the pillars of my design philosophy (they’ll be revealed next week). Everything we will do relates to these themes in one way or another.

• Five non-trivial design projects. It’s like learning to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool. There’s no slow build, or to continue with the analogy, there’s no splashing in the kiddy pool. The first design problem, while not as complex as later problems, is complicated enough and certainly non-trivial. (It’s about constructing an interface for a home thermostat system, from the home- or apartment-owner’s point of view.)

• Working on teams. Design, for the most part, is not a solitary effort. You must learn to work on teams–not teams with “slackers,” but teams with highly energized people with many ideas of how to proceed. How do decisions get made? How do we manage our time? How do we value the diversity of the team? How do we resolve the many trade-offs we face? Etc.

• Leadership. We want the students to see design as a vehicle for doing good work in the world, not just building another tool or application for people with a lot of money to spend. The problems of the world are great in number. Can design be used to solve some of these problems? We want our students to THINK BIG and demonstrate design leadership.

• There are a few more features, but I’ll leave those for later.

What’s difficult about all of this is that there is no algorithm for success. We could teach certain textbook-like procedures, but from my experience, what this produces is mediocre designers. Great designers come from a different place and mostly from within. This requires most people in the class to think, feel, and grow in new ways. For some this will be very difficult. But all of what we do, including the music and movies, are designed to inspire and motivate us.

 How does it all come together? I’m reminded about a scene in the movie, Shakespeare in Love (1998):

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.

Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?

Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.

Hugh Fennyman: How?

Philip Henslowe: I don’t know. It’s a mystery.

the swan feather

 From the movie, The Joy Luck Club (1993):

Jing-Mei “June” Woo: [opening narration] The old woman remembered a swan she had bought many years ago in Shanghai for a foolish sum. “This bird,” boasted the market vendor, “was once a duck that stretched its neck in hopes of becoming a goose. And now look, it is too beautiful to eat!” Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of lei wide, stretching their necks toward America. On her journey, she cooed to the swan, “In America, I will have a daughter just like me. But over there, nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness of her husband’s belch. Over there, nobody will look down on her because I will make her speak only perfect American English. And over there, she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow. She will know my meaning because I will give her this swan, a creature that became more than what was hoped for.”

But when she arrived in the new country the immigration officials pulled the swan away from her, leaving the woman fluttering her arms and with only one swan feather for a memory. For a long time now, the women had wanted to give her daughter the single swan feather and tell her, “This feather may look worthless, but it comes from afar and carries with it all my good intentions.”

They are arriving. Thirty graduate students from India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, and of course the United States. 19 men; 11 women; and about 50-50 percent international students and U.S. citizens. I’ve met four already and took three male students out for ice cream and a car tour of the campus and the surrounding area.

Everyone seems excited and filled with anticipation. I’m certain their views of HCI/design [what I'll just refer to as "design"] differ from mine and my colleagues. And I know that the way many of them solve problems is not the way they will solve design problems. Design is not algebra; there is no algorithm for great design. Many will fight this, they will want to know the steps, the process, the formula. I’ll talk about this extensively throughout the semester, but for now everyone is happy and excited.

They come with hopes and dreams… from their parents, their family, and, of course, their own. They carry with them many good intentions.