Title

EdShare Redesign

Context

Web Design Live Project

Brief

The Main aim of this project is to work with Academic and Student feedback and exprience’s to enhance the use of EdShare across the University via an ehanced and delightful redesign of the User Interface. The project will culminate in a presentation including a HTML/CSS working prototype to the TELL Advisory Group in May.

The aim is to focus on a user centred approach to the design and by creating a more user friendly, cleaner and simpler EdShare this will raise the profile and usefulness of the Teaching and Learning.

The main aims are to encourage the discoverability of data for end users and better data management tools for publishers. Search and Upload.

Background

It is widely agreed that the University has a need to ensure it has a visible online presense of its activities, both educational and research.

This can be seen in the activity focusing on the creation of MOOC’s and iTunes U Courses across the world.

EdShare already allows for all Staff and students enrolled within the University to share and distribute thier teaching and learning materials in a less marketing focussed way and to supplement school and University wide learning without the contraints of the Virtual Learning Enviroment (Blackboard). These documents are used in conjunction with lectures, VLE module specific documents and form part of a blended learning approach to study at UOS.

It can be agreed that although Blackboard works well for the delivery of module specific course material, it does not work so well for wider audience and exposure which is where EdShare fills a gap.

Process

During the design process the Academic will engage the designer with working group meetings, surveys, statistics and other data that will provide a steer on some design decisions. The redesign will require the latest web design toolkit and will start with an agile mobile first process.

The Academic will mentor the designer on these processes and the designer should document, reflect and expand on these concepts and theories.

Part of the process will be to document the progress on EdShare Redux and gather as much feedback from staff and students on the design ideas throughout the project.

To note the Academic will set up and lead design on the Redux site as this will be used as a promotional tool for the project and use of EdShare, however steer from the EdShare redesign will likely have an impact on icon design and colour choices and are likely to be used across both sites.

Deliverable’s

• Documented progress on EdShare Redux site.
• Portfolio of work. Including icon design, texture design, layout design documents.
• Working prototype of a responsive redesign of EdShare.
• Presentation to TELL Board.

References

Some Books

• Learning Web Design
• The Design of Everyday things
• A Book Apart Series
• Five Simple Steps Series

A few Videos

• What a UX Designer is?
• Responsive Design Systems
• Andy Clarke Mini Responsive Design Workshop
• Aral Balkan: Great Design Should

URLS

• About EdShare
• WSA Yr 2 Web Project Slides
• UX a Hidden Barrier in OER - Adam Procter
• The Need for Delightful Design in Educational Materials - Adam Procter
• Responsive Design Patterns
• Style Tiles
• A List Apart
• Mobile Design Principles - Adam Procter
• User Interface Engineering

Toolkit

• Espresso (Mac) / Brackets
• HTML5 Boilerplate
• Respond.js
• Gridset App
• Typekit / FontDeck
• Nice Web Type
• Typecast
• Hammer for Mac
• Chrome Dev Tools guide
• Firefox Dev Tools
• Firebug

Some Web Designers

• Ethan Marcotte
• Andy Clarke
• Laura Kalbag

Adam’s NOTEs

• UOS need to promote awareness and reimagine the EdShare mission statement.
• Create simple EdShare training materials.
• Create Case Examples to Enthuse staff and students
• Create an great EdShare experience for finding and uploading materials.
• Create a simple link from Blackboard to EdShare materials and the relationship between the two services.

How can we do this in practical terms.

Lead by the working group we will;

EdShare Redux Site to

• Promote the ongoing advances and stats from EdShare - Redux
• Gather ongoing feedback on Use’s and Redesign options
• Create simple training materials
• Examples of use / good practice

EdShare Redesign;

• Create a static html/css/javascrip redesign of EdShare Southampton, with the focus on User Experience and finding / uploading - mobile first - - Delightful and Friendly Design - revamped find - revamped upload
• this would be presented to TELL

Dicard for now scope beyond EdShare Southampton, though staff and other insitutes could read and contribute to Redux Site.

Seperate to site created

• mailinglist
• twitter #hashtag