Ebook Project Log

TEAM

Cheng YingYan, Ellena (Left)
Shao ZhouYi, Joy (Middle)
Wang ZhiWei, Eva (Right)

Hong Kong Polytechnic University
School of Design
2009-2010 Master of Interaction Design

CONTENTS
Team members /02

1 Project Background /06

2 Project Objective /08

RESEARCH

3 Research Process / 12 7 Competitive Analysis / 32
7.1 Rationale /32

4 Persona / 14 7.2 Matrix of Competitor Comparison /33

4.1 Rationale /14 7.3 Advantages and Disadvantages /34

4.2 OPUS’ Persona /16
8 Design Objectives and Criteria / 36
5 Secondary Research / 18
5.1 Rationale /18 9 Design Opportunities / 40
9.1 Physical Freedom /42

6 Design Direction / 22 9.2 Pleasant Reading Experience /44

6.1 Physical /24 9.3 Communicate with Others /48

Psychological /24

Social /24 10 Visits & Interviews / 52
6.2 Design Direction /26 10.1 Rationale /52

10.2 First and Second visits /54
6.3 Ideas /30
10.3 Third visits /58

10.4 Fourth visits /62

DESIGN

11 Scenarios / 69 14 Interaction Models / 82
11.1 Rationale /69 14.1 Rationale /82

11.2 Scenarios /70 14.2 Evolution of Interaction Models /82
14.3 Interaction Models /83

12 Brainstorm and Sketches / 72
12.1 Rationale /75 15 Information Architecture / 86
12.2 Refinement of Sketches /76 15.1 Rationale /87

15.2 Information Architecture /88

13 Task Analysis / 78
13.1 Rationale /78

13.2 Envisioned /79

13.3 Task Analysis /80

OPUS

16 Final Design / 93 18 Acknowledgements /102
16.1 Interface /94

16.2 Physical Form /98 19 References /104
16.3 Technology /99
20 Appendix /106
17 Lessons Learned /100

ASTRI collaboration with PolyU on
eBooks for children education.

There are 4 projects altogether as part of a larger collaboration between
ASTRI and PolyU:

6 Hong Kong Polytechnic University

1
PROJECT
BACK-
GROUND

MDes Interaction Design - Next Generation eBook 7

PROJECT
OBJECTI


VE 2
The project’s objective is to design a tough and
durable eBook for children 7 years of age that
allows children to learn to read.

The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design process and have the students follow
through an entire design cycle. The workshop starts from understanding the design problem all
the way to creating a final design.


ESEARCH

RESEARCH
PROCESS
3
The research process allows designers to start with a
vague and undetermined problem and refining
it to the final product and interactions.

Through the entire process, the design is refined based on new findings and insights. By testing it
iteratively, the design had a chance to be improved step by step.


PERSONA

Rationale

A persona is a representation of a typical user that will use the system. It in-
cludes various information, such as demographics, interests, and life style, etc.
The reason to have a persona is to design for a specific person and avoid de-
signing features that will not be used by the target users. By having a concrete
person in mind, the design team can be more focused and the design will be
more grounded on real scenarios.


4

Brainstorming


OPUS’s Persona


WHO - 7-year-old children

HOW - The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design

WHY- The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design

WHAT- The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design

WHEN- The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design

WHERE- The workshop is designed to follow an iterative design


SECOND-
ARY
RESEARCH


5
Rationale

Secondary Research includes research that others have done prior to this
project. It includes resources like books, journals, internet articles, and more.
It is used to give the design team a basic understanding of the issues and what
previous work can they leverage and what areas require primary research.
With a basic understanding of issues regarding designing for children physi-
cally, psychologically, and socially, the design team can be better prepared to
exploring the details in the right areas. The secondary research gave the team
a preliminary view of the design directions.


DESIGN
DIRECTI

6
Based on the secondary research, the findings were
categorized into three categories: physical,
psychological, and social.

ON

For the physical aspect, it was determined that children have very rich
movement and the physical form of the eBook must accommodate for the
children’s movements.

Psychologically, there are many differences between children and
adults. The eBook will have to keep in mind of the persona and how he can
benefit from the design of the eBook.

For the social aspect, studies have shown that students learn much better
among peers (reference required). Reading has
raditionally been a private activity and little interaction is shared among the
children. This project wants to leverage the improved learning based on com-
munication and make reading a social
experience. With these directions determined, the design can be more fo-
cused and the initial ideas of what the eBook can be began to be shaped.


DESIGN DIRECTION >


IDEAS
Acoording to sendary research
based on design direction
>


COMPET-
ITIVE
ANALYSIS

7
Rationale

By understanding the existing competition for eBooks, it gives the team a view of which areas are
fulfilled and which area requires a better design solution.


Matrix of Competitor Comparison

There were two main competitors identified for the project. The first group are existing eBooks
that are mainly geared towards adults. The second group is the existing learn-to-read toys for chil-
dren. It was identified that the eBooks can hold many content in it, but the fun factor is really low.
On the opposite spectrum, the toys are fun to read and suitable for children, but parents must buy
a new toy in order to teach their children new content. The solution to the problem is an eBook
for children that holds the same quantity of content as eBooks for adults but more fun to use than
existing toys for children.


Advantages & Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of the existing eBooks were evaluated. This provides insight
for opportunities and pitfalls that the current project should consider.

+
+ Light, thin, and portable (Kindle/Sony)
+ Usage with both hands (Kindle)
+ Provides highlighting and annotations (Sony)
+ Touch screen (Sony)

+ Large amount of books (K/S)
+ Books are never out of print (K/S)
+ Simulates real paper (K/S)
+ Large amount of content available (K)
+ Simple to use and add additional books(K)
+ Shop for new books anywhere (K)
+ Free wireless internet (limited to USA) (K)
+ Low book prices (K)
+ Supports PDF (S)
+ Front and back lights available (S)
+ Doesn’t need to be recharged often (S)


Kindle Sony Reader

_
- Lack of touch screen (Kindle)
- Opinion of many users that is it not attractive (Kindle)
- Screen has refresh lag (1 second for each page turn).(Sony)

- ebook is only “borrowed” (K)
- ebooks cannot be read on computer (K)
- Low resolution small screen (6 in)(S)
- Cannot search book text(S)
- Cannot jump to page(S)


DESIGN
OBJEC-
TIVES &
CRITERIA

8

Based on the previous research, we creat the fol-
lowing design criteria.
>


DESIGN
OPPORT

9.1 Provide Freedom

9.2 Pleasant Reading Experience

9.3 Communicate with Others


UNITIES

9

Provide Freedom
--Give children more physical freedom to use it

CURRENT PROBLEMS

Can only read and write on the book
--Provide different interactions on the eBook
eBook issues to be addressed:
Accessory can be lost
Shortage of battery

Each book only contains one story
--Store various books on the book
Small scre space
Tired to read---- make sure they don’t read too much

Can’t modify the physical book
--Allow children to manipulate content of the eBook
Durable physical form


CURRENT SCENARIO NEW SCENARIO

1
Peter had an interesting class about dinosaurs in the morning. He
found the topic really interesting and wanted to find out more
with his best friend Steve.

2
He had lunch with Steve and they wanted to
read about dinosaurs together, but they don’t
have access to any books about dino- 2
saurs.
...so Peter took out his eBook and they
read about dinosaurs and learned the names of
a dozen of dinosaurs together by the end of
lunch.

3
So they played hide and seek instead.


Pleasant reading experience
--Consider children’s emotion,
provide motivation to read, easy to use

CURRENT PROBLEMS

Nothing to initiate or continue reading
--The avatar can help:
It’s emotion will signify when the children should read.
Two avatars can act as the ‘angel’ and ‘devil’ exemplars.
Help create plan habitually.
Assis in reflection of the book.
Encourage children to ask questions.
Remind and motivate child to continue reading.

Avatar should not be intrusive.
Must be easy to use.


Can’t find answers to their questions
--Built-in encyclopedia and dictionary can help find the answer.

Bored with the content
--Switch from text to pictures or animations
Make sure that children still read
-- text follow the pictures and cartoon.

Passively absorbing the content
--Create stories using pictures and the eBook turned it into text.
At the end, there is a game for Peter to see if he learned what was in his story.


1

After school, Peter is deciding if he should watch television,
play games or read.

2

He decides that he wants to start reading Harry Potter because his
friend said it’s interesting. However, there are too much text
and too difficult for him.


CURRENT SCENARIO

3

So he gave up and went to watch TV.

3

He picked up his eBook and sees what his avatar, Jerry, has in store for him.
--Jerry reminded Peter that he planned to read Harry Potter today, so Peter started reading it with Jerry.
--Jerry asked questions throughout the story and looked up answers in the encyclopedia with Peter.
He turned the book into an animation that reads the story with him.

NEW SCENARIO


Communicate with others
--Encourage interaction with others
because studies have shown that children learn better with peers

CURRENT PROBLEMS

Difficult to find friends to read together
--Provide a list to show friends that are available to read
Display of book(s) that friends want to read
Make sure that they are reading and not chatting

Difficult to find a book to read
--A list of books that friends recommends

Different stage and speed of reading between children
--Provide mini-reading-games around 10-15 min about previous reading while the
faster friend waits


Can’t find answers to the questions
--Encourage asking friends or group discussions through eBook

Can’t share book with too many people
--Provide a remote control to allow more children to view it.
Each children has one eBook and they read the same story together remotely.

Can’t communicate with friends in small screen
--Connect eBook into one big screen


1

Later that day, Peter found a book about dinosaurs and wanted to
go find Steve to read.

2
But his mom thinks it’s too late.


CURRENT SCENARIO

3

So Peter stayed home and read a book about dinosaurs alone.

3

...So Peter went on his eBook to see if Steve was available to read
with him. He saw that Steve was free and also wanted to read dinosaurs,
so he contacted Steve and they read dinosaurs together.

NEW SCENARIO


VISITS &
INTER-
VIEWS
Rationale

The interviews and visits provided the chance for the team to observe the be-
havior and perspectives of the children and teachers. Being able to talk with
the users and experts gave a lot of insights. The primary research and feed-
back provided by the students and teachers greatly improved the design by
allowing the design team to make informed decisions.


10

First visit
Home life was understood. The child’s life was also very busy and she had many choices of what
to learn. She showed that she was very excited in reading, which provided some more input to the
persona as a child who is intrinsically interested in reading.

Second visit
It was obvious that children are excited by technology, as demonstrated by their usage of the first
generation eBooks from ASTRI. They are also very creative and comfortable with advanced tech-
nology such as portable game consoles.


Methodology

There were 4 visits altogether. The first was a home visit
to a family and the team had the chance to interview the
parents and a girl about her reading habits and daily life.
This provided a chance for the team to look at the ar-
tifacts, understand the reading levels and capabilities of
children around 7 years old, and see the interests of the
children.

The second visit was at the school. The team prepared
questions for the students and requested that the children
drawn how their dream eBook would look. The teachers
were also interviewed separate to understand how they
motivate children to learn and what materials are being
taught in class.


Insights

1 A lot of pictures in textbooks

2 All their books are different sizes

3 Love using their existing eBook

4 Familiar with portable game consoles


Solutions

1 Same amount of pictures and text
ratio in reading

2 Doesn’t need to follow standard A4 sizes

3 Acceptance of technology with learning

4 Can design more complex interactions


Third visit
The children were very capable in understanding the workflow. They were also highly intrigued
by the game portion of the eBook. Having seen that, it was important for the eBook to encourage
the children to learn new material first before they go onto the games and test their knowledge.


Methodology

By the third visit, the paper prototypes and a foam model of the physical
were tested.

The benefit of using a low fidelity prototype is to test the features and not
be concerned with the aesthetics yet. Once the process of the eBook is con-
firmed, the team can go onto creating more detailed designs. During the us-
ability test, we showed the children in pairs of two of how they would interact
with the eBook to see if they would be able to operate and
understand the concepts.

The children were tested in pairs of two to encourage more communication
between each other, since children have the tendency to be shy and not think
aloud during a usability test. To test both the physical prototype and workflow
at the same time, the paper prototype was slotted into a clear film attached to
the physical prototype. When the children touches the screen, the facilitator
would manually remove the appropriate screens, so that the proper screen
would be showing after every action performed by the children. The interac-
tion model was the main area of focus during this visit. By testing the paper
prototype with the physical prototype, the design team can observe how the
children would hold onto the eBook during usage and if that changes over-
time due to fatigue or other unanticipated reasons.


Insights

1 Reading is private activity, children
share their thoughts.

2 No concept of looking up dictionary.

3 More proficient in Chinese

4 Ask parents if they have questions.

5 Focus on games


Solutions

1 Discuss after finish reading

2 Link words to pictures directly

3 Chinese in UI and explanations

4 Keep allowing children to ask questions at the end

5 Remove game from homepage


Fourth visit
This was the final visit and the workflow and features
were fairly stable. From this visit, we understood that
children do not understand tabs, and it would help if
items that they see on one screen are persisted to the next
one. While the overall workflow was understood, they
children did not understand how some of the features
were represented and required some explanation before
they can continue on their tasks.

Methodology

In the fourth visit, a high fidelity prototype was created and a more refined physical form was
also available. The high fidelity prototype provided insight to the usability of the design and how
children understood the controls used. Once again, the children were tested in pairs and they
walked through a Flash prototype by completing some predefined tasks. The main focus of this
visit was about the interface design and ease of use.


Insights

Didn’t understand why there is a book
1 beside friend

Not interested in friend’s reading
2 progress

3 Directly to games after reading

4 Hold eBook from bottom corners

5 Children proficient in using pens

6 Didn’t understand tabs
Didn’t understand ask parents later
Didn’t understand “calling” feature
Only understood next and previous arrows
Confirmed all children understood reading aloud
Put eBook on lap or table while reading
12 Smaller sizes did not affect task


Solutions

1 Didn’t understand why there is a book

Removed progress, but can talk and share
2 notes anytime

Automatically allow children to discuss book
3 before allowing them to play games

Made bottom corners larger. Earphones on
4
the bottom to avoid cables tangling

5 Provide pen to take notes and draw during
reading

6 Go to Home for navigate
Simplify wording to “ask questions”
Simplify metaphor to knocking for communication
Removed pagination
Keep reading aloud
Earphone is indented
12 Selected smaller size for physical freedom


ESIGN

11


SCE-
NARIOS
Rationale

Scenarios provide an easy method to describe the eBook’s context of use.
These are high level scenarios that provide the context but not the actual us-
age of the eBook.


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BRAIN-
STORM
&
SKETCH
12.1 Rationale

12.2 Refinement of Sketches


ES

12

Rationale

The brainstorming provides a chance to generate design ideas. By going through
the brainstorming process, it provides a chance for creative ideas to be born and
those ideas can be refined after the braining storming session.

The sketches were a rough and quick means for the team to contemplate about
possible physical forms. Given the roughness and amount that was generated, the

team can openly critique all of the designs and improve those with potential.


Refinement of Sketches


13
TASK
ANALY-
SIS
Rationale

The task analysis involves steps that the user will have to take before reading,
during reading, and after reading. By understanding all the steps and decisions
that a user have to take to finish the task makes the design more grounded
based on the user’s behavior.


Current

The task analysis involves steps that the user will have to
take before reading, during reading, and after reading. By
understanding all the steps and decisions that a user have
to take to finish the task makes the design more grounded

Envisioned

The task analysis involves steps that the user will have to
take before reading, during reading, and after reading. By
understanding all the steps and decisions that a user have
to take to finish the task makes the design more grounded

>

Rationale

The interaction models describe the relationship between different aspects of
the eBook. By examining the relationship between them, the interaction that
has to happen becomes apparent and clear.

Evolution of Interaction Models

On the final interaction model, the children are having their individual experi-
ence that mirrors each other until they start reading. Once they begin reading,
they share their experience of the same content and they get to exchange notes
and thought with each other in the process to improve each other’s experience.


14
INTER-
ACTION
MODEL
>

15
INFOR-
MATION
ARCHI-
TECTURE

Rationale

The interaction models describe the relationship between different aspects of
the eBook. By examining the relationship between them, the interaction that
has to happen becomes apparent and clear.


PUS

16
FINAL
DESIGN

Interface
The interface creates a simple and interactive means for the children to learn
to read. During the interviews, it was apparent that the students are comfort-
able with using a pen while interacting with a digital device. Therefore OPUS
used a pen that allows drag and drop on many of the features. The interface
also wants to create a sense of discovery for the children, therefore the infor-
mation does not show up until the children ‘discovers’ it.

On demand assistance provides the least interruption to the children’s reading
experience. If they don’t understand the content or don’t know how to pro-
nounce a word, they can find on without leaving the context of what they are
currently reading. They can also write and exchange notes at any point during
their reading.


8:30 PM

+ + Doraemon and I take plane to make a snow man.

+
We play baseball and read a book together.

8:30 PM

8:30 PM

Today wants to to

M cdou

8:30 PM


The games focus on testing if the children
understood the content.

1) Examines if the children remembered the content
2) Examines if the children can apply the content
3) Examines if the children can use the content in a new context

Once the children understand the content, their reading level is automatically
adjusted and more challenging material will be provided in the future.

The actual appearance of the interface is customizable by the children to in-
crease their sense of attachment to the OPUS.


Physical Form

The corners of the form is larger and rounded because the usability tests
found that is where children tends to hold the eBook. The rubber around the
edges makes the eBook more tough and durable as well as provides a more
aesthetically pleasing appearance.


Technology
Wi-Fi
3G
Multi-touch screen
Stylus
Webcam
Microphone
Speakers
Earphone outlets
USB connection


“Throughout the entire process of designing the eBook, it was ap-
parently that user’s involvement is crucial. Without the visits and
interviews, the design team cannot make informed decisions or
understand.

Starting with a board scope and then refining the ideas until the

”
final design is born was a very interesting process and it provides
the knowledge of how a process can iteratively improve the design.

LESSONS
LEARNED

17

ACKNOW
MENTS

ASTRI

Price Memorial
Alison Wilson and Katy Clarke, Primary Longman Express, 2A
(Hong Kong: Longman Hong Kong Education, 2005), 10.

18
LEDGE-

19
REFER-
ENCE

[1] Click and Jane
---What are kids learning to read when they learn to read online?
Virginia Heffernan
New York Times Magazine; Feb 1, 2009; Alumni - Research Library
pg. 13

[2] Defending Young Children’s Play as the Ladder to Literacy
Charles H. Wolfgang
Tobie S. Sanders

[3] Learning to read words (EPS Prize Lecture)
Kate Nation, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
The Quarterly Journal of Experiemental Psychology, Psychology Press

[4] Promoting Reading: Using eBooks With Gifted and Advanced Readers
Christine L Weber; Terence W Cavanaugh
Gifted Child Today; Fall 2006; 29, 4; Alumni - Research Library
pg. 56

[5] PUBLISHING; eBooks catching on with children; Undaunted by technology,
young readers are embracing digital storytelling.
Alana Semuels. Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 25. 2008. pg. C. 1

[6] The Dimensions of Reading Attitudes for Turkish Children
Ann W. Engin & Fred H. Wallbrown
University of South Carolina and Kent State University
The Journal of Social Psychology, 1983, 120, 169-181.

[7] The efficacy of electronic books in fostering kindergarten children’s emergent
story understanding
Maria T. De Jong & Adriana G. Bus
Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
Reading Research Quarterly. Vol. 39, No. 4. October/November/December 2004


20
APPENDIX
DESIGN

10 Vists and interviews / Low fidelity interface


DESIGN

14 Interaction Model / Original Interaction Model

Interacts with

Read & Share Stores

Creates & Reads

1. Provide Freedom
-- Give children more physical freedom to use it


Share info with

Reminds
& Accompanies

asks
Stores

answers

Becomes

Stores

Provides
info to
Gathers
info from

Encyclop
edia

2. Pleansant Experience
-- Provide pleasant reading experience


DISTANCE

Read
+
Communicate together
Through eBook

Interact with Interact with

STEP 1.See if friends available

STEP 2.See books that friend wants to read

STEP 3.Start the story

Allows users to communicate

Goes on Goes on

3. Communicate with friends
-- Improve communication with others


OPUS

16 Final Design / Physcial Form

Original Physical Form


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