2017 Project

Design Thinking

Summary

The Design Thinking Workshop will engage students in the development of a technology solution for a problem or need in the Neah Bay community.

Students will learn and employ the human centered design process to create an interactive prototype of their solution. The prototype will be an application developed for a mobile phone or small tablet platform. Students will create this prototype in class using Marvel (marvelapp.com), a commercially available (free) web-based tool.

During the week students will work in teams of three to rapidly progress through the human centered design process to develop a new application. Students will gain an understanding of potential users of their application. With this understanding, students will be guided through designing, mocking up, prototyping, user testing, and revising the application. For the culmination of the workshop, the student teams will present their projects to their peers and guests.

Workshop Schedule

The workshop will take place over five days, in one class period each day. The schedule is as follows:

Day	When	Activity	Description
0	Prior weeks	User Research	Interview users and gather data
1	Monday	Project Concept	Ideation, brainstorming
2	Tuesday	Feature Mockup	Interaction design, sketching
3	Wednesday	Interactive Prototype / User Test	Marvel prototype, user testing
4	Thursday	Revised Prototype / Presentation Prep	Prototype iteration, presentation rehearsal
5	Friday	Reflection / Celebration	Final reflection, “science fair” school assembly

Project Themes

Each class will have a different design challenge, although all will use the same human centered design process as described above.

The 6th and 7th grades classes will explore the field of citizen science, in which non-scientists (citizens) can help collect data used in scientific research.

The 8th grade classes will embark on a slightly more open-ended exploration on the theme of promoting different aspects of Makah culture.

These themes are based on our research and understanding of the Neah Bay and Makah Tribe issues.

Class	Topic	Subject	Items	Possible Users
6th Grade	Citizen Science Census Tool	Marine Wildlife	Salmon, halibut, birds, shellfish, whales, etc.	Fisherman, elders, teachers, sailors, whale watchers, family members, etc.
7th Grade	Citizen Science Census Tool	Land Wildlife	Eagles, elk, deer, cougars, trees, etc.	Hikers, hunters, gatherers, bird watchers, elders, teachers, family members, etc.
8th Grade	Cultural Education Tool	Learning or Communicating or Bridging Traditions	Dance, song, language, games, baskets, drums, etc.	Elders, cultural teachers, students, Makah living outside community, MCC staff, artists, storytellers, etc.