The first day of our module was an introduction into the topic of interaction design processes. We kicked off the day with a lecture into the topic of different design fields.
After the presentation we were asked to answer some topic related questions to narrow down some interesting fields and design questions, which we could use as orientation.
At a later stage, we extracted from those answers global topics, like ecology, sharing or social aspects. Our group focused on the topic of taking action upon knowledge.
Keywords related to our topic from the first day.
Topics from the other groups.
As a group we started to think about topic related ideas and themes that could be related. At first we went into the field of primary schools and young people.
It became clear that all of us had different intentions and views on the topic. So we opened up a discussion round to canalize our interests and ideas. The discussion quickly led to the topic of our education system in Switzerland.
We were first very interested in the area of primary schools and how children more precisely on how they handle stress, the notion of gamification for learning, the relationship between students and teachers and others. Other topics we touched on were also concerning the question of how elderly people get the chance for education in the modern world where you constantly need to evolve. As we started to think more process oriented we were more driven to the environment of universities. As we felt this was a good environment for us to dive straight into the field and we wanted to make the most of the time we have and gain experience.
Our board with first ideas and topics which we found interesting in the field of education.
Diving into the field
So we eventually took a little turn on the topic and decided to engage with the topic of the social life of university students. This felt close to heart to us as we can relate to this subject and it is important to us. We believe that a vivid social activity is important to the health of students. So we set off into the field armed with a few questions we discussed as a team, which we felt might give us an understanding of how students feel about their social interactions.
We split up into groups of two, one staying at ZHdK, the other going to ETH. Overall we interviewed 24 Students from ETH and ZHdK. And observed the social interactions in both schools. Our findings: