Survive Global Climate Change: Spring 2016

User Test Report & Action Plan for Battling Extinction

Spring 2016

The “Survive Global Climate Change” app is very similar to “Battling Extinction”. It is a Character-driven storytelling app that covers a wide range of climate change causes and effects. It Includes a complete digital curriculum with review questions, practice quizzes, additional resources and automated assessment It was Developed in collaboration with Katie Bush and the Kenowa Hills Middle School science club for Grades 5-9.

Lessons learned by user testing “Survive” will be applied to improvements in the similar W.I.P. Battling Extinction App.

This User test and Action plan was performed and created by … Vince Zubalik, Andy Gabry, Kelsey Kamrowski, Sean Depottey & Chris Brown.

Summary

For Survive Global Climate Change User Test

Initially the students thought climate change was strictly related to melting polar ice caps. After the presentation their eyes were opened to the breadth of Global Climate Change. We noticed the students were very affected by the app, somewhat stressed out and worried about the future. We want Battling Extinction to leave the students feeling like they can do something to change the future, and there is no better time to start than now. The teacher played an integral role in the presentation of the app, and we want to push that even more in Battling Extinction by emphasizing what we can do to improve the future without downplaying what’s currently going on in our present.

Action Plan

for improvements to the similar W.I.P. Battling Extinction App.

assign names (or initials) to each action item

Quiz

These are currently devoid of emotional content. They provide a unique opportunity to reinforce the science learning and leave a lasting, hopeful, emotional impression on the student, because it is the last material they engage with at each location.
- backgrounds will reflect environment of animal (Andy, Kelsey, and Vince)
- in background have endangered area fill will more animals as more questions are answered correctly 4 different backgrounds each getting slightly better. (Andy, Kelsey, and Vince)
- add animal noises to a question answered correctly or incorrectly. (Andy, Kelsey, and Vince)
- Each participant for the quiz background project will work on two animals each out of six total animals.
- what do you think of this idea?... more correct answers will lead to more animal sounds to correlate with the increase in the number of animals visually.
  - Re: Overall, we think this idea is great, and possible to go through successfully and effectively.

Function

Audio from each animated scene repeats and loops whenever the “Read More” button is pressed.
Elephant’s LED meter in its interface does not work
Typos in the Assessment Test
Multiple instances where quiz buttons don’t play sound when the buttons are used.
Grammatical errors in the readings for the Elephant.
Animate the rest of the animal locations in the world map interface.
Replay buttons needed for every page in the stories
Quiz
- Question 1
  - No incorrect sound on answer D
- Question 2
  - No incorrect sound on answer C
- Question 3
  - No sound on answer C

Assessment Test

Devoid of emotional reinforcement
Could copy and paste Quiz backgrounds.

Tuna Story

Make outcome less grim, possible conclusion to end on high note (If time is available)

Remaining Content

”Read More” needs actual content for Snow Leopard, Vaquita, & Polar Bear. Will be supplied by Kenowa Hills Middle School Science Club
Quiz questions will be supplied by Kenowa Hills Middle School Science Club.
Polar Bear, Vaquita, and Snow Leopard need photo - pictures for their respective interfaces

Design

Type Setting Could Be Improved list how
- On Title Screen
- Better type setting for Read more options
I don't like the color animals on black & white backgrounds
What if correct sounds were related to each respective animal Which section ???
Whats with the animated bar of circles?

UX/GUI

Why is there a pause button?
Why is there a circle in button for back to map?
- It changes to a hamburger for menu option (do this for sure)
Table layout for answers is odd (Change if have Time)

-A -C

-B -D

instead of

-A -B

-C -D

Detailed Notes

For Survive Global Climate Change User Test

Process

The room itself was filled with the average amount of 4th graders and with a homeroom teacher, Mr. Jones. The room also had an overhead behind the teacher’s desk where all the students can effectively watch and interact with the “Survive” app. Students payed attention more with the subject material when the “Survive” app was launched with animations and quizzes that are entertaining and interactive to the students. The app is made as a teaching assistant for the teacher to use, most prominently with the act of discussions for each location, and assigning the students the final assessment for the teachers to grade.

Technology

Room Environment.. one window open ... lights off.
Computer kept going to sleep as teacher talked.
replay button would have been helpful for animation.
Teacher hesitated on method for replaying... needed to hit back.. then next.
possible conclusion added to leave the presentation on a high note

Teacher (Actual)

He seemed genuinely interested in the app.
teacher added question “how old will you be in 2063”
seemed excited every time someone answered a question
added question for children,” remember the question how would you feel”
The animation’s captured the teacher's attention and kept him intrigued and focused.
tone shifted when animation about brother leaving for war, Teacher asked specific student what she had in common with the example” (her brother was in the military and was deployed)
He payed close attention to the children's reactions, seemed happy with the way they interacted with the student teachers and app.
The student teacher also seemed genuinely interested in how the app worked.
Seemingly the only time he became distracted is immediately after the student teacher came into the room. She handed him some paperwork and he left for no more than 5 minutes.

Teacher (Student Role-Playing As Teacher)

Subject: (What will happen in 50 years if we don't stop Global Climate Change.) was explained/introduced by the teacher because the text was unreadable when projected. Expectations were set up strictly through the teacher's voice.
The structure of the app was introduced verbally by the teacher.
Teacher standing had to bend over to operate the computer.
Looking at the screen and talking reduced the teacher voice volume.
When teacher looked at screen and tried to navigate... the backwards mousing was disorienting.
The app gave the teacher plenty to read and the prompts helped keep things moving.
Teachers lost track of time ... did not have a method for staying on schedule.
The teacher reengaged the students at the end of the lesson by making a "roaring" game out of the last quiz.

Student Engagement

Kids had a basic knowledge of Global Climate Change, primarily focused on the melting of the polar ice caps.
- Kids seemed to connect the dots between other things (rather than just polar ice caps melting) that may cause these changes as the stories progressed.
Discussion
- Discussion questions started to feel redundant about halfway through.

All students chuckled at the quiz jokes.
- The causal science was not mentioned during discussion ... but was remembered during quiz.
- The solutions were remembered during the discussion and the quiz
Observations during presentation
- Some of the statistics elicited strong reaction.
- Amount of hands raised reduced by two thirds by half way through the 3rd unit (canada)
- Serious examples seemed to hold children’s attention
- Students felt both glad and when answering the first discussion question (how does this make you feel?) . Glad that there is a solution. Sad that it might affect them and others around the world.
- Lost partial attention of the 2/3 of the students halfway through the 4th story.
- Asking how the story makes the students feel during the storytelling elicited more response than asking after the story was finished.

Florida, Miami

- Had a great reaction to the animations

The boys identified with and discussed the Miami boy.
Very attentive initially
Laughed at the animation
Very interactive and asked questions
Someone whispered “Scary”
Participation portion:
- Scared
- Glad to fix
- Sad
- Depressed
- Good ideas
  - Question 1: Correct 1st try
  - Question 2: Correct 1st try
  - Question 3: Correct 1st try

United Kingdom

Full attention for the most part, still engaged
The girls identified and discussed the London girl.
Laughed/Enjoyed
Great Reactions to car falling
- Strong whoa reaction to London car falling off the bridge. The class got a little chatty after the whoa. . "We need spiderman", etc
All could be heroes reaction - Excited
- Scared x4
- Sad x3
- Both cold - scared
- Terrified
  - Question 1: Incorrect 1st and 2nd time, but Correct 3rd time
  - Question 2: Correct 1st try
  - Laughed at - Question 3: Correct 1st try

Canada

Began to lose attention a bit
Front had most attention
Lots of text might have made it harder to be attentive
Big reaction to the war bomb animation in canada
Felt sorry/had a large reaction about the brother going to war
Analyzed Animation that went kaboom
Big reaction to the war bomb animation in canada
Sad
Discuss
- Sad
- Don’t want another war
- Scared
- Relatable
- Brother went to war comment
  - Question 1: Incorrect 1st Correct 2nd
  - Question 2: Correct 1st
  - Question 3: Incorrect 1st Incorrect 2nd Correct 3rd

Brazil

Good Answers, started to lose students but got them back in the end
Girls started playing with pencil, front table - right side
Some kids started to check out
More distractions to some of the kids
Messing with each other
Telling/whispering jokes
Projector turned off twice - oops!
Lost partial attention of the 2/3 of the students halfway through.
SAVED IT ALL WITH ROARING GAME

Opinions of children:
- Interesting
- “Weird” (Uncomfortable)
- Scared
- Uneasy
- Goodbye 1000 lights
- Impressive Animations
- Fun way to learn
- Felt like a game

Post Lesson Survey

When students were asked what they thought about the experience they said:
Fun... like a game
Liked the animation
Liked they way the app predicted the future (wondered how we did that)
Had never experienced a learning session like that before
“10,000 likes”
Impressive animations, fun neat way to learn, like a game, and very, very interesting
Very different from learning from a book
Stimulating

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