While working through different internships, I completed quite a few projects. One was to help a non profit organization acquire and implement a member management system based on Joomla.  Another project was to develop a web portal for a small non profit organization that help older women in need.  Then I was able to develop a website for a non-profit dog rescue organization based on Joomla.  Finally I developed several successful and not so successful social media campaigns.  This past fall I started another internship with ShortForm as a Video DJ.  I did this to learn more about social media and to gain more real world experience with social media campaigning.  The experience was wonderful and I continue working on video channels with videos curated from different video sharing websites.  There are tons of video channels on ShortForm from people like myself and its definitely worth checking out.

During my last two years I have worked in several internships, completed freelance writing projects, and took courses in Instructional System Design.   The journey has been an amazing one but also one filled with a great deal of personal trouble with a mother diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.   Watching a parent suffering from the disease is like watching a parent slowly die before one's eyes.  Its not only painful but incredibly sad.  Without any real cures or aids, all one can do is try to make the person comfortable which can be very difficult.

Continuing to work on my graduate education.  As some of my followers or readers may have read, I am a master's student at UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County in MD) and my course of study is in Human Centered Computing.   While I have finished most of my course work in the program, I am still working on a thesis which involves developing an e-commerce web interface based on a literary review, survey, and a short study. Its been over two years since the project began.  The toughest parts were getting participants and conducting analysis of the results of the survey.  Right now I am working on getting participants for a second study that features the propose web interface which looks similiar to the new Amazon.com interface.  It uses greater white space, greater segmentation of elements, less clutter of onscreen advertisements, and a more readable presentation.  The new prototype also has new interface designs for a shopping cart, help functions, error messages, and the checkout screen.  Hopefully the thesis project will be a success but there is a still a bit further to go. 

Mobile Devices: older adults left out?

The big push right now in development is with mobile devices.  The small screen devices may be powerful but they are limited in terms of accessibility features.  While there has been research conducted to analyze the how older adults interact with cell phones, smart phones, and other devices, the results have been mixed.  Many developers are simply developing for a younger audience or those that can read small screen content and nimbly interact with small buttons.  For older adults with physical or visual impairments, using a smartphone can be a difficult process to say the least.  Unfortunately, with so much research going into mobile interfaces and applications, other areas of usability research may not be conducted.   The advent of new tablet mobile devices such as the iPad and the Dell Streak might open a door to allow older adults to also participate in this new form of computer interaction.  Some small studies have already shown a better means of interaction with the iPad versus mobile phones or even small noteboks.  However, older adults still may have continuing difficulty in having their needs met by developers of mobile application, especially for mobile smart phone devices.


Image: The iPad may have more accessiblity features than smartphone devices.

GUI Design Studio

Yesterday I was able to try out the program GUI Design Studio.  The program is essentially a mockup design program with some interesting features.  It has the basic design elements found plus more elaborate window GUI features that are sometimes left out in other programs.  It can be used to build all types of interfaces but shines with application or database frontend designs. The program will definitely bring fear to any of the established design apps like Photoshop or Dreamweaver.  It is has a basic, simple interface which is easy to learn and some of its graphic icons are a little out of date. Still its worth a trial run.

Below is a sample design I made with the program.