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ERIC Number: EJ1459349
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1360-1431
EISSN: EISSN-2040-8633
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Engaging Ethnography in the Human-Centered Design Technology Classroom
Sarah Renkert; Jung Han; Sherylyn Briller; Todd Kelley; Abrar Hammoud
Design and Technology Education, v29 n3 p36-55 2024
In design technology education, educators value student outcomes centered on concrete design ideas and a comprehensive understanding of prototyping. However, technology education must consider not only the general technology design process and quality but also human-technology interactions. Inevitably, designs for people are enmeshed in complex sociocultural contexts, inseparable from human needs, values, and desires. Given this need to comprehensively understand the user experience in design technology, ethnographic techniques are increasingly being used to holistically understand people, with the goal of improving their lives through human-centered design. To train design technology students in ethnography, this paper considers one model for teaching human-centered design, using ethnographic methods. "Designing Technology for People," an undergraduate-level course offered at Purdue University, is co-taught by faculty from the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Technology Leadership & Innovation. Throughout the course, students gain experience conducting basic ethnographic research and analysis, in addition to developing a virtual engineer's notebook and a design mock-up, shaped by their ethnographic findings. This paper turns to one case study, "The Squirrel Squad," to ethnographically review how the course is taught and the value of co-teaching courses with specialists in both ethnography and design technology.
Design and Technology Association. 11 Manor Court, Banbury, OX16 5TB, UK. Tel: +44-1789-470007; Fax: +44-1789-470-007; e-mail: info@data.org.uk; Web site: https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/DesignTechnologyEducation
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: 2044288
Author Affiliations: N/A