Upcoming
Topic | Meeting format | Facilitator/Presenter | Date | Time | Links / Notes | Coordinator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PhET: Number Play | Design Crit | Cathy CarterTBD | Sep 17, 2024 | 2 - 3pm ET | ||
TBD | Community Workshop | Liz Lane | TBD | 2 - 3pm ET | ||
Licensing and Contributions at IDRC Workshops and Crits | Design Crit | Justin, Jon | TBD | |||
IDRC work calendars and coordinating schedules | Design Crit | Justin, Jon | TBD | |||
Process for sharing IDRC videos and recordings | Design Crit | Justin, Jon | TBD |
Past
Workshops from previous years can be seen on the Previous Community Workshop and Design Crit Topics page. Video recordings may not have captions. If you would like to contribute to captioning any of the videos, please reach out to us through the fluid-work mailing list.
Topic | Format | Facilitator | Date | Time | Links / Notes | Coordinator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crossroads Game | Design Crit | Deblekha | July 23, 2024 | 1:30 - 2:30pm ET | https://youtu.be/gcu1pWN8BnI Deblekha is ED and founder of the Access to Media Society (AMES) which is based on Galiano Island, BC. Crossroads is an interactive and educational game created through AMES, and the IDRC has been involved in supporting some of the work on the accessibility of the game interface (maybe you joined the first crit a couple of years ago). The team has made a lot of changes and improvements to the game and they would love to get more feedback from us on its current state. | Dana and Justin Obara |
Gamepad Navigator | Design Crit | Tony Atkins | Feb 13, 2024 | 2 - 3pm ET | https://youtu.be/ut0y02qvwl8DescriptionThe Gamepad Navigator is a Chrome extension that allows a user to control Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, et cetera) using a game controller. The new 1.0 version will shortly be available on the Chrome Web Store.
In this week's design crit, there will be a short presentation and demo, and then a chance to give your input.
For a detailed demonstration of the new version, you can check out our demos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSG_Q2qCFaC2kB6kYiOAi8Zxmyy6iCn3e
The project is part of the Fluid labs space on GitHub, you can find it here: | |
Laurier Library’s Open Menu | Community Workshop | Mark Weiler, Ashley Shaw, & Ryan Robinson | Jan 23, 2024 | 2 - 3pm ET | Wilfrid Laurier University Library’s Open Menu |
Suggested Future topics
Topic | Facilitator |
|---|---|
Agile development: planning | Michelle |
Teacher to talk about education plans (EP) | Guest? |
Students with learning disabilities to talk about their experiences | Guest? |
People working with students on mindfulness and mental health | Guest? |
Talk to people who teach children to program | Lighthouse Labs? |
Someone from able gamers to talk about how people with various disabilities interact with games | Guest? |
People working with young adults with autism | Guest? |
Rose? How people engage in social connections and relationships | Guest? |
Empathy Toy | |
Engage with OCAD students to talk about their projects and/or areas of study. ( MDes and others) | Guest? |
Music Therapy | Theresa |
Someone who has developed software for older adults | Guest? |
Someone who works with brain sensing tech | Muse? |
Someone to talk about entrepreneurship and marketing ( how to reach people to use our software and services e.g. P4A, Outside-in, hack-a-thons, etc.) | Guest? |
Latest A11y models and principles to follow, and language to use ( e.g. things that the MDes students are taught ) | Jutta? |
Accessibility in the Toronto Public Library | Guest? |
Case Studies of User Creativity in Computing (Monthly)
| |
Skills Development workshops (Monthly?) Below are some examples of topics that could be covered.
|
Offsite Visit: Location | Topic | Contact |
|---|---|---|
Yura Zenevich | ||
Underground Hack Lab? | ||
IDI Partners (e.g. UofT, TMU, etc) | ||
Teaching children to program |
Challenges / Hack Session / Workshop | Facilitator |
|---|---|
Design Crits - Additional Information
A critique (or more informally a "crit") is an opportunity for us to come together as a small group and examine and discuss a creative artifact - a design wireframe, a persona, a newly-implemented UI or software component, etc.
These design crits are informal, constructive, specific, and respectful. It's a forum where anyone from the community can bring their designs and receive feedback.
The idea is to focus on tangibles, not on abstract plans:
What have we designed or built?
why is it like this, what are its strengths, and how can we make it better?
Since these meetings are participant driven, there will be occasions when the crit will not meet. Meetings will be announced in the schedule above, and to the relevant mailing lists (i.e. inclusive design community list, and fluid-work).
Why do Critiques?
Techniques like UX Walkthroughs, Inclusive Design Mapping Tool ("Petals & Flowers"), or User States and Contexts will help us concretely assess and discuss an artifact from different perspectives. It's based on the idea that creative work gets stronger when it is discussed amongst peers and diverse ideas are considered.
Crits help us to:
amplify the strengths of a design
suggest alternative trajectories
reflect on our work through the lenses of different users
identify areas of confusion
focus on tangible artifacts, not just abstract ideas or goals
Design crits are intentionally informal and casual
We try to keep design crits very informal and casual on purpose. This makes it easier for participants to share designs (requiring less time preparing formal presentations), and opens up more time for organic conversations. A formal presentation of your project or design is not required, and we encourage a more conversational approach.
Presenting at Design Crits
Design crits are a great opportunity to discuss designs, refine ideas, ask questions, and get feedback. To get the most out of a design crit:
Come prepared with specific design issues to share - this will help focus the discussion on the topics that will help you.
Try not cover too much or expect to have every question addressed.
Design crits are intended to be 1 hour in length to help keep the discussion productive and specific.
If needed, another design crit can be scheduled to continue the discussion, or you can take advantage of the Inclusive Design Community mailing list to reach a broader audience.