human computer interaction discussion and response to two paragraphs
In this discussion, you will be viewing videos that emphasize the importance of human-computer interaction. The first video features modern teenagers struggling with a common technology interaction from the twentieth century: dialing on a rotary telephone. In the second video, Steve Jobs unveils the original iPhone and describes how its versatile touchscreen differs from other common interfaces at the time. The third video, from 2017, shows a newer and increasingly common human-computer interaction: the touchscreen ordering kiosk.
While viewing these videos, consider how the people interact with the technology they are using. What interface elements are demonstrated in each video? How do these interfaces improve or hinder their ability to interact with technology and accomplish their goals?
- Video: 17 Year Olds Dial a Rotary Phone
- Video: Apple Keynote 2007 Complete – iPhone (Watch the first 14 minutes of this video.)
- Video: McDonald’s Bukit Bintang Self-Service Kiosk Review
In your initial post, discuss how a particular human-computer interface might impact a person’s satisfaction with and ability to use technology. Then, describe another example of a technology product and the human-computer interface you use to interact with that product, such as a wearable device or a self-service checkout machine. In your post, discuss the positives and negatives of the experience, with a focus on how HCI elements allow you to interact with the technology. Finally, describe how interacting with that technology compares to the way you were accustomed to doing that task before.
On a separate paper responses to the two paragraphs below (each paragraph separately), identify ways you could change the negative human-computer interaction elements mentioned in the paragraph for a more positive experience.
Paragraph 1: As an end-user I am all too familiar with what I encounter on a day to day basis at work or at home with my laptop or desktop and not knowing how to resolve the issue. For example, using my work email at work can be frustrating when outlook goes down and I have trouble accessing important emails that my boss sent me. I understand that technology will never be perfect and why I think that HCI advancement is very important to the evolving world. One of the advancements I love to use is the Outlook app on many different devices such as my phone in the case that it goes down on my computer, I can pull it up on my phone and answer the urgent email that my boss or peers have sent me. Also, the app is great in the case my boss would like me to help resolve an issue right away I can pull the email up on my phone at home and get it resolved quickly. Yes, it also does have its issues that shutting down the app or restarting your phone can’t fix. The quick access to the app on the phone to me is much more sufficient to getting a task done when it requires am immediate attention.
Paragraph 2: An end-user’s ability to interact with technology and the applications installed on their devices is something that I am often encountered with. I currently work in IT as a help desk technician at an MSP (managed service provider), meaning that I work with many different end-users, with various needs, because we have a large scope of organizations under contract to manage their systems. I work with doctors, non-profits, advertisers, construction groups, real estate agents and many other professionals to maintain their systems and troubleshoot the issues they encounter. Some users are more technologically inclined than others, but nonetheless, their frustrations are often expressed to me. As stated in the Future Interfaces Group Video, technology will never be absolutely perfect. The installation, operation and updating of many devices and software can still be a tedious, confusing task even on the simplest of GUIs. This is why HCI and its continued advancements are essential to the ever-changing and evolving technological world we live in. One of my favorite and fairly recent HCI products is Lenovo’s Vantage. Currently, I own an MSI laptop, a HP all-in-one desktop and a Dell desktop paired to two Asus monitors but I did own a Lenovo in 2012 and I can say that being in the tech field, Lenovo has come a long way. Vantage is an application that Lenovo has placed on their newest devices, such as the ThinkPad, that comes with an obvious and intuitive widget attached to the Windows Start menu. I find that most end-users do not know how to run their Windows updates before they encounter system performance issues, especially if their organization has opted out of automatic updates. Lenovo’s Vantage not only allows any user to find and run the updates quickly (specifically pertaining to their device, not the Windows operating system), but it also offers the option to easily search for drivers within the same widget. Let’s say the user has encountered an issue where part of their keyboard has stopped working. In theory, a quick search for that driver and a reboot can fix that. I am reticent to say that “in the past”, the solution to this issue can be much more difficult because I have had to solve this problem in such as way in very recent history. For someone such as myself, I know how to navigate to my device manager and/or locate the proper driver online. But for someone who’s forte is not computers, they may have trouble understanding how to identify the issue or how to solve it. Lenovo’s Vantage allows users to circumnavigate that to solve some of their performance issues.