Capstone Design Document This assessment and archive tool exists to enable the documentation of the qualitative nature of design-education critique.
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Table of Contents 03...................................................Introduction 06...................................................Needs Analysis 10...................................................Classroom Implementation 13...................................................Enhancement of Face-to-Face Critique 16...................................................Guide to Constructive Criticism 18...................................................Software Interface User Flow 21...................................................Conducting a Beta Test 23...................................................Private Beta Test Results 26...................................................Staff and Collaborators
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 2
Introduction
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 3
Abstract
GRIDTYPE is an assessment and archive tool to enable the documentation of the qualitative nature of design-education critique. This project and need for assessment stems from an inherent want amongst faculty and students1 for more definitive evidence of success and deficiency in student progress. The 21st century model of design is interdisciplinary, and much more focused on systematic approaches to solving problems. Hugh Dubberly, a prominent figure in the forward-thinking design community, states in his design education manifesto: “All design becomes trans-disciplinary. A concern for the form of objects will give way to a concern for the experience of services. A concern for products and things will give way to a concern for networks of interaction and communities of systems... We might even go beyond communication (which implies Shannon’s somewhat mechanical model of delivering messages) and focus on conversation (interactions that converge on understanding, agreement, and action).” 1 This being said, the territory has moved from being strictly about quality of form, to measuring the success of effectiveness, goals, systems and conversation. This is where this project comes in. Besides standard grading and a portfolio, there is currently a perceived lack of quantitative type measure for student success in many Graphic Design programs. Success is based heavily on opinion, and is evidence of assessment is rarely captured in an analytic form.
Goals for Platform Users Users of this platform, when launched and fully immersed, should be able to do the following: Students will be able to: - Upload their creative works easily for review - Upload ‘iterations’ of their work to the system for visualized progress - Sort their uploaded work into ‘albums’ for easy access and organization - Comment on all works uploaded into the system - Rate on other student work - Receive feedback in written form - Receive feedback from a set list of criterion set by the system administrator Faculty will be able to - Rate student work based on a set criterion - Textually comment on students work - Assemble their own albums for viewing and sorting - Create ‘groups’ of students based on advising or course rosters System Administrators will be able to - Modify and create system-wide criterion for set ratings - Add/Remove users from the system - Modify various system wide functions
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 4
Format + Scope (Limitations, Audience, Testing) The format of this project is web-based.
Possible Limitations
As with any software development, time and testing audience can be the biggest limitations to successfully achieving set goals. A schedule of deliverables to UMass Boston and to the product have been outline in this proposal to keep the project on track. Also in response to the testing audience limitation,
Audience
The audience for this project is both higher education students and faculty of art and design.
Needs Analysis
In December of 2011, a needs assessment was conducted at a private local art/design college in the Boston area. Feedback from observation, interviews and surveys were collected and analyzed. The outcome of that assessment is the driving force for developing this tool. View the full needs assessment at www.ourdesign.us/needsassessment/
Deployment / Testing
Development of the actual product is already in process. It is anticipated that mid-April of 2013 a beta test will occur with current art and design students. There have already been students interested in taking part of the beta test, as well as a faculty member from another university who also teaches art and design. During the beta test, a set of actions will be given to each student to accomplish, and through observation and post-testing surveys, data will be collected that will drive the changes/improvements to be made before the product goes to completion. Once the product has been beta-tested with actual students and faculty, the product will become widely available for download by anyone who wishes to utilize the product.
Consultation and Collaboration
The back end code-base of this project is being developed in collaboration with Jesse Marple, lead developer at The Boston Globe. He is a subject matter expert in this arena.
Instructional / Integration Documents
The back end code-base of this project is being developed in collaboration with Jesse Marple, lead developer at The Boston Globe. He is a subject matter expert in this arena.
1 - Design Education Manifesto - http://www.dubberly.com/articles/design-education-manifesto.html
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 5
Needs Analysis Read the full report at www.ourdesign.us/needsassessment
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 6
Assessment Summary
Initial goal for conducting this needs assessment Recently at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, there has been some concern over student performance, capacity and motivation. Students seem to be lacking in workflow capacity, as the amount of work produced has been low. There is a feeling that it may be a distraction issue, and that students just can not seem to focus on their work. To begin to show evidence of these things, a needs assessment would be needed to formally determine possible faculty/student/curriculum gaps and provide recommendations on ways to improve student progress, motivation and capacity. It is the hope that this needs assessment can help shed some light on issues identified by faculty and staff. The problems seem to have become evident through the assessment of student progress, but the students may, or may not be the stem of department issues. As educators, we can not make assumptions that every semester is the same, nor that every student is the same. The needs of students 5, 10 or 15 years ago may not be the same needs of our students today. ‘Needs’ in this case refers to not just skills and practice, but engagement, motivation, learning styles and information dissemination. This needs assessment is from the perspective of AIB Design students from the sophomore, junior and senior levels. It was conducted from the student perspective, as oddly enough, students are not regularly asked about their experiences and expectations of faculty, courses, and the curriculum.
Top Reasons for Assessment
- Decrease in student work quality and quantity - Decrease of overall student motivation - Unknown capacity of students to create work and learn tools - Possible mis-aligned expectations between faculty, students and administrators - Heavily based qualitative review for student progress
Data Collection / Findings
Survey 1 - General Program Feedback The first survey sent was intended to collect some general thoughts from students about their work processes, capacity to produce projects and what they find most valuable about their own work. Survey 2 - The Critique Process This survey focuses specifically on the idea and process of critique. The goal here was to identify students thoughts on critique and the application of feedback from fellow students and faculty members.
Interviews - Seniors, preparing for final juries
Interviews with various senior students on their view of the AIB Design Program and the level and capacity of current senior students. These interviews aimed to reveal a day-to-day picture of how AIB Design seniors are practicing design.
Observation - Seniors, preparing for exhibition and review
Observations were conducted to give continuity to the interviews, and also provide a chance to grade student senior student progress against a compiled rubric. This rubric was compiled from the surveys, interviews and a standardized document for assessing individual assignments. Click for Complete Data Findings...
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Recommendations
Continuity and Regular Feedback across Faculty/Students - Getting all on the same page - Updated Assessment Rubric - For reference when grading assignments - Keeping up Student Engagement - Involving students in the instructional process - Creating Accountability within Assignments - Transparency with objectives and grading; creating commitments Click for Detailed Recommendations
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 8
Needs analysis + genesis of gridtype. This needs assessment was conceived from various conversations, observations, interviews and quantitative surveys. The purpose of this needs assessment is to determine gaps between faculty, students, curriculum and professional design practice. Assessment Summary Initial goal for conducting this needs assessment Recently at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, there has been some concern over student performance, capacity and motivation. Students seem to be lacking in work
seem to have become evident through the assessment of student progress, but the students may, or may not be the stem of department issues.
Interviews with various senior students on their view of the AIB Design Program and the level and capacity of current senior students. These interviews aimed to reveal a day-to-day picture of how AIB Design seniors are practicing design.
quality of output. This is good to know, as it can help set a ‘baseline’ for assignment output from course to course in the program. Setting a ‘baseline’ for student productivity can also help students focus on creating more strong, comprehensive and well crafted projects, rather than creating a large number of items that have lacking qualities, and simply for the reason of meeting a quota of items.
The last piece of data from this survey to note is the need for outside, third party validation for student work. 93% of students answered that outside reviewers are seen as valuable to pushing their work forward. Interviews have also shown that while professors are critical to motivation, real validation lies in objective viewpoints from people outside of AIB that are not familiar with a students body of work.
presentation
portfolio
Engaging 0
14%
36%
29%
How do we increase motivation and accountability for students to produce the highest quality work as possible?
Active – 8
Strong – 14
Strong – 14
Forced 12.5%
9
3
4
3
Motivating 75%
critique
2
3
Weak – 0
Which do you consider most important at this point in your education?
1
1
1
Weak – 0
How would you rate the level of critique intensity at AIB?
2
0
grades
outside community
p su
p kee
8% 12.5%
teachers
tiv
mo
35%
When you contribute to critique of peer work, do you feel your opinion is valid?
ass f cl o e
sid
out
Frequently – 8 Keep motivated 15% Large Group 35%
there is an unbalanced amount of time spent on microscopic vs macro details.
critique
0
Not-Valid – 0
How active are you in a group critique process?
12.5%
30%
0
0
critique process?
2
1
Quiet – 0
Does a critique give you enough information to move forward?
n atio
1
2
1
no
yes
Valid – 8
Routine 12.5%
8
provides a platform for keeping up the critique momentum
is a platform for capturing quantitative feedback and extending the face to face critique process
critique. The goal here was to identify students thoughts on critique and the application of feedback from fellow students and faculty members.
The second most critical piece of data here is the question of student capacity. When asked, most students replied that they can handle about
Fame 0%
21%
Top Reasons for Assessment - Decrease in student work quality and quantity - Decrease of overall student motivation - Unknown capacity of students to create work and learn tools - Possible mis-aligned expectations between faculty, students and administrators - Heavily based qualitative review for student progress
Survey 2 - The Critique Process
The most striking, and revealing piece of data in this needs analysis is in this survey, and deals with student motivation. According to this data, 88% of students either ‘sometimes lose energy...’ or ‘lose motivation’ after a class is over. We know that class time is very energetic, and students are the most focused on making work when in class. There may be a mis-aligned assumption here that ‘just making work’ energizes students by itself. This survey does prove otherwise.
networking
This needs assessment is from the perspective of AIB Design students from the sophomore, junior and senior levels. It was conducted from the student perspective, as oddly enough, students are not regularly asked about their experiences and expectations of faculty, courses, and the curriculum.
their own work.
This survey revealed some interesting results. Some things were expected, and simply validated,
Craft 0%
As educators, we can not make assumptions that every semester is the same, nor that every student is the same. The needs of students 5, 10 or 15 years ago may not be the same needs of our students today. ‘Needs’ in this case refers to not just skills and practice, but engagement, motivation, learning styles and information dissemination.
thoughts from students about their work processes, capacity
Quantitative Survey Data – The Critique Process – 8 Respondents
thing to point out is the lack of technology understanding. According to the students, there is three times as much skill strength in conceptualization than technology. While both are needed to be a practicing, professional designer, there is a clear focus on conceptualization at AIB. Technology is critical to practicing design, and the apparent lack of technical understanding in student’s skills, could be crippling to future job placement or professional development.
There is a feeling that it may be a distraction issue, and that students just can not seem to focus on their work. To begin to show evidence of these things, a needs assessment would be needed to formally determine possible faculty/student/curriculum gaps and provide recommendations on ways to improve student progress, motivation and capacity. It is the hope that this needs assessment can help shed some
Data Collection / Findings Survey 1 - General Program Feedback
Quantitative Survey Data – General Feedback – 14 Respondents
Lose Motivation 35%
Small Group 65%
92%
Motivated, but sometimes lose energy 50%
3
3
10% 1
there is value in ‘shooting them straight’ with cri-
friends
Do you talk about your work outside of the classroom?
Never – 0
Do you prefer large or small group critique? Which are you most driven by?
Observation - Seniors, preparing for exhibition and review Observations were conducted to give continuity to the interviews, and also provide a chance to grade student senior student progress against a compiled rubric. This rubric was compiled from the surveys, interviews and a standardized document for assessing individual assignments.
When working on assignments outside of class, are you likely to...
solo projects are more heavily favored over collaborative projects
1
0
How often do you apply critiques to your work?
purpose and value in projects are not addressed as much as just making objects about being embarrassed during critique.
critique is about the students and not the work.
provides a social platform for motivating students when outside the classroom
students who need help tend to see less attention there is a large interest amongst students for web/tech projects, but lack of skill
provides an intimate setting for quiet students to contribute
Large group critiques focus on the best students, leaving students who need the most help on their own. Smaller, peer critique sessions allow for more intimate, and approachable feedback.
the program has heavy focus on conceptual development.
often that quantity of work outweighs quality of work enables students to quickly see how other students apply critiques to their work
Interviews with Design Students
The following are key points gathered from interviews about the design program with two AIB Design seniors and one junior. Students feel/worry...
Classroom / Department
Matthew White University of Massachusetts, Boston Masters of Education – Instructional Design WWW.PROJECTGRIDTYPE.ORG 10
Integration Overview
GridType is a tool for students to improve their art and design work. The success of the implementation of this assessment tool is highly dependent on faculty buy in. Since faculty are on the front line with students, it makes sense to equip faculty with the information and motivation to drive students to participate in using GridType. This document outlines some implementation strategies.
What’s in it for students? Upload your work Sort your work into albums Track faculty feedback
What’s in it for faculty?
Rate uploaded student work Create your own albums for advising sessions or presentations View overall department analytics in the defined criteria
What’s in it for art departments?
Track student progress with iteration, comments and ratings Create publicly viewable albums for department/enrollment promotion Snapshot analytics of department progress over time
Faculty Implementation Strategies
In the classroom – Syllabus Requirement – Turn the process of documenting and rating work into a course-wide requirement – Only accept work turned in through GridType – Assignment Requirement – Add documenting and rating into specific assignment rubrics From the Department Chair – Departmental Requirement If you choose to mandate department wide a requirement to use GridType, the incentives for faculty must be clear. Student Incentives Student buy-in is critical. The following are some ways faculty/chairs can incentivize students to want to participate in using GridType. Extrinsic Motivations: – Juried Exhibition of selected works uploaded based on ratings. – Public Recognition – Have an outside party select either the best work overall, or highest rated pieces for an in-person, curated exhibition. – Highlight students to the whole university community – Scholarship opportunities based on uploaded works. Tuition Help – Highest rated students may qualify for tuition or supply scholarships – Top 10 Showcase Public Recognition. The top 10 students who end up assessing the highest be come part of a campus-visible showcase. This could be displayed in main corridors or near department offices.
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Intrinsic Motivations: – The feeling of safe-keeping by providing a backup and archive system that allows for cataloging of their work in-case of hard-drive failure, data loss or physical damage to work. – Personal Preparedness – Opportunities to improve personal work, drive and experience
Faculty Incentives
As with many institutions, adjunct faculty especially must be considered carefully to make sure they are not over-extended on their contracts and duties. Also in this arena, are factors of teaching autonomy and course development. The goal of GridType is to be integrated at a fundamental level inside a design program, and has been designed and developed as a archive and assessment tool. To incentivize adjunct faculty to design the use of GridType into their courses, department chairs can offer the following possible motivations: Intrinsic Motivations – Faculty course showcase by department highlighting courses and students who are performing well. Feeling of Accomplishment. – More comprehensive view of student progress to better tailor the educational elements for students who may be struggling. Extrinsic Motivations – Stipend for training on GridType. Compensation. – Stipend for taking part in a department wide ‘pilot’ program. Compensation – Awards for faculty who teach / produce outstanding results. Recognition
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Face to Face Critique Enhancement GridType was designed and created to enhance the rich face to face critique sessions held between students and faculty.
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Relationship of how gridtype can be used amongst students and faculty to further enhance the short, yet rich face-to-face critique sessions
Face-to-face critique session, verbal / qualitative feedback
Faculty
Students Student progress is documented, work organized, and the critique process can continue after the class ends Rate and comment on student works; create groups of students for courses and advising
Upload + organize works; comment and rate on student works; view personal progress
Example case for gridtype, a platform for creative students to get a more diverse picture of their overall progress
The average student in a traditional face-to-face critique session may have anywhere from 7-14 minutes a week of class time dedicated to speaking about their work. * * Based on a 4-hour block studio course with a 2-hour block for critique, 15 students enrolled
12am
8am
8pm
12pm Individual Critique
Sleep
Friendships / Relationships / Social Activities
Commute / Homework / Decompression
Critique Session / Group Feedback
Class Time
Commute
Wake
Sleep
Critique Timeline – 24 hour day / one studio course block
12am
Internal Reflection
8am
Internal Reflection
Individual Critique
Critique Session / Group Feedback
Class Time
Excerpt: Studio Course Time Block – 4 hours
7.5 minutes
2 hours
12pm
12am
With the use of gridtype during non face-to-face meeting times, students can continue the critique conversation online, with a community of their peers and faculty. The online experience allows students and faculty from other courses to comment on work being created in courses in which they are not teaching, nor enrolled.
8am
8pm
12pm Individual Critique
Least Opportunity for Critique
Internal Reflection
15 minute usage block
Most Opportunity for Critique
15 minute usage block
Sleep
Friendships / Relationships / Social Activities
Commute / Homework / Decompression
Critique Session / Group Feedback
Class Time
Commute
Wake
Sleep
Critique Timeline – 7.5 minutes of in class critique + 30 minutes of gridtype
Guide to Constructive Feedback “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill
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Criticism arises out of interaction, rather than simply action. Evaluation is important to improvement, but criticism should follow a “two way street.” Criticism is more valid when all parties involved interact both as the “critic” and the “criticized.” 2 About constructive criticism in visual arts
Constructive feedback is about uncovering deficiencies in creative works, and offering pathways in the form of suggestions, comments and techniques towards rectifying the issues discovered, through conversation. Constructive implies building on-to, rather than breaking down. Constructive feedback should enable the learner to build upon their work in ways to make it better.
It’s all about the work, not the person per say
When engaging in constructive feedback with a student or professional, make sure to steer the conversation towards finding ways to solve the gaps in their work, and not necessarily towards the person creating it. Sometimes it is necessary to address a person’s attitude or motivation towards creating works, but always try and bring it back to the work itself before the conversation ends.
About getting defensive
When anyone criticizes anything about our personal work or life, we naturally want to get into defensive mode. When a learner goes into defensive mode, try and find constructive ways to bring down the walls or barriers that may prevent them from continuing to be receptive to feedback. This process is learned over time by learners and instructors.
Listen
To achieve the best results during a critique or feedback session, both the learner and instructors must be willing and open to listening to each other. It’s easy to slip into roles such as ‘I’m the expert’ and ‘You’re the novice’, and for the expert role to become dominant. While the expert does bring experience to the conversation, it is important for the expert to be aware of the learners skills, needs, and motivation, which are sometimes not apparent in the work output.
What is, and is not visible
When participating in a feedback session, it is easy to spend a fair amount of time talking about what should be in the work. It is also valuable to address what is currently visible in the work, and make comparisons / suggestions of new paths to take based on the visual evidence. These comparisons, when compared to visual evidence to date, allow the learner to move forward from a tangible point, rather than a theoretical or abstract analysis.
Iteration
Perhaps the most important tool in a creative persons arsenal, iteration is the process of showing many versions of one project, idea or concept. When working in an ‘iterative’ cycle, the first visual project evidence shown is not the final result, but merely a building block towards the more refined final project.
2. Oregon State University - http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/comm440-540/criticism.htm
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Software Interface User Flow
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Rating Form
Persistent Upload Modal Window
All User Images
Single Image View
Chart of Median Ratings
Comment Form
User Dashboard
Single Image with Comments Opened
Home (Not Logged In)
My Images
My Albums
Edit an uploaded image
Features at a glance
Students
– Upload personal art work – Sort works into albums
Both
– Comment on works – Rate works – See all uploaded work – See all albums
Faculty
– Create groups of students
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Conducting a Beta Test
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What is a BETA test? Beta, named after the second letter of the Greek alphabet, is the software development phase following alpha. It generally begins when the software is feature complete. Software in the beta phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software, as well as speed/performance issues. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release and this is typically the first time that the software is available outside of the organization that developed it. 3 Role of the BETA Tester The users of a beta version are called beta testers. They are usually customers or prospective customers of the organization that develops the software, willing to test the software without charge, often receiving the final software free of charge or for a reduced price. Beta version software is often useful for demonstrations and previews within an organization and to prospective customers. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, prototype, technical preview (TP), or early access. Some software is kept in perpetual beta—where new features and functionality are continually added to the software without establishing a firm “final” release. 4 What is a tester looking for, reporting on? Tester feedback is paramount to development. During the BETA session, testers should be looking for and reporting unexpected functionality, usability hurdles, bizarre visuals and broken links. Testers will also have opportunities to leave feedback on their experiences while using the product by filling out the Google survey – http://goo.gl/AlhEP Post BETA Session Follow-up Each tester will be given the data analysis of the feedback after the session has concluded. User Scenarios During the BETA session, each participant should try the following tasks, and keep record of their experiences: 1. Create an ‘Album’ with a title and description 2. Upload images into that album, or another album 3. Comment on three other peoples uploads 4. Rate on three peoples works (if permissions apply) Credit / Thanks Each session participant will be properly credited on the GRIDTYPE website for providing their much needed feedback. Links to URLS can also be posted with names. We thank you for all of your help and support in making GRIDTYPE possible. 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_test#Beta
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Private Beta Test Results
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Introduction The following data was collected in April, 2013. There were thirty students, and two faculty selected to participate in the test. This ratio is a typical faculty to student ratio found in the design department where the test was conducted: The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
Tasks For Testers Student participants were asked to complete tasks based on features designed for their needs. This includes: uploading images of their work, sorting those images into albums, commenting on other students work in a constructive manner and rating on student’s work to give additional quantitative feedback. Faculty participants were asked to also rate and comment on the students uploaded images. Both students and faculty were asked to keep a journal of their experiences, and include evaluations of the overall user flow, application and any errors or bugs that may have arisen. If bugs were found, they were asked to document their path to finding said bug as best they could. A follow-up survey was given to collect the journaled thoughts of the participants, and to target questions towards the features of the platform, and it’s perceived value.
Data See the following infographic for the breakdown and analysis of the data collected. The full data report can be found at: www.goo.gl/dater43dgg/
Results Highlights The following snippets of feedback will be considered before the platform is released to the public on June 1, 2013: 01) 02) 03) 04) 05) 06) 07)
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beta test data infographic here
Staff + Collaborators
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Matthew White
Founder / Researcher / Education Designer for GRIDTYPE @dirkweiss I am a designer and educator. I hold a BFA in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and am serving as partner and creative director at Zocalo, a Boston based interactive design and development firm. In 2013, I completed my graduate studies in Instructional Design (M.Ed) from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where GRIDTYPE was born out my thesis work. I currently serve as Assistant Professor of Design at Lesley University, and adjunct professor of art and design at Bunker Hill Community College.
Jesse Marple
Co-Creator / PHP/JS/MySQL Developer for GRIDTYPE @zocaloconsult A veteran computer and technology professional, Jesse founded Zocalo Consulting after having worked for both Microsoft and Apple Computers. Leveraging his corporate experience, he has dedicated his career to assisting businesses, educational institutions and not-for-profits find solutions that establish a higher level of functionality, while minimizing the cost of implementation. Jesse is now serving as Lead Front End Web Developer for The Boston Globe and is a contributor to to the Open Source community. Jesse tries to incorporate his preference for using open source into projects whenever possible. He believes that this allows organizations of all sizes to maximize the use of technology assets without prohibitive start up costs, and allows for greater flexibility for his clients and partners.
Nick Cochrane UI / UX Consultant @penguinvii
Owner of SwissFish, an interactive design and branding studio in Boston, MA. Graphic designer and front end web developer of HTML/CSS and the Wordpress platform. Nick has previously worked for companies such as Puma, Harvard University and various start-ups in the Boston area.
Nathan Felde
Education Consultant Nathan Felde is Professor and Chair of the Art + Design Department in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University. He holds a Master of Science from MIT’s Department of Architecture, was a founder of Lightspeed Computers and Executive Director of broadband media research laboratories for NYNEX (now Verizon). His projects include work for Bitstream, Fujitsu, Mercedes Benz, Samsung, Harvard School of Business and Orange Labs. Nathan trained and performed for many years as a classical violist, is a Colonel in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, has sailed across the Atlantic and works with semper fiber to promote creativity and innovation amongst young people in devastated regions of the world.
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