Almost there!

I'm both excited and nervous that our first full draft of our theses are due next week. Excited because it means I'm almost done, but nervous because I have SO much to do before I'm finished. I know one thing for sure: my social life is going to be nonexistent until March 28th.

Daunting deadline aside, I'm very happy with my progress. I've completed both of my user tests and got nothing but positive feedback on the design and content of my app (now renamed to "Sense Ease: Strong Museum" after user feedback). I have scheduled follow-up interviews with each family, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about their past experiences at museums, and how they think this app can be improved to be more a more effective tool for individuals on the autism spectrum.

I have all the materials I need, it just needs to be put down on paper; which is almost the hardest part of the whole experience. I can't wait to see how it all shapes up. :)

Send positive vibes to the museum studies senior thesis students!! We all need it. 

Exciting progress with app development and user testing

Since I last wrote, I've crossed the second major hurdle in my thesis project: the first round of user testing!!

For the first round of user testing, I visited Dr. Juilee Decker's Visitor Engagement class to gather feedback from a general audience. They evaluated the general design, general functionality, and general content of the app. I got a lot of positive feedback, as well as some helpful constructive criticism, and I'm excited to move forward with the next round of user testing.

My next round of user testing is scheduled for March 9-10, which is very exciting! So far, I only have one confirmed and scheduled volunteer, but I plan on putting out another invitation in the next day or so. I want to keep my user-testing pool small so as to get more in-depth, qualitative feedback, and I have a lot of people who have offered to help me recruit potential user testers, so I'm not too worried. 

The last notable update I have is that I've been awarded a COLA Student Research Fund Scholarship to help compensate my partner and app developer Peter! I'm very excited to finally be able to give him something beyond simple credit for all the hard work he has done for me and my thesis. 

I'm excited to keep moving forward both with my user testing and with the development of my thesis.

Getting closer to user testing!

These past few weeks have been very productive for me, but not necessarily because I got a lot written for the body of my thesis.

Next Tuesday, I'll be conducting my first round of user testing! I'll be visiting Dr. Decker's visitor engagement class and people will be able to download and use the app so they can provide feedback on the content and functionality of mine and Peter's prototype. To get prepared, I've collaborated with Peter and Dr. Decker to develop a user testing survey and met with them to discuss how we are going to conduct the user testing. We are hoping for some good responses and feedback regarding the app, so wish us luck! Even if they hate it, at least we have feedback on what we should do to improve the user experience.

As far as additional updates, I've decided to narrow my focus for user testing with my contacts at Autism Up. Rather than getting as many families as possible to participate, I'm hoping to get 3-4 families to test the app. With a smaller focus group, it expands my opportunity for more in-depth feedback beyond the initial user testing survey. Since the success of my app is based on improving the quality of visitor experiences at a museum, I should be better able to assess that quality by conducting longer-term, more in-depth interviews.

I'm excited for my first round of user testing, and I can't wait to update you all on the progress!

Back at it again...

Having a break from classes and being able to focus on my thesis and self-care exclusively was refreshing! And, thankfully, I was able to be productive!

Peter Laurin, the app developer I’m collaborating with, was able to finish the main interface for the app over break which is very exciting! I also was able to revise my literature review, flesh out my content outline, and take some time for myself to just relax before I dive back in. I’m excited to get back to work in earnest and get started on the next stage of writing my thesis.

In the next week or so, I would like to create a more in-depth outline and plan out the specifics of each section of my thesis, nail down dates for user testing, and create my user testing evaluation form. With the motivation of various deadlines, I’m sure I’ll be able to get everything done. At this point, I’m feeling very confident with the direction my thesis is taking. The project aspect is nearly complete and I feel like I have a good plan of attack for writing the thesis. It’s pretty freeing when I think about it. I also haven’t started writing in earnest yet… but we are are going to keep out heads up! As I always say: I’m smart, I’m confident, and I can do this!!

I can’t wait to see how my thesis, and my classmates theses, develop over the semester. Good luck!

Getting ready for winter break

Instead of wasting my days with Netflix, I hope to be very productive over this winter break!

I have several goals that I hope to accomplish before the end of the break. First, I want to polish off my literature review. I want to add a few more sources that I couldn’t include because I ran out of time, and I’m sure that I will have a lot of feedback to work with after the museum studies faculty review my thesis proposal (yikes!!). Secondly, I would like to schedule a meeting with my thesis advisers so I can make sure I have a good plan of action to complete my thesis and begin a more in-depth outline for the rest of my paper. Hopefully, I can bribe them with coffee so they will meet with me before the semester starts! 

The largest goal I hope to accomplish over break is completing all of the elements of my app. My partner Peter and I already have a timeline in place, and thus far we’ve been meeting all of our goals, so I don’t see this being an issue.

Thankfully, I will be working on campus over the break, so I plan to spend at least an hour on campus doing work after I finish my shift. Once I’m in work-mode it’s easier to keep the ball rolling, so I think that this will end up working really well for me. I get out of work in the early afternoon and could easily be home before 5pm every day even after staying to work on my thesis. I also set personal deadlines for myself and use a daily planner, so that organization should help me keep on track and put me in a good place to start the spring semester. 

It’s hard to believe I’m essentially halfway finished with my thesis. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!

The evolution of my thesis

Since the first time I voiced my thesis idea, my project changed significantly. Originally, I thought I wanted to create a sensory-friendly toolbox that one could use in any museum across the country. I had a very large, vague and well-intended idea to provide sensory-friendly games on an app that could enable people to experience a museum without having to go during special hours or on certain days of the week. After a lot of discussion with my adviser and app consultant, I realized that making a large, general app containing only games and music wouldn’t be able to accomplish my end goal, and I may not be able to accomplish it period because of the large scope. Now, I’m focusing on creating an app for one area of one museum, Strong Museum of Play, that not only provides games and music, but also a social narrative, a sensory map, and other helpful information about the museum. I also now plan to go beyond just making the app and hope to conduct focus groups where individuals with autism and their family members can interact with the app and give me feedback so I can make suggestions for further improvements.

While much of my project is set in stone and concrete, my final stage, the focus groups, is where I see the project truly evolving. Based on my research, this app should be successful and helpful for people on the spectrum, but I won’t truly know that until I actually have people interact with it. I hope it won’t, but the app could be a failure. As the project moves forward and evolves, this determination will steer my paper in one of two ways: creating an outline of what a successful app for individuals with autism looks like and evaluating the effectiveness of personal technology in helping increase accessibility, or outlining what didn’t work and provide insight from my personal experience on how apps aimed at making museum experiences accessible can be tailored to best serve the intended audience.

The research never ends...

One thing I’ve learned through working on this project is that the research process truly never ends. Every time I think I’m close to being done, I find a few more things that could be improved with more research and more sources.

So far, I've learned a lot through my research, one of the most important things being the intricacies of autism spectrum disorder. Because of my experience interacting with my little cousin Leo, I thought I had learned a lot about what autism spectrum disorder was. However, I truly had no idea about the finer details. I knew that Leo had trouble with communicating, staying focused on the appropriate tasks, and sitting still for too long, but I didn’t know why he has difficulties with these things. Learning about the difficulties people with autism have with sensory processing gave me a concrete answer as to why Leo, and other people on the autism spectrum, have this issues. Knowing why people with autism react negatively to certain stimuli is the only way I can effectively craft an app that helps individuals cope with these negative, overwhelming feelings. Without this knowledge, my project would fall short and seem incomplete.

I still need to learn more about what museums, in particular, are doing for individuals with autism. Thus far, I’ve found a lot of information about sensory friendly days and pre-visit materials the museum provides for families of individuals with autism, but I haven’t found much on the use of technology within a museum to increase accessibility. I’ve found a lot of information about apps and online programs that help facilitate communication and interaction for individuals with autism, but only one of them can specifically operate within the space of a museum. As I continue researching, I hope to find more sources discussing accessible technology for people on the autism spectrum within the space of a museum.

Questions, questions, questions.

Transitioning from topic to research question can be difficult. What specific aspects of the topic do you want to focus on, why does this aspect matter and how will your findings affect readers are just a few questions one must ask when developing a good research question. After reading the first two chapters of A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations, I’ve been able to focus on the core concept of my topic that I’m interested in, using technology in a museum setting to create a better visitor experience for individuals with autism, and do further research to develop my research question.

When looking at my project idea for a thesis (described in an earlier post), my first question had to be “why is a phone app the most effective way to execute a project like this?” In one article I read, Educational and digital inclusion for subjects with autism spectrum disorders in 1:1 technological configuration by Lucila Maria Costi Santarosa and Debora Conforto, the researchers found that phones and other personal touch screen devices were by far preferred by their subjects.

Photo: creative commons

With this fact confirmed not just by this source but several others, I knew that my project was certainly feasible and could be very useful. So, I proceeded to come up with my research question.

As per the Manual for Writers, I knew my research question needed to encompass two things: what did I want to find out about the topic and why would the answer to this question be useful to readers; or, why does this question matter? After thinking about it for a few days, I came up with the following question: How can museums utilize a downloadable app for personal devices to provide a more inclusive and sensory-friendly experience for individuals with autism?

I’m very excited to continue my research and work on my thesis. Any suggestions or comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.

My relationship with academic writing

Up to this point in the semester, much of our time has been spent coming up with thesis topics and learning more about the general format of academic articles. Now, we get to get our hands dirty with research of our own!

There are three key things I’ve taken away from reading academic articles in preparation for my thesis. The first, presentation is just as important as content. One can have the most exciting and innovative findings in the world, but if the findings are buried in unlabeled charts and figures or hidden in long, dense paragraphs, the point gets lost. For example, I read a paper from the International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, “Fill Me App: An Interactive Mobile Game Application for Children with Autism,” which had a lot of amazing content and an interesting subject, but it was difficult to read and the provided charts and figures were rather vague.

Taken from "Fill Me App: An Interactive Mobile
Game Application for Children with Autism."

The second takeaway seems rather obvious, but I learned that having a clear and defined structure for a research paper is highly important. Having a clean structure can allow for better readability, and can allow readers to scan and focus on key points to help understand the article.

The third takeaway is more specific to my topic of study for my thesis. For articles relating to the interaction between individuals with autism and technology in the space of a museum, case studies seem to be the most effective form of evidence. Another article I read, “Educational and digital inclusion for subjects with autism spectrum disorders in 1:1 technological configuration,” effectively used case study evidence throughout the article and, in my opinion, it made each of their assertions easier to understand. For each point they made about the interaction between an autistic child and a certain type of technology, the writers would include an anecdote from their research pertaining to a specific child involved in the study. I think this is a technique I may carry over into my own thesis.

As I've read more museum studies research articles,  I discovered that they don’t all follow the same format or style, which surprised me. Throughout my time as a student, much of my experience with scholarly articles related to museums can be summed up in three words: dense, heavy essays. However, reading more contemporary work has shown me that the academic writing for museum studies can be just as diverse as the field itself. I look forward to making my own contributions to the field.

1. Marylene S. Eder, John Maruel L. Diaz, Joanne Ruth S. Madela, Marife U. Mag-usara
and Dhally Dith M. Sabellano, “Fill Me App: An Interactive Mobile Game Application for Children with Autism,” International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies 10, no. 3 (2016): 56-63.

2. Lucila Maria Costi Santarosa and Debora Conforto, “Educational and digital inclusion for subjects with autism spectrum disorders in 1:1 technological configuration,” Computers in Human Behavior 60 (2016): 293-300.

Improving the museum experience for children with autism

For my thesis, I want to explore how to create a sensory-friendly museum experience for children with autism without making a separate and inherently different experience from neuro-typical children. The inspiration behind my thesis is my little cousin Leo. He was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum a few years ago.

Leo loves to learn and often is very hands-on when he discovers new things. I thought he would love Strong Museum, but I didn't think about the sensory overload that would happen as soon as we walked in the door. We were in and out in about an hour and I felt horrible.

I wanted him to have the chance to explore a museum that brought me joy when I was younger, but without an established sensory-friendly day for children with autism* I was at a loss of what to do. However, it got me thinking: what if there was a way I could create a sensory-friendly experience that could be had at any time using a personal device? It would be fairly accessible, it could be adjusted to individual preferences based on what the child is sensitive to and it wouldn't necessarily involve a lot of cost in regards to technology once the app or program is created.

Ideally, I would like to create a prototype for this app, detail the process of creating and curating the content and craft my thesis around the following questions: Can museums use personal devices to create a more inclusive, sensory-friendly visitor experience for children on the autism spectrum? Rather than creating a separate experience for children on the autism spectrum, could personal devices allow a sensory-friendly visitor experience within the museum's regular hours of operation?

I'm excited about pursuing this topic. Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

*Strong has piloted a program called Sensory-Friendly Sundays this year. At the time of my initial visit with Leo, this option was unavailable to me.