« An Intro to Blogging | Main | The Tipping Point »

October 20, 2004

Senior Citizens

Did some usability studies today. Some would actually call it usamajility. Our user group for this project (and the next) is the senior citizen population. I have really liked working with older people. At first I was a bit apprehensive, but getting to know them feels kinda good. They all seem pretty happy for the most part. Of course they are dealing with disabilities such as blindness, memory loss, and a host of other issues, but they still seem pretty content with life. That's rather reassuring.

The retirement community we've been visiting seems pretty cool, in a summer campy kind of way. There are a bunch of activities, and 3 meals a day. Plus you get to hang out with all your friends. Maybe I'm a little bit screwed up in the head, but it all looks kind of exciting.

137-3742_IMGcrosshatched.jpg
Photo blurred to keep all individuals anonymous. (I'm the one in brown.)

Went to dinner this evening with a bunch of grad students from the program and the main professor. He brought up the idea of us in 5 years, becoming successful Interaction Designers (IxDers) and coming back to tell the students how successful they will be. What a great outlook! I am excited to be able to pass on knowledge, and the thought of a professor who looks forward to that is refreshing. So often I think that professors are too caught up in their own research to realize that they are here to educate the next generation. I guess the problem is circular since their profs paid no attention to them. Either way, I'm excited about being an influencer...so I can't wait to be in a leadership position.

Ok, I'm hopelessly tired. Big project due in 72 hours, so I may lose sleep in the coming days. I'll catch up while I'm still able to...

137-3742_IMGneon.jpg
Photoshop is just too cool...

Posted at October 20, 2004 12:18 AM

Comments