Reflecting upon the journey we have taken as a group, and as individuals, to complete the task given for this module, I can proudly say, that we produced a well-thought out app prototype and presentation alongside it. However, developing our app, called UNI-LINK, did not come without difficulties and challenges.

Our Successes

Our achievements, as a group, encompass the creation of a fully-functional prototype, and a detailed perspective of the development process in our presentation.

Presentation day saw our group work together to communicate the details behind our prototype; this included data management, growth of the app, technical features and relating our app to McLuhan’s Tetrad (to name a few). Rehearsing the presentation beforehand, allowed us to present our information effectively and to a professional standard.

As an individual, I was able to communicate the ins-and-outs of the technical features for the app effectively. For this, I was required to do research on affordances before taking on the technical features of our app. Affordances can be described as, a set of instructions of how a user should interact with a piece of technology. Perceptible affordances, decidedly, is what I used for UNI-LINK, users are able to interpret the information available and act upon them to interact with the app. (Borowska n.d.).

This, also, helped me with the design process, as I was able to develop a user-friendly interface and reflect a professional format. I believe that the app resembled a professional platform, and the technical features would allow a user to navigate the app with ease.

Alongside the technical features, I, also, focused on McLuhan’s Tetrad and translating this to our app. With this, I was able to calculate the utility of our app in the market and create a detailed description of the potential successes and failures. In detail, I was able to describe what the media effects of our app were, and how UNI-LINK, ENHANCES, RETRIVES, REVERSES and OBSOLECES as a medium in society.

Challenges & Difficulties

On a personal level, I initially struggled with the concept of the assignment. To try and overcome this I researched previous formative assignments, from past years, and looked through their presentations to give me an idea on how to approach this task.

When starting the presentation, we found it challenging to form the app prototype, as we were not well-versed with the technology required to make the prototype. Technical issues developed when trying to figure out how to design the prototype, including the website’s functionality or having to pay for the its tools. However, Paige Kay, was able to combat this problem and produce a wonderful tutorial of the prototype on MIT App Inventor (MIT App Inventor | Explore MIT App Inventor). Her blog on the design of the prototype can be found here: https://paiges7.home.blog/2020/11/11/uni-link/

On the other hand, individually, I struggled with the initial start on the technical features aspect of the presentation, this was because I had little knowledge, at this time, on how the technical features were important to the prototype. However, looking back at the information I had collected during the lecture, on affordances, I was able to grasp the concept and get on with the task.

After completing the presentation, as a group we rehearsed how we would communicate the presentation to the class, and timed how long this would take us to present. This was done on a Zoom call. It was during the rehearsal that we ran into a problem, during Elisabeth Salter’s part of the presentation, her WIFI had disconnected her from the call, thus disrupting the presentation, and resulted in us having to wait on the return of Elisabeth, to continue. What we found, was that we were completely reliant on the signal of the internet, in each of our households, for the presentation to operate smoothly. Thankfully, on the day, there were no internet issues.

Overall

As a whole, I found this module quite challenging, in its assignment requirement, however, I am pleased that my group were able to get on with the task and produce an excellent presentation and prototype. On an individual level, I am happy with what I have achieved and the enhancement of my learning during this process.

References

Borowska, P. (n.d.). Understanding Affordance in Digital Interfaces. Retrieved from https://www.paulolyslager.com/understanding-affordance-digital-interfaces/#:~:text=Three%20types%20of%20affordances,is%20no%20function%20to%20it.