To Design a Smart phone App to Capture Notes, Audio

and Photo enabling Mobile based learning for Students

in Universities.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of Master of
Design

by

Sneha Maji
(Roll No.2011JDS6005)

Under Supervision of
Prof. I.P Singh

Industrial Design Programme,

Instrument Design Development Centre,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
24/05/2013

CERTIFICATE

This is certified that the work contained in the thesis titled To Design a Smart
phone App to Capture Notes, Audio and Photo enabling Mobile based learning for
Students in Universities submitted by Ms. Sneha Maji to the Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi for the award of the degree of Master of Design has been carried out
under my supervision. This work has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any
other degree or diploma.

Supervisor,
Prof. I.P Singh
Instrument Design Development Centre,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

ii

iii

ABSTRACT
Today we live in the age of hyper connectedness and with a trend of increasing
rise of technological advancements. But our brain is only capable of absorbing things to
an extent. Our brain has a certain limitations and challenges. We often forget something
important and fail to remember things on time. There exists a need for us to find ways
to lead a complex and a busy life with more ease.
Media fragmentation is occurring at break-neck speed in the current multiplatform environment, which features not only TVs and computers, but smartphones,
tablets, gaming platforms and a seemingly endless and ever-increasing number of
emerging devices. This new paradigm offers users a seamless digital experience that can
easily traverse platforms, locations and temporal constraints so that content can be
experienced anytime and anyplace. The Smartphone market is currently the fastestgrowing segment and it will continue to outpace the overall handset market in the
foreseeable future. User friendly platform and evolving user behavior pattern are
responsible for its exponential growth. In the past few years, Smartphone sales have
grown exponentially. The diffusion of sensors, communications, and processing power
into everyday objects and environments will unleash an unprecedented torrent of data
and the opportunity to see patterns and design systems on a scale never before
possible. The increasing capabilities of mobile or smart phones are positioning them as
the technology of choice, replacing PCs, for many users, especially college students. As
such, the use of these devices must be contemplated as an inevitable learning tool
available to higher education and for other recreational activities by students. Devices
Like a smart phone is used actively by students to capture various aspects on their lives.
This project probes into the needs of students and proposed some Innovative design
solutions to capture content and use it in my rid ways with a smart phone.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank Prof.IP Singh my Academic Mentor for providing me the
freedom to explore and go ahead work for an industry for my internship. I would deeply
thank my Faculty here at IITD IDDC for the systematic structuring of the design studio
so as to make it an gradual process of learning and application; Prof Jyoti Kumar for his
regular evoking insightful discussions for the past few semesters.

I would like to thank Microsoft India to have provided me an opportunity and a

platform to learn and explore at the same time, I have learnt a lot about the Design
Process and I would like to express my sincere thanks to my thesis guides from
Microsoft IDC, Amit Dangwal, Xavier Dayanadh, Abhijit Bairagi and Ayush Bajaj for
guiding me throughout the research and design process, for their suggestions and inputs
at critical stages of design translation that finally helped to shape the idea.

I am grateful to my colleagues and batch mates both from Microsoft IDC and IITD
for the bouquets and the brickbats handed out by them which were of immense help in
the successful conclusion of the design investigation and thesis project.

To my family and friends especially Akhil, Swati, Navneet and Shrikant who have
provided the unconditional moral support that carried me through the entire period
who provided me with some of the best critique that helped me formulate my design. I
would like to thank the night mess bhaiya who have given us a space to discuss various
topics ranging from Art, politics to Design education in India over a cup of tea in the cold
winter night of Delhi.

Finally I would like to thank Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi who supported
me to realize my thesis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter

Page

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
GLOSSAR.ix
Project Sponsorer Introduction-Microsoft India development Centre.
CHAPTER I: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER II: Background and Literature Review ................................................................. 4
Smart Phone in Classroom and M-Learning ................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Digital Trends Related to Smart Phones ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Automated context Computing .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Existing Automated computing Tools...
Competitive analysis of the Existing Smart Phone Capture tools...... Error! Bookmark
not defined.
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 32
Framework of Primary research
Investigating issues and Hypotheses
Interview summary
Focus group discussion summary
Contextual Observation summary
Categories of students and Generating Personas

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 48

vi

Identifying Needs.
Generation of Scenarios around the Persona and Needs.
Story Boarding
Task flows of some Initial concepts.
Initial Ideation
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 66
Concept Final landing page features.
Information architecture.
App logo and name.
High fidelity wireframe Glimpse.
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 68

vii

viii

GLOSSARY

System input app / Capture app

This is the capture app. This may be a current app (e.g., camera) or a new
Capture app that does more.

Multiple capture points

User captures content from the type-specific point. They use the camera
button, voice-note app, etc. They do not go to a Capture place/app.

Single capture point

There is a Capture App. The user takes a picture, note, voice-note etc
from this Capture App. Camera etc do not play in the scenario.

Individual galleries / System galleries / Native galleries

Each capture point has an app-specific gallery. E.g., the camera has a
camera roll, the note-taking app has a page or clipboard

Single gallery
There is a single Capture gallery where all captured content resides.
Any individual galleries that might exist do not play in the capture
scenario.

Store
The act of saving an item into a gallery (either type). This could be implicit
or explicit. If the users purpose for capture is archiving/collecting the
scenario may end here.

Use
The user chooses to do more with the captured content. This might be at
the time of capture, or might be a later time.

Push/pull
Two modes of use. The user can push captured content from a gallery
to an app, or pull content into the app from a gallery. The difference is
the starting point.

ix

App
This is an app that can do more with captured content. Examples may be
calendar, sharing app, reader, storytelling, etc. This may be a MS app or
a competitor app.

Augment
Captured content is recognized and useful information, metadata and/or
actions are added. (Time, location, tags, links to purchase, etc)

Transform
Captured content is converted into the format appropriate for app that
the user wants to have use the captured content

Company Introduction (Sponsored Project)

Microsoft

India

(R&D)

Private Limited, a subsidiary of

Microsoft

Corporation,

set

up

Microsoft India Development Centre

(MSIDC) at Hyderabad in 1998. Over
the course of the past 14 plus years,
they have expanded to become one of Microsoft Corporations largest R&D centres
outside its headquarters at Redmond.
MSIDC is a part of Microsoft Corporations strategy of global shared
development where teams across geographies collaborate to build great software and
services. Our development teams are aligned to five out of the seven business divisions
at Microsoft Corporation, namely Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), Microsoft Office
Division (MOD), Server and Tools Business (STB), Online Services Division (OSD) and
Windows.
Microsoft Office Division
Microsoft Office Division (MOD) is one of Microsoft Corporations key business
divisions with offerings that include the flagship Microsoft Office system. Microsoft
Office system products are designed to increase personal, team and organization
productivity through a range of programs, services and software solutions. MSIDC teams
currently contribute to the development of Office Mobile, Lync and SharePoint
Developer Experience.
Office Mobile
Office Mobile is a suite of rich applications from Microsoft Corporation that
helps users to be productive on the go using their mobile phones. This includes Word,

xi

Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace and integration with

services like Windows Live and Office 365. Users can view, edit, share and sync Office
documents anytime, anywhere. These capabilities are accessed on Windows Phone
devices through a unique Office Hub concept. Our team at Hyderabad has contributed
to the last four releases of Microsoft Corporations Office Mobile suite by providing
engineering support, including development and testing of various features. The suite
forms a part of Microsoft Corporations releases of Windows Phone and Office.
The thesis project is in a formal agreement of it being a part of the six month
internship under both academic and industry co- mentership. The project brief was
given to me by the industry and the design process was co guided by both IITD and
Microsoft-IDC.The initial brief which was handed out to me was to design innovative
ways to capture notes, images and audio etc. for a smart phone keeping its integration
to One note (MOD product) in mind. Through the entire process I redefined the brief to
follow both academic and industry requirements.

xii

CHAPTER I: Project Introduction

Introduction
Mobile and Learning Possible Direction
The increasing capabilities of mobile or smart phones are positioning them as the technology of
choice, replacing PCs, for many users, especially college students. As such, the use of these devices
must be contemplated as an inevitable learning tool available to higher education. This Thesis Project
explores the evolution of the smart phone into a potentially powerful learning tool by providing a
literature review on smart phones use in higher education, and lays a foundation for future research
that examines the digital gap between teacher and student related to knowledge and use of smart
phone in an existing university setting because through observation the author speculates that gap
exists, especially within the classroom context. Also the Project aims to bridge the gap between in class
and outdoor learing.Students often work at a desk, either reading a book or listening to a lecture.
There are activities where students are actually out in the real world. When being mobile, it is not
always very suitable to bring a laptop computer even if they need the capabilities that these devices
offer. Instead they inhibit their freedom of movement, and can also serve as an obstacle when
interacting with other people at the same time. However, it might be that students are actually out
gathering observations and experience about a phenomenon or practice, and therefore need to take
notes or capture data which they have to bring back to their desktop for reflection and discussion. At
the end of the day however, they need to get this into their computers to be able to share with their
friends and peers in the group to analyse the data. We were therefore interested in building tools to
support the students in this endeavor.

Target User Group Selection Criteria:

Young adults seemed to be the most appropriate user group since they are tech savvy, own
good gadgets and are open to experimentation and innovation. Young adults particularly University
students are quick adopters to a new Design solution and there is a lot of acceptance amongst peer
group if the tool Also in the quick mobile market the key of staying sticky and sustainable is to be able

to introduce a tool which has a longer lifecycle. Finally Mobile phone and its implication in education is
the core of the thesis project and thus this segment of users are the most apt choice.

Key Questions I am trying to ask:

How are our Mobile devices Impacting Teaching, Learning and students Success? It is important
to Design mobile initiative to Capture the information and make it possible to access impact and its
effectiveness from the beginning.

How can mobile devices become tools for advanced learning in Universities? Can we device
mechanism for Capturing content in Smart phone via various mechanisms such as Note, Voice, Ink or
photo.Also one of the aim of the thesis is to help provide Designs to offer insight into the relationship
between note-taking and learning, with particular attention being paid to theories of focusing and
Collaboration.

Objectives:
The purpose of the investigation is to finally come up with a Design proposal for Young Adults
(University/college student community) by providing them with smart and innovative Mobile platform
M-Learning app which Capture Notes, Image audio etc. via a Smartphone both in the classroom and
outdoor context. The goal is to explore the various automated options (technologies-Sensors) on the
mobile phone and harnessing them in the form of application in various scenarios in a mobile college
life.

These define the resulting outcome (prediction, prototypes) and the related tasks or project
approach could be

Understand the ecosystem of a Students life around a mobile.

Generate a Mental model regarding Capturing of content.(Understanding the problem point

and needs around capturing content)

Understanding various existing solutions and doing a competitive analysis of them. Exploring
the design heuristic and form Factor study of how mobiles are used and worked on.

Exploring various technological trends in mobile and how they can be harnessed.

Generating a Conceptual Model of the Capture tool.

Generating a Design framework-Acts a guideline or boundary for the Project.

Developing a Persona and generating scenarios which reflect the students needs specifically.

Having a Range of concepts and simple task flows.

Converging the concepts to one concept and generating a Detailed Information architecture.

Creating initial wireframes and iterating. Adding Visual design to the finalized wireframes.

Final Concept (click through prototype).

CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE STUDY

This section comprises of secondary research. A deeper investigation as to how and what
smart phone is and what are the technological advancements related to it which can be harnessed.
An investigation into the emerging digital trends and how education as a sector can be benefited
from it. Finally a look into how mobile is effecting the students life in all realms.

Figure 1: Showing Students in University

Mobile Learning
What is Mlearning?
Mobile learning (m-learning) is a combination of electronic learning (e-learning) and computing
on the go. M-learning derived from e-learning which derived from d-learning (distance learning).

Must haves of Mlearning.

Interactivity- Can users interact with content easily?

Reliability- Can users depend on consistency among the content?

Ubiquity- Can the user access all content needed at any time?

Access- Is the wireless network available relatively anywhere?

Security- How protected is the mobile device and the content?

Flexibility- Can the content be viewed on different types of devices and operating systems?

Efficiency- What is the required memory for the applications and how quickly will they load?

Richness- What is the visual quality of the content?

Mobile technology and the current generation of learners

In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the disparity between the educational
needs of the current generation of university students and much of the formal classroom education
that takes place at universities. As well as being adept with desktop computers, digital natives are the
high users of an ever increasing range of mobile devices. In Australia the number of mobile phones has
escalated rapidly and is surpassing the number of desktop computers. Mobile phones are almost
ubiquitous with 97.3% of university students born since 1980 - the digital natives generation - having
some sort of access to a mobile phone.

Gaps in the m-learning literature that need to be addressed

Despite the keen interest in m-learning as a way of both engaging the digital natives and of
making thelearning of all students more interactive and better supported and anywhere, anytime,
there are still many questions which urgently need investigation.
5

1. Most m-learning studies have been small-scale and implemented in only one discipline. For
Example, most mfield work learning has been conducted in the health sector. There is a major
need for large scale implementations generalised across a range discipline and subject areas
and across institutions.
2. The great majority of m-learning experiments have dealt with a single pedagogical issue, e.g.
enhancing classroom interactivity. They have also usually focused on a single technology, more
often than not PDAs, surprising given the small percentage of students who own PDAs 15% in
our survey. Because of these limitations, in addition to those highlighted in 1. above, there is a
lack of a consolidated body of knowledge to guide teachers in implementing m-learning,
particularly in the university sector. A body of knowledge of learning and teaching principles
and strategies is urgently needed to inform teachers wishing to utilise innovative mobile
technologies and also to inform the development of national policy and pedagogical
approaches about emerging mobile devices.
3. A major challenge yet to be overcome is the cost of mobile hardware, software, connection and
usage charges. The lack of sustainability of many m-learning projects indicates that this may
well be the major hurdle to implementing m-learning on a national scale. There is a great need
for the investigation of low-cost solutions to implementing mlearning so that it can be
sustainable.
4. There has been a lack of focus on designated groups of students. The assumption has generally
been that all student groups have similar m-learning needs. Where studies have examined mlearning with different populations, the results are difficult to interpret because of
inconsistencies in discipline areas. A proper evaluation needs to be made of the effectiveness of
m-learning with international and other identified groups of students.

5. Few studies have been found on how to teach technology students about mobile technology
using mobile technology. Cost again is presumed to be the major obstacle. Investigations are
needed to develop teaching strategies for effective learning about wireless and mobile
technologies.
6

Suggested directions for m-learning action research

These five suggested action research directions are all significant issues in m-learning and all need to
be better investigated:
Mobile supported fieldwork,
Fostering interactivity on-campus using mobile devices,
Ubiquitous learning supported by mobile devices,
M-learning for each discipline
Strategies for low-cost m-learning use.
When investigating these and other areas educational researchers should aim to demonstrate how the
use of mobile technologies can enhance student learning.

M-learning and smart Phone Capture.

At this point of time it was necessary to dig deep and understand the various components of
Mlearning. It is presented in the form of this collage.

Figure 2: Understanding M learning mash up.

All of these aspects of Capture and the context aware computing has been explored in particular in
the coming sections.

What is Capture?
Capture is the act of gathering information. Information which can be accessed anywhere
anytime by anybody. Information which can lead to something more meaningful.

What are people capturing with smart phone?

Smart phone enables a User to capture a variety of things. Capturing can range from taking
photos of objects people with environment. They range from Capturing special moments of joy,
Serendipity and reflection. Capturing through smart phone can be through many modes. One can
capture a quick note, a short ink input in the form of a doodle when something creative is seen or even
thought of in ones mind. This also includes capturing audio recording of a lecture to a live concert.
9

One can also capture the coordinate while navigating and can use it for many purposes. While surfing
interesting things are often bookmarked and reflected upon it later. Images are Multimedia and are
acted and reacted upon frequently. The ability of storing the captured content in many way be it cloud
or in social media forum lets users do a variety of things with ones captured content. The options of
what to do with the captured content is limitless.

Various steps Involved in Capturing content with a Mobile device. The steps are my initial
understanding as how /what/when/etc. What Capture is and what are the steps involved in capture.

Figure 3: Steps Involved in a Smart phone used for capturing content.

One can also Define Capture as a process which leads to a task later on. Once a Person captures
any content it leads to a series of events which can happen simultaneously or maybe later depending
on the users intent. The various Users Intent can be described in the next few pages.

10

Figure 4: Steps Involved in a Smart phone used for capturing content-use case.

Users Intent while Capturing.

While going through the various steps of capture I analysed and summed up the overall needs of
users (students also) into three specific categories:

Personal need -Information management, Task management, to-dos. Reminders etc.

Reflective need - Remembrance, collate, Collect, Refer, Archive.

Social Need- Discuss, Distribute, Share. Meet, collaborate.

11

Figure 5: Summary of needs Mapped.

These are further broken down and analysed as to what they actually comprise of and what do they
mean, They are described in the tables which follows:

Table 1: Showing Personal need Categorization

12

Table 2: Showing Social need Categorization

Table 3: Showing Reflective need Categorization

These needs will be all investigated further with the students community to club them into more
precise groups.
13

Students and Capture

When Considering Mobile Capture and students It is important to see the activities in their lives .Here
is a chart showing what all constitutes part of Captured content specifically to Students.

Figure 6: Showing Percentage (what is being captured)

College students in America are expected to lay out an all-time high $6.5 billion this year on
technology items and spend an average of 12 hours each day engaged with some type of media or
capturing some content with their smart phones.

14

Additional survey findings:

70% of college students say they are the key decision makers when purchasing their cell phone,
while 63% make the ultimate choice for their digital camera and 60% do so when deciding on
a computer.
Input from friends and family continues to be a strong influence on students decision-making
with respect to brands, products and services, with 62% of students placing particular
importance on word of mouth from friends. Nearly half (44%) trust the advice of family and
40% are influenced by seeing others using these products.
60% of college campuses offer blanket wireless coverage, up from just less than one-third two
years ago.
One-fourth of todays college students are using their cell phone or PDA to play MP3s or games,
with 20% using these devices to access the internet for a variety of activities.
Use of smart phone for Learning: Current Trends

The Role of Mobiles in Promoting New Learning:

The supposed value of mobiles also arises from the manner in which they facilitate lifelong
learning. Mobiles can support the great amount of learning that occurs during the many activities of
everyday life, learning that occurs spontaneously in impromptu settings outside of the classroom and
outside of the usual environment of home and office. They enable learning that occurs across time and
place as learners apply what they learn in one environment to developments in another.

However benefits of mobile phones are not merely limited to increased access to educational
services. M Learning, they indicate, can also facilitate changes in the character of learning modalities
that in turn impact educational outcomes. In this regard, mLearning represents more than a mere
extension of traditional forms of education; mLearning facilitates alternative learning processes and
instructional methods that the theories of new learning identify as effective for learning.
According to proponents of new learning, mobiles facilitate designs for personalized learning in
that they are responsive to difference and diversity in the way learning occurs. They facilitate designs
for situation learning by providing learning during the course of the activity in the field for a botany

15

student, in the classroom for a teacher trainee, or in the workshop for an engineer. In this sense,
mLearning also facilitates designs for authentic learning, meaning learning that targets real-world
problems and involves projects of relevance and interest to the learner.
MLearning thus represents learning that is not just-in-case, education for the sake of
producing a bank of knowledge, but rather represents learning that is just-in-time, just enough, or
just-for-me (Traxler, 2007, p. 5). As a facilitator of new learning, mLearning goes beyond an emphasis
on the possession of information to enabling learners to find, identify, manipulate, and evaluate
existing information.
Smart Phones Changing College Student Lives
Smart phone technology, with its pervasive acceptance and powerful functionality, is inevitably
changing peoples behaviors. Young adults are especially dependent on smart phones today. A survey
conducted by Course Smart, the worlds largest provider of e-Textbooks and digital course materials,
found that college students cant go long without checking their digital devices, including smart
phones, laptops and more. Its very common to see college students checking email, Facebook, Twitter,
or other social network sites using smart phones with their constant web connection feature
nowadays.

A Closer Look at Mobile Learning

When do we learn actually?
Gottfredsons Moments of Learning Need (some of the key driving Factors are)

When learning for the first time

When wanting to learn more

Trying to remember

When things change

When something goes wrong

16

The literature tells us that, in general, modern technology-aided learning is found in three
stages ranging from conventional e-learning to m-learning to context-aware u-learning. Conventional
e-learning refers to using computer and the Internet for learning. This is where computer plays a vital
role in modern education and pedagogy. M-learning (or mobile learning) is realized with mobile
devices and wireless communication. Context-aware u-learning (or ubiquitous-learning) requires
mobile devices equipped with sensor technology and wireless communication. Context-aware ulearning could be classified under m-learning actually because as more smart phones enable sensor
technology, m-learning will become indistinguishable from context-aware u-learning. By definition,
mobile-learning (m-learning) is learning using wireless devices that can be used wherever the learners
device can receive unbroken transmission signals. The mobile devices include not only smart phones
but also devices like mobile tablets and personal digital aids (PDAs).

The definition for m-learning contains three key components mobility of technology, mobility
of learners, and mobility of learning processes. Mobility of technology refers to the mobile nature of
installed hardware and software that enable constant wireless Internet connection. Mobility of
learners means learners are no longer physically attached to one or several learning sites, and they can
be mobile and learn at the same time as long as the mobile devices are around. Finally, mobility of
learning is the result of mobility of both the technology and learners.

According to the review of mobile learning research in mobile learning can generally be
grouped into these categories games and competition in learning, classroom learning, laboratories
learning, field trip learning, distance learning, informal learning, pedagogical and learning theory,
learning and teaching support, mobile learning architecture, and mobile evaluation, requirements,
and human interface. One example with regard to games and competition in learning is young people
using phone-based games improves their spelling and reading and mathematics skills. Classroom
learning uses mobile devices in the laboratory environment to support individual learning as well as
collaborative learning. One example of classroom learning would be using mobile smart phones to
brainstorm, take quizzes, and vote. Laboratory learning is similar to classroom learning but has data
acquisition as extra function. One example here is doing hands-on scientific experimentation and
17

learners experiences are enriched because they are closer to the real activities. Field trip learning is
enabled with mobileDevices mobility outside the classroom. One example is a mobile learning system
developed for bird watching based on a scaffolding concept, which showed improved learning for
children. Distance learning uses mobile devices to support synchronous and asynchronous learning.
One example here would be use videophone to deliver home education for students with severe
physical impairment.Informal learning is enabled with context aware technologies. The setting of
informal learning can include gallery, garden, aquarium, museum, outside classrooms, Cafeterias and
etc.

In the pedagogical and learning theory category, researchers explore varied theory of using
mobile devices for educational purposes, which is also the most important aspect of mobile learning.
The guidelines are a list of dos and donts, which include costs, usability, choice of technology, roles,
equipment management, support for teachers, administration, collaboration, services and
applications, and security and privacy. Learning and teaching support category uses mobile devices
to supplement learning and formal teaching. One example is that through a collaborative note taking
system on mobile smart phones, students can share their notes with others. Mobile learning
architecture mainly focuses on architecture issues in develop mobile learning systems. Contextawareness architecture for mobile learning could be one example. Finally, mobile evaluation,
requirements, and human interface primarily look into human computer interface issues. One research
done by Houser and Thornton under this category is evaluating the typing speed of mobile devices, and
they found that Japanese students were able to take notes in Japanese on their mobile smart phones,
but needed some training to do same things in English. Note the difference between m-learning and
traditional classroom lecture-form learning. M-learning is learner-centric learning as opposed to
classroom lecture-form learning which is teacher-centric. The traditional forms of learning requires
learners to be present in one fixed location, where with m-learning students can be anywhere as long
as there is internet connectivity. The advantages of m-learning are obvious. Conventional e-learning
enables learners from a distance with a PC and internet connection so that they can learn and interact
with others online. However, the size and weight of PCs is a limitation because learning process is tied
to computers locations. Mobile phones solve this problem and promotes learning anytime and
18

everywhere_ as was touted at M -Learning 2004, an international conference on-mobile learning (ElHussein & Cronje, 2010). If m-learning could be achieved via the use of smart phone on college
campuses, students would most probably see it as a great advantage.

Digital Trends inn Mobile

Another advantage of m-learning technologies over conventional e-learning is the ability to
incorporate context-awareness. Context awareness involves having sensors in smart phones that are
capable of detecting the student learning behaviors in the real world and then stimulates more
adaptive learning activities.

Defining Context-Aware Computing

Context-aware computing was first discussed by Schilit and Theimer in 1994 to be software that
adapts according to its location of use, the collection of nearby people and objects, as well as changes
to those objects over time. However, it is commonly agreed that the first research investigation of
context-aware computing was the Olivetti Active Badge [28] work in 1992. Since then, there have been
numerous attempts to define context-aware computing, and these all inform our own definition.

Definition of Context-Aware as I see it

A system is context-aware if it uses context to provide relevant information and/or services to
the user, where relevancy depends on the users task.

Categorization of Features for Context-Aware Applications

In a further attempt to help define the field of context-aware applications, we will present a
categorization for features of context-aware applications. There have been two attempts to develop
such a taxonomy.

The first was by Schilit and had 2 orthogonal dimensions: whether the task is to get information
or to execute a command and whether the task is executed manually or automatically. Applications
that retrieve Information for the user manually based on available context are classified as proximate
19

selection applications. It is an interaction technique where a list of objects (printers) or places (offices)
is presented, where items relevant to the users context are emphasized or made easier to choose.
Applications that retrieve information for the user automatically based on available context are
classified as automatic contextual reconfiguration. It is a system-level technique that creates an
automatic binding to an available resource based on current context. Applications that execute
commands for the user manually based on available context are classified as contextual command
applications. They are executable services made available due to the users context or whose execution
is modified based on the users context. Finally, applications that execute commands for the user
automatically based on available context use context-triggered actions. They are services that are
executed automatically when the right combination of context exists, and are based on simple if-then
rules.

More recently, Pascoe proposed a taxonomy of context-aware features. There is considerable

overlap between the two taxonomies but some crucial differences as well. Pascoe developed a
taxonomy aimed at identifying the core features of context-awareness, as opposed to the previous
taxonomy, which identified classes of context-aware applications. In reality, the following features of
context-awareness map well to the classes of applications in the Schilit taxonomy.

Figure 7: Linking of implicit and explicit actions to do a task.

20

The first feature is contextual sensing and is the ability to detect contextual information
and present it to the user, augmenting the users sensory system. This is similar to proximate selection,
except in this case, the user does not necessarily need to select one of the context items for more
information (i.e. the context may be the information required). The next feature is contextual
adaptation and is the ability to execute or modify a service automatically based on the current
context. This maps directly to Schilits context triggered Actions. The third feature, contextual resource
discovery, allows context aware applications to locate and exploit resources and services that are
relevant to the users context. This maps directly to automatic contextual reconfiguration. The final
feature, contextual augmentation, is the ability to associate digital data with the users context. A user
can view the data when he is in that associated context. For example, a user can create a virtual note
providing details about a broken television and attach the note to the television. When another user is
close to the television or attempts to use it, he will see the virtual note left previously. Pascoe and
Schilit both list the ability to exploit resources relevant to the users context, the ability to execute a
command automatically based on the users context and the ability to display relevant information to
the user.

Pascoe goes further in terms of displaying relevant information to the user by including the
display of context, and not just information that requires further selection (e.g. showing the users
location vs. showing a list of printers and allowing the user to choose one). Pascoes taxonomy has a
category not found in Schilits taxonomy: contextual augmentation, or the ability to associate digital
data with the users context. Finally, Pascoes taxonomy does not support the presentation of
commands relevant to a users context. This presentation is called contextual commands in Schilits
taxonomy.

My understanding on Context automated services categorization combines the ideas from

these two taxonomies and takes into account the three major differences. Similar to Pascoes
taxonomy, it is a List of the context-aware features that context-aware applications may support.

21

There are three categories:

1) Presentation of information and services to a user;
2) Automatic execution of a service; and
3) Tagging of context to information for later retrieval

Presentation is a combination of Schilits proximate selection and contextual commands. To

this, we have added Pascoes notion of presenting context (as a form of information) to the user.
Automatic execution is the same as Schilits context triggered actions and Pascoes contextual
adaptation. Tagging is the same as Pascoes contextual augmentation.

Cataloguing previous context-aware work:

Applying categories of context and context-aware features to the applications. The results are
in Table-4 (given below). Under the context type heading, are Activity, Identity, Location, and Time.
Under the context-aware heading are context-aware features- Presentation, automatic Execution, and
Tagging.

Existing Tools

Tool Description

Context Type
A

Classroom 2000

Capture of Classroom Lecture

Cyber guide

Tour Guide

Teleport

Teleporting

Stick-e-Document

L
X

Context Aware
P

Tour Guide Paging and reminder

Reactive Room

Intelligent Control of Audio Visual

Guide

Tour Guide

Cyber Desk

Automatic integration of user services

Conference Assistance

Conference Capture and Tour Guide

Responsive Office
Netnam

X
X

Office Environment Control

Network Maintenance

22

X
X
X

Field Work

Field work data collection

Context Tool kit

In/out Board

Capture with serendipitous meeting

Active Badge

Call forwarding

Augment-able Reality

Fieldwork data collection

X
X

Table 4: List of application of Context and context aware application

From this table, we see that while many applications make use of both location and Identity
context, few make use of activity context. We also note that many applications Use the presentation
feature, but fewer use the execution and tagging features. This table indicates that there are areas
which need addressing in the space of context aware applications.

Activities which involves capture in mlearning environment:

For the purpose of conducting Primary research and also to come up with a students mental
model certain aspects which were prime to a students life was investigated further. Since the project
investigates capturing through a smart phone, certain input mechanism were investigated a little
more.

Note Taking-Capture Mode

The activity of note taking can be considered part of Writing across the Curriculum. It crosses
over all disciplines and has the two characteristics of Writing across the Curriculum: note taking helps
students learn, and note taking helps students learn to write. Even though techniques for
understanding and writing texts are widely taught and practiced throughout a students school and
university career, very few students are taught even basic note taking skills. This despite the fact that
students are expected to take extensive notes during their courses across the curriculum, and despite
the recognized usefulness of note taking for storing, learning and thinking about what is being taught.
The functional complexity of note taking has not been sufficiently accepted by researchers and
teachers, undoubtedly because the representation concerning the knowledge and skills it involves has
been minimized. Too often, note taking is seen as the rapid transcription of information by using a few

23

condensing techniques, such as shortened words and substitution symbols, for the creation of an
external memory whose only importance will be its later use.

How are notes taken?

The average writing speed of a student is around 0.3 to 0.4 words/second, whereas a lecturer
speaks at a rate of around 2 to 3 words/second. Unless everything is said at dictation speed, or
students develop exceptional shorthand skills, teachers will never speak slowly enough for students to
write down everything that is said. As a result, students intuitively develop processes and methods that
allow them to record the content of lessons. Without going into detail about the linguistic processes
used, which are well known, such as the use of abbreviations, truncating long words, and apocopes, we
would like to briefly look at the markers in a speakers text that signal, more or less explicitly, the
importance of what is being said. Note-takers are very attentive to these markers, which have a
considerable influence on the quantity of notes taken.

Some of the Techniques which are widely used are Cornell Note taking method.

Note taking (what triggers Note taking in classrooms)

Writing on the board: a very powerful indicator. (Teachers are well advised to choose what
they write on the board carefully, as its extremely likely to be included in the note taking)

Dictation: when the teacher acts as if he or she is dictating the information (slow delivery,
low vocal register).

A title of a section or a list or the listing of information (which, moreover, are often written
on the board).

Definitions, catch phrases. (Even if students dont understand them, they overwhelmingly
take notes on them.)

Macro-textual planning indicators that organize and structure the classes (expressions such
as firstly/secondly or first question/second question).

24

Barriers to note taking:

Students lack of motivation and interest.

Poor environmental features-Bad lighting, poor acoustics of classrooms, Outdoor noise and
sound distractions.

Pace of the class being fast.

Easy availability of notes before and after the class.

These were some of the initial understanding of the obstacles to capturing notes in classroom.
These helps in generating a hypothesis which can act as an initial investigation point while conducting
primary research with the students community.

Photo Taking-Capture Mode

Students involuntarily capture a lot of photos on a day to day basis. A Lot of captured photos
are seen at various point of time based on ones requirement. But in the mlearning content the photo
captured has to lead to something more meaningful or useful. There exists a need for Capturing photos
easily when on field visits as learning outside classroom is a very key aspect of m learning.
Barriers to Photo Capturing:

Novice users of smart phone land up taking way too many photographs which lead to poor
productivity and problems emerge in sorting merging and collating together later. Also going
through so many unwanted photos is a task.

Poor lighting conditions and poor knowledge of photography leads to poor photo capture.

Hands are too occupied while multitasking which leads to not using ones smart phone.

Audio Recording-Capture Mode

Whether be it lecture or recording an interview in a field visit or maybe even recording ones
work log, mood journal potentials are enormous.
Barriers to Audio capture:

Lack of motivation and Unwillingness to go through the audio recording for reviewing or
relistening it.
25

Missing out important piece of information in the long recordings.

Other Forms of Capture

They should be seamlessly integrated and should be automated and contextual in nature The
Information from captured content (be it a quick note with reminders, Coordinates which travelling,
Interesting website etc. should be given just in time.

26

Competitive analysis of existing Smart phone apps.

The next step was to see what are the existing apps related to capturing notes, audio, photo via
a smart phone and how successful they are. Also the objective of doing such an exercise was to identify
voids where there is possibility of a Design solution.

List of all the top Popular Capture tools used By University Students (all platforms including)

Figure 8: List ofall popular application(used by studets) to Capture Notes audio etc across platform

27

For that purpose I mapped the existing popular apps in matrices to find where My Design Proposal can
possibly be.

Core idea

To understand the experience and the engagement styles of the current apps used.

Wanted to find the key Parameters so as to Position my App Concept.(A.C)

Figure 9: Mapping of Audience Definition and Skill level.

28

Figure 10: Mapping of Presentation Vs. Functionality.

Figure 11: Mapping of User Engagement Vs. Product tone

29

Figure 12: Mapping of Content engagement Vs. Content Perception

Figure 13: Mapping of Product Visibity Vs. Content Safety.

30

Key Take away from Comparison

Make it more in line for a specific audience

Introduce elements to make user frequent one app for multiple purposes.

Provide the tools for capturing a particular subject so its users arent passively being told an
answer, but rather actively engaged in find it out for themselves.

Make experiences more engaging and make augmenting content fun.

Make it easy to share and collaborate.

31

Framework for Design Proposal

With all the analysis of the existing products it was necessary to come up with a Product
Conceptual model which carries the framework of the concept. These are the Broader Categories of
elements which I propose can make a Capture app successful.
EXPERIENCE

UTILITY
Is it designed to make the most out of hardware and
software?
Is it delightful to use?
Is it easy to use /Navigate?
Does it provide something which desktops dont offer?

ORIGINALITY AND NICHE APPEAL

Is it playable and engaging?

Does it make people smile/laugh?
While Give access to great content?
How is the experience of using this product?
How frequently do you feel like using it?

LONGITIVITY

Does it solve a unique problem?

Does it appeal to a particular niche audiences need?
Is it new /exciting or juts a improvement of any
Existing product?

Does the content have a lasting appeal as

A reference tool? Large impact?
Does the content or experience evolve with
Time?
To what extent can users add and control
Content?

The Final matrix aims to find the sweet spot where all the mentioned
adjectives are reflected in the conceptual model of the app.

32

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Figure 14: Image of a studentd desk a day before a study visit

With a Framework or Conceptual model of the proposed Capture tool in mind it was necessary
to go and probe into the students community and understand their mental models. Earlier In my
literature study I had mentioned certain Hypothesis as to how what and why students capture. It was
also important to validate them.

33

Research Hypothesis and Participants Profile

Selection of User Group: A careful selection of novice and expert users of smart phone were
taken. Also a random sample of people approximately 50 people were observed in classrooms,
laboratories, workshops, field visits etc. (Participants Profile -20,(Male-17 female -3) Age - 20-25.
Students in Architecture, Chemistry PhD Scholars, Engineering students).

Figure 15: A collage of the Participants

Hypothesis to be investigated for conducting the Research:

Hypothesis one: Students learn more things intuitively when given a smart phone.
Hypothesis two: Capturing Content is inevitably lost if the need of Capture is unknown at the point of
capture.

Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys

34

Method Followed for conducting Primary Research:

Quantitative
An online survey targeting the students body was initiated to understand the note taking
habits of the students in general. The response was received from about 50 people from various
Backgrounds (Science, art, architecture) this was also followed by interviewing some of the users to
share their recent notebook usage (captured lectured). Some were in the form of notes which will be
discussed in the later part of this chapter.

Qualitative

Plain observation and Shadowing of Users - Classrooms, Canteens, Malls, Other hang outs,
In queue, Walking to Bus stop, Site visit Studies.(Duration 4 days, 20 hours, Participant-20)

Contextual Interview: Semi-structured focus group interview in the ecosystem of students.

35

Activities of students listed:

In general a University student has few patterns in the activity each of them do. After observing
students and talking to them, the activities were listed as crucial ones. Students lives revolve around
these activities and the need to capture notes, photos etc. are closely related to it.

Figure 16: Major activities around a student

Four Major Categories

STAY CONNECTED
Message Creation
Share
Collaborate

FIND INFORMATION
Locate & Compare
Search
Bookmark(Recent/Favorite)
Create Content
Create Alerts
Share

36

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Set Goals
Create alerts
Create Reminders
Check progress
Share

NAVIGATE
Search
Locate
Pin point
Share

Some Interview Key Statements

Typical note doesnt show my calendar or Planner at the same time. Nor does it
indicate whether you have time to do it or not. Doesnt state the importance to
the things I are doing now.
Namita, Architecture Student

I cant type while I am Moving or when I am

travelling. Also I am scared to take out my phone
in crowded places which results in me not
Capturing important data. My mobile theft
worries me.
Ambrish, IITD B, Tech Student
Presentations are always uploaded, you can access it in anytime, even when I
am in canteen eating. But editing them or underlining some important things
are difficult in mobile. Viewing Pdf and reading E-books are the best in
mobiles
Pawan, IITD, B.Tech Student

Field visits are very crucial for students like us.

We have to carry multiple note pads and manage them
Efficiently within the group. Also taking a note of the
Materials is important when going for a market survey.
Pallavi Nigam, Architecture Student
37

Key Take Aways

List of what people Said regarding why do they take Notes

I concentrated better in lectures

I found live lecture motivating
I found the visual aids useful
I could communicate/interact with the lecturer
I could have informal conversations with other students about the content
I liked to meet my friends
I liked an established routine
I was on campus anyway
There were group activities/discussion in the lecture
The presence of the lecturer added value
I liked the atmosphere of the lecture theatre
The lectures were necessary to prepare for follow-up tutorials
I wouldnt have got around to listening to the lecture recordings
I dont like using the technology to take notes.

Other Observations

Intent is not always present in a capture moment. Focusing on intent may lead one down
the wrong path.

Most people do not want to spend time organizing their captured content. They just want to
find it quickly.

Actual file format differences are big problem. Imagining this kind of transformation is a
delighter.

Using GPS location as basis for reminders or new info is a delighter

Concern over automating AR if the system doesnt figure out the important information to
give me, it feels like spam, distractions. But delighters might be good.

Show me my own content relevant to this situation

Show me content when I specifically ask for it, but not before.
38

Turning captured content into a social opportunity wasnt interesting. Participants were
worried about distractions, but information that comes up at the right time is not a distraction.

When its annoying

When Im not interested

When it obscures view of the item

When its a distraction from what Im doing

Location awareness is a big hit. Two participants spontaneously mentioned location-aware

reminders (e.g., remind me to by a Book store by seeing my items in my to do list) and all
participants loved the concept.

39

Students Categories emerged

1. The collegiate experience
How nice are the college grounds, what is there to do off-campus, how friendly are the people
at school and how good is Hostels? These are the questions youll likely ask first. You plan trips,
events and are very active in college council and fests. You want college to be a fun experience
in a cool area.
2. Organized Ones/Grade Hungry
You will always be after questions like which professors grades well, I need to be the topper. I
organize my notes for finishing revision one week before exams. Your prospective alma mater
should be a place where graduates get good jobs or can go on to good graduate
schools/Companies.
3. Cost-conscious students
What mainly drives your life in college its cost. You lend money but are quick to collect back.
You share things to cut expenses. But you dont mind spending on a much eyed gadget
releasing next month.
4.

Image and reputation conscious

Money isnt an issue for you when it comes to college. You probably come from an affluent
family with parents who have professional careers. You are the one who tries out the new
gadgets as soon as they release.

40

Figure 17: Image of a student capturing presentation understandings in a classroom.

Summary and Need identification

NOTE TAKING WHILE LECTURE-PAIN POINTS.
Chemistry Students-When copying diagram, numerical figures, chemical equations and other
numerical data from white board it is often inaccurate. Even more difficult for international students
who speak and write English slowly. Some students have said that the professor speaks very fast and
the pace of the class is fast to make notes. They then randomly scribble notes which they do not make
sense when they refer back. Also verbally said content is written more than what is written on white

41

boards. Students can make notes efficiently if they know the outline of the lecture-handouts are rarely
given and students are left in anticipation while listening.

Need: Note taking is a painful task and mobile devices can provide solutions to captures notes easily in
lectures. Tools for creation (e.g. molecule drawing)

Further on the main points in the notes should lead/connect to supporting Material for further
study.Ways of capturing Contents of Visiting faculties who do not share slides. Capturing Audio with
Less interruption.

NOTE TAKING IN LABS-(CHEMISTRY)

Chemistry Students-The labs have a strict work time and the students are expected to be
disciplined in their work. They often jot down content in a point wise manner in shortforms.Things like
Temperature, Ratio, mixture are jotted down before a chemical reaction. The experimental data serves
as a very useful data for making further documentation for making lab record books. Since the
reactions are unique the loss often leads to stress before exams and are often made to redo the task.
They are often required to use both hands for a reaction and in that time its distracting to take notes.

Need: Capturing content for documentation of important sheets at work. Make Capturing live
experiments easy when multitasking. Dictation leading to a voice capture would help them greatly as
they will enable them do tasks together in less time.

NOTE TAKING IN FIELD VISITS (ARCHITECTURE STUDENT)

As part of their academic project students are expected to visit site and document the existing
conditions. They are often required to do a Measure drawing of existing structures.Dimentioning is
very important for understanding and designing spaces. Students often capture photos and do a
manual dimensioning by drawing on notepads. They later on combine both these data together.

42

Need: To be able to annotate add more data on a photo (dimensions).The photos also needs to be
non-blurry and should arrange in the order I visit the site.

OTHERS COMMON:
Difficult to write quick note while travelling in public transport/When you have to interview
people in site study.Students often create to do lists across devices-mobiles, laptops, sticky notes .but
the information doesnt encourage students to act on them. Some sort of reminder for time and
resource management was seen as a very important issue for students especially around minor and
major exams.Eg: Return book in library, Submit assignment, attend the class in lecture hall 404 and
compensate for the low attendance. (Micro coordination and Contextual reminders)

PHOTO CAPTURING SPECIFIC NEEDS:

Pics of handwritten notes should be especially non blurry/Sufficient contrast/legible.
Pics captured should be easily to share from the point of capture.

OTHER NEEDS AROUND CAPTURE (What people do after capturing):

The photo captured should arrange in better way. Easy to view Thematic categories.
Sharing from the point of Capture is essential.

43

Understanding Users mental model

The users were asked if they are using any smart phone note taking app currently. The users
were aware of the apps and some of them were using ever note in particular. However a little task was
given to just see the pain and pressure points while using the app.Some of the key need they said were
as follows:

Easy Capturing of Content.

Locating the captured content easily.

Merging and Managing Captured content from various resources in one place easily.

Organizing and Sorting Content.

Ways to Editing and Augmenting Content easily.

Easy annotation and Capturing of analog to digital format.

Task Assigned to do: The task was

to capture a Picture of the White
board where they were working
on and mail it across your friends
to get a quick feedback. The
students chosen had a fair
knowledge of working of
smartphone and were users of the
app.The user was asked to try of
three apps which are the market
leaders in Taking notes, photo and
audio in smart phone.

Figure 18: Image of the task being done

44

Figure 19: Comparison Chart

Observations and Inferences: The apps are very static in nature and the inertia to open them and
capture content acted as too much of a task to motivate the user to capture content. Native Apps were
preferred more in this Case. Also the difficulty to capture a readable image was seen and several
attempts were made to capture a right photograph. There were no indications also if the photo
captured was alrite and legible and warnings of not attempting taking any more photos. Also login
frustrations were seen in the case of one note. Spring pad offered delightful search options but again
they were not sensitive to the context of the user. Overall ever note seemed to be easier to navigate
and Use. My proposed Capture tool does take into account the positive feedbacks of the user task
survey.

45

Quantitative Survey
Since Taking notes is one of the key task in the app.Itw as important to have a look into the traditional
note taking styles in the students community. A survey was floated which wanted to see how students
are writing their choices primarily.

46

Summary of the survey

Bridging the gap of traditional note taking in classroom and Using Devices is important and Clues from
this will be carried ahead in the conceptualization phase.

47

Generating Personas (Primary and Secondary)

Alice Keys

Undergrad Student-Architecture
University of California, Berkeley.
Age: 24
Race: Canadian
Profession: Works as a Part time
Employee.
Family: Stays with Parents
Hobbies: Avid reader, online forum
Moderator, enjoys
Thursday
Talks at Students halls.

Objectives:
Needs to stay connected with her colleagues at work.
Need to utilize her commuting time to do something constructive.
Environment:
Stays in San Francisco with parents.
Works from both home and staying up late in University Studios. Used a
variety of devices and is semi-proficient in them. Mobile phone usage to
capture content should interrupt or fit in my other ongoing tasks.
Behavior:
Appreciative
Adventurous
Curious
Explorative
Design Implications
Health and wellness Services
Counseling and Psychological services
Academic Development Services.
Micro Coordination Services
Purchasing decision Services

David Kauffman

PhD Student-Chemistry
University of California, Berkeley.
Age: 28
Race: Californian
Profession: Works as a Researcher.
Family: Single.
Hobbies: Avid reader, online forum
Moderator, enjoys Thursday
Talks at Students halls.

Objectives:
Needs to find out the resources in time.
Needs to help him stay organized and manage and document his Research process.
Need to stay informed of only specific events related to his work.
Environment:
Stays in the University Town.
Works from both home and when Travelling.
Used a variety of devices and is proficient in them.
Likes his workstation in office. Works Independently as of now.
Behavior:
Competitive and Disciplined
Concerned about Nature
Politically neutral
Private and reserved, has a Bunch of close friends whom he hangs out with on
Weekends.
Design Implications:
Health and wellness Services
Counseling and Psychological services
Academic Development Services.
Micro Coordination Services
Purchasing decision Services

48

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS

Understandings of Primary and secondary research shown in a chart as below.

Figure 19: A chart showing all the Research flow

Building up Scenarios which explains user problem in them helps in designing solution very pin
pointedly.

49

Identifying Needs and Making Scenarios

NOTE TAKING WHILE LECTURE-PAIN POINTS.

Science and Architecture Students-When copying diagram, numerical figures, chemical equations and
other numerical data and figures from white board it is often inaccurate. Even more difficult for
international students who speak and write English slowly. Some students have said that the professor
speaks very fast and the pace of the class is fast to make notes. They then randomly scribble notes
which they do not make sense when they refer back. Also verbally said content is written more than
what is written on white boards. Students can make notes efficiently if they know the outline of the
lecture-handouts are rarely given and students are left in anticipation while listening.
Need: Note taking is a painful task and mobile devices can provide solutions to captures notes easily in
lectures. Tools for creation (e.g. molecule drawing) and collaboration with fellow students.
Further on the main points in the notes should lead/connect to supporting Material for further study.
Ways of capturing Contents of Visiting faculties who do not share slides. Capturing Audio with Less
interruption.

NOTE TAKING IN LABS/WORKSHOPS

Chemistry Students-The labs have a strict work time and the students are expected to be disciplined in
their work. They often jot down content in a point wise manner in shortforms.Things like Temperature,
Ratio, mixture are jotted down before a chemical reaction. The experimental data serves as a very
useful data for making further documentation for making lab record books. Since the reactions are
unique the loss often leads to stress before exams and are often made to redo the task. They are often
required to use both hands for a reaction and in that time its distracting to take notes.
Need: Capturing content for documentation of important sheets at work. Make Capturing live
experiments easy when multitasking.
Dictation leading to a voice capture would help them greatly as they will enable them do tasks
together in less time.

50

NOTE TAKING IN FIELD VISITS (ARCHITECTURE STUDENT/NATURAL SCIENCE STUDENTS)

As part of their academic project students are expected to visit site and document the existing
conditions. They are often required to do a Measure drawing of existing structures.Dimentioning is
very important for understanding and designing spaces. Students often capture photos and do a
manual dimensioning by drawing on notepads. They later on combine both these data together.
Need: To be able to annotate add more data on a photo (dimensions).The photos also needs to be
non-blurry and should arrange in the order I visit the site.

OTHERS COMMON:
Difficult to write quick note while travelling in public transport/When you have to interview people in
site study.
Students often create to do lists across devices-mobiles, laptops, sticky notes .but the information
doesnt encourage students to act on them. Some sort of reminder for time and resource management
was seen as a very important issue for students especially around minor and major exams.Eg: Return
book in library, Submit assignment, attend the class in lecture hall 404 and compensate for the low
attendance. (Micro coordination and Contextual reminders)

PHOTO CAPTURING SPECIFIC NEEDS:

Pics of handwritten notes should be especially non blurry/Sufficient contrast/legible.
Pics captured should be easily to share from the point of capture.

OTHER NEEDS AROUND CAPTURE (What people do after capturing):

The photo captured should arrange in better way. Easy to view Thematic categories.
Sharing from the point of Capture is essential.

51

o You take a screen capture of an Ikea chair from the Ikea website. The system surfaces
information about Ikea (hours, locations) as well as other stores that carry similar chairs.
o You take a voice note, and the note is automatically transcribed and saved as a text note.
o You take a picture of a book, or take a note of the title of a book. The system recognizes what
youve done and labels what youve captured as book
o You take a photo of the front of a restaurant. The system surfaces the menu and the phone
number of the restaurant.
o You take a photo of an appointment card for your next dentist appointment. The day before the
appointment, the system sends you a reminder for your appointment the next day.
o You take a picture of an item, then use that photo to do a web search.
o You take a screen capture of a book cover. The system recognizes the book, and surfaces
information telling you that your friend has just read and reviewed this book on a book site,
with a link to the review.
o You take a voice note to remember to buy milk at Safeway. When you are at Safeway, the
voice note is surfaced on your phone as a notification.
o You create a quick shopping list on your phone. The shopping list is updated with information
from the web such as the prices of the items at three local grocers.
o You take several pictures of a type of item (e.g., dogs, bottles of wine, chairs,books) and a label
is added to the photo of what it is.
o Take a picture of someone, and the system recognizes their face.
o Take a picture of the bus schedule at a bus stop. The system tells you when that bus is due to
arrive at your stop.

52

Scenario and Brainstorming of Ideas

Figure 20: Scenario Tree

INITIAL IDEATION (Brain storming)

53

Story Boarding I

I have to collaborate and

Understand well and perhaps
Write a synopsis by
Next week!!!If only I had a good
Capture tool

54

Story Boarding-II

Later part of the day when in field visit she faces difficulty to multitask using various tools and
capture photos easily. She is curious to explore and needs information which she studied in
class at her finger tips easily.

55

Task Flows of Some Initial Concepts

Task flow diagrams to manage Analog to Digital.

Task flow Diagram to Capture Photos easily with automated guided Guides and Using photos to
measure distance, volumes lengths etc. and annotating content at the point of capture.

56

Screens of Various Note and Audio taking ideas in a Classroom Scenario

Concept: Have something important to write down.
Automatically tags to the moment in the recording where you have written down-time stamped.
Helps David relate his notes to audio recording better when he review them at his free time. The
Concept helps David organize the notes and audio in synchronized fashion as it happens. Also he can
have a visualization where he can see multiple audio inputs.

57

Exploring other easy Note Capture mechanism Note and Ink input

Replay the
way you
have
captured for
Easy
understandi
ng what you
have
captured
and how.

Exploring Group note taking solutions in real time while attending a lecture.
Inspired from Cornell Note taking Method Listen Actively and take great notes.
Users immediately relate all the topics spoken. Longer retention and easy for organization

T
it
l
Cue
e
Colu
:
mn

58

N
o
t
Sue
ms
ma
ry

Double
Tap for
Enlarge
d
screen.

Pe
LP
it
n
alGRr
a l
yuiil
styl
d
n e
Nes
oe
d
u: o
t
t

e
s

Scenario: Alice Capturing Content and Live augmenting and gathering information while on filed visit
after attending the lecture Concepts around Capturing of photos easily.

59

60

Scenario: Analog to Digital and finding useful information through the digital capture.
Capture a photo of all the fool coupons and
bills.Automatically generated a Tabuar form
and documents your analog files which can
be shared amonst a close group of friends
who enjoyed the meal with you

Let the Captured notes lead you to something useful.Physically Search or locate the Book which you
have written down to issue from th library rack(matches the word which you have writrn to the word
in the spine of the book in the rack)

61

Business perspective: The next steps were to come up with an end to end solution for an app by
converging some of the above concepts .A detailed information architecture was created and
wireframes were made following some android design guidelines (as decided by the company
(Microsoft) Business framework)
It was essential to keep the business perspective in mind as to how the capture tool can be integrated
in one note (a product of Microsoft), this was seen as an opportunity more than a constraint for a
capture tool which when integrated in an office product used by students will definitely bring in more
value to the concept. Also the product visibility which was one of my elements of my framework would
be justifies. Keeping that in mind the finalized concept would include one note in intuitive and
seamless way. One way to look into all this was to think how all the captured content is being accessed.
They dont want to organize it, they want it to be organized.
Organization by type, by time captured.
Organized by time within type concern over time only being a jumbled mess.
Different locations by type isnt problematic for them
Some want it organized within the file system, not just in the UI.
One place is fine, as long as its organized
Didnt see separate locations as an issue they know where to go.
Web captures and photos could conceivably be stored together as images
Keeping things in two places is not a problem anymore, data is so cheap.
Tend to use search to find their own stuff, browse to find other peoples stuff
Win 8 doesnt search for folders an issue for one student
Concern about loading time the more stuff I capture, the longer it might take to load.

Thus the Proposal to have all the capture content organize itself automatically in One Note is one
possible direction I was thinking of as part of Microsoft product Integration with Capture.

62

FINAL CONCEPT
NAME OF THE APP- COCAP
Idea Behind the name:
Since the prime feature of the app is toward capturing multiple things in a pocket size device
inspiration is taken form the word collaboration, coordination cooperation and the name CO-Capture.

Icon of App Co Capture

Some other explorations

63

The landing page or the features of the app

Key Features if the Cocap (app)

Contextual Reminders and Alerts.

Capturing of Photo (Guides and Automated Capture solutions)

Photo Augmentation tools.

Group Note Taking in real time.

Easy search options which enables just in time learning.

Faster sharing capabilities across platform and users.

Other features related to interesting easy to understand Visualization of presenting Captured

content for future use and augmentation.

64

Information Architecture of the app

65

Final Screen Shots and research Plugin

66

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
The prime objective of this project was to understand and look for opportunity to introduce smart
phone in the education sector. It is not very far when this would be achieved and scaled successfully in
many part of the globe. Note taking and other capturing interfaces which involves active learning both
in class and outside class was one such outcome. A lecture is typically not interactive and will continue
its didactic style of one-way information flow into the foreseeable future. Consequently, low
attendance rate and student disengagement in lectures are the common problems in most universities.
Complementary to existing approaches that re-design lectures to incorporate more vertical interaction
between the lecturer and students by taking advantage of special electronic devices, our approach lets
a student be kept self-engaged by allowing them to voluntarily participate in horizontal interaction
Within a virtual group in a lecture class using their everyday pocket device. This approach attempts to
apply a student centered collaborative learning pedagogy into the lecture environment through a
novel real-time collaborative note taking application Co-Capture on Smartphones.
Initial Response from Students Community:
The project was discussed with a group of students in a same class and Discipline. Preliminary student
feedback has shown that the approach is pedagogically and technically feasible and students are quite
open to this approach due to its fun factor and peer motivation.
The current application is designed for Android-based Smartphones.
Ultimately, the true test would be to validate the response from the students community after the
application is deployed for pilot use in any university laying emphasise on m learning.

67

Responses to Interface Dimensions of the App-Co Capture

Design Recommendations

68

REFERENCES

Pettit, J. & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2007). Going with the grain: Mobile devices in practice.
Australasian

Journal of Educational Technology, 23(1), 1-13.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/pettit.html

Prensky, M. website, available online at http://www.marcprensky.com, viewed 17. Jan 2007.

Prosser, M. & Trigwell, K. (1999). Understanding learning and teaching: the experience in higher
education. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.

Raban, R. & Litchfield, A. (2007). Supporting peer assessment of individual contributions in

groupwork.

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 23(1), 34-47.

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/raban.html

Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge.

Rogers, E. (1973). Diffusion of Innovations. New York Free Press: Simon & Schuster Inc.

S, M. & Carrio, L. (2006), Handheld Devices for Cooperative Educational Activities,

Proceedings of the 2006 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, April 23-7, Dijon, 1145-1149.

69

70