Experience
Design
Iblend play, technology, and storytelling to create immersive, interactive experiences that spark curiosity, creativity, and connection. Guided by educational research and best practices, I design public art, games, and installations that foster collaboration and innovation through intuitive, user-centered design. By combining hands-on learning with diverse design approaches, I craft inclusive environments that inspire and empower.
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Exploring My Potential Dissertation MediumThe Dissertation Norm The traditional dissertation format is to translate doctoral research into a 200+ page manuscript that strictly adheres to the APA guidelines: a title page, double-spaced text, a subtle text hierarchy, etc. Aesthetically, it is lifeless, and from my understanding, lifeless it lives in a university library archive where very few people read…
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Assessing Writing of Undergraduate Students in a GenAI WorldThe final phase of the Double Diamond design process is to converge the solution space, ultimately to one final solution for the problem. Within the problem space of assessing writing of undergraduate students in a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) world, the problem to solve is: “How can we make the learning that occurs while writing…
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Assessing Writing of Undergraduate Students in a GenAI WorldDesign Process · Education Practice & Theory · Generative Artificial Intelligence · PhD in Educational Technology · User Experience
I am exploring the problem space of assessing writing of undergraduate students in a generative artificial intelligent (GenAI) world through a double diamond design process. I first explored the problem space in order to better understand the problem, in Attempting to Define a Wicked Problem, before converging on a singular problem statement, in Converging a…
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Exploring Affordances and Limitations of Generative Artificial IntelligenceDesign Process · Education Practice & Theory · Generative Artificial Intelligence · PhD in Educational Technology · User Experience
Good designers need to engage in many perspectives, oftentimes simultaneously. That is, the ability to move fluidly between different frames of mind throughout the process, from managerial to focused and from divergent to convergent. Additionally, strong and confident design emerges from the ability to integrate and leverage external support and diverse perspectives—to see things how…
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Assessing Writing of Undergraduate Students in a GenAI WorldDesign Process · Generative Artificial Intelligence · PhD in Educational Technology · User Experience
Using the Double Diamond design process, I began exploring the problem space of assessing undergraduate writing in a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) context. I examined the literature and conducted simulated stakeholder interviews to understand the extent and nuance of the challenge. You can view the whole journey here: Attempting to Define a Wicked Problem. This…
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A Literature Review
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Assessing Writing of Undergraduate Students in a GenAI World
The emergence of GenAI is revealing a fundamental flaw to the assessment of writing as large language models (LLMs) are capable of instantly generating text that is indistinguishable from a human (Nikoli et al., 2024). Human-centred design recommends that one should “start by trying to understand what the real issues are” (Norman, 2013, p. 218),…
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Human-Centred Design, Generative Artificial Intelligence, and Education
Human-Centred Design in Education Human-centred design (HCD) is a philosophy and practice of design that utilizes a holistic viewpoint, placing humans at the core of every consideration (Norman, 2013, 2016). It recognizes a complex, interconnected system and seeks to benefit the system as a whole, acknowledging that optimization of the local does not always benefit…
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Five Levels of Technology Integrated Education
My remix of Sylvia Duckworth’s (2019) infographic of SAMR ISAMR is the combination of the SAMR and ISAR models The SAMR model, developed by Puentedura (2016), is a guide for the effective integration of technology into teaching and learning. It offers four levels of technology integrated learning including substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition. The ISAR…
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emergent process-based strategies for writing assessment in the age of large language models
I am in the first year of a four-year PhD program in Educational Studies at the University of Victoria (UVic). My dissertation will further my Master’s in Educational Technology research by exploring Emergent Process-Based Strategies for Writing Assessment in the Age of Large Language Models (LLMs). I bring expertise in process-based educational approaches, which emphasizes…
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what the effect of generative artificial intelligence may have on user experience
Human emotions, through sensory engagement and the perception of a technology, strongly influences the use of that technology (Berni & Borgianni, 2021). This focus on the human experience is at the core to User Experience (UX) and manifest when developing the tangible aspects of design such as utility, usability, function, and interface (Berni & Borgianni,…
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an open educational resource for sustainable and inclusive trades education
View the Open Educational Resource here Greening Construction Trades in Canada addresses the integration of climate change awareness and Indigenous perspectives into the construction trades. This publication empowers instructors with innovative tools and knowledge to guide the construction sector towards Net Zero, focusing on sustainable practices and Indigenous ways of knowing to create a more…
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an interactive art light up button game system
i/o Mimicry is an interactive light-up button game system designed to merge technology, play, and music into a fun and engaging art experience. The system features large LED-embedded buttons, speakers, and multiple play modes, making it accessible to people of all ages. Collaborators: Victor Lai & Anouk Borris Project Timeline: November 2023 – June 2024…
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a multimedia project to invite women into makerspaces and address the gender gap
The Electric-Textiles Workshop was designed to invite more women into the local makerspace community, addressing the gender gap in maker culture. By combining traditional sewing with wearable electronics, the workshop provided a welcoming entry point into electronics, coding, and soldering. Partnering with Nicole Bertram from The Spool and The MakeItZone, this four-session workshop guided participants…
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exploring learning: a mind map of my learner-centred approachAdrian’s Choice · Education Practice & Theory · Master of Educational Technology · Personal Project · User Experience
This mind map is a representation of my personal learning theory. My learning theory is strongly rooted in a learner-centred philosophy. I am influenced by constructivism and experiential theories, which provide constructs to the underlying neuroanatomy. Overall, learning is a very complex phenomenon and this flow chart only begins to outline everything that learning is.…
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an opinion recently after the public ChatGPT launch
Generative AI has taken the world by storm, disrupting innumerable industries. It can generate text, images, music, video, code, and the list goes on and on, with incredible results. In 1950, Alan Turing famously proposed a test for artificial intelligence: if you could speak to a computer and believe it to be human, then the…
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a tool to disrupt the design of educational experiences
The design of educational experiences are complex and not a ‘selection’ process. There is the opportunity for creativity from a transitional space, from a cookbook that could facilitate ‘surprising’ thinking. Instead of a linear ‘recipe’ often found in a cookbook, I have developed a card set that is open-ended, non-linear, and somewhat vague, allowing space…
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a tool to disrupt the design of educational experiences
Experience Wildcards are a tool that inspires divergent thinking when designing educational experience – to approach person-centred design from new angles. Tools, such as Experience Wildcards, are valuable as they challenge designers ideas and disrupt their practices offering new avenues for inquiry. The project started from an crude idea and resulted in the development of…
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exploring the design of four distinct learning tools/systems
Introduction The term technology, finding the boundaries of technology, and the extent to which it can be leveraged for education has been often in my mind in this program, in this Masters of Educational Technology. I feel that many stones have been left unturned. The goal of this IP is to analyze learning artifacts that…
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exploring the barriers to participation and how to overcome them
This podcast is a dive into what holds people back from an experience that they themselves want to do. It explores moments of when it happens, then with a lens of neuroscience, and ultimately extends these ideas into how educators can help people overcome their hesitations. Listen: Problem The challenge was to better understand how…
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placing a pencil between the theories of actor-network theory and media ecology
As a student in ETEC 565B: METatheory of the Master of Educational Technology program at the University of British Columbia, I developed a five-slide presentation with speaker notes addressing the following topics: applying McLuhan’s tetrad to the pencil, representing the main ideas of actor-network theory, exploring how the pencil impacts us and what it ‘prescribes’…
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an online knowledge center for everything screenprinting
Problem During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wachiay Studio, a screenprinting studio in the Comox Valley, needed to pivot to remote instruction. Developing a an accessible and comprehensive online learning platform for screenprinting proved to not only meet the needs to teach our students but also to the general public. Screenprinting is a versatile and accessible production…
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a location-based mobile adventure game prototype
BEE-ING AROUND is a single-player, location-based adventure game prototype for mobile. The player is a honey bee, who must visit flowers in order to collect their nectar and earn points all whiling avoiding hazards such as bears, cars, and forest fires. Control of the in-game player is done by physically walking around as the GPS…
