Askplorer was presented to the formal reviewers on May 16th at Center for Educational Research at Stanford. I received insightful feedback from the reviewers.

     The identified learning problem, the use of learning theories and the use of innovative technology received positive responses.
  - “Very important learning problem – choosing colleges is so important and so         under supported.”
  - “A particular strength for me was in the novice-expert comparison in analyzing        video.”
  - There are some very interesting elements in the project, such as some       innovative uses of technologies. The connection between the video-clips and       the strategy of questioning is a powerful one.”

     The constructive criticisms were mainly about the following things: 1) the complexity of the software and the user motivation, 2) validity of the questioning strategies, and 3) the context that Askplorer could be used.
The software should be simplified. First, there are too many words and they are not catchy and easy. The wording makes a user feel that this software is complicated and looks like it gives homework-like work. One way to improve this is to put explanations in separate message boxes and show them only when necessary. This simplifies the interface. Another thing I can do is to replace “academic” kinds of words such as “lesson” with softer and easier words. Second, the user experience might be too complicated. One of the reviewers suggested that I should take only essential parts of the software and use them in a simpler design. The complexity of the software is related to the user motivation, which was not considered thoroughly in the development process of Askplorer. It was because my focus was to apply learning theories and find possibilities of innovative technologies in educational software. The next step is to make the software fun and easy.

      I also received a comment about the validity of the questioning strategies: “it sounded like a collection of strategies, and I didn’t hear it grounded in the psychological or educational literatures.” As critiqued, the strategies were not grounded in empirical researches. They were created from the books and articles for corporate managers, journalists, and qualitative researchers and from my interviews with counseling professionals. My intention was to borrow wisdom from questioning professionals. Further research should be done about the inquiry skills that prospective college students should know. The strategies should be refined based on theoretical rationales.
     
      Another issue that was pointed out in the review was where I would situate Askplorer. An idea that I suggested was a linked webpage from college counseling websites. Another scenario is that Askplorer can be used in college counseling in high schools, prep schools, and non-profit organizations. Further brainstorming and needs analyses should be conducted to find suitable contexts.

References