NSF MakerCards WEB CATALOG

Each MakerCard carries a unique QR code and URL that links students to a reference page that offers further information on the component. Learn more about the card deck here.

The purpose of the web catalog is to help students access guidance relevant to their chosen components and the technical development of their project work. The catalog also addresses the challenges of help seeking in remote contexts. Although many online forums exist to support electronic help seeking, they are diverse, scattered assemblages. An instructor-managed web catalog is curated for novices, their information needs and anticipated projects.

This section reiterates the information found on the MakerCard and offers a more extensive description on the component's functionality.

A hotly requested feature by previous students of the course; Starter tutorials offer students a clear starting point for utilizing the basic mechanics of the component. Students can also submit a tutorial of their own for review.

Students can dive deeper into the component and relating topics via resources linked by the instructor. Students can also submit resources for review.

These sections encourage students to ask questions and offer tips that will be shared with the rest of the community. Through this feature, we hope to connect students of Physical Computing courses (past and present) and foster a greater sense of community.

Lastly, there is a section that links students to the webpages of other components that are from the same category or subcategory.

I created a service blueprint to organize all the various touch-points and components involved in the MakerCard system. It was also for Zach, the instructor, to understand what responsibilities he would have in managing the back-end of the system.

I observed the online search paths of 5 students as they conducted researched during their project planning phase. Coupled with a short interview after, I learned that many students turned to Google as their primary resource for learning about components outside of class. However, they often found it tedious to scour through numerous web results and interpret information aimed at those more experienced with electronics.

The course is usually set in the Physical Computing Lab, where students can freely work and directly access the facility’s wide selection of electronic components. Due to remote conditions, however, most students attend class with a setup consisting of a desk, a laptop or computer, and their course kit.

Based on my conversations with Zach and several other instructors of the Physical Computing department, I wireframed several iterations of the electronic component page.

I tested my initial prototype with 5 past students of the Intro to Arduino and Intro to Physical Computing courses.

I wanted to know what features of the website would have be most useful to them had they been available to them. This helped me understand which sections of the site to have the dev team prioritize and helped me uncover any kinks in my design.

With the website in development, I plan on making design specifications for a mobile-friendly site.

MakerCards is being submitted to DIS2021! Check back soon for the full paper.