Norma Rosas 

 Team Mind Mapping 

 Challenge : Team Collaboration , Creativity & User Experience 

 I manage a team of content developers and instructional designers for Clarity - Innovations . As part of   an organization that works with clients , from fortune 1,000 to non - profit organizations , we develop   educational material to support educators in integrating effective use of emerging technologies ─ to   transform teaching and learning to 21st century learning experiences . A lofty goal ! We work with   several clients on different projects concurrently . Most of the projects are from soup to nuts ─ from   ideation to production in collaboration with a team of engineers and graphic designers . 

 My team generally uses the same process for all of our projects : internal and client kick - off meetings ,   outlining , drafting , reviewing , and publishing . We have weekly project syncs or as needed . However ,   much of the initial brainstorming is done siloed . Once the writers get the assignment , it ’s up to them   to come up with the content outline . While , we meet regularly to discuss status and roadblocks , we   do n’t often take the time to work on content together , especially in the early stages . Based on   feedback from my team , they wanted to see more collaboration in the initial phases of a project to   help them to understand who they were designing for and what they are designing . 

 Selection : Mind Mapping 

 Since so much of my team ’s work focuses on writing , mind mapping helps us to think visually , share   our thinking in an informal low - risk manner , move away from our comfort zone , collaboratively   expand our ideas , and get into the minds of our end users . 

 For my project , I decided to do something similar to the “ yard sale ” example in one of the week 3   videos . Using this model would help to pinpoint what our users wanted out of an online interactive   professional development experience for a STEM classroom product ( magnetic circuit blocks ) . This   would be a creative and collaborative experience for the team . 

 Application : Our Process 

 Our task was to design an online interactive , three to five hour professional development course for   elementary school teachers that could be delivered face - to - face , online , or blended . Ultimately , the   client planned to bundle the course with their product sales . Here ’s what we did to better understand   what is ​ : 

 Step 1 : The User Experience : Observations 

 I invited several classroom teachers to our office one day after school for a couple of hours . Free   food helped to draw them there . Some of the teachers had used the product that we were tasked   with creating professional development for ; while others had never seen or heard of the product . 

 During the two hours , my team observed the users . They jotted down notes , recorded conversations ,   snapped photos and video , and asked questions . 

 The participants were given certain specific structured tasks with the circuit blocks as well as free   exploration time . Each participant recorded notes in a small journal related to : what they liked , did n’t   like , found frustrating or challenging , how they might use the blocks in a classroom , and what   specific classroom ideas they had , etc . The participants also engaged in short one - on - one interviews   with members of my team . 

 Everything was collected at the end of the session . 

 Step 2 : The Gallery Walk : Data collection 

 The following day , I scheduled a work session with my team . I brought in everything that we had   collected from the participants : the journals , notes , photos , recordings , etc . Some of the items were   posted around the room , some sat on tables , and some was displayed on computer screens . Each   team member had a stack of colored post - it notes and some colored markers . When walking around   the “ gallery ” , they were told to note ideas ( for what fits and what does n’t fit ) that would give us insight   into the potential workshop users and inform our product development . They could draw pictures ,   write words , pull quotes , or use any other techniques to bring their ideas back to the group . They did   this without talking . 

 Step 3 : Sharing : Idea generation 

 After the gallery walk , team members were grouped . As they shared their notes , they identified   themes and clustered their post - its according to each of the themes on chart paper . This continued   until all the sticky notes were posted . If they had post - its that did n’t quite fit , they put those on the   outer edges of the paper . During this process , there was a lot of discussion and excitement . 

 Step 4 : Data analysis : Identifying patterns and insights 

 Now , looking at the graphic organizers they created , they needed to identify about 10 insights . What   did the observations , notes , and post - its reveal ? These needed to be written in statements . Each   team identified eight to ten and shared these . We created a master list of the statements , combining   or removing statements that were similar . This we would use to guide our development . The list   included statements , such as : 

 ● Users want to see classroom examples of how to use these . 

 ● The teacher ’s ability to focus on one building task is on average 10 minutes , then they get   frustrated . Therefore , the hands - on parts of the workshop need to be delivered in no more   than 10 - minute chunks . 

 ● Management is often a challenge . Teachers want to know how to manage the blocks in a   classroom with thirty students . 

 Step 5 : What is to What if : Criteria 

 The insights served as our criteria for the workshop development , leading us to the ​what if ​   stage of 

 the product design . 

 Insight : What I learned 

 Although I was reluctant at first to take my team ’s time to do this , in the end , the experience was   beneficial for all . As we design the workshop , we now have criteria to guide us and to measure our   success . My team feels empowered to forge ahead with the project because they have a better   understanding of the end user ’s needs and expectations . 

 The team embraced the opportunity to collaborate and be creative . This was clear in the fun that   they were having and feedback at the end . As a result of this experience , I realize how important it is   to dig into the ​what is ​ , the empathy stage of design thinking , to deliver a product that meets a real 

 need for real customers . 

 Approach : Next time I would ... 

 Next time I do this , I ’m going to use more digital tools as all of the paper got a little out of hand . I   think we could make a digital collage of the users ’ experiences , ask them to take notes in a   collaborative document , and use tools such as Padlet instead of post - its . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Norma Rosas
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Norma Rosas 

 Team Mind Mapping 

 Challenge : Team Collaboration , Creativity & User Experience 

 I manage a team of content developers and instructional designers for Clarity - Innovations . As part of   an organization that works with clients , from fortune 1,000 to non - profit organizations , we develop   educational material to support educators in integrating effective use of emerging technologies ─ to   transform teaching and learning to 21st century learning experiences . A lofty goal ! We work with   several clients on different projects concurrently . Most of the projects are from soup to nuts ─ from   ideation to production in collaboration with a team of engineers and graphic designers . 

 My team generally uses the same process for all of our projects : internal and client kick - off meetings ,   outlining , drafting , reviewing , and publishing . We have weekly project syncs or as needed . However ,   much of the initial brainstorming is done siloed . Once the writers get the assignment , it ’s up to them   to come up with the content outline . While , we meet regularly to discuss status and roadblocks , we   do n’t often take the time to work on content together , especially in the early stages . Based on   feedback from my team , they wanted to see more collaboration in the initial phases of a project to   help them to understand who they were designing for and what they are designing . 

 Selection : Mind Mapping 

 Since so much of my team ’s work focuses on writing , mind mapping helps us to think visually , share   our thinking in an informal low - risk manner , move away from our comfort zone , collaboratively   expand our ideas , and get into the minds of our end users . 

 For my project , I decided to do something similar to the “ yard sale ” example in one of the week 3   videos . Using this model would help to pinpoint what our users wanted out of an online interactive   professional development experience for a STEM classroom product ( magnetic circuit blocks ) . This   would be a creative and collaborative experience for the team . 

 Application : Our Process 

 Our task was to design an online interactive , three to five hour professional development course for   elementary school teachers that could be delivered face - to - face , online , or blended . Ultimately , the   client planned to bundle the course with their product sales . Here ’s what we did to better understand   what is ​ : 

 Step 1 : The User Experience : Observations 

 I invited several classroom teachers to our office one day after school for a couple of hours . Free   food helped to draw them there . Some of the teachers had used the product that we were tasked   with creating professional development for ; while others had never seen or heard of the product . 

 During the two hours , my team observed the users . They jotted down notes , recorded conversations ,   snapped photos and video , and asked questions . 

 The participants were given certain specific structured tasks with the circuit blocks as well as free   exploration time . Each participant recorded notes in a small journal related to : what they liked , did n’t   like , found frustrating or challenging , how they might use the blocks in a classroom , and what   specific classroom ideas they had , etc . The participants also engaged in short one - on - one interviews   with members of my team . 

 Everything was collected at the end of the session . 

 Step 2 : The Gallery Walk : Data collection 

 The following day , I scheduled a work session with my team . I brought in everything that we had   collected from the participants : the journals , notes , photos , recordings , etc . Some of the items were   posted around the room , some sat on tables , and some was displayed on computer screens . Each   team member had a stack of colored post - it notes and some colored markers . When walking around   the “ gallery ” , they were told to note ideas ( for what fits and what does n’t fit ) that would give us insight   into the potential workshop users and inform our product development . They could draw pictures ,   write words , pull quotes , or use any other techniques to bring their ideas back to the group . They did   this without talking . 

 Step 3 : Sharing : Idea generation 

 After the gallery walk , team members were grouped . As they shared their notes , they identified   themes and clustered their post - its according to each of the themes on chart paper . This continued   until all the sticky notes were posted . If they had post - its that did n’t quite fit , they put those on the   outer edges of the paper . During this process , there was a lot of discussion and excitement . 

 Step 4 : Data analysis : Identifying patterns and insights 

 Now , looking at the graphic organizers they created , they needed to identify about 10 insights . What   did the observations , notes , and post - its reveal ? These needed to be written in statements . Each   team identified eight to ten and shared these . We created a master list of the statements , combining   or removing statements that were similar . This we would use to guide our development . The list   included statements , such as : 

 ● Users want to see classroom examples of how to use these . 

 ● The teacher ’s ability to focus on one building task is on average 10 minutes , then they get   frustrated . Therefore , the hands - on parts of the workshop need to be delivered in no more   than 10 - minute chunks . 

 ● Management is often a challenge . Teachers want to know how to manage the blocks in a   classroom with thirty students . 

 Step 5 : What is to What if : Criteria 

 The insights served as our criteria for the workshop development , leading us to the ​what if ​   stage of 

 the product design . 

 Insight : What I learned 

 Although I was reluctant at first to take my team ’s time to do this , in the end , the experience was   beneficial for all . As we design the workshop , we now have criteria to guide us and to measure our   success . My team feels empowered to forge ahead with the project because they have a better   understanding of the end user ’s needs and expectations . 

 The team embraced the opportunity to collaborate and be creative . This was clear in the fun that   they were having and feedback at the end . As a result of this experience , I realize how important it is   to dig into the ​what is ​ , the empathy stage of design thinking , to deliver a product that meets a real 

 need for real customers . 

 Approach : Next time I would ... 

 Next time I do this , I ’m going to use more digital tools as all of the paper got a little out of hand . I   think we could make a digital collage of the users ’ experiences , ask them to take notes in a   collaborative document , and use tools such as Padlet instead of post - its .
### Output: 