The path to success is not easy.  The path to my PhD is not smooth at all. 

 

I read like crazy just to realize after a year that I got it all wrong.  When thinking back to the cause, the learning culture in my country has shaped the way I am studying.  I am so used to being asked.  The only thing I did when I studied was to answer those questions. 

 

At the current level of my study, a PhD, the expression is totally different: I ask the question(s); I supply the answer(s).   And the most difficult part is I dont know what question should be asked.  After struggling for a while, keep thinking, I found that one of the reason is that I am not that creative.  The book called Authoring a PhD written by Patrick Dunleavy gave me at least basic instructions of how to be creative when you are not.  I thank him.  It also gave me an insight understanding of a PhD life, a sole-scholar, in low budget mode.

 

So I have to practice myself to be more creative.  His suggestion is to spend about 20 minutes thinking about things then write all the ideas that come to you on the notes, everything.  After that, you start to link all the things together, find their relations.  You will eventually see the new idea emerge.

 

I know the only way you truly learn is by doing.  But Prof. Patrick also mentions in the book that there is no learning without humiliation. 

 

 

ps. I have one good news today.  My first article has been published in the issue 3 of Convivio Web-zine.  At least I not that suck. 

 

 

Recommended book this week: The Invisible Computer by D. Norman

 

 

 

 

 

It helps strectching my personal perception about interaction design and taught me how to collaboratively work with group dynamics.

 

 

It reminds me that there are many more things that I dont really understand and I have to catch up with the latest work in multimodalities.

 

 

What happen, happen for a reason!  Attending these two internaltional events provokes thoughts of my PhD.  Previously, I think about it as something I have to just do to get the degree, it should not be too difficult.  But now I am more aware of my idea, my work and my responsibility to the community and the world as interaction designer. 

 

There are several branches of work, I have to re-decide, in which area I would like to work on.

 

P.S.  Cool stuff rgds Ambient technology.  http://www.ambx.com/ I wish it commercially available very soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been reading about Human Computer Interaction for almost a year, never put them into practice and still get lost somewhere in my PhD proposal.

Currently, I'm spending two-week time at Napier University, Edinburgh, joining CONVIVIO Summer School for future interaction design. The school brings international interaction designers and computer scientists from all over the world together. It's so exciting that I've learnt and developed a deeper sight of what it is to be a good interaction design and what else I should be aware of.

In addition to that, I have made lots of good friends from different countries and we enjoy being together. Because the workshop takes so much time, so I dont have much to spend for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we only go out at night to pubs/clubs. I have a good time though. Tomorrow is the last day we're going to be together, we will also present our work to the public as one of the formal event of the festival. I hope it turns out right.

Life at this Summer School is the experience of my lifetime. I've been exposed to different and diverse experiences, challange myself to what I have never done before. I learn from lecturers, from colleagues, from environment and above all, I learn more about myself.