This presentation is concerned with the development and evaluation of a redesign of the online and mobile app African Storybook initiative services that support the authoring and reading of openly licensed storybooks to support literacy development in Africa. The redesign makes use of a number of cultural-historical activity theory principles, including: object of activity, tool mediated and shared objects that are part of the third-generation activity system.

1. www.africanstorybook.org
African Storybook
Open access to picture storybooks in the languages of Africa
For children’s literacy, enjoyment and imagination

2. African Storybook
Open access to picture storybooks in the languages of Africa
For children’s literacy, enjoyment and imagination
ALAN AMORY
ACTIVITY THEORY AND
INTERACTIVE DESIGN FOR
SAIDE’S AFRICAN STORYBOOK
INITIATIVE

3. OUTLINE
01
02
03
The Problem
Information processing
as the dominant
paradigm
A Solution
Historical social-cultural
human activity for
design
Redesign
Human Computer
Interactions redesigned
for mediation
04
05
06
Usability
Cycles of user testing
and feedback
Mediation
Evaluation using 10
characteristics of
mediation
Conclusions
Outline

4. 01The Problem

5. External review
• Poor performance
• Overloaded landing page
• Poorly designed user
experience
• Inconsistent use of terms
• Excessive information
• Drupal inappropriate
01The Problem

6. • Implement responsive
design
• Separate reading, creation
and third party access
• Develop apps for reading
and creation
• Use Agile development
• Address Separation of
Concern
Recommendations
01The Problem

7. 02A solution
Research associated with the ASb initiative
often make use of sociocultural theory (see
Janks, 2000).
Treffry-Goatley (2016) argues that analytical
tools offered by critical literacy would allow
children to engage with the perspectives and
positions presented in texts. In particular,
such an approach includes affect, fantasy
and play.
Therefore, it is appropriate to use Cultural
Historical Activity Theory allied to Human-
Computer Interactions to design the tools to
mediate the reading, authoring and research
of African storybooks.

8. Vygotsky’s Activity System
Mediation means
Art, music, languages, machines etc.
Subject Object
02 - ACTIVITY THEORY

9. Human Computer Interaction Design
CHAT better suited to HCI studies than original
theory of information processes psychology:
• Unity of consciousness and action (objective
reality)
• Human activity is object-orientedness (social and
cultural interactions as important as physical,
chemical and biological ones) and hierarchical
(processes take place at different levels)
• Internalization-externalization organize mental
processes
• All human activities are mediated by external
(pencil, paper, scissors) and internal (language,
concepts) tools
Kaptelinin (1996)
02 - ACTIVITY THEORY

10. Mediation and HCI
• Mediational means
Me vs the world, Coupling between different means,
Versatility
• Subject of mediated activity
Diversity, Individual or collective,Impact of mediation
• Object of mediated activity
Types of objects of interest
• Levels mediation
Mediational means in the structure of activity
• Dynamics of mediation
Appropriation, Disruptive or incremental remediation
• Context of mediation
Diversity
02 - ACTIVITY THEORY

11. Rules
Tool
Actor
Object
Community Division of Labor
Outcome
Production
Consumption
Exchange Distribution
Action
Engagement
02 - ACTIVITY THEORY
Engeström’s Activity System

12. 02 - ACTIVITY THEORY
Instruments
Rule
s
Subject Object
Community Division
of Labor
Community
Instruments
Rules
SubjectObject
Division
of Labor
Shared
Object
Engeström’s Third Generation
Activity System

13. Addressing
• Poor performance
• Overloaded landing page
• Poorly designed user
experience
• Inconsistent use of terms
• Excessive information
• Drupal inappropriate
03Redesign

14. • Identification of the objects of
activity for ASb activity
• Reading
• Authoring
• Research reporting
• Each activity conceived as a
single activity system
• Technology stack includes
LAMP, HTML 5, Javascript,
CSS and Framework-7
Through
03Redesign

15. 03 - REDESIGN
Activity System for African
Storybook

16. Object - Rules
03 -REDESIGN
Property Create Translate Adapt
Author/Translate/Adaptation ✓ ✓ ✓
Language ✓ ✓
Dual language ✓
Reading level ✓ ✓
Cover colour ✓
Title ✓ ✓ ✓
Summary ✓ ✓ ✓
Original source ✓
Preview ✓ ✓ ✓
Publish ✓ ✓ ✓
Sort pages ✓ ✓
Add page ✓ ✓
Page image ✓ ✓
Page content ✓ ✓ ✓

17. 03 - REDESIGN

18. Repeatable design pattern
DESIGN
Searchable and sortable lists
Single item display
Integrated help

19. REDESIGN
Repeatable design pattern
Searchable and sortable lists
Single item display
Integrated help

20. DESIGN
Repeatable design pattern
Searchable and sortable lists
Integrated help
Single item display

21. • Expert opinion
• Internal scenario testing
• Scenario and usability
testing including partners
working in pairs
• Scalar instruments
• Results discussed with
participants
04Usability

22. 04 - USABILITY TESTING
0 1 2 3 4 5
Scenario items
Unsatisfactory Satisfactory
Overall, I am satisfied with the support
information (online-help, messages,
documentation) when completing the
tasks in this scenario
Overall, I am satisfied with the ease of
completing the tasks in this scenario
Overall, I am satisfied with the
amount of time it took to complete the
tasks in this scenario

23. 04 - USABILITY TESTING
0 1 2 3 4 5
No irrelevant images (clutter)
Similar-looking icons result in similar actions
I would recommend it to a friend
No redundant links
Help instructions are useful
It is fun to use
Components function in a similar manner
I do not notice any inconsistencies
It is easy to enter information
I learnt to use it quickly
On error appropriate feedback is provided
I can use it successfully every time
The website is easy to use
Requires the fewest steps to accomplish a task
I easily remember how to use it
Help instrustions are easy to understand
Error messages are easy to understand
The website uses simple and natural language
Easy to 'learn' how to use the navigation
Both occasional and regular users will like it
I am never stuck on a particular page
Usabilityitems
Unsatisfactory Satisfactory

24. 04 - USABILITY
Scenario and Usability Testing
• Required more time for the scenarios
• Registration and login processes difficult to
complete
• The Library activity system included actions to
translate or adapt a library items causing
confusion
• Participants suggested the help system text
and help prompts should be simplified
• Participants unfamiliar with ASb terminology
asked for definitions

25. 05Mediation
Arguably, adopting the notion of
mediation in HCI has lead to some
important theoretical insights. But is
the mediational view of technology
relevant to design? Can adopting the
view actually help to achieve a better
understanding of how interactive
systems should, or could, be
designed? What has been the impact
of the concept of mediation on design-
oriented HCI research? Does the
concept have a potential for supporting
future research? And, in general, what
does it mean “to design mediation”?
(Kaptelinin, 2015)

26. 03 - REDESIGN
01
Mediational means
Me versus the world
Tracker bracelets are
designed
to form a part, an extension,
of the individual (“personal
technologies”). TV sets are
external objects “out there in
the world”, with which we
interact.

27. 03 - REDESIGN
02
Mediational means
Coupling between different
means
Some activity trackers are
designed so that they
can be used independently
from other devices, while other
models can only be used in
combination with a
smartphone

28. 03 - REDESIGN
03
Mediational means
Versatility
A vending machine can be
used for one single purpose
while others, for example,
word processors, can be
used for a variety of purposes

29. 03 - REDESIGN
04
Subject of mediated activity
Diversity
The subject of activity
mediated narrowly defined
skill requirements or is
designed to support a broad
range of subjects

30. 03 - REDESIGN
06
Subject of mediated activity
Impact
Impact of mediation on actors
can either be short-term,
such as helping to achieve an
immediate goal, or long-term,
such as intentional or
unintentional transformation
of an individual

31. 03 - REDESIGN
09
Dynamics of mediation
Appropriation
The status of the same
technology as a mediational
means depends on whether
or not the technology in
question is appropriated by
its user

32. 03 - REDESIGN
10
Dynamics of mediation
Disruptive or incremental
New technologies typically
substitute existing
meditational means, and the
adoption of new technologies
causes re-mediation - re-
mediation can be associated
with a significant disruption

33. 03 - REDESIGN
11
Context of mediated
Diversity
Some technologies can be
used in the office (e.g.
desktop computers) while
others (e.g. smartphones) in
dynamically changing
contexts

34. 06Conclusions
01
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
ASb responsive design made use of a unifying design
patterns across devices
03
TOOL MEDIATION
Users found the interface to be uncluttered, made
consistent use of icons, and pages were not overloaded
with text and contained no redundant links
04
DESIGN PATTERNS
A similar design pattern was implemented in order to
provide a similar user experience across all objects of
activity and to create re-usable code
05
APPS
Apps (iOS and Android) were designed for reading to
support off-line storage of storybooks. The authoring
objects of activity requires consistent access to web
services and can be used on tablets
02
OBJECT OF ACTIVITY
Each object of activity (read, create, research) is
presented as a single activity object with associated
rules
06
AGILE DEVELOPMENT
While some of the Agile principles (continuous
improvement, rapid and flexible response to change) used,
with a single developer other Agile processes are
inappropriate
07
SEPARATION OF CONCERN
Use of the object of activity addressed the issues related
to SoC

35. THANK YOU