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edits
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Added proposal for Bleeding edge beacons talk
In addition to clarifying specific implementation details, this is an opportunity to surface community requirements which may have not been addressed in the initial release.
== Bleeding edge beacons: redesign of a library tour with new technology ==
* Neal Henshaw, Virginia Tech
* Somiah Lattimore, Straight Up Creative
* Keith Gilbertson, keith.gilbertson@vt.edu, Virginia Tech
This group has not yet presented at Code4Lib
A technology liaison, a designer, and a developer are working together to update a mobile audio tour of an academic library.
The walking tour was originally conceived of and created by the technology liaison to provide an orientation experience for incoming students. In its current version, patrons visit several stations in the library and activate an audio description of each station by scanning a QR barcode with a mobile device.
We are building a prototype to test with focus groups so that we can launch a new version of the tour in early 2015. The tour has been reimagined with a professional and communicative user interface that presents students with learning goals for each location in the library. The new version of the tour is a mobile application with integrated support for micro-location technology provided through Bluetooth low energy beacon devices, known informally as iBeacons, installed throughout the building. As a touring student walks through the library, her location is noted by the app so that an appropriate video segment is automatically played according to the current location.
We will discuss perspectives on the design of the project, including
* Designing with technology to achieve learning goals
* Designing graphical elements, interaction, and user experience
* Designing to maintain compatibility with older technologies
We’ll explain our efforts to make the application usable by those with hearing impairments and mobility impairments, reactions from our first users, and challenges in working with the relatively new beacon technology.