Cheryl Seals

Lifelong Learning: Becoming Computer Savvy at a Later Age

Senior citizens represent the fastest growing demographic worldwide. As indicated in the Year 2000 U.S. Census, there are 35 million people 65 or older in the United States (U.S.). By 2030, it is estimated that there will be about 70 million older adults in the U.S. alone (Chadwick-Dias, McNulty, & Tullis, 2003). With the older population growing rapidly and being increasingly exposed to computer technology, it is important that they become informed of what computers can do for them, (e.g., e-mail, document creation, games, and access to information via the Internet) (Shapira, Barak, & Gal, 2007; White, McConnell, Clipp, Branch, Sloane et al., 2002). The longitudinal study presented employs a mixed method data collection and analysis approach that includes the use of standardized surveys, measures of physical fitness and physiology, observations in the retirement community, and structured interviews. Drawing upon Auburn University faculty in the College of Engineering, senior citizens participated in workshops designed to develop their skills in computing. The potential significance of the project was to create a valid and reliable model for outreach to retirement and assisted living communities and other centers for senior citizens.

Usability study of digital libraries: ACM, IEEE-CS, NCSTRL, NDLTD

If digital libraries are to be used effectively, their user interfaces should be tested and enhanced. We observed 48 participants as they worked with the following digital libraries: ACM, IEEE-CS, NCSTRL, and NDLTD. We discuss how the features of these digital libraries influence the subjects’ efforts to perform search and retrieval tasks. Data analysis indicates that the IEEE-CS digital library was rated the best overall and NDLTD had the best search time. We present user recommendations and propose a taxonomy of features that we believe are essential for the design of future digital libraries. Noteworthy is the observation that users’ judgements on the importance of different features varied widely between the beginning and end of their test sessions.

Teachers as simulation programmers: minimalist learning and reuse

Five public school teachers were observed during two self-study sessions where they learned to use Visual AgenTalk (VAT). The first session emphasized the basic visual programming skills, while the second introduced ways to reuse existing simulations. Two versions of the reuse tutorial were developed, one offering a concrete example world for reuse, and the second an abstract world. During their learning and reuse sessions, the teachers thought out loud as they worked, enabling a detailed analysis of their goals, reactions, problems, and successes. After each session, the teachers also completed user reaction questionnaires. Although all teachers succeeded in learning the basics of VAT, they varied considerably in their reuse of the example simulations. It appears that the simplified components of the abstract world supported reuse to a greater degree than those of the concrete example world.

Fun learning Stagecast Creator: an exercise in minimalism and collaboration

We are attempting to create a cross-generational learning community who will work together to design, construct, and discuss simulations of community topics. The simulations are built with Stagecast Creator, a state-of-the art visual programming environment. As part of this larger project, we have developed minimalist training materials for middle school students. This paper reports a formative evaluation of these training materials, in which groups of students worked together on two related tutorial modules. In general the students were successful in their work with Creator, needing little aid from the experimenters, and showing evidence of enjoyment. Our aim is to develop materials that will attract participation and enable students to spend their free time and play with this environment, and as a by-product of having fun, learn more about visual programming.

An interactive distributed evolutionary algorithm (IDEA) for design

Evolutionary computation (EC) has been successfully applied to a wide range of design problems. There has also been an abundant amount of work in applying interactive ECs in the design of displays, robot behavior, bitmaps, etc. In the EC literature, one can also see a number of successful design applications of distributed ECs. However, to date, there has been no research in the area of interactive distributed ECs. In this paper, we present an interactive distributed evolutionary algorithm (IDEA) for the design of simple emoticons. We will discuss two ways that our IDEA is currently being used including the areas of EC education and Human Factors.

A community learns design: towards a pattern language for novice visual programmers

We conducted a one-day design workshop in which residents of a community collaborated in learning about and designing community-related visual simulations (to be implemented in Stagecast Creator). An analysis of their design ideas and concerns revealed several visual design patterns that were apparent even in these very early stages of simulation design. This analysis helps us to characterize the design constructs people may be able to specify or learn when first encountering visual simulation design tasks and projects. In this paper, we introduce the concept of patterns and their relationship to visual programming and present several visual programming language patterns mined from the projects developed at the community simulation design workshop. Finally, we discuss how these patterns might be incorporated into minimalist tutorials that we are developing to introduce community residents to visual simulation design.

Evaluation of Web Usability Guidelines for Teens

Although most teenagers (aged 13--17) use the Internet daily, very little human-computer interaction (HCI) research exists on design of websites for teens. Eight teenagers evaluated the BAM! Meeting the Challenge web page to rate it on satisfaction, aesthetic appeal, ease of use, and engagement. The results of the evaluation were compared to teen-specific usability guidelines to understand the extent they were consistent with the guidelines. Our results were consistent with the usability guidelines, and more importantly, confirmed them.

Social networking and culturally situated design teaching tools: providing a collaborative environment for k-12

For over 25 years, HCI researchers and developers have been challenged with improving usability of products. More recently, the Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) community has focused on developing collaborative systems but even though social interaction was recognized the emphasis was on work. The widespread use of the Internet by millions of diverse users for socializing is a new phenomenon that raises new issues for researchers and developers. Just designing for usability is not enough; we need to understand how technology can support social interaction and design for sociability. Moreover, increasing accessibility to Computer Science and Technology is essential for a discipline that relies on creativity and diverse perspectives. With the educational research community having begun to explore the causes behind the under representation of females and students of color in computing courses, outreach efforts have commenced to overcome these enrollment discrepancies.

Culturally situated design tools: animated support tools for mathematics

Culturally Situated Design Tools (CSDTs) are web-based software applications that allow students to create simulations of cultural arts: Native American beadwork, African American cornrow hairstyles, urban graffiti, and so forth; using these underlying mathematical principles. CSDTs are the rationale of creating a set of culturally designed games utilizes gaming as a teaching tool to attract and instruct students with familiar methods and environments. The focus of this study is on Ron Eglash and others research on the indigenous design of various cultures using computer game simulations to teach math and computer science in the classroom sector. This study will review the development and evaluation of CSDTs, and discuss how various activities attempt to navigate through the potential dangers and rewards of this potent hybrid of information technology (CSDTs), traditional culture and individual creativity.

The STARS Leadership Corps: Case studies in broadening participation in computing

We have formed the STARS Alliance to address alarming declines in computing enrollments and the need to broaden participation in computing. Our innovative STARS Leadership Corps engages college students in a community dedicated to giving back, persevering, and striving for excellence. The successful Corps model incorporates best practices in recruiting and retention in computing, including student experiences in outreach, research, and service. We present case studies of three diverse implementations of the STARS Leadership Corps that demonstrate how the Corps can be tailored to individual institutions and student interests.