Christina Vasiliou

Technology Enhanced PBL in HCI Education: A Case Study

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional method in which the base for learning is a real-world problem. A typical PBL setting is comprised of students working together on an authentic problem, using simple tools such as whiteboards and stationery. Online tools and multimedia technologies have also been used to support PBL activities. There is however no empirical work on the blended use of both physical and digital tools. This paper presents a case study in which we employed PBL pedagogy for the teaching of a post-graduate course in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). The activities were situated in a multimodal information space, rich in digital and physical elements including personal computers, projectors with downwards projection, tablets, iPods, digital pen readers, stationery and a Facebook group for each team. We administrated questionnaires assessing students’ motivational beliefs and overall satisfaction with the learning experience. Our results show that students’ overall satisfaction was highly rated, while the information space contributed to students’ engagement and collaboration.

An Artifact Ecology in a Nutshell: A Distributed Cognition Perspective for Collaboration and Coordination

An artifact ecology is an environment where multiple heterogeneous technologies co-exist and are interlinked as a unified system. To construct effective ecologies of artifacts for collaborative activities we need to acquire deep understanding of the complex interactions and interdependencies between users and tools. Researchers have identified Distributed Cognition (DC) as a powerful tool for understanding these interdependencies. In this study, DC, and particularly the DiCoT framework, were considered ideal for constructing this understanding for four student-groups during collaborative activities in an artifact ecology. Using DiCoT we analysed learners’ behaviour and how the artifact ecology supported collaboration and cooperation. The cognitive system was described from three different perspectives - physical layout, information flow and artifacts - which (i) allowed an in-depth understanding of the interactions among learners and tools during collaborative activities and (ii) provided insights on how the affordances of the artifact ecology supported collaboration and coordination.

User experience in using surface computing for collaborative decision making

Purpose – This paper aims to report work regarding the design, development and evaluation of a surface computing application to support collaborative decision making. The domain-independent application, the so-called Ideas Mapping, builds on the principle of affinity diagramming to allow participants to analyze a problem and brainstorm around possible solutions, while they actively construct a consensus artifact – a taxonomy of their ideas. Design/methodology/approach – Ideas Mapping was designed using a user-centred approach. During idea generation, Ideas Mapping replicates physical post-it notes on a multi-touch tabletop. Additional functionality supports student collaboration and interaction around the organization of ideas into thematic categories associated with the problem at hand. The tool was evaluated in two studies using quantitative and qualitative data. Findings – The paper reports on the functionality and user experience while interacting with the application. The paper also reports initial findings regarding the affordances of surface computing for collaborative decision making. Originality/value – The studies reported give insides regarding the affordances of multi-touch tabletops to support collaborative decision making. Information regarding the user experience in using such applications is reported.

Measuring Students’ Flow Experience in a Multimodal Learning Environment: A Case Study

This research paper focuses on the relationship between flow experience and multimodal learning environments. Flow experience has been defined as the state in which an individual feels completely absorbed and fully engaged in an activity. This concentration and complete engagement can lead to optimal learning. Several scholars in the areas of distance learning [2] and game-based learning [3] highlighted the relationship between high levels of flow experience and the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning environments. Yet, this theory has not been applied in the area of multimodal learning environments, were multiple forms of technologies are provided to collocated learners. The purpose of the present study was, by studying an HCI course, to explore learners’ flow experience and to understand the affordances of that promote flow experience. Findings suggest that flow experience does exist in collaborative activities within a multimodal learning environments and that it offers a useful construct to understand the affordances of technology in similar learning environments.

Problem-Based Learning in Multimodal Learning Environments: Learners’ Technology Adoption Experiences

In this study, we enhanced a problem-based learning (PBL) environment with affordable, everyday technologies that can be found in most university classrooms (e.g., projectors, tablets, students’ own smartphones, traditional paper–pencil, and Facebook). The study was conducted over a 3-year period, with 60 postgraduate learners in a human–computer interaction course, following a PBL approach to teaching and learning. First, this article contributes a detailed description of how PBL can be enacted in a multimodal, technology-rich classroom. Second, the study presents evaluation data on learners’ technology adoption experience while engaging in PBL. Overall, the participants positively endorsed the learning environment, rating their experience highly on scales of communication and interaction, reflection, perceived learning, and satisfaction. In addition, quantitative content analysis of Facebook use documented how the physical and digital tools in the environment, coupled with the capability of Facebook as a recordkeeping and communication tool, were integral part of the PBL process.

Tabletop Support for Collaborative Design: An Initial Evaluation of IdeaSpace

With the increasing availability of interactive tabletops, researchers and practitioners have the opportunity to expand the learning environment and provide further support for collaboration and reflective conversations around design problems. In this manuscript, we present IdeaSpace, a tabletop application designed to support collaborative design as a continuous and reflective process involving cycles of design and redesign. IdeaSpace allows users to work on a shared project, load digital images and sketches, annotate them using text and audio, record messages and take notes during their collaboration, keep step by step a record of the design process and share selected artefacts on Facebook. Outcomes from three pilot case studies provide evidence that IdeaSpace can support continuity in the interaction, revisit of information, and reflection across collaboration sessions. Concluding remarks and plans for future work are discussed.

Mapping Peace Ideas around the Table

This work is concerned with the exploration of an educational tabletop application designed to facilitate dialog and collaborative decision making. The application was enacted in the context of two sensitive scenarios related to Peace and Immigration. Results showed that despite the sensitivity of the scenarios, the interactions observed were rich in cognitive and physical elements and typical to small group collaboration around problem-based activities. Moreover, the taxonomies of ideas constructed by the groups highlight a number of areas where research could focus in terms of using technology for peace making.

Collaboratively creating a thematic repository using interactive table-top technology

This paper reports on the design and development of a surface computing application in support of collaborative idea creation and thematic categorisation. C.A.R.T (Collaborative Assisted Repository for Tabletops) allows up to 4 users to simultaneously interact with virtual objects, each containing a single concept, to create thematic categories. Each object, which replicates a physical post-it on a multi-touch tabletop, is created by one of the team members either previous to the meeting or during the initial stage. The application then encourages the exchange of debate and conversation by presenting the ideas one at a time for users to discuss and categorise. The resulting idea repository can be used for roadmap creation as well as comparative studies using further participants. The applications main task is similar to that of card sorting and affinity diagramming. We report on the functionality of the application which was designed and developed following a user-centred approach.

A Glance into Social and Evolutionary Aspects of an Artifact Ecology for Collaborative Learning through the Lens of Distributed Cognition

ABSTRACT There is steadily growing interest in the design and evaluation of digitally enhanced spaces in the real-world where users use, combine, and appropriate different physical and digital tools based on the task at hand. Under the notion of “ubiquitous computing,” researchers have explored tools and theories to analyze, understand, and model users in complex socio-technical systems. Yet, even though theoretical approaches play a significant role in the work of practitioners, there is a general difficulty in applying them, pushing researchers to explore methodological frameworks with clearer guidelines. Using the distributed cognition for teamwork (DiCoT) framework, we study collaboration and communication patterns, physical movement, and social structures of two groups of learners working on a design problem as they evolve over a 3-month period. Through an in-depth investigation, we present detailed accounts of the social and evolutionary models of DiCoT for each group. Our analysis enriches the DiCoT framework by identifying five new principles: social emersion and social circles of privacy for the social model, and continuity, mutual adaptation, and semantics of body for the evolutionary model. This article contributes to HCI research by refining and extending the existing DiCoT framework and elaborating on two dimensions that have previously been under-developed in the literature.