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March 11, 2008
What's Happening in HCI at SI
Recently there have been a number of news posts on research projects and student activities that fall under the realm of Human Computer Interaction. I thought I'd give you all a summary of some of the cool stuff our students and faculty are up to.
First I'd like to introduce to you Mark Newman.
Mark comes to SI from...dun dun duuuuuun... The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)! Quick side bar---PARC is pure innovative gold in the HCI and research world. If you didn't know, PARC is responsible for "30 companies and is celebrated for such innovations as laser printing, distributed computing and Ethernet, the graphical user interface (GUI), object-oriented programming, and ubiquitous computing" (PARC website). In my humble opinion, I think Mark gets multiple cool points, gold starts and IQ credits for contributing to the knowledge of that organization and we are fortunate to have him at SI!
Back to the intro... ;) Mark received his doctorate in computer science from UC-Berkeley, was employed by PARC for 7 years with a focus in ubiquitous computing and now has made his way to the School of Information.
His research still revolves around ubiquitous computing and he is actively participating in several projects. Here are two to peak your interest.
- Connecting home networks for collaboration and trouble shooting
(Associate Professor Mark Ackerman is also working with Mark...er Newman) - nDash
Collaborative project with SI research staff Josh Palay and MSI student Tanuj Shah.
nDash is a public visual display project that seeks aggregate data streams from blog posts, twitter feeds, research publications and even...you guessed it good 'ol Facebook pages to promote awareness of SI events and activities of SI folks. Challenges for this project include combining large amounts of data streams and organizing it within the limits of screen real estate all while keeping in mind the limits of human attention. whew! Challenging stuff right!? But what...what about the issues of adapting the display to the user? Yes, they are taking that on too!
In addition to his many research activities, Mark is the new professor of SI622: Evaluation of Systems and Services. This class is a required course for HCI students so you HCI-ers will be sure to make contact with him through this course. I'm currently taking SI622 and I think he is doing a great job! Why?
(I'm a list person so here comes the bullets)
- Feedback for our assignments is thoughtful and detailed. He gives constructive comments (both on the positive and negative) to help improve on your work.
- He developed a rather involved in-class exercise to simulate a user testing session. It was a pretty aggressive undertaking but after talking to students that haven't done testing and even myself that has done a bit. It provided a great introduction to what should and should not happen during such an undertaking.
- Personable teaching style. This class is relaxed yet full of information. SI622 presents a heavy workload - sometimes deadlines can be overwhelming in combination with the rest of your classes so having a prof that understands this and the hiccups that come from working with outside clients is greatly appreciated.
Lastly, Mark participates in the HCI reading group. Each week an article or two is distributed for your consumption. On Friday students come together to discuss its importance and impact in HCI.
For more information see the News of SI article here
or Mark's website: http://newmantaylor.com/newman/
Next!
More projects related to HCI:
MichiPoster
Led by Josh Palay, an alum of the MSI program. MichiPoster provides an environment for communal discussion (including the sharing of web sites, photos of SI events, questions for the SI community etc.) without clogging your inbox. You can access MichiPoster online (www.michiposter.com) or via the touch screen located in SI North and in the student lounge in West Hall.
Visualizing Course Paths
Led by Assistant Professors Lada Adamic and Mick McQuaid.
This is an excellent example of information visualization that is tailored to the interests of SI students. Lada and Mick have created a visualization of course paths followed by MSI students which is helpful when trying to determine your own path through the SI curriculum.
Use of Aesthetics in HCI Systems
Led by Jina Huh (doctoral student), Assoc. Professor Mark Ackerman, & Robert Douglas.
This research seeks to determine the additional impact decorative art can bring to HCI systems beyond its traditional use as a way to facilitate information visualization and decoration.
Social Computing Tools
Led by Professor Paul Resnick. Paul has initiated such tools as the SI Thank Yous which is an application that allows the SI community to post and display public thank you messages. The device is located on the 3rd floor landing of West Hall and the lobby of SI North. Look for it when you come to visit!
There are many more interesting areas happening within SI.
For more information you can view the complete news article or search the people and research pages within the SI website to browse current projects and research interests of our faculty and students.
International Recognition for HCI Student Projects!
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the THREE teams at SI whose projects were accepted into the semifinals of the Computer-Human Interaction international Student Design Competition. I might add that there were only nine other teams accepted...you do the math ;)
Our teams will present to CHI via a poster session in Florence, Italy in April. Four teams will then be chosen for the final round. These teams will give an oral presentation to a panel of judges.
Projects and teams include:
doGooder: Fostering volunteer communities to serve the homeless
doGooder connects people with service opportunities while fostering volunteer retention through community encouragement. By increasing volunteer involvement, doGooder enhances the capabilities of organizations that serve the diverse needs of homeless people.
Team members (Team Emantis):
- Jacqueline Cerretani
- Sameer Halai
- James Laing
- Joshua Morse
- Melissa Perez
Learn more:
www.emantis.com →
www.emantis.info/hifi/doGooder.html → (hi-fi prototype)
Portalis: Using an online game to support aid initiatives for the homeless
Portalis is a competitive online game that improves the flow of expert domain knowledge to case managers working with the homeless. The game also enables contributions from individuals who would otherwise not be able to volunteer because of time constraints.
Team Portalis members:
- Ayse Buyuktur
- David Hutchful
- Cheng-Lun Li
- Satyendra Nainwal
- Natasha Sant
QR-codes for the chronic homeless
This team is developing an information system with simple interfaces that uses quick-response codes to configure cell phones to perform basic functions that will improve the delivery of services to the homeless. These functions might include setting up reminders and augmenting current data entry methods used by homeless service agencies.
Team members:
- Ahmad K. Aljadaan
- Kumud Bihani
- Meseret Gebrekristos
I briefly wrote about this awesome accomplishment in a previous blog about student projects which you can find here. Read the complete news article here.
Posted by krosalia at March 11, 2008 11:31 AM