We'd like to invite you to participate in an INTERACT 2003 Conference
workshop facilitated by Konrad Baumann, Paula Kotzé, Lars Oestreicher,
and
Matthias Rauterberg on September 1st in Zurich, Switzerland, entitled
"Teaching HCI: Looking at Other Disciplines - Workshop of IFIP WG 13.1
on
Education in HCI and HCI Curriculum"
http://www.osprey.unisa.ac.za/interact
www.interact2003.org/

THEME >>

Subject disciplines often have distinguishable educational methods
depending
on the nature of the subject and the target audience. Some of these
methods
are seen as unique or unconventional, but can also add value to other
disciplines when applied. The main theme of this workshop is on a
critical
comparison of educational methods of a variety of disciplines related or
adjacent to human-computer interaction (HCI) and how these can inform
the
teaching of various aspects of HCI.

BACKGROUND >>

The disciplines HCI and user centred design (UCD) have been established
years ago as a part of technical (mostly computer-related) and
psychology
curricula. More recently the basics of HCI and UCD were also introduced
in
the curricula for new disciplines such as interaction design, industrial
design, information design and media design. The first part of the
proposed
workshop aims to take the general teaching methods used for HCI and UCD,
with a special focus on the requirements that arise in the context of a
design curriculum, as a starting point. The didactics of HCI and UCD
will be
compared to other design disciplines such as architecture and town
planning,
product design, graphic design, graphical art, human factors,
engineering,
psychology, creative writing, et cetera. The main goal of this part of
the
workshop is to establish if synergies can be found between these
disciplines
and how these can be utilised in HCI and UCD education. An example of
this
is the problem educators face in evaluating students' creativity.

Some of the anticipated topics for discussion include:
* What general teaching methods are used in the various disciplines?
* Is a practical or a theoretical approach preferred?
* What links exist between the various disciplines?
* What role does creativity play in the discipline?
* How are the students evaluated?
* Is a design process highlighted in the discipline?
* What role (if any) can/do key individuals (gurus) play in teaching the
discipline?

The second part of the workshop will look at some of the identified
methods
in more detail. One of the methods already identified for inclusion is
problem-based learning (PBL). PBL has been developed in Canada in the
1960s
(see Barrows and Tamblin, 1980) as a new education method for medical
related subjects. In the intervening years it has also found application
in
subjects such as economics and business administration. In the
Netherlands
PBL is currently, for example, used for teaching groups of up to 12
students
in medicine, law, and economics. It has been implemented as a full
teaching
model at the newly founded Faculty of Industrial Design at the Technical
University of Eindhoven . At the FH Joanneum Technical College in Graz,
PBL
was recently also introduced in HCI seminars. In these seminars elements
of
PBL are used in order to enhance the quality of the seminars, make them
more
appealing to the students, and bring students closer to practical work
conditions. PBL can be used either within one seminar or in order to
link
together the whole course for one big project.

Some of the anticipated topics for this part of the workshop include:
* Which elements of PBL and other identified educational methods, are
applicable to HCI and UCD teaching, and why?
* What are the characteristic similarities and differences between an
information design curriculum when compared to an engineering
discipline?
* What is the ideal group size for different kinds of student projects?
* How to effectively teach, organise and moderate focus groups and
usability
tests using real examples?
* Can the use of interdisciplinary projects in seminars be successful?
* Are there differences in teaching HCI and UCD at universities in
contrast
to technical colleges (polytechnics).

WORKSHOP >>

ORGANISATION

Schedule and Activities: The workshop will be organized as a one-day
workshop. It will start with an introduction on previous workshops
organized
by the group and the suggested educational methods from those (see
Section 4
below). The remainder of the morning will then be devoted to the
discussion
and critical comparison of teaching methods used in other disciplines.
During the afternoon session we propose to have a discussion on using
PBL
and some of the other methods in HCI education. The workshop is planned
to
be moderated like a focus group discussion. In the second half of the
workshop it might be necessary to split into small groups to analyze and
report on different teaching methods, if time does not allow a detailed
plenary discussion of all methods. Sample educational material and the
reports from previous workshops in the series will be provided in
advance to
the participants for discussion during the workshop. Ideally the
outcomes
from the workshop could be a set of best practice examples, as well as a
list of statements that can be the starting point for further research.
It
is planned to videotape the workshop and to create a report based on the
statements made during the discussion.

Results: The results of the workshop will be presented as a poster
during
the conference, as well as in a report, to be published afterwards. The
outcomes are planned to be proposals of how different teaching methods
can
be used in the teaching of HCI or how HCI education can benefit from
such
methods. An official publication consisting of position papers,
discussions,
examples and results is planned.

Duration: 1 day (Monday, 1 September, 2003) - taking place before the
main
Interact 2003 Conference.

Target: Although the workshop to some extent builds on results from
previous
workshops, it is assumed that any person interested in HCI education
issues
will be able to participate in the workshop.

Number of participants: Maximum 20.

PAST WORKSHOPS

HCI Education Workshops were held in 1999 during the INTERACT ?99
Conference
in Edinburgh (Cox, Oestreicher, Quinn, Rauterberg and Stolze, 1999),
NordiCHI 2000 in Stockholm (Oestreicher and Kotzé, 2000), INTERACT 2001
in
Tokyo (Kotzé, Oestreicher, Rauterberg and Toleman, 2001), and WCC 2002
in
Montreal (Seffah, Gulliksen, Kotzé and Oestreicher, 2002). The outcomes
of
the first three workshops resulted in a paper presented at the World
Computer Congress in Montreal (Kotzé and Oestreicher, 2002). At INTERACT
2003 Conference a one-day workshop on Inclusive Design in HCI Education
is
also planned. The one-day workshop proposed in this document is not
intended
to be a competitor for that workshop, but is aimed at complementing it.
Therefore it is intended to have this workshop take place on a different
but
adjacent day to the Inclusive Design in HCI Education workshop.

SUBMISSIONS >>

We cordially invite interested participants to submit position papers to
this workshop on education in HCI, stating their teaching experience and
position with respect to HCI and UCD education both in academic and/or
industrial settings, and their ideas and experiences relating to the
theme
of the workshop. We especially would like to encourage the statements to
relate to the main workshop topics, as described above.

Participants need not have been involved in any of the previous
workshops of
the group. In addition to the requested position statements we encourage
the
participants to submit samples of practical material that have been used
or
planned in the educational settings described. The information in the
workshop contributions shall be used as sample material for the workshop
discussions.

Position papers and other submissions should not exceed 8 pages
together,
but in case of extensive materials, www-links may be included in the
papers.

Please submit contributions to Paula Kotzé with a Cc to Konrad Baumann
(konrad.baum...@fh-joanneum.at). Any enquiries with regards to this
workshop
van be addressed to these two organisers as well.

The closing date for contributions is 1 July 2003.

Konrad Baumann
Dept. of Information Design
FH JOANNEUM Graz, Austria
Phone +43 316 5453 8615
Fax +43 316 5453 8601
konrad.baum...@fh-joanneum.at
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