Play & Designing Media for Participation

Course Description

This course is a studio for designers/developers of computational media that help people do the things they care about; it is also about media that are fun and pleasurable to use -- and that help make activities themselves interesting and engaging. Although these media can include software, hardware, or a mix of the two, the primary emphasis in the course will be on software development.

Through discussions, design sessions, and hands-on development the course will explore aspects of technology, cognitive science, and aesthetics that are relevant when designing to support engaging participation. We will draw insights from example technologies that are practical (programming environments), engaging (games), or both. We will also examine different models of cognition (and human-computer interaction) - including both third-person models and first-person ("what is the experience of using a particular tool?") methodologies. Finally, we will look at different approaches to "non-utilitarian" media and experiences, such as games, play, art, and performances.

Although this course overlaps in many ways with the research/development of "educational software," there is a crucial difference. Educational materials are usually developed to help prepare people for doing things; the emphasis here is on developing media that eliminate (or dramatically reduce) the need for preparation.

The course should be useful to designers/developers of software (and to some extent, hardware) media -- whether they wind up in research or product development (and in many different areas, including the development of games, tools, and even educational products).

Course Structure

The course will be organized in a project-oriented style: students will work together in teams to design, develop, and evaluate prototypes of playful participation media. There will also be weekly readings in relevant literature; an introduction to constructivist learning theory and constructionist design; group discussions and presentations; and a final paper and demonstration.

Class size is 20 students. [Note: I can imagine making the class somewhat larger, but no more than 30 students.]

The class will meet once a week for 3 hours.

Students will form groups of 3-4 people - and each team is required to deliver a final, working prototype.

Prerequisites

There are no formal pre-requisites for this course. However, all students are expected to be able to build prototypes - whether they do so with programming languages, scripting environments, or high-level tools (such as Macromedia Director). If you take the course intending to "learn" how to use an appropriate tool, be aware that you will probably be at a serious disadvantage - and that this may create tension as you work with the rest of your team. (It is also possible to do a hardware project; but please see me at the beginning of the term if this is your intention.)

Class Meetings

Each class will be roughly divided into three parts:

Preparation for each class will include:

Course Deliverables

The course deliverables are: regular class participation, small weekly assignments, a final implementation (project), a final report, and a final presentation of that implementation.

Weekly Project Status Updates

Brief project status reports are due each week. (Note: these weekly status updates are structured to provide teams with an outline of their project plan by the time it is due.)

Project Plan

The project plan is a team document that outlines the goals, milestones, and scope of the final project.

Final Paper

The final paper is a team document that is suitable for submission to a journal or conference - or as publication in the form of a laboratory/university technical report.

Final Presentation

The final presentation is a team effort in which each team presents a demonstration ("demo") of the completed application, preferably with an intended user.

Final Project

The final project is a prototype application that makes it easy for people to enter and participate in some new activity.

Schedule:

Introduction: Cognition, Participation, Play, & Media Design

This session is an introduction to the themes and methodologies of the course.

Enactive HCI: Cognitive Construction & Media Design

This session examines behavioral and cognitive approaches to cognition. There is a particular focus on how individuals make their own meanings - and some of the implications for HCI.

Cognition: Problem-Solving versus Readiness-to-Hand

This session explores the difference between "thinking skills" and "doing skills." Much research in "assistive design" emphasizes the design of tools that help people "think better" about activities. The emphasis here will be on designing tools that are easy-to-use and ready-to-hand in actual activities.

Participation: Activities & Media

In this session we begin to look at how we can design tools that participate with the person in the activity.

Participation from the Periphery (Apprenticeship)

Having good tools and intentions is often not enough. There are often social barriers (prejudice, existing practices, etc.) that prevent participation. This session examines the structure of activities and the ways in which tools are used in those activities - especially in terms of how they help (or prevent) the participation of beginners.

Participation Barriers

In this session we explore "participation barriers" in more depth by looking at gender, age, race, physical conditions, etc.

Participation: By-passing Pre-Requisites

A major barrier to participation often comes in the form of pre-requisites. In this session we examine some aspects of pre-requisites and how it is possible to redesign activities and tools to support alternative forms of entry into activities.

Models of Augmentation: Nags, Servants, Tutors, & Smart Partners

There are several broad techniques for helping people enter and participate in activities. In this session we analyze them and explore the trade-offs.

Play: Designing Enjoyable Media

Most work in HCI is in the area of improving performance, namely, aspects of tools and media that contribute to improved use. In this session, we look at how we can improve the quality of engagement when using a tool, that is, aspects of tools and media that contribute to increased enjoyment of using the tool.

Play: The Formal Structure

After looking at engagement in terms of properties of tools, in this session we look more at the human side of task engagement, enjoyment, and play.

Syntonicity & Meaningful Representations

"Syntonic" representations are those that are most compatible with or acceptable to what is already known. (Origin is Greek for "tuned".) We may say that syntonic tools and applications are those to which users are most responsive (based on what they already know and do.) In this session we explore some of the issues of designing syntonic tools.

Coordinated Activity

Most of the design sessions so far have been about tools and individuals. In this session we look at the issues that appear when one of the main features of an activity is coordination or collaboration among many participants.

Designing for Second-Generation Users

In this final design session, we look at the problems of designing tools that make participation easier after the first generation of users. For example, it is one thing to develop a programming language that is easy to learn and use; it is another to develop a language that generates "self-documenting" code for those who must later extend and build on what someone has built using it.

Final Presentations: Group Projects