Tutorials - Mobile HCI 2002

Tutorial 1: Designing Highly Usable Services For Next Generation Devices and Networks

17 September 2002, CNR Research Area of Pisa, Pisa, in conjunction with Mobile HCI '02

Room number 29, Building A, afternoon session

Designing effective wireless services is difficult and this is rapidly becoming a major issue for both mobile service providers and device manufacturers when designing for the next generation of devices (GPRS). Due to inherent design limitations, including small display screens and limited data input from multifunctional keypads, wireless service designers have to learn new ways to present information and interact with the user. In this tutorial participants will be provided with an overview of the critical user experience issues that need to be addressed when developing these services for the next generation of devices and networks. It will introduce practical design, implementation and assessment techniques. The key to success in designing services for next generation of devices and networks is to understand what content to develop for subscribers and how to make it as simple and easy to use as possible.

Aims of the Tutorial: In this tutorial participants will learn how to develop highly usable user interfaces for next generation of mobile services, including:

Optimising designs for small devices
Making services quick to learn, to use and to remember
Designing services that require as few actions as possible
Exploiting next generation networks and capabilities
Developing tailored services that create value to the end-user
Designing user interfaces that support subscribers while they move and/or they are focussed on a other tasks outside the device

Learning objectives: The main elements taught by the tutorial are:

An understanding of what ‘mobile’ means when developing wireless services
An improved ability to make user interface more easy/fun/quick-to-use
Basic principles for creating useful and usable services specifically for use in a wireless environment (this involves much more than simply making the Internet ‘mobile’)
Tips and techniques for designing UI's on communication devices
Effective use of restricted screen space and minimalist input devices
Practical design experience through group exercises

Attendees: Participants will include user interface designers, mobile application developers, network operators and service providers, usability specialists, researchers in HCI, and anyone interested in designing wireless services on small devices. The tutorial is intended for people with some experience in either interface design or usability work. But it is also suitable for beginners since its content is not purely technical (no advanced technical expertise required).

About the presenters:

Didier Chincholle works as an Interaction Design Specialist for Ericsson Research, focussing primarily on the use of mobile services. He has extensive experience in designing and evaluating user interfaces He is also active at conferences with lectures and written contributions pertaining to both wireless services and UI’s design.

Mikael Eriksson works as an Interaction Designer for the Usability and Interaction Lab at Ericsson Research. He is mainly involved on developing and prototyping interaction concepts. He has a pedagogical background and has been teaching computer-based design at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Sweden.

Tutorial 2: From Desktop To Handheld: A Learner-Centered Design Approach To Developing Software That Scaffolds Learning Across Platforms

17 September 2002, CNR Research Area of Pisa, Pisa, in conjunction with Mobile HCI '02

Room number 29, Building A, morning session

Mobile computers are an increasingly feasible option for providing every student with a personal device to support learning, creating a growing market for learner-centered software for these devices. This tutorial offers participants the unique opportunity to explore how mobile computers can support a variety of learning activities through instant access to tools and information and support for collaborative work. Participants will explore the Learner-Centered Design (LCD) approach to building handheld tools that incorporate a variety of scaffolding techniques to support learners in mindfully exploring new domains and learning new activities. This tutorial offers participants an opportunity to interact with LCD software and apply the principles of LCD to their work.

Aims of the Tutorial: Participants in this tutorial will gain an overall understanding of LCD and learn specific techniques for applying LCD methodologies to mobile devices. Topics include:

Overview of LCD: background information, definitions, and comparison of learner-centered and user-centered design methodologies
Exploring the challenges and tradeoffs of LCD for handheld tools: Mobile devices have unique characteristics, such as small screens, that present challenges for designing effective learning software. These devices also offer opportunities, such as increased portability, for supporting learning activities that take place outside of traditional classroom environments. How do we deal with the challenges and leverage the unique characteristics of mobile devices to create effective educational software?
Hands-on exploration of handheld learning activities: Participants will have the opportunity to use Palm and Pocket PC computer to examine how LCD principles were used to develop two handheld tools: PiCoMap, which supports concept mapping activities, and Cooties, which supports a new type of collaborative activity where students interact with classmates to learn about the spread of disease
Discussion on how other types of mobile devices can support learning: What kinds of learning activities can be supported with other handheld devices, including mobile phones (e.g., i-mode capability), handheld game systems (e.g., Nintendo Gameboys), pagers and text messaging devices.

Learning Objectives: This tutorial focuses on three high-level learning objectives:

Learning about LCD. Participants will be introduced to the background and principles of LCD.
Understand the unique challenges of designing educational software for mobile devices. Participants will be introduced to the opportunities and challenges that various computing platforms present for LCD.
Learning how to “do” learner-centered design. Participants will learn design approaches for doing learner-centered design and will have the opportunity to use handheld learning tools.

Attendees: This tutorial will benefit interface designers, educators, marketing and product development professionals, HCI and usability experts, wireless and handheld application developers, and anyone interested in how mobile technology can impact learning. This tutorial is intended for participants with a basic understanding of human-computer interaction issues, but is also suitable for beginners who are interested in exploring how learner-centered design can be used in their own work.

About the Presenters: The presenters are associated with the Center for Highly Interactive Computing at the University of Michigan, which over the last decade has developed learner-centered software, curriculum, and professional development materials for educators. At the University of Michigan, Dr. Chris Quintana is an Assistant Research Scientist in the School of Education and College of Engineering, Kathleen Luchini is Computer Science Doctoral Candidate, and Dr. Elliot Soloway is currently the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the College of Engineering and also holds appointments at the Schools of Information and Education. Dr. Cathleen Norris is a Professor in the Department of Cognition and Technology, University of North Texas, and president of the National Educational Computing Association.