Challenges from the Future: Bridging the Gaps through HCI Education
Abstract
The rapid shifting of paradigms within the Human-Computer Interaction
field, moving from user interface design to interaction design and onward
to user experience design is an issue that strongly affects HCI education and
poses additional challenges onto the teacher’s agenda. It is difficult for most
teachers to keep up with developments that are likely to require a continued redevelopment
of the teaching materials.
The workshop will focus on how to prepare HCI Education and Didactics to
swiftly adapt to an ever-changing future. The workshop is aimed at HCI teachers,
researchers and practitioners who are interested in furthering HCI into the
future, and want to be ready to face the challenges triggered by the rapid advancement
of technology. The intention is to develop an understanding of these
challenges and start a discussion on how to improve the teaching of HCI in a
way that it keeps itself up-to-date and ready to address emerging application
areas and paradigms shifts.
The dichotomy between teaching about current technology and having a
solid foundation for the teaching will be a central issue in the workshop. Is it
possible to find alternative ways of teaching that will be less dependent on the
current state of technological development? Is it possible to use the traditional
knowledge of HCI also within the emerging paradigms of HCI? Are there other
developments that can be foreseen and can the associated problems of those be
addressed even before the technology has been developed? or is the topic of
HCI always going to be about teaching the old reliable knowledge about users
and known tools?
The primary objective of the workshop is to, through a constructive discussion
between participants, strive towards an understanding of the challenges
described above and identify a strategy for a continued development of the
teaching of HCI, both as a self-contained and an applied topic.
More information about the workshop can be found at:
http://www.interact2013.org/Workshops