My tentative ethnography proposal is to study computer science students in two different lab sections of the same class. The idea is to learn how the differences between sections encourage or discourage learning and interaction. The Teaching Assistants of each lab will also be observed, to discover if the differences in teaching style seem to affect the differences between the sections. If this information can be discovered, it could be put to use in future to design and teach lab sections in a way that best promotes learning.
As a peer teacher, I am already part of two different freshman-level lab sections with two different TAs, and therefore, am able to study each lab section for two hours a week without interfering with the environment that is already established. I would just have to interact with the students as I usually do, helping to answer questions and such. This allows me to ask them questions about their understanding without disturbing the initial environment and thus disturbing the data.
Quantitative data that can be collected includes the number of students who actually show up the the lab and the number of questions that are asked during each lab per day. Qualitative data includes the overall attentiveness of the class, how the students interact with the TA, and the overall quality of the students' programs.
For the moment, this is a tentative individual project to discover what kinds of ethnography ideas will be the most useful to implement for the actual ethnography group project.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Book Reading #10: Opening Skinner's Box
Reference Information
Chapter 2: Obscura
Summary
This chapter discussed the obedience experiment of Stanley Milgram, in which a set of people were tricked into thinking that they were shocking a person to death for a learning experiment on the orders of the experimenter. The author discusses the premise of the experiment, its results of 65% of people obeying the experimenter, and the results it had on the psychological community. The author even describes the effect the experiment had on the participants, and the fact that it seems to have changed their responses.
Discussion
I think that this whole experiment was both interesting and shocking. I find the results to be shocking, although the fact that the experience changed many of the participants' lives is to be expected, considering how much of an eye-opener the experience would have been. I also like how this brought into question how much lab results differ from real-world situations, and that the author says that in the real world, people have plenty of opportunities to change their course of behavior.
Title: Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century
Author: Lauren Slater
Editor: W.W Norton & Company, 2008
Chapter 2: Obscura
Summary
This chapter discussed the obedience experiment of Stanley Milgram, in which a set of people were tricked into thinking that they were shocking a person to death for a learning experiment on the orders of the experimenter. The author discusses the premise of the experiment, its results of 65% of people obeying the experimenter, and the results it had on the psychological community. The author even describes the effect the experiment had on the participants, and the fact that it seems to have changed their responses.
Discussion
I think that this whole experiment was both interesting and shocking. I find the results to be shocking, although the fact that the experience changed many of the participants' lives is to be expected, considering how much of an eye-opener the experience would have been. I also like how this brought into question how much lab results differ from real-world situations, and that the author says that in the real world, people have plenty of opportunities to change their course of behavior.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Book Reading #9: Coming of Age in Samoa
Reference Information
Chapter 3: The Education of a Samoan Child
Summary
This chapter generalized the life of a Samoan child from birth. It described the lack of interest adults showed in children, and the fact that the older young children are supposed to take care of the younger children. Then, it discussed the differences between the upbringing of boys versus girls, such as girls having to take care of children for far longer than the boys.
Discussion
I find it interesting that birthdays are not regarded as being significant. Also, I think it is noteworthy that the author pointed out that boys have much more stress and responsibility as teenagers, while girls are allowed freedom by claiming that they are still young, and are allowed to enjoy themselves and neglect learning responsibilities for a while.
Title: Coming of Age in Samoa
Author: Margaret Mead
Editor: Harper Perennial, 1928 (1971)
Chapter 3: The Education of a Samoan Child
Summary
This chapter generalized the life of a Samoan child from birth. It described the lack of interest adults showed in children, and the fact that the older young children are supposed to take care of the younger children. Then, it discussed the differences between the upbringing of boys versus girls, such as girls having to take care of children for far longer than the boys.
Discussion
I find it interesting that birthdays are not regarded as being significant. Also, I think it is noteworthy that the author pointed out that boys have much more stress and responsibility as teenagers, while girls are allowed freedom by claiming that they are still young, and are allowed to enjoy themselves and neglect learning responsibilities for a while.
Book Reading #8: Design of Everyday Things
Reference Information
Chapter 3: Knowledge in the Head and in the World
Summary
This chapter discussed the different kinds of knowledge, mainly imprecise knowledge, which includes information available in the world limited by natural and cultural constraints. This knowledge reduces the number of alternatives for any particular situation, allowing people to make quick actions based on this knowledge. The author also discussed how people use this knowledge and their memory to remember things.
Discussion
I liked the analysis of how people tend to remember things. The examples of leaving notes and such definitely pertained to me, making the reading interesting and quite helpful at times.
Title: Design of Everyday Things
Author: Donald Norman
Editor: Basic Books, 2002
Chapter 3: Knowledge in the Head and in the World
Summary
This chapter discussed the different kinds of knowledge, mainly imprecise knowledge, which includes information available in the world limited by natural and cultural constraints. This knowledge reduces the number of alternatives for any particular situation, allowing people to make quick actions based on this knowledge. The author also discussed how people use this knowledge and their memory to remember things.
Discussion
I liked the analysis of how people tend to remember things. The examples of leaving notes and such definitely pertained to me, making the reading interesting and quite helpful at times.
Paper Reading #5: Tangible Video Bubbles
Comments
Patrick Frith
Jessica Gonzales
Reference Information
Title: Tangible Video Bubbles
Authors: Kimiko Ryokai, Hayes Raffle, Hiroshi Horii, Yotam Mann
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia
Summary
Tangible Video Bubbles is a video-based drawing space for children in order to encourage children's "meaning making" through various forms of creativity. The Bubble acts as a both a container and instrument for the project, allowing video to be recorded and manipulated by it. This was created because children between the ages of five and seven display expressiveness and creativeness using various types of media. While many forms of technology that promote this interaction exist, they are usually expensive and difficult to use, making adult supervision necessary.
Tangible Video Bubbles is a "play space" for that allows both video recording and manipulation, as well as the ability to transfer video to a touch-screen digital canvas that allows for drawing and placing of the video. The video is displayed as a bubble on the canvas, that can be repositioned and can be touched for playback. The Bubble itself is a large, huggable ball with a video camera and a screen for playback. There is a button to press for recording of video and audio. While recording, the screen displays what is being recorded. The child can then play back the recorded message, manipulating it by squeezing the bubble with different amounts of pressure. For example, both speed and position in the video are controlled by squeezing. Pieces of video/audio can be cut and repeated just by squeezing the bubble, as well.
User studies were done with groups of children of various ages to both determine what shape worked best for the bubble, and then to evaluate the bubble and the canvas operations. The article states that the results of the evaluation were that the children quickly understood the idea of the bubble and were able to learn how to manipulate it for recording and playback purposes. Each child used it differently to create unique, creative projects, with some similarities between age, such as complexity of creations with older children.
Discussion
While this idea seemed to be very interesting, to me, I feel as if it would be a very complex item to learn to use. In the article, they outlined how to do all of the interactions, and I got lost with the instructions written out for me. However, the authors do say that the children seemed to pick it up quite fast, so it may just be the description of it that sounds confusing. Other than that, this idea seems like it would be a good way for children to mix many different modes of creativity. I find it particularly interesting that the authors note that children seemed to say more personal statements to the video, since the bubble seemed to provide a private atmosphere for them. This could have many implications for fields such as psychology when dealing with children.
Patrick Frith
Jessica Gonzales
Reference Information
Title: Tangible Video Bubbles
Authors: Kimiko Ryokai, Hayes Raffle, Hiroshi Horii, Yotam Mann
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia
Summary
Tangible Video Bubbles is a video-based drawing space for children in order to encourage children's "meaning making" through various forms of creativity. The Bubble acts as a both a container and instrument for the project, allowing video to be recorded and manipulated by it. This was created because children between the ages of five and seven display expressiveness and creativeness using various types of media. While many forms of technology that promote this interaction exist, they are usually expensive and difficult to use, making adult supervision necessary.
Tangible Video Bubbles is a "play space" for that allows both video recording and manipulation, as well as the ability to transfer video to a touch-screen digital canvas that allows for drawing and placing of the video. The video is displayed as a bubble on the canvas, that can be repositioned and can be touched for playback. The Bubble itself is a large, huggable ball with a video camera and a screen for playback. There is a button to press for recording of video and audio. While recording, the screen displays what is being recorded. The child can then play back the recorded message, manipulating it by squeezing the bubble with different amounts of pressure. For example, both speed and position in the video are controlled by squeezing. Pieces of video/audio can be cut and repeated just by squeezing the bubble, as well.
User studies were done with groups of children of various ages to both determine what shape worked best for the bubble, and then to evaluate the bubble and the canvas operations. The article states that the results of the evaluation were that the children quickly understood the idea of the bubble and were able to learn how to manipulate it for recording and playback purposes. Each child used it differently to create unique, creative projects, with some similarities between age, such as complexity of creations with older children.
 |
| The Tangible Video Bubbles process. Source: Article. |
While this idea seemed to be very interesting, to me, I feel as if it would be a very complex item to learn to use. In the article, they outlined how to do all of the interactions, and I got lost with the instructions written out for me. However, the authors do say that the children seemed to pick it up quite fast, so it may just be the description of it that sounds confusing. Other than that, this idea seems like it would be a good way for children to mix many different modes of creativity. I find it particularly interesting that the authors note that children seemed to say more personal statements to the video, since the bubble seemed to provide a private atmosphere for them. This could have many implications for fields such as psychology when dealing with children.
Special Assignment: Dr. Celine Latulipe
Reference Information
Title: Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance
Authors: Celine Latulipe, David Wilson, Sybil Huskey, Melissa Word, Arthur Carroll, Erin Carroll, Berto Gonzalez, Vikash Singh, Mike Wirth, Danielle Lottridge
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia
Summary
This article described the current efforts of the Dance.Draw project, which integrates dance motions with interactive visualizations in an attempt to better engage the audience. The idea is to blend dance performance with modern technologies, which could present some interesting interactions not previously associated with stage performances. Not only is this for performance reasons, but research is occurring to see how technology can influence the field of dance..
Dance.Draw began as experimenting with dancers holding mice while performing, with the mice controlling points in the projected imagery incorporated into the choreography. Various methods of this were used, including passing the mice between people to keep the audience engaged. The current system uses 3D sensing, with both accelerometers and mice attached to dancer's costumes. Productions have been put on using the various forms of Dance.Draw, and gauging audience reaction as a form of user study.
Discussion
Incorporating such technology into dancing does seem like an interesting mix, and the ability to use technology to better engage the audience may draw more people to dance performances. While this research could be useful for the performing arts, I am unsure of what other fields this technology could be put to use in. There are probably many other computer scientists that think the same way, and this is could be limiting the potential of the research that is being used for Dance.Draw.
Title: Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance
Authors: Celine Latulipe, David Wilson, Sybil Huskey, Melissa Word, Arthur Carroll, Erin Carroll, Berto Gonzalez, Vikash Singh, Mike Wirth, Danielle Lottridge
When/Where: CHI 2010, Atlanta, Georgia
Summary
This article described the current efforts of the Dance.Draw project, which integrates dance motions with interactive visualizations in an attempt to better engage the audience. The idea is to blend dance performance with modern technologies, which could present some interesting interactions not previously associated with stage performances. Not only is this for performance reasons, but research is occurring to see how technology can influence the field of dance..
Dance.Draw began as experimenting with dancers holding mice while performing, with the mice controlling points in the projected imagery incorporated into the choreography. Various methods of this were used, including passing the mice between people to keep the audience engaged. The current system uses 3D sensing, with both accelerometers and mice attached to dancer's costumes. Productions have been put on using the various forms of Dance.Draw, and gauging audience reaction as a form of user study.
 |
| An example of Dance.Draw in action, with the interactive graphic displayed in the background. Source: greatdance.com |
Incorporating such technology into dancing does seem like an interesting mix, and the ability to use technology to better engage the audience may draw more people to dance performances. While this research could be useful for the performing arts, I am unsure of what other fields this technology could be put to use in. There are probably many other computer scientists that think the same way, and this is could be limiting the potential of the research that is being used for Dance.Draw.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Book Reading #7: Opening Skinner's Box
Reference Information
Title: Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century
Author: Lauren Slater
Editor: W.W Norton & Company, 2008
Chapter 1: Opening Skinner's Box
Summary
This chapter discusses the psychological experiments of B. F. Skinner, in which he created operated conditioning, a process by which a human can train another human or animal for perform tasks or skills they would not normally do based on a system of rewards and reinforcements. The author discusses how Skinner was regarded as controversial by many, in that his experiments could be argued to show that humans have no free will. Ultimately, he produced quantifiable data on how organisms learn and how the outcome of learning can be predicted and controlled, which has been useful in many different ways.
Discussion
I like the author's style of explaining these great psychological experiments. She uses a narrative form that kept me interested and wanting to read more. In addition, I found Skinner's experiments to be very interesting and thought-provoking, and I can see how they have influenced or explain many factors in today's world.
Title: Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century
Author: Lauren Slater
Editor: W.W Norton & Company, 2008
Chapter 1: Opening Skinner's Box
Summary
This chapter discusses the psychological experiments of B. F. Skinner, in which he created operated conditioning, a process by which a human can train another human or animal for perform tasks or skills they would not normally do based on a system of rewards and reinforcements. The author discusses how Skinner was regarded as controversial by many, in that his experiments could be argued to show that humans have no free will. Ultimately, he produced quantifiable data on how organisms learn and how the outcome of learning can be predicted and controlled, which has been useful in many different ways.
Discussion
I like the author's style of explaining these great psychological experiments. She uses a narrative form that kept me interested and wanting to read more. In addition, I found Skinner's experiments to be very interesting and thought-provoking, and I can see how they have influenced or explain many factors in today's world.
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