With the rapid advancement and widespread adoption of computer technology, it has become an indispensable component in the development of human society. Therefore, computer science education's focus extends beyond merely teaching students to read and write code; it is crucial to assist them in gaining an accurate and deep understanding of the applications of technology in the real world, its conveniences, and potential risks. Furthermore, it involves exploring how to design, improve, and innovate computer technologies to meet practical demands. Consequently, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has grown increasingly significant in the curriculum of computer science. However, research indicates that computing students face numerous challenges in learning HCI. To enhance students' ability to experience, discover, and understand user needs, the authors of this paper recommend incorporating diary studies in HCI education. In the field of HCI, diary studies are a method for collecting long-term data on user behavior and experiences in a natural environment. Participants are required to record their daily activities, product usage, encountered issues, and personal impressions over specific periods. This paper will detail the process and steps implemented in our diary studies and present student feedback and evaluations. Through this experience report, we hope to encourage more educators to adopt and refine the diary study methodology in their courses, thereby aiding computer science students in better understanding and embracing the concepts and knowledge of HCI.

Maintaining emotional connections and fostering meaningful communication among distant family members has long been challenging. Existing communication technologies, such as instant messaging, video-sharing, and social media enable quick exchanges but often lack mechanisms to initiate appropriate conversation topics and support in-depth emotional interactions. This study explores the use of digital diary-sharing in addressing these limitations. We conduct thematic analyses on diaries from a three-week study (N=22) using DailyBean, a diary app, to examine frequent patterns in users' sharing of outdoor experiences with distant family members. We identify five key mechanisms to support connections between distant family members: topic initiation, memory recall, shared moments, joint activities, and future planning. We also highlight frequent conversation topics that facilitate emotional engagement and reflection for distant family members. We conclude our study with design recommendations for effective diary-based family communication.

We describe a seven-year longitudinal study conducted in collaboration with an indigenous community in Kenya. We detail the process of conducting research with an oral community: the deliberate practice of understanding and collecting stories; working with inter-generational community to envision and design technologies that support their ways of storytelling and story preservation; and to influence the design of other technologies. We chronicle how we contended with translating oral stories with rich metaphors to new mediums, and the dimensions of trust we have established and continue to reinforce. We offer our griot-style methodology, informed by working with the community and retrofitting existing HCI approaches: as an example model of what has worked, and the dimensions of challenges at each stage of the research work. The griot-style methodology has prompted a reflection on how we approach research, and present opportunities for other HCI research and practice of handling community stories.

This innovative practice paper introduces a novel approach that combines the automated assistant system, Pack-back, with computer ethics education to enhance the quality of educational outcomes in this field. As digital technology rapidly advances, it becomes imperative for educators in technology fields to prioritize ethical considerations. This priority stems from the potential risks associated with technological advancements and the necessity to ensure that these advancements positively impact society. In this context, deepening the understanding of the impacts of technology through computer ethics education is particularly crucial. This paper explores how automated assistant systems can be effectively integrated into computer ethics instruction through the application of Packback, an online educational platform. Packback stimulates students' curiosity and critical thinking by providing a question-and-answer-based learning environment, encouraging students to pose deep, insightful questions and explore answers with the help of their peers. The platform employs various automated text and language-based algorithms to facilitate discussions, enhance writing skills, and build critical thinking capacities. Compared to traditional teaching methods, our approach utilizes the capabilities of automated assistants and incorporates diary study methodology to emphasize reflective and interactive learning of course materials. We introduce three Packback assignments: Packback Discussion Questions, Packback Deep Dive, and Packback Diary Study. We found that most students have a positive attitude toward their overall experience through the comprehensive end-of-term questionnaire surveys. Feedback highlights that Packback has deepened their comprehension of computer ethics, offered a venue for reciprocal learning and exchange, and improved their ability to write arguments. However, some feedback also pointed out areas for improvement in the automated system, such as its over-reliance on the length of essays, which compels students to artificially expand brief sentences, thereby affecting the efficiency and quality of learning. Therefore, by summarizing feedback and experiences, we aim to provide valuable suggestions and practical cases for future integration of computer ethics education with automated assistant systems.

In this research-to-practice full paper, we describe our approach to using diary studies and social games to help Computer Science students develop their understanding of how application design influences user engagement and behavior over time. Social games are an engaging target for junior and senior-level courses like Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Mobile Software Design. While guidelines for designing social games can be conveyed through lectures and course materials, research shows the value of student-centered, hands-on learning experiences in fostering deep understanding. Inspired by Constructivism, which emphasizes that people construct understanding and knowledge through lived experiences and reflection, we incorporated a diary study assignment into an undergraduate HCI course. Although demoing a technology in class, or even having students use it in a controlled short-term activity, can convey lessons about usability, feature intent, and slips and errors, long-term use provides a better understanding of how technologies remain engaging and enjoyable (or how this can fade over time) and how social connections can evolve through repeated engagements. Diary studies, an established approach to field research, offer researchers a reflective view of how technology use may evolve over time. When employed as a pedagogical tool, diary studies create opportunities for students to capture and critically analyze their experiences through the lenses of a user, researcher, and designer. The social games served as a vehicle for active engagement, prompting students to apply critical thinking and reflection skills within a controlled setting. Analysis of students' diaries and post-study focus group discussions revealed common themes that can be incorporated into learning activities to help students understand how to develop apps that encourage certain behaviors among users. We outline how these lessons would be difficult to convey with more short-term use and identify techniques useful for development of social games. This diary study assignment approach increased students' appreciation of diary studies as a research method for collecting qualitative data about user behaviors and experiences over time and enhanced their understanding of the practical challenges of using diary studies for such a purpose. Further, we observed that the experience also deepened students' understanding of designing for user retention and social connection, and the importance of considering real-life application challenges in game design, such as concerns associated with safe usage and privacy.

Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) is an adventure of a lifetime that necessitates long-term planning and knowledge of challenges and practices in the outdoors. One important but oft-ignored step is to establish awareness about sustainable practices captured in Leave No Trace (LNT) principles for minimizing the impact on the trail. This paper seeks to understand practices of hikers with regards to trail sustainability and LNT. Since hikers often leverage virtual communities on social media for asking questions and sharing resources, we analyzed Reddit top-level comments on /r/AppalachianTrail to understand AT hiking discussions and explore their connections with sustainable practices in the outdoors. The findings will inform AT stakeholders and researchers in the field about the hikers’ practices and the role of social media platforms in supporting sustainable trail management.

Cloud gaming (CG) is a new approach to deliver a high-quality gaming experience to gamers anywhere, anytime, and on any device. To achieve this goal, CG requires a high bandwidth, which is still a major challenge. Many existing research pieces have focused on modeling or predicting the players’ Visual Attention Map (VAM) and allocating bitrate accordingly. Although studies indicate that both modalities of audio and video influence human perception, a few studies considered audio impacts in the cloud-based attention models. This paper demonstrates that the audio features in video games change the players’ VAMs in various game scenarios. Our findings indicated that incorporating game audio improves the accuracy of the predicted attention maps by 13% on average compared to the previous VAMs generated based on visual saliency by Game Attention Model for CG. The audio impact is more evident in video games with fewer visual components or indicators on the screen.

Pokémon GO is a popular location-based mobile game that seeks to inspire players to be more active, socialize physically and virtually, and spend more time outside. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several game mechanics of Pokémon GO were changed to accommodate socially-distanced play. This research aims to understand the impacts of the pandemic and subsequent game adjustments on user perceptions of the game. We used an exploratory mixed-method approach, a machine learning technique (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) for topic modeling, and thematic analysis for qualitative coding of top-level Reddit comments to identify whether and how the social distancing approach changes the players' behaviors. The results demonstrate that players were less physically active, less eager to discover, and more interested in remote social practices. We discuss which players leverage social distancing changes and reflect on key game features that provide a better gaming experience in the age of remote play.

The popularity of mobile devices for learning outside conventional classrooms necessitates the exploration of the many challenges which can impede the learning process for children using them. Key among these is the possibility of disorientation, occurring when children are faced with stimuli external to their learning task which can redirect their attention elsewhere. This paper explores the several factors which can contribute towards disorienting children from their learning task in an informal learning environment (ILE) using science festivals as a context. We detail the design and deployment of a mobile leaf identification application used by attendees at a child-focused science festival in a setting filled with distractions. Participating children used the app to watch an educational video about leaves, and were asked to identify the leaves around the exhibit correctly by taking a picture using the app. From our observations, we derive the key factors which can disorient young learners in an ILE and the ones which help them reorient towards the learning task. We conclude by providing considerations for designing mobile applications for children to be used in ILEs which can promote informal learning while minimizing disorientation.

The struggle to thrive as a productive student researcher, an attentive parent, and a caring partner can be difficult, particularly for international student parents who are far from home and also possibly burdened with complex cultural expectations, interpersonal dynamics, and institutional biases. Using uses and gratifications theory as a framing mechanism, we describe interviews with twelve international student mothers in the United States who are primary caregivers of children between six months to five years old, focusing on the context of their use of screen media content and devices, the gratifications they seek from their children's use of screen media devices, and the differences in their perceptions about the use of screen media as an educated, non-US parent. Our findings give an initial account of the role of screen based technology in their domestic life with young children, and the limitations of their technological experience. We present four opportunities for designing for this population including technologies for positive distraction, interactive language aids, playful acquaintance tools, and anonymous peer networks for parent support. We conclude by formulating future promising avenues of research in this design space.

Emerging research in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has considered the use of technology to preserve Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) while wrestling with the dilemma of local participation in the face of post-colonialism. There remains a need to understand how ICH is portrayed by museums and texts, how communities regard these representations, and how technology would affect preservation. We conducted a study in the North Rift region of Kenya to understand how ICH is preserved and disseminated by the museum in comparison with the community. The findings describe a respectful technology space where community needs and museum needs can co-exist. We also articulate social challenges that should be considered by designers when recommending or designing technological solutions. This paper concludes by recommending ways for researchers to smoothly integrate technology with ICH through community participation and an awareness of the respectful space.