Tangible Embodied Child-Computer Interaction Lab
Director Dr. Alissa N. Antle School of Interactive Arts and Technology Simon Fraser University
About TECI
At TECI we conduct design-oriented research and train the next generation of researchers to design, build and evaluate technical innovations that improve, augment, and support children’s cognitive and emotional development.
In the TECI lab we are committed to working with diverse populations of children, particularly those that may be vulnerable or hard to reach. At TECI we are working to ensure diversity and inclusivity in our team and in our research participants across a range of social, economic, cultural, racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
Primary Research Foci: Design research, tangible interaction, embodied interaction, child-computer interaction
Application Areas: Literacy, social-emotional learning, mindfulness, sustainability education, social justice, aboriginal heritage
Current Projects
People
Dr. Antle is a tenured Professor in the School of Interactive Arts + Technology at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Dr. Antle holds the highest honour for a Canadian scholar through her induction as a member of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, which acknowledges her as one of Canada's intellectual leaders. Dr. Antle's impact extends to the international community through her recognition as a leader in ethical child-centered technology research.
Jillian Warren
Alex Kitson
Katrien Jacobs
Annemiek Veldhuis
News & Events
This season, give the gift of tech literacy — not addiction — along with that device.
...
Dec 14
This season, give the gift of tech literacy — not addiction — along with that device.
Learn more about the positive and unintended negative issues related to children’s technology gifts this holiday season. Insight in this article is provided by Dr. Alissa Antle based on her research insights into children’s technologies, especially concerning (bio) wearable technologies that track and report on ‘progress’.
Have questions? Send us a comment!
Full article found at:
https://theconversation.com/this-season-give-the-gift-of-tech-literacy-not-addiction-along-with-that-device-172675
Interested? Here’s how to apply…
Interested and qualified applicants should first email Dr. ...
Nov 17
Interested? Here’s how to apply…
Interested and qualified applicants should first email Dr. Antle (aantle@sfu.ca) to discuss their application before applying directly to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) Graduate Program at Simon Fraser University (SFU). See details on our Graduate Program.
After a preliminary discussion with Dr. Antle and an invitation to apply, your follow-up email should include the following six items (failure to include one or more will mean your email does not get a reply):
1. a description of research interests related to the lab’s existing research
2. a curriculum vitae
3. a copy of your unofficial transcript (minimum cGPA 3.75, prefer 3.8+ UD GPA)
4. a sample of your written work directly related to research (all applicants, prefer peer review publications)
5. TOEFL (scores 115+) or IELTS (scores 8.5+) for ESL students
6. a 1-2 page summary of your master’s thesis research methodology (PhD applicants only)
7. your favourite children’s digital media application with a short explanation of what you like about it [500 words max]
On this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, members of the TECI lab would like to honor...
Sep 30
On this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, members of the TECI lab would like to honor those impacted by Canada’s residential school system. We would like to acknowledge and give thanks for the use of traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples for higher education and continued learning in our lab @siatsfu and @sfusurrey. In addition to showing support by wearing orange for @simonfraseru’s first #TruthAndReconciliation week, we would like to share ways to take real world action for reconciliation with our indigenous brothers, sisters, and neighbors in the wake of the recent, devastating news. Below we share 7 ways to show continued support that were provided by @indiginews writers Anna McKenzie and Jacqueline Ronson. While we do not have the space here to provide links to every external resource, we have changed the link in our bio to the full article. Ways you can take positive action:
1. Donate to organizations that support residential school survivors and their families.
2. Learn about the residential school system and its ongoing impacts. Educate yourself and others.
3. Call on your MP and other elected representatives to take action. Start with asking for accountability.
4. Demand action from the Catholic Church.
5. Prioritize the safety of survivors and their families when sharing this story and others like it. Lead with content warnings if sharing sensitive or triggering materials.
6. Talk to non-Indigenous friends, family and children about the residential school system and its ongoing impacts
7. Attend memorial events where non-Indigenous people are invited. SFU events this week can be found at (https://www.sfu.ca/aboriginalpeoples/sfu-reconciliation/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation.html)
Congratulations to Alyssa Friend Wise, Alissa N. Antle (@alissaantle) and Jillian L. Warren ...
Sep 27
Congratulations to Alyssa Friend Wise, Alissa N. Antle (@alissaantle) and Jillian L. Warren (@jillian_lane_warren)on the publication of their journal paper “Design Strategies for Collaborative Learning in Tangible Tabletops: Positive Interdependence and Reflective Pauses” in an upcoming issue of Interacting with Computers.
The authors present a mixed-methods study that examined the impacts of two design strategies (positive interdependence and reflective pauses) on negotiation processes (explanation-giving and conflict-resolution) in a collaborative tabletop sustainability simulation - Youtopia. Twenty pairs of 5th grade children used contingent tangible tools to create a world they would want to live in. Half the pairs were assigned particular roles with associated tangible tools (positive interdependence condition) while the other half were not assigned roles (control condition). All pairs were given access to system tools that paused interaction and supported reflective pauses. Quantitative results showed all children worked together throughout the sessions and met learning outcomes. Qualitative findings revealed that children in the positive interdependence condition engaged in more question-asking, and had an improvement-orientation and willingness to oppose their partner. However, their enduring positionality and limited expression of personal values need to be addressed in future design iterations. The results also revealed the importance of tools that created opportunities for reflective pauses in provoking explanations and resolving conflict. This study provided evidence for benefits of specific design strategies that enabled opportunities for positive interdependence and reflective pauses in collaborative tabletop learning systems, resulting in both quantitative and qualitative differences in the interactional processes that resulted from these design strategies.
Stay tuned for link once publication is available online!
Congratulations to Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yumiko Murai, John Desnoyers-Stewart, Yves ...
Sep 27
Congratulations to Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yumiko Murai, John Desnoyers-Stewart, Yves Candau, Azadeh Adibi, Katrien Jacobs, and Zoe Dao-Kroeker for the publication of their paper “Opportunities and Scaffolds for Critical Reflection on Ethical Issues in an Online After School Biowearable Workshop for Youth” in the proceedings for the FabLearn Europe / MakeEd 2021 - An International Conference on Computing, Design and Making in Education.
In this paper the authors point out that the rapid adoption of biowearables, such as smartwatches, raises ethical issues as youth are increasingly being tracked, monitored and given feedback on a growing number of measures. To address this pressing need, the authors investigated how to support youth to understand and explore these ethical issues grounded in the processes of prototyping during an after school online critical making workshop. The main contribution of this paper is their critical reflection framework, consisting of three interrelated components: ethical issues, technical opportunities, and reflection scaffolds. The authors focused on ethical issues related to the potential for biowearables to negatively impact six constructs taken from child development. They describe how they created a biowearable-tangible prototyping kit that has under-determined design decision points, creating technologically-mediated opportunities for reflection during the iterative prototyping process. Third, they present a set of critical reflection cards created to support youth to explore the ethical issues related to those decision points. They provide two scenarios from a pilot study that illustrates their framework in action, providing preliminary validation for the approach in an online environment.
DOI:https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1145/3466725.3466762
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#tecilab #tecipublications #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #biowearables #criticalmaking #technologyethics #wearablecomputing #remotestudies #makereducation #remotefacilitation #ethicsoftechnology #ethics
Congratulations to Yumiko Murai, Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yves Candau, Azadeh Adibi, Zoe ...
Sep 27
Congratulations to Yumiko Murai, Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yves Candau, Azadeh Adibi, Zoe Dao-Kroeker, John Desnoyers-Stewart, and Katrien Jacobs for the publication of their paper “Facilitating Online Distributed Critical Making: Lessons Learned” in the ACM proceedings for FabLearn Europe / MakeEd 2021 - An International Conference on Computing, Design and Making in Education.
In this paper, the authors discuss the numerous challenges that the global pandemic has taken on working collaboratively with students. For example, educators who take a maker-centered approach and whose instruction involves direct engagement with materials through collaborative and exploratory social interactions, have found continuing existing practices difficult. Many educators have found creative ways to address the obstacles of being remote. However, inciting critical reflection through making, already difficult during in-person settings, has become an even greater challenge in remote settings. This paper reports on the lessons learned from a two-week online after school maker workshop where participants worked on a maker project from remote locations, while engaged in critical reflections on ethical implications of biowearable devices. The results showed preliminary evidence that participants were able to produce a prototype and engaged in critical reflection on the ethical issues of biowearables. They also found that while online environments offer limited social cues and flexibility, access to multiple communication channels enabled just-in-time facilitation for critical reflection.
Read more at > https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1145/3466725.3466759
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#tecilab #tecipublications #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #biowearables #criticalmaking #technologyethics #wearablecomputing #remotestudies #makereducation #remotefacilitation #onlinefacilitation
Congratulations to Alissa N. Antle and Juan Pablo Hourcade for their publication “Research in ...
Sep 23
Congratulations to Alissa N. Antle and Juan Pablo Hourcade for their publication “Research in Child–Computer Interaction: Provocations and envisioning future directions” in the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.
In this paper the authors point that in the 21st century the academic field of Child–Computer Interaction (CCI) arose alongside burgeoning interactive technology and digital media industries that targeted children. They argue that the field of CCI is at an important point in its development, analogous to when a child becomes a teen. Over the last few years both authors have each had many informal conversations with other CCI researchers in which they discussed issues such as, what is the responsibility as researchers beyond academe? What values underlie conceptions of a ”good” childhood and the role of interactive technology in it? And, how do we ensure that the field of CCI continues to grow and evolve in ways that are consistent with important responsibilities and values? To address these and other complex questions that have been drawing their attention the authors came together to reflect, discuss and create a position paper for our community, in which they outline some of the issues they see facing the CCI community at this time. To inform their deliberations with opinions beyond their own they conducted an informal consultation with 25 members of the CCI community. Their responders spanned junior to senior researchers, represented diverse geographies and included industry practitioners. These diverse responses provided further content for their reflections, and helped them see perspectives beyond their own. The result of this informal process was this speculative paper in which they propose a series of seven provocations that aim to disrupt some of the normative assumptions held in the CCI field. Their goal in doing this was to open up dialogue in the CCI community about these issues and promote consideration of the alternative visions they present for where CCI might focus attention and efforts.
Find the article at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212868921000787
Congratulations to Zoe Dao-Kroeker, Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yumiko Murai and Azadeh Adibi...
Sep 23
Congratulations to Zoe Dao-Kroeker, Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson, Yumiko Murai and Azadeh Adibi for the publication of their paper “Designing Bio-Tech Ethics Cards: Promoting Critical Making During an Online Workshop with Youth ” in the proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children that was held June 24–30, 2021. The paper is available in online in the @idc_acm proceedings.
In this paper the authors discuss the ethical concerns surrounding how youth interact with biowearable technology and the potential effects it has on their psychological and physiological health. They argue that children need to be given the tools to critically reflect and explore ethical issues surrounding biowearables in order for them to make informed decisions about how they interact with them. To address this, they developed the Bio-Tech Ethics cards as part of a critical making workshop. They are a set of design cards designed to scaffold critical reflection during a critical making workshop where youth prototype a biowearable from a kit. The paper focuses on the requirements, initial design and revisions that the authors made after studying card use in their workshop. They identified key design elements that are important in the cards and that may generalize to the design of other card sets meant to be integrated into a critical making process.
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#tecilab #tecipublications #AlissaAntle #ZoeDaoKroeker #AlexandraKitson #AugmentedReality #tangibleinteraction #children #childcomputerinteraction #IDC2021 #BioTechEthicsCards #criticalmaking #criticalmakingworkshop #biotech #biotechnology #biowearables #interactiondesign #snapshotofsiat #sfusurrey #simonfraseru #sfugram
The Radical Research Summit is fast approaching. Our very own Dr. Alissa Antle will be speaking ...
Sep 21
The Radical Research Summit is fast approaching. Our very own Dr. Alissa Antle will be speaking September 28 at 9:15-10AM.
The 5th Annual Radical Research Summit (RRS) creates a unique opportunity to connect with the North American UX research community. RRS will take place virtually, from Vancouver BC in the Fall of 2021. RSS brings together exceptional speakers from large technology organizations, start-ups and academia. RRS is attended by over 250 design researchers, UX practitioners, ethnographers, product managers and businesses.
Specifically, Dr. Antle will be giving a talk on “Designing On-Body Smart Apps for Youths’ Well-being: What You Need to Know”
Driven by the rapid pace of technical innovation in biosensing, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and wearable computing, on-body smart devices are seeing unprecedented uptake in consumer markets, particularly with youth. The motivations of economics combined with the lack of governance, the unexplored possible impacts of normative values, and other ethical issues inherent in on-body smart devices for youth creates an unprecedented, urgent and widespread yet largely invisible societal concern. How may these devices impact the development of the next generation? There is little research that anticipates potential negative impacts of on-body smart devices on well-being. In this presentation, Alissa will summarize her research in this space and present seven themes for consideration by product and UX designers. Following Alissa and her team’s guidance will ensure designs promote well-being in terms of youths’ identity formation, the development of autonomy and agency, and what sources of information youth turn to for authority about themselves.
To learn more and get your tickets, visit: www.radicalresearchsummit.com
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