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.
News & Events
Come work with us!
Who You Are
You are a current SFU student or recent graduate who is pursuing a career in web development or graphic design. You have at least 1 year of web development experience working with existing WordPress plugins as well as custom plugins developed for websites. You are a self starter and have strong communication skills. You have an eye for design and can create user friendly web experiences. Experience with web front-end development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as well as back-end development with PHP and working with remote Apache servers through SSH.
What You’ll Do
You will be responsible for updating, managing and maintaining back-ups of WordPress websites’ back-end including plugins, tools, and database, identify and implement plug-ins to support searchable database for academic publications, monitored websites’ performance and handle troubleshooting and WordPress issues.
You must be available to attend meetings and provide progress reports, be a strong self starter, have a clear and timely communication style and be able to work with minimal supervision.
See the link in our bio to apply.
#tecilab #teciishiring #research #werehiring #academiclife #wordpress #tech #siatspotlight #siat #simonfraseru #simonfraseruniversity #canadianuniversities #sfugraduatestudent
🚨Research participants needed 🚨
Why we need you:
We want to learn about how young people use VRChat when they’re dealing with big emotions and how you envision social VR could be used to better support youth mental health. We are looking for youth aged 13-24 years old who have a trust rank of “new user” or above to participate.
This study has two parts:
Part 1 - Expression of interest online survey that will take about 10 minutes.
Part 2 - Interview in VRChat itself to talk about and walk us through your experiences for 30-60 minutes.
Honorarium: by completing the interview, you will receive a gift card.
For more information: send a DM or go directly to the expression of interest form through the link in our bio
If you know any young users of VRChat, we would really appreciate if you could share this info with them as well 🙂
#research #sfu #emotions #vrchat #teens
It’s National Postdoc Appreciation Week! We would like to shout out our appreciation for TECI’s own Alexandra Kitson. Her area of interest centers around digital health for adolescents and is currently working on designing virtual reality-based emotion regulation supports for teens.
To learn more about the amazing work Alexandra is up to, see the links in our bio for their most recent list of publications and check out SFU’s article celebrating other SFU PostDocs.
Photo courtesy of SFU.
@alexandrakitson #AlexKitson #tecilab #sfu #snapshotsofsiat #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #researcher #postdoc #SFUcommunity #SFUpostdoctoralassociation #sfugraduatestudent
Congratulations to Jillian L. Warren, Alissa N. Antle, Alexandra Kitson and Alireza Davoodi for their publication “A codesign study exploring needs, strategies, and opportunities for digital health platforms to address pandemic-related impacts on children and families” in the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.
Abstract
In this paper we contribute seven design opportunities for future digital health platforms, like Private Social Networks (PSNs), focused on supporting the (un)met mental health and socioemotional needs of children (8-12 years old) and their supporting adults (parents and teachers) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These were derived from the thematic analysis of a two-phase co-design study with children, their parents, and their teachers (Phase 1), and employees at our industry partner Curatio.me (Phase 2). Our thematic findings contribute understanding about the types of experiences children, families and educators have had, and open the conversation around designing digital health platforms that can support mental health and socioemotional wellbeing in children and their supporting adults. Through individualized tracking, social capabilities, and secure, vetted sources of support, PSNs offer unique opportunities to (1) provide children with a safe space to share, reflect and come together, (2) extend existing practices related to SEL across children’s changing contexts and developmental needs, (2) support an integrated digital ecosystem of care across different stakeholders that allows for engagement and targeted interventions, and (3) support niche or marginalized communities in gaining access to relevant, meaningful and identity-specific support that may not otherwise be available.
Find the article at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212868923000338?dgcid=coauthor
#tecilab #tecipublications #JillianWarren #AlissaAntle #AlexKitson #AlirezaDavoodi #children #childcomputerinteraction #designingforchildren #snapshotofsiat #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #technologydesign #technologyresearch #digitalhealth #intergenerationalcodesign
The 22nd annual ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference is well underway and TECI lab members have started the week strong. Dr. Alexandra Kitson is seen here giving her presentation regarding her work in the VR space and its potential in cognitive reappraisal methods for youth. TECI Director Dr. Alissa Antle was part of a successful panel discussion on the impact equity, diversity and inclusion has in research. Check out our stories for more snapshots of us at the conference!
#IDC2023 #AlexKitson #tecilabontheroad #tecilabconference #tecilab #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #humancenteredcomputing #HCItheory #emotionregulation #mentalhealth #technologyenabledintervention #cognitivereappraisal #psychology #postivepsychology #virtualreality #VR #VRresearch #virtualrealityresearch
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Alexandra Kitson. She has been selected to join SFU’s Postdoctoral Association (PDA) Executive Committee this fall.
We are excited to celebrate Dr. Kitson in her upcoming role within the PDA as she brings years of service in past roles dedicated to building a stronger community and support for graduate students. Dr. Kitson continually demonstrates a passion for community building and advocacy for the SFU community. One of her goals as VP is to bring together postdocs across all SFU’s campuses. Keep up the great work Alex!
@alexandrakitson #AlexKitson #tecilab #sfu #snapshotsofsiat #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #researcher #postdoc #SFUcommunity #SFUpostdoctoralassociation #sfugraduatestudent
We are proud of TECI’s PhD student Annemiek Veldhuis for hosting a successful workshop at this year`s ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems that took place in Hamburg, Germany, at the end of April. Annemiek, alongside Kim Sauvé, Hans Brombacher, Rosa van Koningsbruggen, Steven Houben, and Jason Alexander, hosted a workshop on the practical implementation of Data Physicalizations across the domains of personal informatics, office vitality, sustainability, and education. Keep an eye open for future installments of this workshop!
CHI is an annual conference that brings together researchers and practitioners from all over the world and from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and positionalities, who have as an overarching goal to make the world a better place with interactive digital technologies.
#CHI2023 #SIGCHI #sfusiat #tecilab #technologyresearch #tecilabontheroad #tecilabconference #dataphysicalization #HCI #phys_fromt2p #informatics #officevitality #education #sustainability
Exciting news from the TECI Lab!
Congratulations Alexandra Kitson, Alissa N. Antle and Petr Slovak on your recently accepted publication to the 22nd annual ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference.
This year, IDC will take place at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois from June 19-23. IDC is the premier international conference for researchers, educators and practitioners to share the latest research findings, innovative methodologies and new technologies in the areas of inclusive child-centered design, learning and interaction. IDC’23 is hosted by the Center for Computer Science and Learning Sciences at Northwestern University.
#AlexKitson #tecilab #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #humancenteredcomputing #HCItheory #psychology #postivepsychology #virtualreality #VR #VRresearch #virtualrealityresearch #idc2023
We are excited to share that Sadhbh Kenny, a current Masters student at the TECI lab, is the recipient of the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters award.
We are thrilled to see Sadhbh being recognized for her academic excellence, research potential and active involvement in academic life. She is excited to use this award to support her research investigating youth critical digital literacies and empowerment.
#tecilab #teciresearch #tecilabawards #sfu #snapshotsofsiat #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #sfugraduatestudent #researcher
Dr. Alexandra Kitson, a Postdoc Researcher at the TECI lab, getting ready to do a practice run of her co-design workshop, Virtual Reality to Support Cognitive Reappraisal, happening in early April. Dr. Kitson’s research explores the potential of VR to provide unique opportunities for cognitive reappraisal skills development in youth.
#AlexKitson #tecilab #sfu #lablife #snapshotsofsiat #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #virtualreality #VR #VRresearch #virtualrealityresearch #postdoc #criticalmaking #technologyethics #psychology #postivepsychology #emotionalregulation #cognitivereappraisal
Dr. Alissa Antle, SFU SIAT Professor and TECI Director, has been recognized alongside two previous graduate students for their research contributions to the field of Tangible Computing at the ACM 17th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (ACM TEI) that occurred over February 26 to March 1 in Warsaw, Poland. Ms. Lesley Xie (MSc, 2008), Dr. Alissa Antle and Mr. Nima Motamedi (MA 2008) received the 2023 TEI Long Term Impact Award for their 2008 paper "Are Tangibles More Fun?: Comparing Children’s Enjoyment and Engagement Using Physical, Graphical and Tangible User Interfaces". Awards given in this category recognize significant and long-term impacts of a research paper in the field of tangible, embedded and/or embodied human-computer interaction. In particular, this paper challenged early ideas of some of the potential benefits of tangible computing and put forward a rigorous methodology for studying benefits in the context of children’s spatial problem solving.
First Picture: Dr. Antle, pictured with TECI lab members, with her award which was brought back from the TEI conference from PhD student Annemiek Veldhuis
Second Picture: 2023 TEI Long Term Impact Award for the 2008 paper "Are Tangibles More Fun?: Comparing Children’s Enjoyment and Engagement Using Physical, Graphical and Tangible User Interfaces".
#TEI2023 #SIGCH I#AlissaAntle #tecilab #tecilabawards #childcomputerinteraction #interactiondesign #designingforchildren #canadianresearcher #sfu t #siat #SFUSurrey #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #technologydesign #technologyresearch #surreybc
We are excited to share that TECI’s PhD student Annemiek Veldhuis got to present her work at the ACM 17th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction that occurred over February 26 to March 1 in Warsaw, Poland. Her poster showcased an initial design exploration for her PhD on supporting elementary school students` social regulation during collaborative design projects. We are continually inspired by the research work happening in the lab and are proud that Annemiek got to share her work to the community at large. Way to go Annemiek!
About the TEI Conference
The ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) addresses issues of human-computer interaction, novel tools and technologies, interactive art, and user experience. The work presented at TEI has a strong focus on how computing can bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems. The intimate size of this single-track conference provides a unique forum for exchanging ideas and presenting innovative work through talks, interactive exhibits, demos, hands-on studios, posters, art installations, and performances.
#TEI2023 #SIGCHI #sfusiat #tecilab #technologyresearch #collaborativedesign #tangibleinteraction #designbasedlearning #tecilabontheroad #tecilabconference
Lab members got to experience some of the augmented reality and light installations of the Winter Arts Fest yesterday. This annual event is hosted by the Vancouver Mural Festival and is a great opportunity to see current works of digital media artists in the form of AR, projection and sculptural mediums. It was a fun lab outing! #labsocial #tecilab #tecilablife #newmediaart #augmentedreality #winterartfest2023 #technology #vmf
Skill share! Annemiek, one of TECI’s PhD students, gave an Intro to Arduino workshop in the lab today. It was a great opportunity for lab members to learn from each other`s experiences and expertise.
#tecilab #skillshare #tecilablife #sfusiat #siat #arduino #learntocode #snapshotofsiat #technology
The Tech Support (on call) position will assist researchers in technical hardware troubleshooting and diagnosis and software troubleshooting and installation. Most of the research done at TECI uses Unity and you will need to have a strong working knowledge of how to troubleshoot issues when Unity based projects are used on Android and IOS operating systems.
To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to tta75@sfu.ca.
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#tecilab #childcomputerinteraction #technologyresearch #teciishiring #research #werehiring #academiclife #humancomputerinteraction #tangibleinteraction #embodiedinteraction #interfacedesign #braininterfaces #wearables #tech #siatspotlight #siat #simonfraseru #simonfraseruniversity #canadianresearch #canadianuniversities
The TECI lab is proud to see our very own @alissaantle being honored with the Community-Engaged Research award at the @fcatatsfu 2022 Research Excellence Awards that took place December 1st. We are proud that she represented the lab and @siatsfu by being recognized as a “continuing faculty member at any stage of their career who has made a recent or sustained outstanding contribution to a community in which they are designing and conducting their research studies”. This is not the first time Dr. Antle has been recognized by her peers. In 2019 she was also honored with the Distinguished Researcher award at FCAT’s 2019 Research Excellence Awards for her “outstanding career and body of work as a distinguished artist and researcher in the field of interaction design for children”.
Other 2022 Research Award winners to join Dr. Antle include: Wladimiro A. Woyno Rodriguez (Emerging Researcher), Svitlana Matviyenko (Researcher of the Year), Judy Radul (Distinguished Researcher) and Elspeth Pratt (Service Award). Congratulations to all the winners!
#AlissaAntle #tecilab #tecilabawards #childcomputerinteraction #interactiondesign #designingforchildren #canadianresearcher #sfu #snapshotsofsiat #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #technologydesign #technologyresearch #surreybc
New and exciting from the TECI Lab!
Congratulations Petr Slovák, Alissa N. Antle, Nikki Theofanopoulou, Claudia Dauden Roquet, and Katherine Isbister on your recently accepted publication to ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (ToCHI).
Designing for experience-led technology-mediated mental health interventions: Theory and research agenda for HCI.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3569898
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#tecilab #sfu #siat #SFUSurrey #simonfraserU #SFUgram #hci #humancomputerinteraction #hciresearch #researcher #childcomputerinteraction #technologydesign #technologyresearch #humancenteredcomputing #HCItheory #emotionregulation #mentalhealth #technologyenabledintervention
TECI Talk Announcement
Who: Dr. Petr Slovak
When: Monday, November 21, 2022 from 12:30 PM to 1:20 PM
Where: SFU Surrey Campus, SRYC 5360
Followed by a reception from 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM in the TECI lab in SRYC 3930
The TECI lab and IAT 804, Foundations of Research Design for Human-Centred Design of Interactive Technologies, would like to invite you to a presentation by guest speaker Dr. Petr Slovak. This in-person presentation is being held on Monday November 21st from 12:30 - 1:20 in rm SRYC 5360. Registration is required as space is limited. Following the presentation, the TECI lab will be hosting a reception open to all students, faculty and staff.
Dr. Petr Slovak is a senior lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Human Computer Interaction and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the Department of Informatics at the King’s College London. His research involves envisioning, designing, and evaluating new technology-enabled interventions for youth, targeting core protective factors underpinning personal wellbeing (e.g., emotion regulation and parenting). As such, his research is positioned at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, Mental Health, and Prevention Science. This research agenda so far led to ACM Best Paper awards at leading venues in the HCI field (e.g., CHI, CSCW); as well as a transfer of a novel emotion regulation intervention from a research prototype to a commercial product funded by the largest US non-profit developer of social-emotional learning programs, Committee for Children.
Register for the presentation as space is limited by sending TECI a DM through Instagram with your name and email address.
There will be a reception following the presentation with coffee, tea and snacks in the TECI lab in rm SRYC 3930 between 1:45 and 3:00, no registration required.
Dr. Petr Slovak and @alissaantle recently published “Designing for emotion regulation interventions: an agenda for HCI theory and research” in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (ToCHI). To learn more about Dr. Petr Slovak and his research please visit his website at https://petrslovak.com/
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#PetrSlovak #tecilab #tecilabtalks