Colloquium Details
Social Computing
| Author: | John Thomas IBM T. J. Watson Research Center |
|---|---|
| Date: | May 01, 2003 |
| Time: | 15:30 |
| Location: | 220 Deschutes |
Abstract
Dr. Thomas will discuss some of the following HCI research underway at IBM TJ Watson:
Socio-technical Patterns and HCI-friendly Middleware
We are exploring and developing a socio-technical Pattern Languages, associated tools and methodologies to support their use in software design, and developing software components that can be used to develop applications based on the Pattern Language. Although we see many uses for such a language, our initial focus is on providing support throughout the software devopment process including inventing new applications, requirements definition, design, project management,coding, testing, documentation, maintenance, and even sales and marketing. We focus initially in the socio-technical domain partly because it matches our own previous research and experience but mainly because we feel this particular domain is timely; customer demand is high; considerable knowledge relevant to designing such systems exist, but that knowledge does not yet exist in a form that is useful and useable for developers.
The Learning Objects Project: Exploring the Reassembly of Learning Materials
We are developing a framework for modular development and delivery of web-based learning experiences that supports search, selection, organization, and on-demand delivery of reusable learning objects from large data repositories. Ultimately, we aim to support learners in generating pedagogically sound individualized courses, given constraints of the user's ability, interest and context, as well as the available devices and times. As an initial exploration, we developed an end-to-end prototype application. This application, developed via iterative design, allows users to build a "custom course" for themselves based on their current needs. In this paper, we describe the overall framework; describe the prototype application and end with a discussion of future work and the broader implications of these issues for HCI.