Designing Mobile Presentation Apps for North American K-12 Teachers
Hillman, S., Zamani, M., Pang, C., and Hillman, A.
Extended Proceedings of ACM DIS Conference (2019), 5pgs.
[PDF]
Abstract
Teachers need to communicate material effectively in a clear and engaging format. Many teachers use presentation software such as PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote to create and display educational content. These presentation products offer mobile companion applications (apps) designed to both sync with content on a second screen and add additional tools to navigate and interact with slides. In this paper, we conducted two exploratory studies to investigate the mobile digital presentation needs and current experience of K-12 teachers when using mobile companion apps. We identify that current solutions fall short of addressing these needs and suggest potential design implications to better align with the in-classroom experience. Findings suggest improvements could be made by allowing teachers to capture teachable moments—through text and annotations on slides—improving these.
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“I have a life”: Teacher Communication & Management Outside the Classroom
Hillman, S., Hillman, A., Neustaedter, C., and Pang, C.,
Extended Proceedings of ACM CHI Conference (2019), 6pgs.
[PDF] | [Poster]
Abstract
Over the past decade, there has been an increase in educational software use within classrooms as well as continuing demand on K-12 teachers extending beyond in-class activities. Yet, we still do not have a deep understanding of current teacher behaviors outside the classroom. Our paper presents insights on how to better design for technology use in this space by reporting on key themes such as communication, privacy and student technology at home. These findings translate into design implications to increase transparency with student data, the need to design first for technology students have access to in the home (e.g. mobile) and designing for the teacher need of setting personal boundaries within communication tools.
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Exploring Mixed-Reality TUI Manipulatives for K-5 Classrooms
Hillman, S., Duprat, M., Cargile, A., and Hillman, A.
Extended Proceedings of ACM CHI Conference (2018), 6pgs.
[PDF | Poster]
Abstract
Our research looks to understand how to best design manipulatives, within a mixed-reality (MR) system, for the classroom. This paper presents insights around how teachers currently use physical manipulatives in their classroom to inform future MR designs in the classroom. Manipulatives are physical objects used for teaching, examples include coins, blocks, puzzles markers etc. K-5 teachers have been using physical manipulatives to help illustrate abstract concepts for decades. Physical manipulatives have proven high value for students in the classroom [7] and their high level of adoption by grade school teachers makes them a potential candidate for introducing MR into the classroom. In this research, we use participatory design and interviews to identify teacher challenges with current physical manipulatives and explore potential design directions for MR manipulatives in the classroom. Our preliminary findings suggest that MR could help improve autonomy around student learning, and increase opportunity for collaboration between peers, as well as between teacher and student.