PodReels: Human-AI Co-Creation of Video Podcast Teasers

Video podcast teasers are short videos that can be shared on social media platforms to capture interest in the full episodes of a video podcast. These teasers enable long-form podcasters to reach new audiences and gain new followers. However, creating a compelling teaser from an hour-long episode is challenging. Selecting interesting clips requires significant mental effort; editing the chosen clips into a cohesive, well-produced teaser is time-consuming. To support the creation of video podcast teasers, we first investigate what makes a good teaser. We combine insights from both audience comments and creator interviews to determine a set of essential ingredients. We also identify a common workflow shared by creators during the process. Based on these findings, we introduce a human-AI co-creative tool called PodReels to assist video podcasters in creating teasers. Our user study shows that PodReels significantly reduces creators' mental demand and improves their efficiency in producing video podcast teasers

Photoshop with friends: A synchronous learning community for graphic design

Photoshop with Friends is an online community of learners exchanging just-in-time help on graphic design tasks. The system attempts to provide an interactive, visual, context-aware, and personalized mode of learning. Developed as a Facebook application, Photoshop with Friends allows users to help each other in live sessions, with built-in screen sharing, recording, and voice chat support. Major design decisions are guided by two laboratory studies that identified challenges in learning graphic design skills on the web

Discovery-based games for learning software

ABSTRACT We propose using discovery-based learning games to teach people how to use complex software. Specifically, we developed Jigsaw, a learning game that asks players to solve virtual jigsaw puzzles using tools in Adobe Photoshop. We conducted an eleven-person lab study of the prototype, and found the game to be an effective learning medium that can complement demonstration-based tutorials. Not only did the participants learn about new tools and techniques while actively solving the puzzles in Jigsaw, but they also recalled techniques that they had learned previously but had forgotten

Crowdsourcing in China: Exploring the Work Experience of Solo Crowdworkers and Crowdfarm Workers

Recent research highlights the potential of crowdsourcing in China. Yet very few studies explore the workplace context and experiences of Chinese crowdworkers. Those that do, focus mainly on the work experiences of solo crowdworkers but do not deal with issues pertaining to the substantial amount of people working in ‘crowdfarms’. This article addresses this gap as one of its primary concerns. Drawing on a study that involves 48 participants, our research explores, compares and contrasts the work experiences of solo crowdworkers to those of crowdfarm workers. Our findings illustrate that the work experiences and context of the solo workers and crowdfarm workers are substantially different, with regards to their motivations, the ways they engage with crowdsourcing, the tasks they work on, and the crowdsourcing platforms they utilize. Overall, our study contributes to furthering the understandings on the work experiences of crowdworkers in China