Learning HCI Across Institutions, Disciplines and Countries: A Field Study of Cognitive Styles in Analytical and Creative Tasks

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is increasingly becoming a subject taught in universities around the world. However, little is known of the interactions of the HCI curriculum with students in different types of institutions and disciplines internationally. In order to explore these interactions, we studied the performance of HCI students in design, technology and business faculties in universities in UK, India, Namibia, Mexico and China who participated in a common set of design and evaluation tasks. We obtained participants’ cognitive style profiles based on Allinson and Hayes scale in order to gain further insights into their learning styles and explore any relation between these and performance. We found participants’ cognitive style preferences to be predominantly in the adaptive range, i.e. with combined analytical and intuitive traits, compared to normative data for software engineering, psychology and design professionals. We further identified significant relations between students’ cognitive styles and performance in analytical and creative tasks of a HCI professional individual. We discuss the findings in the context of the distinct backgrounds of the students and universities that participated in this study and the value of research that explores and promotes diversity in HCI education

Xlupa Software - A Screen Magnifier To Aid In Educating Students With Low Vision [software Xlupa - Um Ampliador De Tela Para Auxílio Na Educação De Alunos Com Baixa Visão]

The Brazilian education model has undergone many transformations. Some of these are related to at least two factors: the need for including students with special needs in the educational system, and the use of computers in learning-teaching processes in order to enhance such students' learning outcomes. Despite the efforts applied to both the issue of educational inclusion and to promoting computer access to educational activities in school environments, the major difficulty is how to adequately serve those students who currently represent a significant portion of the population enrolled in public, or private, school systems. Among the special needs students, there are those with a significant degree of reduction in visual acuity, called "Low Vision". Knowing that the use of computers in Brazilian schools has increased, there are strong reasons to believe that the gap currently inherent in the education of these individuals may be minimized by promoting access to computer resources in the learning-teaching process. In this paper, we describe the computer tool called xLupa, a screen magnifier, applied to images and texts, for students with low vision. To this end, the topics covered in this paper are: a) description of the tool specification and development process, which involved a study of the target users' visual needs, and the continuous interaction between developers and users, b) presentation of xLupa and its functionalities; c) assessment of how its use can help students and teachers in daily school activities.171151172Bersch, R., Tonolli, J.C., (2009) Tecnologia Assistiva, , http://www.assistiva.com.br, Disponível em, Acesso em: 20 dezBueno, J.G.S., (1993) Educação Especial Brasileira: Integração/segregação Do Aluno Diferente, , São Paulo: EDUCBidarra, J., Boscarioli, C., Rizzi, C.B., Xlupa - um ampliador de tela com interface adaptativa para pessoas com baixa visão (2009) Usabilidade, Acessibilidade E Inteligibilidade Aplicadas Em Interfaces Para Analfabetos, Idosos E Pessoas Com Deficiência: Resultados Do Workshop, pp. 23-30. , MELO, A. M., PICCOLO, L. S. G., ÁVILA, I. M. A, TAMBASCIA, C. A. 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Software xLupa - um ampliador de tela para auxílio na educação de alunos com baixa visão Xlupa Software - a screen magnifier to aid in educating students with low vision

O modelo educacional brasileiro vem passando por muitas transformações. Parte delas está relacionada a, pelo menos, dois fatores: a necessidade de inclusão de alunos com necessidades especiais no sistema educacional e o uso dos computadores nos processos de ensino, como forma de potencializar os resultados da aprendizagem desses alunos. Apesar dos esforços realizados, tanto na questão da inclusão educacional quanto na informatização de atividades inerentes aos ambientes escolares, a grande dificuldade é saber como atender adequadamente a esses alunos que, atualmente, representam uma parcela significativa da população estudantil matriculada na rede de ensino pública e/ou particular. Considerando que dentre esses alunos estão aqueles que, embora não sejam cegos, apresentam um significativo grau de redução na acuidade visual, denominados "Baixa Visão", e sabendo que o uso do computador tem aumentado nas escolas brasileiras, há fortes motivos para acreditar que a lacuna hoje existente na formação desses indivíduos pode ser minimizada mediante a adequação de recursos computacionais ao processo de aprendizagem. Neste artigo, é apresentada a ferramenta computacional denominada xLupa, um ampliador de imagens e textos em telas de computador para alunos com baixa visão. Para tanto, os tópicos abordados nesse artigo são os seguintes: Descrição da especificação e desenvolvimento da ferramenta, o que envolveu um estudo das necessidades visuais do público alvo, bem como a interação contínua de desenvolvedores e usuários; Apresentação do software xLupa e de suas funcionalidades; e uma avaliação sobre como o seu uso pode auxiliar alunos e professores no dia-a-dia escolar.<br>The Brazilian education model has undergone many transformations. Some of these are related to at least two factors: the need for including students with special needs in the educational system, and the use of computers in learning-teaching processes in order to enhance such students' learning outcomes. Despite the efforts applied to both the issue of educational inclusion and to promoting computer access to educational activities in school environments, the major difficulty is how to adequately serve those students who currently represent a significant portion of the population enrolled in public, or private, school systems. Among the special needs students, there are those with a significant degree of reduction in visual acuity, called "Low Vision". Knowing that the use of computers in Brazilian schools has increased, there are strong reasons to believe that the gap currently inherent in the education of these individuals may be minimized by promoting access to computer resources in the learning-teaching process. In this paper, we describe the computer tool called xLupa, a screen magnifier, applied to images and texts, for students with low vision. To this end, the topics covered in this paper are: a) description of the tool specification and development process, which involved a study of the target users' visual needs, and the continuous interaction between developers and users, b) presentation of xLupa and its functionalities; c) assessment of how its use can help students and teachers in daily school activities