Designing for the Cooperative Use of Multi-user, Multi-device Museum Exhibits.

This work explores software-based museum exhibits that allow groups of visitors to employ their own personal mobile devices as impromptu user interfaces to the exhibits. Personal devices commandeered into service in this fashion are dubbed Opportunistic User Interfaces (O-UIs). Because visitors usually prefer to engage in shared learning experiences, emphasis is placed on how to design software interfaces to support collaborative learning. To study the issue, a Design-Based Research approach was taken to construct an externally valid exemplar of this type of exhibit, while also conducting more traditional experiments on specific features of the O-UI design. Three analyses, of – (1) museums as a context, (2) existing computer-based museum exhibits, and (3) computer support of collaborative processes in both work and classroom contexts – produced guidelines that informed the design of the software-based exhibit created as a testbed for O-UI design. The exhibit was refined via extensive formative testing on a museum floor. The experimental phase of this work examined the impact of O-UI design on (1) the visual attention and (2) collaborative learning behaviors of visitors. Specifically, an O-UI design that did not display any graphical output (the “simple” condition) was contrasted against an O-UI design that displayed multi-element, dynamically animated graphics (the “complex” condition). The “complex” O-UIs promoted poor visual attention management, an effect known as the heads-down phenomenon, wherein visitors get so enmeshed with their O-UIs that they miss out on the shared context, to the detriment of group outcomes. Despite this shortcoming, the “complex” O-UIs better promoted goal awareness, on-task interactions between visitors, and equity in participation and performance. The tight output coupling (visitors see only one shared display) of the “simple” O-UI condition promoted emergent competition, and it encouraged some visitors (especially males) to become more engaged than others. Two design recommendations emerge: (1) incorporating devices with private displays (O-UIs with output) as interfaces to a single large display better promotes collaboration (especially equity), and (2) O-UIs with “complex” displays may be used in museum exhibits, but visitors would benefit from mechanisms to encourage them to direct their attention to the shared display periodically.Ph.D.Computer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61771/1/ltoth_1.pd

Local/Global Bug Drawings

Experimental drawings for the MUSCHI (Local/Global) GROCS project.Modern software development is no longer limited to developing applications for single users anchored to their desktop computers: miniaturization and wireless communication advances have given us portable devices with very different form-factors, from small, lightweight devices like cellular phones and handheld computers to larger (and more powerful) laptops and tablet computers, all of which are capable of “talking” to one another. Most software developers, though, still create applications that are targeted for one form-factor or another; and any intra-device communication is usually limited to simple file transfers. There is no reason why people cannot build cohesive applications that span different devices, taking advantage of the different display size, portability, and computational power characteristics of the different devices. Further, there is no reason why these applications could not allow many people to participate simultaneously. Note, that this paradigm is not simply the networking of devices together; the idea is to actually draw users together into a single proximity, to promote communication and social interaction. The goal of this project is twofold: (1) to create a framework that allows for the easy development of educational simulation games under a new, multi-device technological paradigm, and (2) the creation of a demonstration (demo) game, using this framework, to illustrate the educational benefits of this new paradigm, which we term Local-Global. This paradigm draws upon the Participatory Simulation work done here and at the MIT Media Lab and is made possible by the form-factors of new computational devices, such as touch-sensitive handheld computers and Tablet PCs. A Local-Global simulation allows a global simulation game to be played simultaneously by multiple users, who are able to make localized adjustments to the simulation game’s parameters, and observe how these small local-level manipulations can combine to impact the status of the global simulation environment. The demonstration game will be something akin to a digital fish tank: an environment populated by autonomous creatures that feed and breed. The users will be able to inspect the creatures and manipulate them with the aid of the handheld “microscopes”, and will be able to view the effect of their manipulations on the game environment by watching the simulation play out on the larger display of the tablet PC.GROCS: GRant Opportunities [collaborative spaces], a Digital Media Commons program to fund student research on the use of rich media in collaborative learning.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60411/4/lg_bugs4.JPGhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60411/3/lg_bugs3.JPGhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60411/2/lg_bugs2.JPGhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60411/1/lg_bugs1.JP

Local/Global Bug Images

Images associated with the MUSHI (Local/Global) project in the GROCS 2005 program.Modern software development is no longer limited to developing applications for single users anchored to their desktop computers: miniaturization and wireless communication advances have given us portable devices with very different form-factors, from small, lightweight devices like cellular phones and handheld computers to larger (and more powerful) laptops and tablet computers, all of which are capable of “talking” to one another. Most software developers, though, still create applications that are targeted for one form-factor or another; and any intra-device communication is usually limited to simple file transfers. There is no reason why people cannot build cohesive applications that span different devices, taking advantage of the different display size, portability, and computational power characteristics of the different devices. Further, there is no reason why these applications could not allow many people to participate simultaneously. Note, that this paradigm is not simply the networking of devices together; the idea is to actually draw users together into a single proximity, to promote communication and social interaction. The goal of this project is twofold: (1) to create a framework that allows for the easy development of educational simulation games under a new, multi-device technological paradigm, and (2) the creation of a demonstration (demo) game, using this framework, to illustrate the educational benefits of this new paradigm, which we term Local-Global. This paradigm draws upon the Participatory Simulation work done here and at the MIT Media Lab and is made possible by the form-factors of new computational devices, such as touch-sensitive handheld computers and Tablet PCs. A Local-Global simulation allows a global simulation game to be played simultaneously by multiple users, who are able to make localized adjustments to the simulation game’s parameters, and observe how these small local-level manipulations can combine to impact the status of the global simulation environment. The demonstration game will be something akin to a digital fish tank: an environment populated by autonomous creatures that feed and breed. The users will be able to inspect the creatures and manipulate them with the aid of the handheld “microscopes”, and will be able to view the effect of their manipulations on the game environment by watching the simulation play out on the larger display of the tablet PC.GROCS: GRant Opportunities [collaborative spaces], a Digital Media Commons program to fund student research on the use of rich media in collaborative learning.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/21/pTurn3.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/20/pTurn2.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/19/pTurn1.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/18/pTurn0.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/17/pointyHead3.jpghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/16/pointyHead2.jpghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/15/pointyHead.jpghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/14/pointyCombo2.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/13/pointyCombo.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/12/heads_green-neck.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/11/heads_black.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/10/gTurn3.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/9/gTurn2.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/8/gTurn1.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/7/grinderCombo.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/6/cTurn3.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/5/cTurn2.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/4/cTurn1.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/3/cTurn0.pnghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/2/chompy_3.jpghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60409/1/chompy_1.jp

Local/Global Documentation

Documentation for the MUSHI (Local/Global) GROCS Project.Modern software development is no longer limited to developing applications for single users anchored to their desktop computers: miniaturization and wireless communication advances have given us portable devices with very different form-factors, from small, lightweight devices like cellular phones and handheld computers to larger (and more powerful) laptops and tablet computers, all of which are capable of “talking” to one another. Most software developers, though, still create applications that are targeted for one form-factor or another; and any intra-device communication is usually limited to simple file transfers. There is no reason why people cannot build cohesive applications that span different devices, taking advantage of the different display size, portability, and computational power characteristics of the different devices. Further, there is no reason why these applications could not allow many people to participate simultaneously. Note, that this paradigm is not simply the networking of devices together; the idea is to actually draw users together into a single proximity, to promote communication and social interaction. The goal of this project is twofold: (1) to create a framework that allows for the easy development of educational simulation games under a new, multi-device technological paradigm, and (2) the creation of a demonstration (demo) game, using this framework, to illustrate the educational benefits of this new paradigm, which we term Local-Global. This paradigm draws upon the Participatory Simulation work done here and at the MIT Media Lab and is made possible by the form-factors of new computational devices, such as touch-sensitive handheld computers and Tablet PCs. A Local-Global simulation allows a global simulation game to be played simultaneously by multiple users, who are able to make localized adjustments to the simulation game’s parameters, and observe how these small local-level manipulations can combine to impact the status of the global simulation environment. The demonstration game will be something akin to a digital fish tank: an environment populated by autonomous creatures that feed and breed. The users will be able to inspect the creatures and manipulate them with the aid of the handheld “microscopes”, and will be able to view the effect of their manipulations on the game environment by watching the simulation play out on the larger display of the tablet PC.GROCS: GRant Opportunities [collaborative spaces], a Digital Media Commons program to fund student research on the use of rich media in collaborative learning.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60408/4/mushi_poster_long.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60408/3/MUSHI website.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60408/2/mushi nsf prop.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60408/1/Local_Global proposal.pd