Abowd, Gregory D.

Borriello, Gaetano

Kortuem, Gerd

English

Lancaster E-Prints

As interest and activity in ubiquitouscomputing continues to grow, weneed to reflect as a community on howwe’re codifying this subject’s intellec-tual core. At the Ubicomp EducationWorkshop (see the related sidebar), asmall number of researchers and edu-cators gathered to discuss how ubiqui-tous computing is taught at universitiesand whether we can define commonthemes and resources to influence thedevelopment of future educational ma-terials. We aimed to uncover commonthemes, gather advice for best practices,and seek ways to produce resources toshare with the larger ubiquitous com-puting community.The one-day workshop was conductedin a fairly informal fashion, beginningwith each individual describing his or herexperience in teaching ubiquitous com-puting courses. The remainder of theworkshop involved collective brain-storming on common themes and prac-tices of ubiquitous computing education.We noted a considerable variety in thekinds of courses being offered, includingone-week block courses, reading semi-nars, traditional lecture courses, andopen-ended project courses. Despite thisvariety, some common themes emergedduring the discussions, which we’ll brieflysummarize here.HOW TO TEACH AND WHEN?The topics of interest in ubiquitouscomputing go beyond or extend manyof the core topics in computer science,including distributed systems, net-working, databases, architecture, pro-gramming languages, human-computerinteraction, software engineering, andartificial intelligence. Ubiquitous com-puting also raises many interesting chal-lenges that lie outside of traditionalcomputer science, such as socioeco-nomic impact, privacy, and legal issues.We must ask whether to teach ubiqui-tous computing as a collection of spe-cialized modules that you can teachwithin the context of existing coreclasses or as one or more additionalcourses specifically designed to explorethe subject’s breadth and depth. Mostuniversities teach ubiquitous comput-ing as self-contained courses, either assenior-level undergraduate specializa-tion courses or as introductory gradu-ate courses.Although computing or computer sci-ence departments typically offer thesecourses, the background of students in-terested in ubiquitous computing variessubstantially, particularly at the gradu-ate level, where specialized master’scourses can attract students with diversetechnical and design backgrounds.Whilethis enhances the educational experience,particularly with group project activity,it also increases the challenge of devel-oping educational materials that willreach the entire audience.Workshop attendees described howthey’ve taught ubiquitous computing inthe past: • Brief, intense one-week courses forgraduate students or industry, cover-ing general lecture or tutorial mate-rial as well as hands-on design andimplementation projects•T raditional lecture courses of 10 to16 weeks, usually accompanied bygroup projects•O pen-ended project courses, inwhich an instructor facilitates smallgroups throughout a lifecycle of con-cept development to prototype de-ployment with ubiquitous comput-ing technologies•T echnology-centric developmentReport from the UbicompEducation WorkshopGregory D. Abowd, Gaetano Borriello, and Gerd Kortuem94 PERVASIVEcomputing Published by the IEEE CS and IEEE ComSoc ■ 1536-1268/04/$20.00 © 2004 IEEEEditor: Scott F. Midkiff   ■ Virginia Tech   ■ midkiff@vt.edu Education & TrainingThis issue’s Education & Training column departs somewhat from the norm. Rather thanpresenting information about a specific class, the authors discuss, more broadly, the statusand future directions for pervasive and ubiquitous computing education. The column summa-rizes the Ubicomp Education Workshop, which the authors chaired, held in conjunction withUbiComp 2003. We hope the column will serve as a foundation for future discussions on per-vasive and ubiquitous computing education, such as at the Workshop on Pervasive Comput-ing Education held in conjunction with PerCom 2004 (www.percom.org). Please let me knowyour comments and suggestions for future columns.  —Scott MidkiffEDITOR’S INTRODUCTIONcourses, in which elements of ubiq-uitous computing technologies areexplained and integrated in a well-planned, hands-on case study• Reading seminars that discuss se-lected literature in the areaTHE INTELLECTUAL COREOne of the first challenges anyonewho wishes to teach a ubiquitous com-puting course faces is how to organizea syllabus of topics to cover. Althoughmany courses assign Mark Weiser’sseminal  Scientific American article(reprinted in the January–March 2002issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing) asthe first reading, the path after that isless clear. A major outcome of thisworkshop is a proposed set of fivethemes for an introductory course inubiquitous computing. Theme 1: Physical and virtual integrationMuch of ubiquitous computing’sintrigue deals with merging the physicaland virtual worlds. Important sub-topics include• Sensing and actuation. Studentsshould be introduced to ways togather information about the physi-cal world and represent it in the vir-tual world, as well as how to takedecisions made in the virtual worldand make them apparent in the phys-ical world.• Awareness and perception. Studentsshould learn how to extend the notionof sensing and how to create higher-level knowledge of the physical world.• Ambient displays. Students shouldsee how to use the physical world’sfeatures to reflect information fromthe virtual world.• World modeling. Students shouldlearn to create representations andontologies of the physical world thatthey can represent virtually.Theme 2: Interaction modelsThe human experience with ubiqui-tous computing is important for stu-dents to understand and design. Thistopic deals with formative ways to pro-duce the right human experience. Im-portant subtopics include• Situated computing. Ubiquitous com-puting is woven into everyday activi-ties, so it’s important for students tounderstand the relationship betweentechnologies and everyday life.• Multimodality and natural interaction.Ubiquitous computing encouragesnumerous modes of interaction, so stu-dents should understand both explicitinteraction, such as speech, gestures,and writing, and implicit interaction,such as location and user activity.• Multidevice. We can view the age ofubiquitous computing as one in whichusers interact with many devices, bothshared and personal. Students shouldbe exposed to the many form factorsof devices that provide the ways tointeract.• Invisibility. The essence of MarkWeiser’s vision was that the prolifera-tion of computing results in a decreasein the cognitive demand on the indi-vidual. Students must understand thatthe invisibility doesn’t mean the tech-nology shrinks but that its pull on ourconsciousness decreases.• Disambiguation. Sensing and perceptionaren’t perfect, so students should learntechniques to represent and reconcile im-perfect knowledge for consumption byboth humans and software.• Proactivity. The profusion of com-putational devices envisioned byubiquitous computing raises thequestion of effective user control.Students should be familiar withboth traditional models of user-initiated interaction—that is, directmanipulation—as well as proactiveor mixed-initiative interfaces.• Models of cognition. Models of indi-vidual cognition drive much of tra-ditional human-computer interactionpractice. To design for ubiquitouscomputing, students must under-stand extensions to traditional mod-els that consider behaviors influencedby the physical world.Theme 3: System componentsEmerging technology provides thebuilding blocks for creating ubiqui-tous computing systems. These com-ponents represent a system’s hardwareand software aspects. Important sub-topics include• Platforms. Students must learn aboutdevices or platforms with small formfactors that are highly mobile andattached to an individual, as well asthose that you can easily embed intothe environment.• Sensors and actuators. Studentsshould understand the importance ofinterpreting the physical world (sens-JANUARY–MARCH 2004 PERVASIVEcomputing 95The workshop on “Ubicomp Education: Current Status and Future Directions” was held on 12 October 2003 in conjunction with the International Conference on Ubiq-uitous Computing (UbiComp 2003) in Seattle (http://ubicomp.lancs.ac.uk/workshops/education03). The participants were• Gregory Abowd, Georgia Tech• Gaetano Borriello, University of Washington and Intel Research Seattle •N igel Davies, Lancaster University and University of Arizona • Alois Ferscha, University of Linz• Hans Gellersen, Lancaster University • Gerd Kortuem, Lancaster University• Peter Ljungstrand, Chalmers University • Cristina Videira Lopes, University of California, Irvine•B ill Plymale, Virginia Tech• Larry Rudolph, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyABOUT THE WORKSHOPing) and affecting it (actuation). Theactual devices that perform bothsensing and actuation are this sub-topic’s focus.• Power awareness. The proliferationof wireless and highly mobile com-putational platforms brings an in-creased concern for delivery of powerto these devices. In addition to ad-vances in battery technology, studentsshould also learn about the design ofpower-aware computation.• Communications technologies andconnectivity. Highly distributed com-putational platforms are more usefulwhen they can communicate. Coursesin ubiquitous computing should coveradvances in both wired and wirelesscommunications technologies.• Software architectures and technolo-gies. The wide variety of computingplatforms is matched by the manysoftware technologies used to createubiquitous computing applications.As is often the case for complex systemdevelopment, the complexity lies not inthe individual components but in theirintegration into a functioning system.Ubiquitous computing courses mustaddress many software challenges,including architectural approaches,naming schemes, resource discovery,and event notification. Many of theseare software engineering challenges forubiquitous computing.Theme 4: DeploymentPutting applications into the realworld raises many challenges associatedwith the summative understanding ofubiquitous computing. Important sub-topics include• Scalability. Students should under-stand that ubiquitous computing ischaracterized by applications thataddress scale in terms of space, peo-ple, and devices.• Reliability. Students should learn toaddress reliability issues, because ap-plications in the real world must work,even when constituent parts fail.• Maintenance. Students should learnprinciples of maintenance because inareas where technologies advancerapidly, it’s particularly important toevolve applications as underlyingtechnologies change.• Evaluation. Traditional forms of eval-uation from the field of human-com-puter interaction often fail whenapplied to ubiquitous computing sys-tems. Students should learn techniquesapplied “in the wild” and not just con-trolled laboratory user studies.• Practicality. Students need to under-stand various practical concerns fordaily system operation, including costand convenience.Theme 5: Social concernsUbiquitous computing promises toimpact even more of our everydaylives than personal computing, andthis brings consequent concerns abouthow the technology and services bestserve social needs. Technology itself isonly one factor that influences or con-trols the relationship between peopleand ubiquitous computing. Importantsubtopics include• Socioeconomics. Students should ap-preciate that market forces can influ-ence system deployment and sustain-ability. Students should appreciate thatthe way in which a technology is per-ceived to impact social interactions cangreatly influence adoption and long-term use.• Legal issues. Concerns that suitablesocial, market, and technologicalforces cannot address are often leftEDUCATION & TRAININGEDUCATION & TRAINING96 PERVASIVEcomputing www.computer.org/pervasiveActive Badge (Cambridge Univ.)—www.uk.research.att.com/ab.html Active Campus (UC San Diego)—http://activecampus.ucsd.eduActivityCompass (Univ. of Washington)—www.cs.washington.edu/homes/djp3/AI/AssistedCognition/ActivityCompassAware Home (Georgia Tech)—www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/ahriCooltown (HP)—http://cooltown.hp.com/cooltownhomeDigital desk (Univ. of Toronto)eClass/Classroom2000 (Georgia Tech)—www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/eclassEquator projects, including Uncle Roy All Around You, Can You See Me Now?, and Ambient Wood Guide (various universities)—www.equator.ac.ukiRoom (Stanford Univ.)—http://iwork.stanford.eduLabscape (Intel/Univ. of Washington)—http://labscape.cs.washington.eduMediaCup (TecO/Univ. of Karlsruhe)—http://mediacup.teco.edu MusicFX (Accenture)—www.accenture.comNeuralNetwork Home (Univ. of Colorado) PARCTab (Xerox Parc)—www.ubiq.com/parctabPlantCare (Intel)—http://seattleweb.intel-research.net/projects/plantcareRemembrance Agent (MIT Media Lab)—www.remem.orgSmart-Its (Lancaster Univ.)—www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/eisSmart Kindergarten (UCLA)—http://mediacup.teco.eduCASE STUDIES DISCUSSED AT THE WORKSHOPto legal bodies. It’s important for stu-dents to understand how nationaland international laws influence andare influenced by technology.• Privacy—Integrating the physicaland virtual worlds has huge implica-tions on personal privacy, security,and autonomy. Students must under-stand how to respect the individualand see how ubiquitous computinginfluences an individual’s power.Although the workshop identified thecore areas just discussed, the participantsdidn’t determine any particular orderingof the topics, nor did they identify spe-cific important results and readings inthe different areas. Future examinationsof ubiquitous computing educationshould identify seminal readings.LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCEMost workshop participants agreedthat the best understanding of ubiqui-tous computing comes through experi-ence. In the educational setting, thismeans exploring specific examplesfrom the past, so-called case studies, orthe hands-on development of ubiqui-tous computing applications donethrough individual or group projects.Design projectsMost courses in ubiquitous comput-ing involve hands-on experience withsome of the technologies and applica-tions. Teaching students how to struc-ture projects to ensure successful learn-ing outcomes has been a concern. Withcritical technologies—such as wirelessconnectivity, handheld computing, sen-sors and actuators, and recognition tech-nologies—becoming more mainstream,it’s easier to provide a relevant infra-structure for students to build projects.The extent to which classes ask stu-dents to design as well as implementvaries. Some courses consider the user-centered design and prototyping as a crit-ical project component, even moreimportant than building a real system.This kind of project encourages creativeapplication of technologies, even whenthose technologies aren’t available. Othercourses emphasize construction withubiquitous computing technologies, tothe extent of ignoring user-centereddesign. Although these projects oftenmight not provide compelling uses oftechnology, they teach students theimportance of integration. The workshopdidn’t judge which is right or wrong. Bothapproaches have strengths and limita-tions, and the kind of project chosen willvary based on the students’ backgrounds.We also recognize that the availablebuilding block technologies often influ-ence the applications that students canexplore. Many courses leverage easilyavailable commodity platforms, such ashandheld computers. Computer scienceEDUCATION & TRAININGJANUARY–MARCH 2004 PERVASIVEcomputing 97Looking to contribute? Don’t have much time?Review a book for IEEE Distributed Systems Online.Volunteer your services to a great publication.Gain knowledge (and get a free book!).Select your book online at http://dsonline.computer.org/books/list.htmBOOK REVIEWERShas a long tradition of sharing softwaretechnologies. Increasingly, we’re seeingresearch labs produce hardware tech-nologies that other researchers can usefor exploration. Examples include Phid-gets from the University of Calgary;Motes from the University of California,Berkeley, and Crossbow; and EuropeanSmart-Its.Case studiesFor case studies, a ubiquitous comput-ing course could use the research com-munity’s growing list of interesting inves-tigations of ubiquitous computingapplications. The extent of documenta-tion marks an important feature of a goodcase study. This includes retrospectivearticles on the project’s history and les-sons learned as well as artifacts that stu-dents can explore. It’s also important todiscuss case studies in terms of the coreintellectual topics outlined earlier. Al-though it’s unlikely that any single casestudy will exhibit important features fromevery intellectual topic, you might choosea case study on the basis of its coverageof those topics (see the related sidebar forcase studies discussed at the workshop).Building shared resourcesAlthough it might be premature tosuggest writing a textbook for thisfield, it’s appropriate as a communityfor us to develop a means to share edu-cational materials. Those who teachubiquitous computing courses produceonline repositories of readings, lec-tures, projects, and case studies. Onerecommendation from the workshopis to develop a single online repositoryor clearinghouse for gathering ubiqui-tous computing educational material.The most likely location for such aclearinghouse is ubicomp.org, the com-munity’s formal site for conferencesand discussion forums.The Ubicomp Education Workshopwas intentionally informal becauseit was one of the first meetings to dis-cuss education in ubiquitous comput-ing. Several national and internationalforums for ubiquitous and pervasivecomputing now exist, such as the Work-shop on Pervasive Computing Educa-tion (www.irean.vt.edu/PerEd2004) inMarch 2004. We strongly recommendthat future forums take on the specificchallenges we’ve raised to continue toadvance the educational agenda for thisimportant emerging topic. EDUCATION & TRAININGEDUCATION & TRAINING98 PERVASIVEcomputing www.computer.org/pervasiveGregory D. Abowd is anassociate professor in theCollege of Computing at theGeorgia Institute of Tech-nology. Contact him atabowd@cc.gatech.edu.Gaetano Borriello is a pro-fessor of computer scienceand engineering at the Uni-versity of Washington and amember of research staff atIntel Research Seattle. Con-tact him at gaetano@cs.washington.edu.Gerd Kortuem is a lecturerin the Computing Depart-ment at Lancaster University.Contact him at kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk.Look to the FutureIEEE Internet Computing reports emerging tools,technologies, and applications implemented through theInternet to support a worldwide computing environment.In 2004, we’ll look at• Business Processes for theWeb• Internationalizing the Web• Internet-Based Data Dissemination• theWireless Grid• Measuring Performance•H omeland Securitywww.computer.org/internet/

Education & training - Report from the ubicomp education workshop

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