Teaching
Courses
These are some of the courses I’ve taught at the University of Washington over the years:
Child-Computer Interaction
A graduate-level course for students interested in research at the intersection of child development and technology design
This course focuses on research related to the design of interactive technologies for and with children; the various ways children use interactive technologies; and the impact of children’s technology-related experiences on their health, wellbeing, learning, and other key aspects of child development. Focal questions guiding the course include: How do children of different ages, abilities, and interests engage with and make sense of their experiences with interactive technologies? What role do developmental factors, family context, peers, school, and socio-cultural influences play in shaping these experiences? How should designers approach the design of interactive technologies for children? How should researchers approach the study of children’s use of new and emerging technologies?
PhD Seminar in Information Science
A graduate seminar for incoming PhD students in the Information Science PhD program
This seminar introduces new Ph.D. students to the range of disciplines and perspectives, past and present, that underpin research conducted in the University of Washington Information School, and schools of information more generally. Students are exposed to foundational underpinnings of the field through selected readings, as well as contemporary scholarship by attending the Research Symposium speakers series.
Research Methods in Informatics
An undergraduate course for students majoring in Informatics
This course gives students a broad introduction to research methods in the social sciences, with a focus on methods commonly used in human-computer interaction. The class is about learning what research is, how to select good research problems, and developing the skills necessary to carry out research that is novel, important, and achievable.
Youth Development & Information Behavior in a Digital Age
A graduate-level course for students in the Master of Library & Information Science program
This course provides a survey of theory and research related to youth development, information behavior, and digital media practices. Students explore how individual, sociocultural, and economic factors shape youth’s digital media use and information behavior in distinct ways. The course is intended to provide MLIS students with a foundational understanding of major theories of human development and information behavior and to draw on this understanding to make sense of research on youth’s digital media practices.
Directed Research Groups
I regularly organize directed research groups that engage small groups of students in hands-on research projects. Some examples include:
Developing Youth Digital Well-Being Metrics
Amidst rising public concern over the tech industry’s persuasive design practices, there is a growing interest among HCI researchers in designing for personal agency and well-being in individuals’ technology use. To date, most of this work has focused on general adult populations, but prior research suggests that children and adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to the pull of persuasive designs.
Recognizing the importance of attending to the intersection between human development and interaction design, child-computer interaction researchers are contributing new insight into designs that support versus undermine youth’s well-being. As our understanding deepens, we see an opportunity to develop meaningful metrics of youth digital well-being, with the recognition that an essential component of designing for youth well-being is the ability to measure the effects of these designs.
Informal Learning in Online Fanfiction Communities
This directed research group explored the learning opportunities experienced by youth participants in online fanfiction communities. Applying ethnographic methods to three different fandoms, we investigated the skills that participants develop through their fan-based activities; the roles that identity, motivation, and emotion play in their informal learning online; and the novice-to-expert trajectories made available in different online fan communities.
Investigating Online Parenting Support Communities
How parents interact with their children is one of the most important predictors for child wellbeing and mental health, especially during early childhood (2-5 years). So far, however, research on designing digital parenting support is nearly non-existent and many fundamental questions remain: What are the current challenges that parents face when searching for parenting support online? How are these similar to—or differing from—the support offered by traditional in-person parenting programs? In this directed research group, we developed a unique dataset of online parenting resources, and the first analysis of such practices from the HCI perspective.
Join me in 2023 at the UW iSchool! I’m looking for PhD students interested in research on youth, wellbeing, HCI, and the learning sciences. Learn More