Activity-centered design

Abstract: Computers have not yet had the profound impact on classroom practice that has been predicted. Given the proven potential of computer-mediated instruction, what can account for the lack of progress? This paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of many of the existing computer-mediated learning environments and suggests that the learning theories that lie behind them lead to designs that do not fit with nor change the basic participation structures of the classroom. We argue instead for Activity Centered Design (ACD), a model of design for Computer Supported Collaborative Learning environments, based on the following assumptions: that activity is mediated by cultural tools, that activity must be conceptualized on a number of interdependent levels, and that conceptual understanding is first established socially. We then critique our own existing learning environment, the Probability Inquiry Environment, from the ACD perspective.

Abstract: Activity Centered Design: An Ecological Approach to Designing Smart Tools and Usable Systems Geri Gay and Helene Hembrooke Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2004 ISBN 0-262-07248-3 135 pages, cloth, illustrated, $3000 Developed by Russian psychologists, Activity Theory became a popular framework for the design of HCI (Human Computer Interaction), especially CSCW (Computer Supported Collaborative Work) and mobile computing system for its emphasis on the social factors of human activities and the context of use Activity Centered Design: An Ecological Approach to Designing Smart Tools and Usable Systems provides a good opportunity to see how the Activity Centered Design compensates for the User Centered Design (UCD) approach with regard to 'usefulness' The heavy emphasis on individual user's usable interactions in UCD is often criticized for its under representation of other relevant user groups' interests in a social context and the system's overall usefulness for them In this book, the focus of discussion in designing user interface is shifted from the individual user-centered view in a laboratory setting to cooperation of different user groups doing cross-boundary tasks in networked contexts The major concern of this book (and the projects from Cornell HCI lab also) is how the mediating devices used for communication and learning affect outcomes, process and motivation The authors start their analysis from an introductory chapter on Activity Theory and Ecological principles, the two basic frameworks of this book They apply Engestrom's Activity Analysis to the topic of communication and learning, along with three key concepts from Activity Theory: Mediation, Object-Orientedness and Disturbance Ecological theories are quoted for the adaptive aspect of their interactive systems The mediation of human beings and objects by tools and its development over time, the major Activity Theory concept, are illustrated in the later chapters with projects from the Cornell HCI lab E-Graffiti, a project, demonstrates what can happen when people meet a new technology without knowing how to use it Another example, the Handscape project, shows different attitudes and expectations toward emerging technology before and after users tested prototypes This project also served as an example of user-involved (not 'centered') design process by engaging various stakeholders (museum professionals, museum patrons, system designers) and their needs in its early stage of development However, the examples and discussions in this book need more depth The discoveries of NOMAD project - the ambivalent effect of mobile computing on learning °(TM) are rather predictable The discussion of CampusAware, another project, includes differences between the insiders' notes about certain locations (more informal and opinionated) from the outsiders', clearly exemplifying that user knowledge provides another context of use in this system …

Abstract: When conducting research with users in order to design web applications, the practitioner has a variety of methods from which to choose. This paper examines three such methods'User-Centered Design (UCD), Goal-Directed Design (GDD), and Activity-Centered Design (ACD)'in terms of their foundations, processes, and deliverables.