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SIGCHI Bulletin
Vol.28 No.1, January 1996
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HCI Education

Past, Present and Future?

Jean B. Gasen

Golden anniversaries are always special. Whether celebrating the birth of an organization, such as ACM, or the lasting bond of commitment between couples, such events invite reflective thought. As the field of HCI continues to grow and increase its importance within ACM, it is interesting to reflect on both the growth of the field, and its relationship to HCI in higher education. Table 1 represents a summary of major developments, perspectives and events within HCI in general, and HCI education in particular.

The rows represent different ways of viewing HCI -- the body of knowledge itself, how the knowledge is organized administratively within higher education, how the learning is structured for students, and what students learn. The columns of the table represent four eras -- beginning with the 1960's and ending with the future, 1996 and beyond. Although the choice of eras is really somewhat arbitrary, the decreasing number of years within each era are meant to be indicative of the increasing rapidity of change within the field.

Past

From a overview of Table 1, direct relationships between the growth of the field and its representation in higher education are evident. For example, the roots of HCI came from a number of separate disciplines, including computer graphics, human factors, ergonomics etc. (Hewett et al., 1992). In higher education, HCI was also represented as separate disciplines and sub-disciplines with separate courses or modules within the various disciplines.

In contrast, the 1980's began to recognize the multi-disciplinary nature of the field. Conferences such as SIGCHI and books on HCI (e.g. Baecker & Buxton, 1987; Card, Moran & Newell, 1983; Norman, 1988; Shneiderman, 1987) appeared that brought the various disciplines together in new ways. The development of individual courses centered on HCI also reflected this multidisciplinary recognition (Gasen, Perlman & Attaya-Kelo, 1994).

During the 1980's, the PC explosion helped stimulate the growth of the field, with increasing numbers of users from a variety of backgrounds. Designing interfaces for users of all types became both an intellectual and commercial challenge for the HCI community. The use of PC's for software development and testing brought these tools into the classroom as well. Rapid prototyping tools, such as Hypercard for the Apple, opened up new possibilities for teaching the design process to students in an active, hands-on learning environment (Gasen et al., 1994).

Present

The 1990's witnessed the explosion of telecommunications linking PC's with LAN's in client-server environments. HCI interests moved from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary. That is, the integration of multiple perspectives took on new importance. The possibility of both asynchronous and synchronous electronic communication with others spurned an increasing interest in Computer Supported Cooperative and Collaborative Work (CSCW) issues. The development of small, portable computers also brought about interest in anytime/anyplace collaboration and telecommuting. Finally, the growth of the World Wide Web is radically increasing user access to electronic information on a global level. User interface issues centering on information filtering and navigation in large information spaces are a direct result of the opportunities provided by these incredible developments.

HCI education also has grown rapidly during the 1990's. Surveys of educators (Mantei & Smelcer, 1984; Gasen, Perlman & Attaya-Kelo, 1994) indicate that an increasing number of courses are being offered in the field of HCI. In addition, greater emphasis is being placed on teamwork and inter-disciplinary collaboration (Gasen, 1995c). An increasing number of books on HCI (e.g. Preece et. al., 1994, Dix et al., 1993;) and updated additions of books originally published in the 1980's (e.g. Baecker, Grudin, Buxton & Greenberg, 1995; Shneiderman, 1992) geared for higher education are another indication of this growth. For some of the leading computer science institutions, such as Carnegie-Mellon, U. of Toronto, Virginia Tech. and others, individual courses have grown into multiple courses and specializations at the graduate level.

Future?

The last column of the table hints at some possibilities. The field of HCI may be reaching a critical juncture. The increasing specialization within the field, evident in more narrowly defined conferences and journals, is a double-edged sword. Such developments reflect the maturing and deepening of our body of knowledge, a healthy indication to be sure. On the other hand, HCI runs the risk of fractionalizing both the body of knowledge and the HCI community as a whole by such specialized focus. Maintaining a broad, interdisciplinary view may become more difficult as the field advances.

The future of HCI education is very difficult to predict. However, the hope that HCI will grow and influence the computer science curriculum is one definite possibility. Leading academic institutions may set the model for change in other institutions. The demands from industry also may provide the catalyst for change in institutions where such forces play a role in influencing curriculum development.

The pervasive availability of electronic access to information will continue to influence HCI education in a myriad of ways. Access to electronic teaching materials, increased use of hypermedia across networks for individualized distance learning, libraries of reusable interface components etc. all may become commonplace in the years ahead. Increased collaboration with industry via faculty and student internships will increase as companies recognize and support efforts to give learning real-world contexts.

The emphasis on the social contexts of computing will become more important as everyone considers ways in which technology is metamorphosing communication on a global level. Courses and projects that bring faculty and students together to address significant global social issues may become possibilities for the future.

Finally, an increased focus on educational processes and outcomes will be inevitable as we look for ways to be most effective in providing the best quality educational experience for students. Both short term and long term evaluation research studies, looking at how HCI education is influencing the careers and practices of our graduates should follow (Gasen, 1995b). An expanded definition of HCI research that includes research on knowledge acquisition, synthesis and dissemination along with research on educational impact will increase our understanding of the links between HCI research, education and practice (Gasen, 1995a).

Real possibilities or wishful thinking?

Both options are possible. While technological advancements will continue at a feverish pace, it will be up to the HCI community to play a proactive role in the design and utilization of such developments to meet real human needs. The entire HCI community, represented by researchers, educators and practitioners, will be needed. Working together to ensure a continued priority on the human side of technology may become the single, most important influence as future generations reflect back on the impact of the next 50 years.

Acknowledgment

This paper is based upon a presentation given by Jenny Preece and me at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's HCI Research Symposium, in October, 1993. My thanks to Jenny for allowing me to present a revised version here.

References

Baecker, R.M., Grudin, J., Buxton, W.A. & Greenberg, S. (1995)
Human-computer interaction: Toward the year 2000 (2nd Ed). San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Pubs.
Baecker, R.M. and Buxton, W.A.A. (1987)
Readings in human-computer interaction: A multidisciplinary approach. San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Pubs.
Card, S. Moran, T.P. and Newell, A. (1983)
The psychology of human-computer interaction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.
Dix, A., Finlay, J. Abowd, G. and Beale, R. (1993)
Human computer interaction. Prentice-Hall International.
Gasen, J.B., Perlman, G. Attaya-Kelo, M. (1994)
Update on the HCI education survey. SIGCHI Bulletin, 26(2), 8-11.
Gasen, J. B. (1995a)
Extending HCI research in education and practice. Paper presented at the SIGCHI Research Symposium, Denver, CO: May, 1995.
Gasen, J. B. (1995b)
Support for HCI educators: A view from the trenches. in M.A.R. Kirby, A.J. Dix and J.E. Finlay, People and Computers X. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 15-20.
Gasen, J. B. (1995c)
Looking for footprints: evaluation issues in HCI education. SIGCHI Bulletin, 27(4), 20-22.
Hewett, T.T., Baecker, R., Card, S. Carey, T., Gasen, J., Mantei, M. Perlman, G., Strong, G. and Verplank, W. (1992)
ACM SIGCHI curricula for human-computer interaction. New York: ACM (ACM Order numbers S 608920).
Mantei, M. and Smelcer (1984)
Guidelines for reading the human-computer interaction survey results. SIGCHI Bulletin, 16(2), 9-43.
Norman, D. (1988)
The psychology of everyday things. New York: Basic Books.
Preece, J.J., Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., Benyon, D., Holland, S. & Carey, T. (1994)
Human computer interaction. Wokingham, England: Addison-Wesley.
Shneiderman, B. (1987, 1992)
Designing the user interface. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Table 1: HCI Education in Perspective
      HCI In Higher               1960's-1970's                   1980's                      1990-1995                        1996 +              
        Education                                                                                                                                  

Body of Knowledge          Separate disciplines &       Multi-disciplinary         Interdisciplinary integra-      Further integration and         
What is HCI?               sub-disciplines              recognition                tion                            possible disintegration         
                           Computer graphics,           Expanded user base,        CSCW, teleconferencing,         into specialist areas           
Disciplines, sub-disci-    human factors, ergo-         PC revolution, social      communications, HCI             WWW information explo-          
plines, Issues within      nomics, design, indus-       sciences, anthropol-       design for everyone,            sion offers both opportuni-     
knowledge domain of        trial engineering,           ogy, linguistics           increased focus on graphic      ties, large and small           
HCI                        cognitive psychology,                                   design                          conferences, specialty jour-    
                           cognitive science                                                                       nals                            
Key developments           Sketch pad, CAD/CAM,         Screen design, WYSI-       Embedded computation,           New modalities, very tiny       
                           flight displays, mouse,      WYG, direct manipu-        portability, wider social       and embedded interfaces,        
                           hypertext, time sharing,     lation, VLSI, usability,   concern, innovation in          virtual worlds and very         
                           beginning principles of      birth of SIGCHI            input                           large bodies of information     
                           interactive design, dyna-                                                                                               
                           book                                                                                                                    
Knowledge Organi-          Topics within course /       Individual classes         Specialization -- fragmenta-    Permeating computer sci-        
zation                     class                        Some specialization        tion due to breadth, and        ence and psychology curric-     
How is knowledge           Occasional class modules                                depth                           ulum at undergraduate           
organized in higher                                                                Specialization particularly     level, further specialization   
education?                                                                         at graduate level               at graduate level               
e.g. classes, courses,                                                                                             Increased presence of           
modules, specializa-                                                                                               graphic and industrial          
tions, undergraduate,                                                                                              design in curriculum            
graduate                                                                                                                                           
Learning Frame-            Traditional formats,         Increasing numbers of      HCI bibliography/ educa-        Library of reusable inter-      
works                      mostly teacher driven        books emerging on          tion survey on line             faces, design components        
How do students get        Some use of Computer         sub-topics & a few         More books and modules          Increased use of hyperme-       
knowledge?                 Assisted Instruction/        general books              on HCI                          dia & individual learning       
What are the learning      Computer Assisted            Use of prototyping         Continuing education            Increased collaboration         
frameworks (e.g.           Learning,                    tools in teaching          demand                          with industry                   
teacher, student, text,    Little overlap/communi-      Distance learning          Increased networking            Increased funding for           
technology-centered)       cation among disciplines                                among HCI educators             applied research in HCI --      
                                                                                   Teleconferenced courses         by government and indus-        
                                                                                   and modules                     try -- with student intern-     
                                                                                   Increased focus on design       ships & projects                
                                                                                   process for multi-user sys-                                     
                                                                                   tems                                                            
Educational Out-           Mastery of subdisci-         Increased focus on         Emphasis on team skills and     Increased understanding of      
comes                      plinary topics               end-users                  reflective practice             social needs                    
What do students           Little integration, fitted   Iterative design           Greater knowledge of social     Communication and infor-        
learn?                     within systems develop-      Participatory design       contexts of computing and       mation                          
Concepts: knowledge        ment life cycle and          Consideration of           CSCW                            visualization very impor-       
of parts                   project management           whole and not just         Prime focus: concepts, skills   tant                            
Skills: techniques for     Little focus on end-user     parts                      and processes                   Further emphasis on pro-        
using concepts learned     Primary focus: concepts      Tensions between gen-                                      cess                            
Processes: Ways of                                      eralists and specialists                                   Greater focus on iterative      
linking techniques, i.e.                                Primary focus: con-                                        educational design, evalua-     
methods                                                 cepts and skills                                           tion and accountability         

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