Can user-centered interface design be applied to education?

ABSTRACT

The principles behind the discipline of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) may have applications well beyond the design of artifacts or their interfaces. We argue that the philosophy (and practice) of user-centered design (UCD) can (and should) pervade most human activities. Indeed, not only human-computer (and computer-mediated human communication) but also human-human communication may benefit from this perspective. In this paper we are particularly concerned with the application of UCD to the educational setting. The novel view in this work is that formal teaching and learning (of anything, at any level), might be improved if instructional design, in analogy to the usual interface design, is student-centered. The brief, but illustrative, experience of the author in an HCI course for university computer-science students is at the core motivation of this reflective work.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: User-centered design

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education

Keywords:
human-computer interaction, student-centered education, user-centered design