HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION – The Psychological aspects Human-Computer Interaction, abbreviated HCI, has simply been explained as the study of how people interact with computing technology (Olson & Olson 2003). It is the intersection between psychology and the social sciences, on the one hand, and computer science and technology, on the other. Throughout the past two decades HCI researchers have been analysing and designing specific user interface technologies, studying and improving the processes of technology development and developing and evaluating new applications of technology with the aim of producing software and hardware that are useful, usable and artistic. This led to development of a body of technical knowledge and methodology. Psychologists have made numerous efforts to understand in detail the involvement of cognitive, perceptual and motor components in the moment-by-moment interaction a person encounters when working at a computer. This line of work was started by Card et al. (1983). Their research was based on the separation of computer use knowledge from what operates on the knowledge to derive a specific behaviour with this approach it was claimed that one could determine several important behaviours. Later a number of researchers built on this original work, adding ore to it. The most significant addition to this was Kieras and Meyer (1997) with their popular ‘EPIC’. Cognitive modeling has also been quite practical. Gray et al. (1993), for example, applied it to the evaluation of two telephone operator keyboards predicting and confirming enacting times between the two. Others have applied it to the application designs like CAD for the banking and Engineering sectors. Although this model has been said to be very powerful, it’s application is not universal. That brings us to the second line of theoretical research; Distributed Cognition. Distributed Cognition focuses more on the social and contextual aspects of work. It recognises how people’s actions are intimately intertwined with the artifacts of their work (Olson 1994). A number of design ideas were inspired from this line of thinking especially in the work environment. These theories and applications in HCI mentioned earlier were primarily focused on the office applications like word processors and spreadsheets, however, in the late 1990’s there came a major theoretical advancement where examinations were done in the area of information-retrieval behaviour. Pirolli & Card (1999), for example, did investigations into surfing techniques used by web users; the decisions information-seekers made in moving from one source to another while surfing the web. Their investigations highlighted the importance of the display of search results in ways that clues are given for appropriate selection.
Desjardins’ Human-Computer-Human Interaction model (HCHI 2001, 2005) is an epistemological template for how a user, the technology that user is operating, and the processes of systems, are interdependent entities. In addition, certain competencies are needed for this relationship to function, along distinct dimensions (Desjardins, 2001, p.1). This HCHI model, as described by Desjardins, Lacasse and Bélair (2001), was an attempt to address specific competencies that were related to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in an educational setting (pg. 1). Desjardins’ work with the HCHI has been further applied in the prototyping of collaborative online learning environments and as such the model may prove useful when analyzing current web-based applications for usability, reliability, and relevance. This is done by taking the application in question and observing which features fall in line with the four tenets of the HCHI: the technical order, the epistemological order, the informational order, and the social order. For this paper, I intend to apply the HCHI model to critically analyze the web-based mind-mapping tool, Popplet, using the perspectives and theoretical constructs discussed in EDUC 5101 Learning with Technology course. As a tool I frequently use, I am curious if Popplet holds up well to the HCHI paradigm and if Popplet, a collaborative online learning environment, displays interdependence between the user, the technology itself, and the processes of systems. Please note that Popplet does have a tablet version of its application. I will not be focusing on the iOS/Android versions, as it would add certain considerations to this paper that are beyond its present scope.
Various web-based companies have developed techniques to document their customer’s data, enabling them to provide a more enhanced web experience. One such method called “cookies,” employs Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer. It traces the user’s habits. Cookies are pieces of text stored by the web browser that are sent back and forth every time the user accesses a web page. These can be tracked to follow web surfers’ actions. Cookies are used to store the user’s passwords making your life easier on banking sites and email accounts. Another technique used by popular search engines is to personalize the search results. Search engines such as Google sell the top search results to advertisers and are only paid when the search results are clicked on by users. Therefore, Google tries to produce the most relevant search results for their users with a feature called web history. Web history h...
Technology is a controversial issue in today’s world and especially in my world; it is important to understand that my father owns and operates a successful computer sales and repair business and so my knowledge of computer usage is quite extensive having not only listened to my father, but also having completed a high school computer internship. I am also currently working in a Technology Fellowship program. When it comes to the topic of technology, most of us will agree that technology surrounds us in today’s world—from television, smart phones, video games, tablets, to computers—we can readily access multitudes of information by simply accessing a computer internet search or turning on the television news. Technology has been a part of our
In today’s fast paced technology, search engines have become vastly popular use for people’s daily routines. A search engine is an information retrieval system that allows someone to search the...
“Human beings have always functioned in face-to-face groups. While the use of teams is on the rise the Wall Street Journal reports that two-thirds of American companies employ them – the face to face aspect of normal working relationships is changing. Electronic communication and digital technologies give people a historically unprecedented ability to work together at a distance.” (Lipnack, J., & Stamps, J., 1997).
The.. HCI is the study of how the users of computers utilise them to complete tasks in the environment they will finally be used in. Each of these are specific to each task, a HCI cannot be designed for just one set of users for one set of tasks and then just expect a different set of users to respond the same to a similar set of tasks in the same HCI. When designing an HCI system it is important to consider how the users will interact with computer devices and the system that is being created. The. It is important to consider all aspects including the tasks.
Wisner, Alain. The Etienne Grandjean Memorial Lecture: Situated Cognition and Action-Implications for Ergonomics Work Analysis and Anthropotechnology. Ergonomics, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995, Vol. 38, No.8, Pgs. 1542-1557.
...introduced to all these facts, it is clearly visible that graphical user interfaces played a major role in the development of modern society, and its relations with computing, and IT. Introducing the GUI in the early 1980s did in fact make computers and digital devices more accessible to people, often with no knowledge of computers, and revolutionized the way, in which media and information function today. The GUI has further made the abstract Information Technology more friendly towards a regular user, by allowing user customization of the work environment, and hence, made computers an integrated part of our lifestyle, work and leisure. Finally, because GUI is an inseparable of the most common computer work environments, it has become an element of our compulsory education, which just concretes its role as both facilitator, and prompter of social and life changes.
Many researchers have anticipated theories about the different approaches that people across the globe use when they want to locate a recognized entry in an unordered list of options. Norman and Vandierendonck recommended that people could only process one menu at a time. This idea or recommendation that people can only process one item at a time could be related to sequential linear menu. However, they did not authenticate the low-level hypothesis empirically. Card S. K. the writer of “Visual search of computer command menus” proposed that people randomly choose which item t...
The way we interact with the world around us has developed significantly since the first desktop computers. First access to the internet for general, public use was really only available to those who were able to afford the large, expensive desktop computer systems, but as computing evolved and smaller, higher performing systems were becoming more available and affordable, our dependence on having this connection to the internet was also developing. The trend continues to grow with the conti...
The view of the future and whether the mouse and keyboard is clear due to the many productions of Hollywood and how it shows how people will be able to interact with computers and input data into them. Starting from...
Web 3.0 also means that if the user was to search for something such as ‘man’ it would not just display results just for ‘man’ it will also know to display ...
Today, computers influence all lifestyles, and all different types of businesses. They have become an essential part of everyday life, from chatting, to e-mail, to commerce, to gaming. Almost every person in the United States has had some use on the computer. Since the technology age began, computers have become a mainstay in American and world society as much as the telephone, the automobile, and the television.
Human Computer Interaction is an emerging field that encompasses computer science along with cognitive science, psychology, artificial intelligence, industrial design and human factors engineering. A few decades back the field was confined to personal productivity applications. However, now it has diversified and includes aspects as varied as information systems, visualization, system development process and collaborative systems. The researchers in this field find novel ways and technologies that can facilitate better interface between humans and computers and hence lead to positive outcomes. On an individual level, I tend to figure out how people react to various things in any field, it’s like a hobby that has intrigued me for a long time
Consider the impact of the new technology on both computer professionals and computer users, including relevant ethical, legal or social issues.