The course Computing & Society 2 focuses on sociotechnical systems design and will introduce students to several design approaches: user-centered design approaches, participatory design, value-sensitive and reflective design, and critical technical practice. Students will learn mainly through research-based assignments. The course language is English, the course will take place online, with meetings every few weeks and individual research tasks in between.  Introductory meeting to take place on April 13, 13:00h on Zoom (details in further course description on Moodle).

Learning goals

Advanced understanding of socioinformatics; understanding on how social, cultural, political, environmental conditions interact with the development of computing technology, methods and processes, with a focus on designing and developing socially responsible IT, applying sociotechnical perspective, including:

- addressing human and broader social factors from early planning stages to end product

- identify and employ relevant development and design strategies

- assess technological impact for diverse groups, stakeholders and contexts


In this course the students want to learn the basics of socio-informatics and socio-technical systems design perspective. How do social factors influence technology design? How do technologies change the social and cultural fabric of society? Where do biases in technology design and application come from and how can they be minimized by applying a more systemic, socio-technical approach? How do human values, ethics and hierarchies influence development of computation? During the course the students want to learn, through reading, discussing and interactive exercises, how to develop and apply a more complex, systemic view of ICTs and their relation to society. We want to touch upon topics such as AI and big data, socially-responsible technology design, ICT for Development, sustainability, digital laboratories, and others.

The course will consist of in-person lectures/seminars and individual reading and research tasks. Introductory meeting on 25 October 2021, 12:00h. See course page for log in details.


Technische Entwicklungen sollen benutzbar sein und in verschiedenen Arbeits- und Lebenskontexten funktionieren. Nutzungsorientierte Gestaltung hilft, Fehlentwicklungen und mangelnde Akzeptanz zu vermeiden. Soziale und organisatorische Aspekte, sowie Bedarfe unterschiedlicher Personen und Zielgruppen zu erheben und für technische Anforderungen aufzuarbeiten, ist ebenso notwendig, wie herausfordernd.

Die Veranstaltung stellt den Prozesszyklus nutzungsorientierter Gestaltung vor. Verschiedene Methoden, wie z.B. das Arbeiten mit Interviews im Kontext, Personas, Szenarien oder Cultural Probes, werden experimentell und empirisch erprobt.

Die Veranstaltung findet auf deutsch statt. Einige der Arbeitsmaterialien (Design Kits, Videos, Info Texte) sind aber auf englisch.

Auch im Sommersemester 2021 wird die Veranstaltung online durchgeführt. Für die Vorlesungsanteile und die integrierten Übungen nutzen wir Zoom. Zur Besprechung der Aufgaben benötigen Sie ein digitales Endgerät mit Mikro bzw. sollten Sie ein Headset benutzen - ideal (kein Muß!) wäre auch eine Webcam. Andere Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten besprechen wir beim ersten Treffen!


The concept of the Internet of Things or Smart Things in the home is an increasingly growing interest of users as well as industry.  Experts find that:

“We need to get smarter about hardware and software innovation in order to get the most value from the emerging Internet of Things”- Henry Samueli (Co-Founder & CTO, Broadcom) and “The truth is, homes change over time... and technology has to adapt, not try to do everything at once.” -Tony Fadell (Founder & CEO, Nest Labs).

 

Following these insights, the students learn that there is the need for innovating Smart Things that seamlessly flow into the home and additionally considers factors such as varying user groups, user roles, and households. 

In developing Smart Things, the questions of which kind of hardware, software, data or services will meet user needs and requirements as well as fit into the everchanging definition of households needs to be raised.

 

In particular, students gain competences in:

  • concepts of innovation in Smart Home devices
  • exploration of Human-Computer Interaction participatory development methods in innovation
  • understanding the home, its everchanging nature, and household roles
  • ideation to prototyping phases of Smart Things
  • testing and evaluating Smart Things in-situ

 

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  • Muller, M. J., & Kuhn, S. (1993). Participatory design. Communications of the ACM, 36(6), 24-28.
  •  Chan, M., Estève, D., Escriba, C., & Campo, E. (2008). A review of smart homes—Present state and future challenges. Computer methods and programs in biomedicine, 91(1), 55-81.
  • Simonsen, J., & Robertson, T. (Eds.). (2012). Routledge international handbook of participatory design. Routledge.
  • Prototyping : a practioner's guide. Todd Zaki Warfel
  • Sanders, E. B. N., & Stappers, P. J. (2012). Convivial toolbox: Generative research for the front end of design. Amsterdam: BIS.
  • Richardson, H. J. (2009). A ‘smart house’ is not a home: The domestication of ICTs. Information Systems Frontiers, 11(5), 599.

Hodges, S., Taylor, S., Villar, N., Scott, J., Bial, D., & Fischer, P. T. (2013). Prototyping connected devices for the internet of things. Computer, 46(2), 26-34.

 

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