Rated more positively
than other groups
natural language
processing
ubiquitous computing
Rated more negatively
than other groups
no clear trends
change management, media
criticism, social network analysis
• Table 3. Valuation of topics in HCI by role.
change management, e-commerce, information
architecture, product development, project management
healthcare/health informatics, history of HCI,
ubiquitous computing
lost. However, it is possible that
encouraging a broad curriculum
may lead to a more unified theoretical perspective because a broad curriculum encourages diverse ideas
from “people who are versed in multiple perspectives.”
Technical skill sets. In some
instances, depth and rigor seem
to be confused with prowess in
specific techniques. An enduring
question in HCI education focuses
on what specific technical skills
students should be exposed to and/
or required to master. Some believe
that every student should learn
basic computer programming: “I
am discipline-centric enough that
I believe everyone, not just those
in CS, should know what a loop is.”
A user experience architect agrees
on the grounds that “being able to
know their language and talk to
them [programmers] very directly
enables you to have credibility.” On
the other end of the spectrum, a UX
instructor chose to pursue an M.S.
in library and information science
because “[i]f I had done computer
science they would have made me
do programming, which I felt was
totally irrelevant to HCI.”
A closely related tension exists
between computer scientists and
non-computer scientists, or “people
who program and those who study
people who program (i.e., because
they can’t program).” According to
one computer scientist, HCI “doesn’t
always get respect from traditional
CS faculty; it’s still viewed as a
question of (inessential) aesthetics.”
A similar frustration was expressed
by those who feel it is tough to get
traditional computer scientists to
develop the sensibility to under-
stand HCI: “[Y]ou first have them
build a system...and then you show
them that what they built was
not a good interface in terms of
usability.” However, with increasing
focus on copy-paste programming,
sophisticated development libraries,
plug-in modules, and scripting envi-
ronments, it is questionable where
formal education in computer sci-
ence and facility with computer pro-
gramming actually meet. Computer
science as a discipline is having its
own issues in this regard, and bold
attempts are being made to encour-
age the learning of computational
skills by appealing to a broader
range of different learning styles
than were traditionally supported in
computer science education.
March + April 2013