Understanding the Interaction of Design Students with Portable Computers in the Classroom

Lavin, Luís; Filgueiras, Ernesto; Figueiredo, Carlos; Desouzart, Gustavo

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14407

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Abstract(s)

Laptop computers are an indispensable tool for the learning of Product Design. However the universities classrooms are not adapted to the new technological evolutions and working processes. The main objectives of this study were to analyze the human-computer interaction in Product Design classrooms, by observing the users, the work activity and the environment, to understand the current demands for the use of laptop computers, and to observe current patterns of student interaction, and their needs. Data were gathered and analyzed from a set of classrooms in a Portuguese university using the following methodologies: free observation; systematic indirect observation through video recording and analysis; and student survey. The results show that 56.5% of the study participants use information systems in the classroom, of these, 90% use laptop computers, and use this devices individually. In general, about 52% of the records indicate that in the classroom the information systems were used by less than 50% of the class students. This study results can promote: (a) the development of a set of data and information that can assist designers and other professionals in the product creation process; (b) the awareness of the universities to the need to modernize the spaces, furniture, and equipment, and to adapt them to the new processes of work and to the new student-computer interactional behaviors.

Description

The authors would like to thank Portuguese University of Beira Interior. We would also like to thank the professors and the students of this university who participated in this research for their effort and time spent. Without them, this study would not be possible.

Keywords

Classroom Design Students Human-Computer Interaction Interaction Behavior Portable Computer

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/14407

Citation

Luís Lavin, Ernesto Filgueiras, Carlos Figueiredo, Gustavo Desouzart, Understanding the Interaction of Design Students with Portable Computers in the Classroom, Procedia Manufacturing, Volume 3, 2015, Pages 6274-6281, ISSN 2351-9789, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.800.