CHS: Small: Developing Novel Surface Computing Technologies and Learning Experiences to Engage Underrepresented Youth in STEM

该项目将把计算和电子技术融入到壁画中，探索表达和互动的新范式，同时为不同的年轻人开辟通往科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的新途径。壁画——种类繁多的艺术品，包括古代洞穴壁画、欧洲教堂壁画、墨西哥壁画家的作品和当代涂鸦——丰富地表达了一个社区的价值观和遗产。这个项目将利用壁画的文化和表现力来开发一种新的交互式表面计算媒介和一种新的与计算文化相关的介绍。以社区为基础的艺术为计算机和STEM的引入提供了一个自然的环境。它们为学生提供了个人表达的渠道，同时也为学生提供了探索自己的文化遗产和身份的独特机会。壁画提供了特别肥沃的土地，作为涉及文化庆祝的高度可见的艺术品。为了吸引多样化的学生群体，这个项目将以扎根于美国西部和拉丁美洲的壁画制作传统为基础。研究团队将与当地壁画艺术家和社区合作伙伴合作，开发制作耐用的户外互动壁画的技术，并探索这种新媒体的互动潜力。该团队将使用新的表面计算技术/媒介，通过让不同的年轻人（特别是拉丁裔和美洲原住民青年）参与设计和创造他们自己的互动壁画，向他们介绍计算机和电子产品。该项目将开发：(1)整合社区和文化参与、新技术创造和教育推广的HCI新理论和方法；(2)参与式设计的新框架，基于未被充分代表的社区和技术开发人员之间的新联盟，以现有的社区实践和新的共同设计经验为基础；(3)创造耐用户外互动表面的新技术；(4)针对既非基于屏幕也非基于投影的大规模交互表面的新交互技术和设计框架；(5)一种新的文化相关方法，通过将文化相关的艺术实践与计算相结合，吸引代表性不足的青年参与计算，并深入了解代表性不足的青年参与STEM的有效性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will integrate computation and electronics into murals to explore new paradigms for expression and interaction, while developing new pathways into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for diverse youth. Murals—a wide diversity of artworks including ancient cave paintings, frescos in European churches, the work of Mexican muralists, and contemporary graffiti—are richly expressive of a community’s values and heritage. This project will leverage the cultural and expressive affordances of murals to develop a new interactive surface computing medium and a new culturally relevant introduction to computing. Community-based arts provide a natural context for compelling introductions to computing and STEM. They provide outlets for personal expression along with unique opportunities for students to explore their own cultural heritage and identity. Murals offer particularly fertile terrain, as highly visible artworks that involve cultural celebration. To engage a diverse student population, this project will be grounded in traditions of mural making with deep roots in the American West and Latin America.The team of researchers, working with a local mural artist and community partners, will develop technologies to make durable outdoor interactive murals and explore the interaction potential of this new medium. The team will use the new surface computing technologies / medium to introduce diverse young people (particularly Latinx and Native American youth) to computing and electronics, by engaging them in designing and creating their own interactive murals. This project will develop: (1) new theories and methods for HCI that integrate community and cultural engagement, novel technology creation, and educational outreach; (2) new frameworks for participatory design, based on new alliances among underrepresented communities and technology developers, which are grounded in existing community practice and new co-design experiences; (3) new technologies for creating durable outdoor interactive surfaces; (4) new interaction techniques and design frameworks for very-large-scale interactive surfaces that are neither screen- nor projection-based; and (5) a new culturally relevant approach to engaging underrepresented youth in computing and insights into the effectiveness of engaging underrepresented youth in STEM by blending culturally relevant art practices with computing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.