Ann Eisenberg

• PhD
• Senior Research Associate at University of Colorado Boulder

Sensory extensions enhance our awareness by transforming variations in stimuli normally undetectable by human senses into perceivable outputs. Similarly, interactive simulations for learning promote an understanding of abstract phenomena. Combining sensory extension devices with interactive simulations gives users the novel opportunity to connect t...

E-textiles, which embed circuitry into textile fabrics, blend art and creative expression with engineering, making it a popular choice for STEAM classrooms [6, 12]. Currently, e-textile development relies on tools intended for traditional embedded systems, which utilize printed circuit boards and insulated wires. These tools do not translate well t...

The e-textile landscape has enabled creators to combine textile materiality with electronic capability. However, the tools that e-textile creators use have been adapted from traditional textile or hardware tools. This puts creators at a disadvantage, as e-textile projects present new and unique challenges that currently can only be addressed using...

Today’s STEM classrooms have expanded the domain of computer science education from a basic two-toned terminal screen to now include helpful Integrated Development Environments(IDE) (BlueJ, Eclipse), block-based programming (MIT Scratch, Greenfoot), and even physical computing with embedded systems (Arduino, LEGOMindstorm). But no matter which envi...

Ubiquitous computing, as a subfield of computer science, has traditionally been associated with a set of principles expressed (loosely but tellingly) with terms like transparency, invisibility, and the like: essentially, the idea is that people should be able to use ubiquitous computing artifacts while hardly being conscious that they are doing so....

The traditional view of the "home computer" is as a self-contained appliance: computation, on this view, is something that takes place within a desktop box, and that produces interesting visual effects only on a screen. In this paper, we argue that one can alternatively view "the computer" through its tangible effects on larger settings: that is, t...

In recent years, educational technologists and designers have begun to explore a variety of ways in which physical and computational media can be integrated---for instance, through the design of "intelligent toys" for children. This paper describes our ongoing efforts at exploring a different sort of physical-computational integration, focusing on...

Construction kits—toys designed for the building or assembly of physical models—often play an important educational role in children's lives. While such kits have tremendous strengths (e.g., they permit children to build three-dimensional models and to learn through tactile experience), they also have interesting limitations. Traditional constructi...

Increasingly, the day-to-day practice of science education is pervaded by the presence of computational media. Simulations, modeling tools, and virtual laboratories have become the stock in trade of the up-to-date science educator. As a consequence, the young scientist is a person who, more and more, spends a large proportion of his or her time in...

In this paper we use our experiences with the HyperGami program as a springboard for a broader look at the future of computationally-enriched handicrafts. HyperGami is an educational application for the design and construction of mathematical models and sculptures in paper; as such, it serves as a source of examples and insights for the more genera...

: Much of the rhetoric surrounding the World Wide Web celebrates the advantages of the "virtual" (and by implication, immaterial) world. In contrast, we see the Web as potentially enhancing the practice of handicrafts. This paper reports on recent developments in implementing a "Platonic Solids Applet" in Java to permit students to select and decor...

This paper describes a computer application named HyperGami that permits users to design, explore, decorate, and study a rich variety of paper polyhedral models. In structure, HyperGami is a "programmable design environment", including both a direct manipulation interface as well as a domain-enriched programming environment based on the Scheme lang...

Historically, efforts at user modelling in educational systems have tended to employ knowledge representations in which symbolic (or "linguistic") cognition is emphasized, and in which spatial/visual cognition is underrepresented. In this paper, we describe our progress in developing user models for an explicitly "spatial" educational application n...

Mathematics educators often despair at the subject's austere, "abstract" reputation. This paper describes recent work in developing an application named HyperGami, whose purpose is to integrate both the abstract and "real-world" aspects of mathematics by allowing children to design and construct polyhedral models and sculptures. We describe a sampl...

Mathematics, as a subject dealing with abstract concepts, poses a special challenge for educators. In students' experience, the subject is often associated with (potentially) unflattering adjectives — austere, remote, depersonalized, and so forth. This paper describes a computer program named HyperGami whose purpose is to alleviate this harsh portr...

Traditionally, craft activities have provided a tasteful introduction to mathematics for children: through the building of paper polyhedra, or the creation of patterns in string, children have often come to appreciate profound mathematical ideas. The next decade, however, is likely to see a tremendous expansion of accessible, powerful technology th...