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Teaching UbiComp With an Integrated Ethics and Societal Implications Twist
Abstract
How can we integrate thinking about ethics and societal implications of technology into computing and engineering education? To have an impact, this kind of thinking needs to be trained and normalized. This can be achieved by integrating such considerations into standard courses taught by faculty, who thereby act as a role model. Yet most faculty feel unprepared to do so, as they do not feel they are experts on this. I argue that we should not rely on coteachers from philosophy and ethics to dare to address such topics. I share my experiences of teaching a “Ubiquitous Computing” course in a computer science context, which not only addresses the human–computer interaction perspective of designing “good experiences” but also fosters students’ reflection on potential negative impacts and on values in design.
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Reports on the events and findings from the Dagstuhl Seminar entitled “Ubiquitous Computing Education: Why, What, and How” to explore these questions in more detail.2 The workshop gathered 26 faculty members and one undergraduate student3 to discuss the current state of ubiquitous computing education and to provide ideas for how to improve on our current practices. In this column, we discuss, and expand upon, the work of the seminar, including a detailed overview of the challenges of teaching pervasive computing, proposing a curriculum for students with different backgrounds, and exploring innovative active learning methods for pervasive computing.
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A motivation behind much UbiComp research has been to make our lives convenient, comfortable and informed, following in the footsteps of Weiser’s calm computing vision. Three themes that have dominated are context awareness, ambient intelligence and monitoring/tracking. While these avenues of research have been fruitful their accomplishments do not match up to anything like Weiser’s world. This paper discusses why this is so and argues that is time for a change of direction in the field. An alternative agenda is outlined that focuses on engaging rather than calming people. Humans are very resourceful at exploiting their environments and extending their capabilities using existing strategies and tools. I describe how pervasive technologies can be added to the mix, outlining three areas of practice where there is much potential for professionals and laypeople alike to combine, adapt and use them in creative and constructive ways.