Mary Etta West

Bio: Mary Etta West is an academic researcher from University of Colorado Boulder. The author has contributed to research in topics: Dance & Usability. The author has co-authored 3 publications.

danceON: Culturally Responsive Creative Computing

Abstract: Dance provides unique opportunities for embodied interdisciplinary learning experiences that can be personally and culturally relevant. danceON is a system that supports learners to leverage their body movement as they engage in artistic practices across data science, computing, and dance. The technology includes a Domain Specific Language (DSL) with declarative syntax and reactive behavior, a media player with pose detection and classification, and a web-based IDE. danceON provides a low-floor allowing users to bind virtual shapes to body positions in under three lines of code, while also enabling complex, dynamic animations that users can design working with conditionals and past position data. We developed danceON to support distance learning and deployed it in two consecutive cohorts of a remote, two-week summer camp for young women of color. We present our findings from an analysis of the experience and the resulting computational performances. The work identifies implications for how design can support learners’ expression across culturally relevant themes and examines challenges from the lens of usability of the computing language and technology.

Cyborg Crafts: Second SKIN (Soft Keen INteraction)

Abstract: Traditional handcraft and modern cyborg culture share a common goal: democratize creation through demonstrations and education. Cyborg Crafts blends techniques from the fiber arts with cyborg-inspired technologies (e.g., open-source biosensing EEG headsets and RFID implants). Second SKIN (Soft Keen INteraction), intended to support this practice, is a handmade collection of four modular soft wearable sensors with a temperature-dependent dynamic display. Each sensor has unique sensor-specific outer shell textures based on non-woven textile techniques, and each supports a different sense: momentary switch, pressure sensor, pinch sensor, and a gesture-detecting, capacitive touch sensor. The interactions of pressing, pinching, and touching are encouraged by sensor-specific extruded designs lending to finger placement. The outer shell textures are made from a mixture of flaxseed mucilage and silicone rubber. Thermochromic pigment additives endow display functionality to these passive devices through the application of heat in excess of 86°F.

Family as a Third Space for AI Literacies: How do children and parents learn about AI together?

Abstract: Many families engage daily with artificial intelligence (AI) applications, from conversations with a voice assistant to mobile navigation searches. While there are known ways for youth to learn about AI, we do not yet understand how to engage parents in this process. To explore parents’ roles in helping their children develop AI literacies, we designed 11 learning activities organized into four topics: image classification, object recognition, interaction with voice assistants, and unplugged AI co-design. We conducted a 5-week online in-home study with 18 children (5 to 11 years old) and 16 parents. We identify parents’ most common roles in supporting their children and consider the benefits of parent-child partnerships when learning AI literacies. Finally, we discuss how our different activities supported parents’ roles and present design recommendations for future family-centered AI literacies resources.

Exploring Biofoam as a Material for Tangible Interaction

Abstract: Each new material developed opens a broader pallet of aesthetic and functional possibilities for designers. This paper introduces DIS to biofoam, a material that is water-soluble, biodegradable, and can be made conductive. We describe the material in detail: the process of making the material from scratch, the material’s fabrication into forms with hand-craft techniques, and present two HCI specific applications of the biofoam. The biofoam can be cooked, molded, layered, extruded, dissolved or recooked opening up possibilities to consider the entire life cycle of the material in the design process. We contribute design considerations to allow designers to “tune” the biofoam to the desired quality, as well as a characterization of many aspects of the biofoam such as compression, spring back time, water permeability, and electrical conductivity. Finally, we discuss the unique opportunities this material and its life cycle bring to the design and HCI communities.

AI + Dance: Co-Designing Culturally Sustaining Curricular Resources for AI and Ethics Education Through Artistic Computing

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems are ubiquitous across many fields ranging from medicine (e.g., tumor detection), to natural language processing (e.g., digital home assistants, auto-translate tools), and personalization (e.g., social media recommendations). The rise of these systems has also seen a rise in the ethical challenges resulting from how some of these systems are designed and implemented. Most problematic is their propagation and amplification of problems such as racism and sexism [4, 6], among others. Further, these challenges exist within a computing discipline that is already burdened by exclusive, marginalizing cultures and practices that lead to low participation by women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) [3]. Our project, AI + Dance, attends to these dimensions of inequity within AI/ML education through developing our understanding of how we can equip learners to recognize and rectify issues of AI and ML systems within an inclusive and culturally sustaining experience. We explore this in collaboration with STEM From Dance1 (SFD), a non-profit organization that supports girls of color in creative production with dance, CS, and STEM. In our prior work with SFD, we developed danceON, an open-access creative coding environment that enables learners to create code to engage authentically with dance and body motion [5]. With danceON, learners can code animations that can bind and respond to body positions and be statically and dynamically positioned in space. The system provides two ways to explore AI and ML. First, it integrates a pose detection machine learning model (PoseNet [8]) that consists of body points (i.e., Left Ear, Nose, etc.) and confidence scores for these key points, which are all accessible within the code. Second, danceON enables learners to import a model trained in Google’s Teachable Machine [2] to access the probabilistic classifier to manipulate and trigger animations. While we have explored the use of danceON to enable learners to build culturally relevant artistic artifacts [5], we have yet to explore how we can teach AI and ML concepts and ethics through the use of the system. We investigate two research questions through the co-design of culturally sustaining AI/ML resources with teachers: RQ1) How can we authentically build on learners’ identities, cultural knowledge, and practices with dance as they build, explore, and critique ML and AI models and systems? RQ2) How can we leverage learners’ creative, embodied experiences with ML and AI to facilitate reflection and critique of CS and AI/ML within their communities and society more broadly? We focus on co-design as a method that facilitates sustainability through centering teachers’ values, ownership, and authentic contexts in the realization, implementation, and evaluation of learning designs [7]. Through co-designing curricular resources, we will develop a set of modules aligned with the AI4K12 guidelines [1] that builds our understanding of creating culturally sustaining educational resources to teach about AI and ethical design in ways that leverage the culturally situated, collaborative, and embodied nature of dance.

ARtonomous: Introducing Middle School Students to Reinforcement Learning Through Virtual Robotics

Abstract: Typical educational robotics approaches rely on imperative programming for robot navigation. However, with the increasing presence of AI in everyday life, these approaches miss an opportunity to introduce machine learning (ML) techniques grounded in an authentic and engaging learning context. Furthermore, the needs for costly specialized equipment and ample physical space are barriers that limit access to robotics experiences for all learners. We propose ARtonomous, a relatively low-cost, virtual alternative to physical, programming-only robotics kits. With ARtonomous, students employ reinforcement learning (RL) alongside code to train and customize virtual autonomous robotic vehicles. Through a study evaluating ARtonomous, we found that middle-school students developed an understanding of RL, reported high levels of engagement, and demonstrated curiosity for learning more about ML. This research demonstrates the feasibility of an approach like ARtonomous for 1) eliminating barriers to robotics education and 2) promoting student learning and interest in RL and ML.

“Go[ing] Hard...as a Woman of Color”: A Case Study Examining Identity Work within a Performative Dance and Computing Learning Environment

Abstract: Performing arts computing environments have received little attention in the educational sphere; yet, they offer opportunities for learners to validate their efforts, ideas, and skills through showcasing their work in a public-facing performance. In this work, we explore an out-of-school dance and computing educational program run by the organization, STEM From Dance. The organizational mission is to create an equitable learning experience for young women of color to engage with computing while exposing them to STEM careers. Through an analysis of eleven interviews with youth participants, instructors, and the executive director, we examine how the social, cultural, and political dimensions of the learning environment facilitate identity work in computing and dance. Our findings point to three primary activities used by the organization to promote equity: (1) providing psychological safety through a supportive community environment, (2) meaningfully engaging with learners’ social and cultural context through creative work with constructionist artifacts, and (3) actively promoting identity work as women of color in computing and STEM through both artifact work and community events. Applying the constructs of identity and psychological safety we explore the tensions and synergies of designing for equity in this performing arts and computing learning environment. We demonstrate how the seemingly contradictory elements of a high-stakes performance within a novice learning environment provides unique opportunities for supporting young women of color in computing, making them non-negotiable in the organization’s efforts to promote equity and inclusion. Our work illustrates how attending closely to the sociocultural dimensions in a constructionist learning environment provides lenses for navigating equity, identity work, and support for inclusive computing.