My teaching philosophy is to facilitate learning such that students can experience that moment of joy when they find that bit of information to help it all make sense!
The University of Dundee has a focus on teaching Computing Science within the context of usability and accessibility, so that we can graduate socially-aware developers that can contribute to industry and society at large in meaningful and constructive ways. See my paper entitled Weaving Accessibility Through an Undergraduate Degree to find out more about our structure and process.
I am currently teaching on the following topics, across different years of undergraduate and MSc programmes.
Human Computer Interaction
I teach students about how technology has been developed over time with influence from areas such as ergonomics, cognitive psychology and electronics. We discuss the influence that history has had and the influence that we can have on the future. From an industry perspective, we explore the Web Consortium Accessibility Guidelines to consider how those with disabilities can experience software and services.
User Experience
In this class, I lead students through The Sprint Method (Jake Knapp). While exploring this methodology we take some detours to explore concepts such as paper prototyping, design patterns, dark UX and user testing. Working in teams we develop new prototype products and use industry standard software (e.g. Axure) further develop these into high-fidelity prototypes.
Research Methods
I teach students a variety of research methods including both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the scientific exploration of HCI. In particular, I teach qualitative research methods to MSc level students, with a focus on the generation of research questions, practical implementation of studies and the analysis of data. We have a focus on limitations of qualitative research, which helps us to put it into cultural contexts.
Introduction to Programming
The initial steps in a programming journey are the most important, with these forming the basis of learning future languages. I teach first year students and MSc students who do not have previous experience of programming – we use a variety of tools and languages, with a focus on the underlying programming principles.