Human Computer Interaction (HCI) PhD Qualifier Spring 2022

Overview

The HCI Qualifying Exam tests students' ability to read and analyze HCI literature around a certain theme, find and analyze more literature related to that theme, synthesize their knowledge to demonstrate a deep understanding and interpretation of that literature, and develop their own novel ideas related to the theme. The format of the exam is a written response to one or more related questions in the style of a technical conference paper. There is no oral component to the exam.

Faculty Committee

Registration and Withdrawal

Students must register by emailing the chair by the commitment deadline (see below).

Students may withdraw from taking the exam at any point prior to the public release of the exam questions (see dates below). Once the exam questions are released, the exam is considered "in progress" and withdrawal is prohibited. To withdraw or to ask questions about this policy, please email the committee chair.

Registered Students

Academic Integrity

Discussions among students of the papers identified for the HCI Qualifier are reasonable (and strongly encouraged!) until the date the exam is released publicly. Once the exam questions are released, we expect all such discussions will cease as students are required to conduct their own work entirely to answer the qualifier questions. This examination is conducted under the University's Graduate Honor System Code. Students are encouraged to draw from papers other than those listed in the exam to the extent that this strengthens their arguments. However, the answers submitted must represent the sole and complete work of the student submitting the answers. Material substantially derived from other works, whether published in print or found on the web, must be explicitly and fully cited. Note that your grade will be more strongly influenced by arguments you make rather than arguments you quote or cite.

Exam Schedule

Reading List

HCI qualifier exams ask that you reflect on important areas within HCI that are relevant to the research interests of the faculty on the committee and important to HCI and Virginia Tech's Center for Human-Computer Interaction. The committee identifies a reading list of relevant and important scholarly articles within these focus areas. Students are expected to read these articles closely and familiarize themselves with the ideas, concepts, and technologies described. It is expected that many of these articles will be referenced in the written qualifier exam. It is strongly recommended that students develop an understanding of these texts through discussions with fellow students who will be taking the exam. These discussions should take place PRIOR to the exam period, as the exam must be taken individually.

The theme of this year's qualifier exam is Immersive learning in higher education: user experience, assessment and collaboration:

  1. F. Buttussi and L. Chittaro, "Effects of different types of virtual reality display on presence and learning in a safety training scenario," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 24, pp. 1063-1076, Feb. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2017.2653117
  2. A. Delamarre, C. Lisetti, and C. Buche, "A cross-platform classroom training simulator: Interaction design and evaluation," in Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Cyberworlds (CW), pp. 86-93, Sept. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CW49994.2020.00020
  3. A. Dengel, J. Buchner, M. Mulders, and J. Pirker, "Beyond the horizon: Integrating immersive learning environments in the everyday classroom," in Proceedings of the 2021 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN), pp. 1-5, May 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23919/iLRN52045.2021.9459368
  4. S. Doolani, C. Wessels, V. Kanal, C. Sevastopoulos, A. Jaiswal, H. Nambiappan, and F. Makedon, "A review of extended reality (XR) technologies for manufacturing training," Technologies, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 77, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies8040077
  5. C. Fowler, "Virtual reality and learning: Where is the pedagogy?," British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 412-422, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12135
  6. X. Geng and M. Yamada, "The development and evaluation of an augmented reality learning system for Japanese compound verbs using learning analytics," in Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE), pp. 71-76, Dec. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TALE48869.2020.9368345
  7. G. Makransky and G. B. Petersen, "The cognitive affective model of immersive learning (CAMIL): a theoretical research-based model of learning in immersive virtual reality," Educational Psychology Review, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 937-958, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09586-2
  8. Z. Merchant, E. T. Goetz, L. Cifuentes, W. Keeney-Kennicutt, and T. J. Davis, "Effectiveness of virtual reality-based instruction on students' learning outcomes in K-12 and higher education: A meta-analysis," Computers & Education, vol. 70, pp. 29-40, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.07.033
  9. N. Pellas, A. Dengel, and A. Christopoulos, "A scoping review of immersive virtual reality in STEM education," IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, vol. 13, pp. 748-761, Oct. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TLT.2020.3019405
  10. G. B. Petersen, A. Mottelson, and G. Makransky, "Pedagogical agents in educational VR: An in the wild study," in Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, (New York), pp. 1-12, Association for Computing Machinery, May 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445760
  11. J. Radianti, T. A. Majchrzak, J. Fromm, and I. Wohlgenannt, "A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda," Computers & Education, vol. 147, p. 103778, Apr. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103778
  12. R. Skarbez, F. P. Brooks, Jr., and M. C. Whitton, "A survey of presence and related concepts," ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 50, pp. 1-39, Jan. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3134301
  13. S. Tan, "The rise of immersive learning," Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, vol. 2, pp. 91-94, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2019.2.2
  14. E. Wenger, "A social theory of learning," in Contemporary Theories of Learning (K. Illeris, ed.), ch. 16, pp. 219-228, Routledge, 2nd ed., 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315147277
  15. W. Winn, "Learning in artificial environments: Embodiment, embeddedness and dynamic adaptation," Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 87-114, 2003. Publisher site: http://www.oldcitypublishing.com/journals/ticl-home/ticl-issue-contents/ticl-volume-1-number-1-2003/ticl-1-1-p-87-114/

Additional reference material:

  1. C. V. Gipps, Beyond Testing: Towards a Theory of Educational Assessment. Routledge education classic edition series, New York: Taylor & Francis Group, classic ed., 2011. Publisher site: https://www.routledge.com/Beyond-Testing-Classic-Edition-Towards-a-theory-of-educational-assessment/Gipps/p/book/9780415689564
  2. R. Hartson and P. Pyla, UX Book: Agile UX Design for a Quality User Experience. Cambridge, MA: Morgan Kaufmann, second ed., 2019. Publisher site: https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-ux-book/hartson/978-0-12-805342-3
  3. M. J. W. Lee, M. Georgieva, B. Alexander, E. Craig, and J. Richter, "The state of XR and immersive learning: Outlook report 2021," 2021.

Question

Write a research proposal paper on a topic related to Immersive learning in higher education: user experience, assessment and collaboration. The goal of the paper is to identify problems and propose research related to specific issues, subjects, courses and your personal experiences and expectations.

The proposal should be centered around one or more clearly stated research question(s). Motivate and explicitly state your research question(s) in the introduction of the paper. Be sure that your proposed research actually addresses these questions.

The proposal should also include at least the following components:

Be explicit about the proposed contributions of your work and where your emphasis lies.

Submission

Submit your paper in PDF format (use Formating Guidelines for VGTC Conference Style Papers) by email to the committee chair. The length of the paper must be at least 6 pages but no more than 8 pages (without references). Submissions are due by 11:59 PM EST on 19 January 2022.

Assessment

After the written examination, the examining faculty will determine the student's score for the examination process. The score is between 0-3 points, depending on the student's performance on the written exam. (Note that there is no oral exam for the HCI qualifier.) These points may be applied toward the total score necessary to qualify for the Ph.D. The assessment criteria, as defined by GPC, are as follows.

Prime factors for assessment include being able to distinguish good work from poor work, and explain why; being able to synthesize the body of work into an assessment of the state-of-the-art on a problem (as indicated by the collection of papers); being able to identify open problems and suggest future work.