UX@UM: Connecting innovators with industry experts

What began as a conversation during a break in Professor Leslie Herrenkohl’s Fall 2021 “How People Learn” class turned into a two-day conference organized and run by SOE and School of Information graduate students. Over two days in April, UX@UM drew 245+ students, faculty, staff, and industry participants from all over U-M and the globe to explore user experience as a form of learning.

Group of conference organizers wearing name tags pose and smile for photo. — Conference leaders and volunteers. Top row (l to r): Yuxin Chen, COE, volunteer; Sydne Kasle, SOE, conference founder/leader; and In Son Zeng, SI, conference founder, and presenter. Bottom row (l to r): Xuechen Liu, SOE, conference founder/leader, presenter; Jan Christine Macasa, SOE, volunteer; Amanda Finn, SOE, volunteer; and Hann Cheng, SOE, volunteer.

"At a time when our experiences are increasingly mediated by technology, we need to be thinking about designing for equity, inclusion, and accessibility. These issues are foregrounded in conference sessions that can contribute to discussions about equitable and ethical uses of technology for human learning."

—Dr. Leslie Rupert Herrenkohl
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Person at podium presenting to group of people — Joe Lopata, Experience Director, Rock Central

"We try to conduct our research in ways that won't reproduce the status quo. We use participatory methods. This approach challenges the traditional power dynamic between researchers and research subjects."

—Devon Riter, Doctoral Student
"Exploring User Experience and Belonging in Critical STEM Education Research"

Presenters, wearing masks, standing at a podium in the front of a classroom.

"We need to think about how the ebbs and flows of technology are affecting education."

—Anjli Narwani, Doctoral Candidate
“Educational Technology Solution Design: Learning From Industry Experiences"

"A year ago, I was attending a MOOC, Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement. If it weren't for that MOOC, I wouldn’t be here. A year ago I didn’t imagine I would be at the University of Michigan. But I grew out of that MOOC. And that’s what UX really is. UX is about growing from our learning experiences."

—Aya Magdy Isaac, Graduate Student Lead Organizer
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Student presents in front of a classroom as a classmate records.

"In our study we could identify patterns in students’ comments and interaction. Do multimodal tools (like emojis) affect how a student engages with the content?"

—Megha Bairwal, LSA Undergraduate
“Research SUAVE: Exploring Educational Possibilities of the Video Annotation Tool Anotemos"

"Whose voices really matter in design and research? When we think about participatory design, it’s not just who is at that design table. It’s also about whose table are we at? And what happens at that table?"

—Dr. Angela Calabrese-Barton
“Participatory Action Research Methods for Justice-Oriented Design, Teaching, Learning, and User Experience"