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Debora Lui

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Papers by Debora Lui

Social Networks in Advertising and Marketing

Social networking sites rely on the joint collaboration of members, creators, and sponsors. An im... more Social networking sites rely on the joint collaboration of members, creators, and sponsors. An implicit contract exists between these three parties; members provide content, while creators and sponsors provide the virtual environment enabling connections and interaction.. This joint effort, multiple creative sources, and dynamic content make social networking sites somewhat more difficult to define and categorize than more traditional media. At the same time, social networks offer the promise of better-defined and targetable audiences for advertising, along with the power to spread their endorsement to dozens of friends almost instantaneously. This aspect of social networking sites is extremely promising as a marketing and advertising tool, but there are few examples of it being harnessed in genuinely effective ways. It is not that people necessarily dislike advertising, but their demand for both relevance and entertainment value in exchange for their endorsement seems to be quite high. These communities often operate by their own rules, however, of which marketers must be aware. As de facto co-creators, members feel a strong connection with the site itself. Users of these sites resemble fan communities in many ways, often of the social networking site itself. Participants in social networks are similarly invested in the nature of the community. Behavior in a social network often parallels users' interactions with others in real life, and when the usual rhythms are threatened, they will speak up, even defecting to another venue if they feel they are being pushed to conform in ways they do not agree with. This paper explores how social networking sites can be used to increase engagement with media properties and brands by discussing how brands and producers foster stronger, more active, more engaged relationships with their consumers, who are now increasingly powerful word of mouth marketers and, to varying degrees, producers of content in their own right.

A Revaluation of How We Think about Making: Examining Assembly Practices and Artifact Imagination in Biomaking

Proceedings of FabLearn 2019, 2019

While much research focused on making emphasizes digital and tangible media, few studies have exp... more While much research focused on making emphasizes digital and tangible media, few studies have explored making with biology, or biomaking, where people use cells as fabrication units to grow or "make" desired materials for designing real world applications. This lack is especially glaring considering how biomaking and related industries are often aligned with a growing push toward sustainable production as a way of addressing the pressing environmental issues of the day. In order address how maker frameworks could be used as a productive way of bringing biomaking into K-12 contexts, we report on the design and implementation of a biomaking workshop where teams of high school students both assembled a physical biosensor and imagined applications for this technology to address real world issues. Using classroom observations, analysis of classroom projects, and focus group interviews, we examined student experiences and perceptions of these activities in order to ask: What the...

A Maker Studio Model for High School Classrooms: The Nature and Role of Critique in an Electronic Textiles Design Project

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2019

Background/Context Though the maker movement has proliferated in out-of-school settings, there re... more Background/Context Though the maker movement has proliferated in out-of-school settings, there remains a design challenge of how to effectively integrate maker activities into K–12 classrooms. In other contexts, though, creative design and production have historically been successfully integrated in classrooms through studio models common to the arts, architecture, and engineering. Purpose/Objective In this paper, we leverage the features and practices of studio models from arts, architecture, and engineering education to integrate maker activities in a high school classroom. Within this Maker Studio model, students focus on designing a computational artifact and engage in practices more predominantly found in studio arts, architecture, and engineering classes such as feedback, critique, and reflection. Research Design We conducted a case study of how a class of 23 high school students participating in a STEM elective class in teams partnered with art students to develop an interact...

Framing Computational Thinking for Computational Literacies in K-12 Education

The last decade has seen an increased interest in promoting computing education for all, focused ... more The last decade has seen an increased interest in promoting computing education for all, focused on the idea of "computational thinking." Currently, three framings for promoting computational thinking in K-12 education have been proposed, emphasizing either (1) skill and competency building, (2) creative expression and participation, or (3) social justice and reflection. While each of these emphases is valuable and needed, their narrow focus can obscure important issues and miss critical transformational opportunities for empowering students as competent, creative, and critical agents. We argue that these computational framings should be seen as literacies, thereby historicizing and situating computer science with respect to broader educational concerns and providing new directions for how schools can help students to actively participate in designing their digital futures.

The gender and race of pixels

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games

Most of the previous research has focused on gendered or racial representations in either game pl... more Most of the previous research has focused on gendered or racial representations in either game playing or making contexts. In this paper, we adopt an intersectional perspective by examining gender and race identity representations and constructions within Minecraft, a sandbox game, popular with millions of youth. Our research focuses not only on game play and construction but also examines gender and racial representations within the larger metagaming community, in particular online YouTube video postings and a public gaming convention. In the discussion, we address gender, race, and intersectional identity representation across Minecraft's ecology in how these representations on and offline are influenced by and impact youth gamers along with ways to prevent Minecraft from becoming an exclusionary space.

Personal Embodiment, Social Enactment: Collaborative Learning With Body Technology

The gender and race of pixels: an exploration of intersectional identity representation and construction within minecraft and its community

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, 2017

Most of the previous research has focused on gendered or racial representations in either game pl... more Most of the previous research has focused on gendered or racial representations in either game playing or making contexts. In this paper, we adopt an intersectional perspective by examining gender and race identity representations and constructions within Minecraft, a sandbox game, popular with millions of youth. Our research focuses not only on game play and construction but also examines gender and racial representations within the larger metagaming community, in particular online YouTube video postings and a public gaming convention. In the discussion, we address gender, race, and intersectional identity representation across Minecraft's ecology in how these representations on and offline are influenced by and impact youth gamers along with ways to prevent Minecraft from becoming an exclusionary space.

The State of the Field in Computational Thinking Assessment

While interest in computational thinking (CT) education has grown globally in the past decade, th... more While interest in computational thinking (CT) education has grown globally in the past decade, there lacks a single unified definition of CT. This can pose significant challenges for researchers, teachers, and policy makers trying to decide which assessment methods are appropriate for their specific CT interventions. Rather than trying to create a single unified definition of CT, this symposium brings together a broad spectrum of leading CT researchers to share what CT means for them, how it influenced their learning designs, and the methods for assessing CT learning. This interactive session will showcase these different views of CT in a single place and serve as a rich opportunity for comparison and discussion.

When a Glove Becomes a Gun

Proceedings of the FabLearn 2020 - 9th Annual Conference on Maker Education

Design Considerations for Capturing Computational Thinking Practices in High School Students' Electronic Textile Portfolios

Assessing computational thinking in making has proven a challenge, in part because student creati... more Assessing computational thinking in making has proven a challenge, in part because student creations are innately diverse and unique. In this paper we consider portfolios as a way to document and assess students’ learning processes in the context of designing electronic textile (e-textile) projects. We describe students’ use of portfolios at the end of an introductory computing course, Exploring Computer Science, during which 33 students created a series of electronic textile (e-textile) projects as part of a new curricular unit. Our analysis not only illuminates the capability of portfolios to capture computational practices and certain concepts, but also reveals students’ lack of effective use of non-textual evidence in their narrations. We consider the affordances and limitations of portfolios for supporting student reflection and metacognition of their own learning as well improvements that could be made to scaffold students’ communication and use of visual evidence in more effe...

Neon signs, underground tunnels and Chinese American identity : the many dimension of visual Chinatown

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2008.

Affordances of Digital, Textile and Living Media for Designing and Learning Biology in K-12 Education

In this symposium we are examining the affordances that particular materials hold for supporting... more In this symposium we are examining the affordances that particular materials hold for supporting learning biology inside and outside of school along three dimensions: (1) digital materials that encompass screens and software through which students can interact, (2) textile materials that allow students to wear bodysuits that can help them visualize physical movements on interactive displays, and (3) interactive materials that allow students to interact with living microorganisms through games in science museums or through computational models that students design and test against the real data in science classrooms. Panelists will discuss how affordances of tinkerability (messing around), perceptibility (seeing results), expressivity (customizing experiences), and usability (using outcomes) entered into their considerations when designing and studying of environments, games, and design activities for interacting and learning with biology.

Student Maker Portfolios: Promoting Computational Communication and Reflection in Crafting E-Textiles

Maker activities have a strong focus on creating artifacts as a rich context for learning but off... more Maker activities have a strong focus on creating artifacts as a rich context for learning but offer few opportunities for student makers to articulate and reflect on their acts of learning and making. Yet beyond artifact creation, acts of communication enable novice makers to reflect on their learning and share their ideas and resources with larger creative communities. In this paper we report on our iterative design of a portfolio assessment intended to support computational communication alongside students' electronic textile productions. The portfolio was implemented as part of an electronic textiles curricular unit in ten computer science classrooms (N=237 students). We discuss our initial impetus for designing the portfolio as well as the revisions made along the way based on analysis of students' differing motivations and capacities for communicating about their projects, both textually and visually. We report on which design features best supported students' maker...

Biohacking Food: A Case Study of Science Inquiry and Design Reflections about a Synthetic Biology High School Workshop

In synthetic biology scientists genetically modify—or biohack—cells in order to repurpose their f... more In synthetic biology scientists genetically modify—or biohack—cells in order to repurpose their function or products. While synthetic biology is gaining societal relevance, few opportunities exist for K-12 students to have actual biodesign or biohacking experiences. We developed and implemented a workshop in which high school students genetically modified and repurposed yeast to produce and deliver vitamin A. Analyzing workshop observations and interviews of focus groups, we addressed the following research questions: (1) How did biodesign activities reflect science practices as characterized in national science standards? and (2) What did students have to say about their experiences with bio-design activities? We also discuss what we learned about facilitating and improving biodesign in K-12 classrooms.

Evaluating Pop Culture Museum Engagements: Pedagogies of, about, and with Harry Potter

Blockbuster museum exhibits which focus on popular media have been on the rise in recent years, r... more Blockbuster museum exhibits which focus on popular media have been on the rise in recent years, ranging from Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination (2005) to the Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition (2009). While these exhibits bring in much goal of public education? In this paper, I address this question by examining the pedagogical contributions of a variety of Harry Potter-related 1 museum engagements. Questions surrounding these particular museum engagements are inextricably bound to questions regarding the educational value of popular culture and mass media itself. This paper connects recent developments within museum learning and education (namely, an increased focus on constructivist-based learning and interactive exhibitions) and media literacy/new literacy studies (namely, an understanding of media and cultural literacy from a sociocultural explore not only what content is learned through these pop culture museum engagements, but also the methods and processes through which this occurs. In turn, this analysis may enable a reconceptualization of the role of museums within the cultural life of the community as we move further into the 21st century.

Situating the 'maker movement': Tracing the implementation of an educational trend within public libraries

Rising in popularity in last decade, the “Maker Movement” is a technologically enhanced extension... more Rising in popularity in last decade, the “Maker Movement” is a technologically enhanced extension of the DoIt-Yourself (DIY) movement, which focuses on the use of novel technologies such as 3-D printers and microcontrollers for the creation of personalized projects. In addition to commercial growth within this area, educational practitioners and researchers have also embraced making, often heralding as the best new way of revitalizing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in the United States. With the explosion of maker-based programs for youth ranging from university classes to after-school programs, most research on educational making focuses on the question of learning and pedagogy. This dissertation, however, takes a broader look at these processes by attempting to understand the institutional and sociological contexts in which this educational trend is implemented. Through a 16-month ethnography of two educational maker programs within a suburban an...

Communicating about computational thinking: understanding affordances of portfolios for assessing high school students’ computational thinking and participation practices

Computer Science Education

ABSTRACT Background and Context: While assessment of computational thinking concepts, practices, ... more ABSTRACT Background and Context: While assessment of computational thinking concepts, practices, and perspectives is at the forefront of K-12 CS education, supporting student communication about computation has received relatively little attention. Objective: To examine the usability of process-based portfolios for capturing students’ communication about their computational practices regarding the process of making electronic textile projects. Method: We examined the portfolios of 248 high school students in 15 introductory CS classrooms from largely underserved communities, using a formal rubric (top-down) to code computational communication and an open-coding scheme (bottom-up) to identify computational practices described. Findings: Students demonstrated stronger abilities to communicate about computation using text than visuals. They also reported under-assessed CT practices like debugging, iterating, and collaborating. Students of experienced e-textile teachers performed substantially better than those with novice e-textile teachers. Implications: Portfolios provide a viable addition to traditional performance or survey assessments and meet a need to promote communication skills.

Reflections on Pair E-Crafting: High School Students' Approaches to Collaboration in Electronic Textiles Projects

Pair programming is one of the most popular and successful collaborative learning activities in c... more Pair programming is one of the most popular and successful collaborative learning activities in computer science education wherein students organized in pairs alternate between writing and guiding coding on the screen. In this paper, we examine a complementary approach by taking pair programming into a tangible space where pairs coded lights and sensors of an Arduino-based microcontroller, designed programmable and functional circuits, and sewed an electronic textile. We analyzed the reflections of 23 students, who worked in pairs over a series of fifteen 90-minute workshop sessions, about their experiences collaborating and communicating across the different domains of e-textiles creation (e.g., design, circuitry, coding, and crafting). Student perceptions highlighted potential causes of these interactions across these multiple domains, which are distinct from pair programming activities. In the discussion, we address how these perceptions inform the design and development of more ...

Teaching Computational Thinking with Electronic Textiles: Modeling Iterative Practices and Supporting Personal Projects in Exploring Computer Science

Computational Thinking Education

Iterative design is an important aspect of computational thinking in which students learn to face... more Iterative design is an important aspect of computational thinking in which students learn to face challenges and persevere in fixing them. Yet we know little of how school teachers can support students in using iterative practices. In this chapter, we consider the teaching practices of two experienced computer science teachers who implemented a new 8-week long unit on making electronic textiles in their classrooms. Electronic textiles are sewn, programmable circuits with sensors and actuators on personal artifacts that provide various opportunities to learn through mistakes. Through analyses of observations and interviews with students and teachers who implemented the unit, we identified several teaching practices that supported values of iteration, revision, and working through mistakes. These included teachers modeling their own processes and mistakes in making projects, teachers modeling students' mistakes to the wider class, and supporting personalized projects that resulted in unique "bugs" or challenges for each student. After sharing examples of these practices, we consider student and teacher reflections on the ways that mistakes and iteration supported student learning.

A Maker Studio Model for High School Classrooms: The Nature and Role of Critique in an Electronic Textiles Design Project

Teachers College Record, 2019

Background/Context: Though the maker movement has proliferated in out-of-school settings, there r... more Background/Context: Though the maker movement has proliferated in out-of-school settings, there remains a design challenge of how to effectively integrate maker activities into K-12 classrooms. In other contexts, though, creative design and production have historically been successfully integrated in classrooms through studio models common to the arts, architecture, and engineering.