In this paper, we evaluate the performance and experience differences between direct touch and mouse input on horizontal and vertical surfaces using a simple application and several validated scales. We find that, not only are both speed and accuracy improved when using the multi-touch display over a mouse, but that participants were happier and more engaged. They also felt more competent, in control, related to other people, and immersed. Surprisingly, these results cannot be explained by the intuitiveness of the controller, and the benefits of touch did not come at the expense of perceived workload. Our work shows the added value of considering experience in addition to traditional measures of performance, and demonstrates an effective and efficient method for gathering experience during interaction with surface applications. We conclude by discussing how an understanding of this experience can help in designing touch applications.

This work presents a design space in which personal devices are used as a means to facilitate "socially safe", ad-hoc interaction with large public displays. Unlike most existing work that focuses on facilitating content placement and transfer, this approach aims at minimizing the effort required to initiate, sustain, and withdraw from interaction with a large public display, and to communicate these capabilities to passersby. We identify barriers hindering this process, and offer advice on overcoming them based on existing work and our own experiences with these displays. We illustrate how this design concept can be applied, and motivate applications in other domains.

We present Above Water -a digital/physical hybrid game to inform people about the available strategies to cope with two types of Anxiety Disorders -Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder. The game teaches players about existing treatments. This hybrid game is designed to inspire players to share their experiences and develop their own personal narrative. The document also outlines an assessment strategy to study the game and determine its effectiveness as a game for health. The game is designed to educate non-institutionalized individuals with clinical anxiety and panic disorder. Potential players may be diagnosed, seeking intervention information, or a supportive friend.

Many courses require self-study to succeed. This is especially true of online courses. However, self-study activities, such as reading the textbook and completing the associated workbook, are not motivating and do not contribute directly to grades. As a result many students do not complete these activities and this may lead to a lower understanding of the material and a lower overall grade in the class. In this paper we present the prototype of a casual game, Reading Garden, which encourages self-study through casual gameplay.

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