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Instant Places is an investigation into the role of Bluetooth presence and naming as techniques for situated interaction around public displays. Our utilization of Bluetooth naming extends beyond identity representation, introducing the use of a simple instruction mechanism in which the system can recognise parts of the Bluetooth device name as explicit instructions to trigger the generation of pervasive content on situated displays. The study specifically addresses the suitability of these techniques and the type of social practices that emerged from their availability in a real setting. The results of the study, which involved the deployment of a fully functional prototype in a bar for several weeks, suggest that, despite their simplicity, these techniques were effective in their ability to sustain situated interaction around a public display and were easily and creatively appropriated for new forms of social practices.

Public-display systems are still far from being a medium for meeting people's diverse communication goals. Moving toward open displays will require publication paradigms that can overcome the challenges of meaningful engagement and enable users to fully understand and control the publication process. The metaphors of pins and posters have inspired two complementary paradigms for public displays. Researchers implemented these paradigms in the Instant Places system, which they deployed on 10 displays in diverse urban locations for six months. They collected user and system data regarding the users' practices. The findings improve the understanding of what might drive user-generated content in networks of urban displays. Such knowledge can inform the design of tools and procedures for situated publication in public displays.

This paper contributes to the understanding of how digital public displays can be utilized in schools taking into consideration educational goals. This work is part of a currently on-going research project that aims to promote students' curiosity in science and technology through creative film-making, collaborative editing activities, and content sharing. In order to explore the design space concerning digital public displays for schools' contexts, six workshops with secondary school teachers in two different countries were conducted to elicit sensitivities towards possible features and interaction techniques as well as inquire about expectations and technology adoption. Our findings suggest that teachers are receptive to the technology and were able to generate scenarios that take advantage of the possibilities offered by digital public displays to stimulate learning processes. However, there are several crucial elements regarding management and control of content that need to be carefully crafted/designed in order to accommodate each schools' organizational issues.

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