The place for ubiquitous computing in schools

Abstract

With rising concerns about obesity and sedentary lifestyles in youth, there has been an increasing interest in understanding how pervasive and ubiquitous computing technologies can catalyze positive health behaviors in children and teens. School-based interventions seem like a natural choice, and ubiquitous computing technologies hold much promise for these interventions. Yet the literature contains little guidance for how to approach school-based ubicomp deployments. Grounded in our analysis of a largescale US school-based intervention for promoting youth physical activity, we present an approach to the design and evaluation of school-based ubicomp that treats the school as a social institution. We show how the school regulates students' daily lives, drawing from work in the sociology of schools to create a framing for planning, executing and analyzing school-based ubicomp deployments. These insights will assist other researchers and designers engaging in deployments of ubiquitous computing systems in settings with established institutional structures.

A Picture of Present Ubicomp Research Exploring Publications from Important Events in the Field

“…Poole et al (2011) provided guidance for introducing ubiquitous computing technologies in institutions with established norms and rules. Clinch et al (2011) reflected on how a digital signage system is used in detail (content and use related practices) and provided a set of lessons for designers of future ubicomp public display systems.…”

Mission Possible: Using Ubiquitous Social Goal Sharing Technology to Promote Physical Activity in Children

“…Furthermore, interventions targeting reduced sedentary behaviour tend to discourage highly valued behaviours, such as engagement with technology. Poole et al (2011) integrated a school-based intervention in which wireless pedometers automatically uploaded data within range of a base station and fed back data via a website. However, children did not access their data regularly and, given the sporadic nature of children's movements, were unlikely to understand what movements the activity corresponded to.…”