Teaching HCI in a crowded computing curriculum

This paper describes a minimalist but effective approach to teaching human-computer interaction (HCI) in an already overcrowded computing curriculum. The approach is minimalist in that it does not require a specific course on HCI. It is effective in that it a) achieves the ABET HCI criteria for information technology baccalaureate degrees; b) shows learning outcomes indicating students are effectively learning and employing sound HCI principles and practices; and c) shows that students realize both the importance and dynamic nature of HCI because they tend to do research to identify current best practices for HCI in their exercise and project work. The approach was developed by working in two directions: 1) Forward from the wealth of sound HCI materials available online; and 2) Backwards from the ACM/IEEE-CS Model IT curriculum. Main findings covered here include that a) this approach is effective; b) it fits well with both major directions of HCI and HCI education and curriculum design and implementation constraints for small colleges and universities; c) can be generalized to teaching and training HCI-related topics across the curriculum and within industry as well and d) works well within the ever-expanding educational resources and delivery options of today. Tips and recommendations for effectively embedding HCI within computing classes are recommended.