dishita turakhia

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In the last decade, the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has made significant strides in designing systems that support the learning of hands-on creative skills. These systems have aimed to lower the entry barrier for beginners and provide support for novices in acquiring skills such as motor skills, fabrication, circuit prototyping, and design. However, there is a need to reorient the design of these systems around the learner, the instructor, and the learning processes instead of centering them solely around enabling technologies. My research, at the intersection of system design, learning sciences, and technologies, aims to develop such learner-centric HCI systems for skill learning. 

One approach to support autodidactic learning is through adaptive learning, which involves adapting the difficulty of training tasks according to the learner's skill levels. By maintaining the difficulty at an optimal challenge point, learners have the highest potential for skill acquisition. In my research, I have utilized the framework of adaptive learning to design physical tools that support the learning of motor skills.  User studies showed that adaptive learning led to statistically significant higher learning gains compared to static and manually adaptive methods. I am expanding this work for skill learning in augmented reality to enhance the learners' performances by adapting task difficulty in real time. 

Reflection is a powerful learning tool that allows learners to analyze successful and unsuccessful attempts at a task, leading to a deeper understanding and improved learning outcomes. To leverage the potential of reflection for maker-skill learning, I am developing a toolkit for experts and educators to design reflection exercises for novice learners in makerspaces. This toolkit facilitates the integration of reflection prompts during fabrication activities, sensing user activities, recording reflections, and analyzing data on the learning stages. I am also extending this idea to augmented reality environments, where learners can engage in reflection-based learning through immersive experiences. 

Games have proven to be engaging and effective tools for teaching various subjects to young learners. However, their potential for teaching fabrication skills, such as laser cutting and 3D printing, has not been fully explored. To address this, I have developed a framework for integrating fabrication events within existing video games. This framework utilizes computer vision techniques to detect and tag fabrication events, generating fabrication files for game objects. Through user studies, I have demonstrated the potential of using games to make the learning of fabrication skills engaging and enjoyable for young learners. 

I am always looking for research and entrepreneurial opportunities related to design, emerging technologies, or HCI. Looking to connect with other curious minds to initiate innovative projects! 

Contact: dishita[at]mit[dot]edu