An HRI graduate course for exposing technologists to the importance of considering social aspects of technology

Abstract

This article illustrates how HRI can be a useful vehicle for exposing technologist students (e.g., in computer science or engineering) to social aspects of technology and to the concrete benefits that a socially aware perspective can bring to technology design, implementation, and use. The article details the strategy and layout taken with the graduate-level Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) course at the University of Manitoba, Canada, between 2011 and 2015, for the purposes of introducing students to social considerations surrounding technology. Further, this paper reflects on the results from three iterations of the course and demonstrates how students have engaged socially aware thinking and analysis in their course projects. This single, introductory HRI course can be a catalyst for encouraging socially aware thinking in technologist students.