About me
I am PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, working under the supervision of Joanna McGrenere as a member of the Imager Laboratory for Graphics, Visualization, and HCI. I have a Master's degree in Computer Science, which is also from UBC (2004). My Bachelor's Degree is in Computer Engineering from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UBC (2001).
Research
My research is in the area of human computer interaction with a focus on the design of inclusive technology. I am particularly interested in technologies that empower us beyond our current capabilities, especially in the context of enabling older or disabled individuals. I am also interested in human perception, educational technology, adaptive interfaces, mobile devices, and ubiquitous computing.
For my PhD thesis, I have been investigating methods for increasing the accessibility of pen-based technology (such as Tablet PCs) for older adults. Technology is increasingly being promoted as a means of addressing age-related cognitive and sensory impairments and enabling older adults to live more independently. Pen-based technologies are appealing for these endeavors because they allow users to take full advantage of their hand-eye coordination skills in a familiar form of interaction. However, the majority of pen-based interaction research has focused on young healthy adults, and as a result, many older adults experience difficulties interacting with these devices. I have adopted a broader approach, where I first gathered information on the underlying causes of target acquisition difficulties across a range of motor abilities and selection tasks. I am now using those findings to guide the design of new interaction techniques to better support pen-based target acquisition across a range of users.
My Master's research looked at how high level computer applications can be designed for people with aphasia, an acquired language disorder with relative sparing of other cognitive abilities. Individual language abilities and impairments can vary greatly among the 1.1 million North Americans with aphasia, due to relative impairments across the four language modalities (speaking, reading, writing, and auditory comprehension). Through the design of a daily planner application, I explored the difficulties of designing for this population. ESI Planner, the Enhanced with Sound and Images Planner, uses triplets of images, sound, and text to represent appointment data, allowing aphasic users to independently manage their appointments using a PDA.
Contact
Department of Computer ScienceUniversity of British Columbia
201-2366 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Canada
E-mail: kmoffatt at cs dot ubc dot ca