Reading Commentaries

Most sessions will have a required reading. This reading will be selected by the session's discussion lead(s) and shared with the class at least one week in advance. To expose students to high-quality research in HCI and usable security, required readings must be selected from peer-reviewed flagship venues such as ACM CHI, IEEE S&P, CSCW, or USENIX Security. The goal is to help students apply insights from these readings to their course projects. Optional readings will also be available for students who want to gain a broader understanding of how user research methods are being used in human-centered computing. A complete list of optional readings is posted on the course Canvas site. Students are expected to complete the required reading before class.

During the discussion portion of the session, student leads will introduce one or two prompts for small-group discussion. An example discussion prompt may ask: "The paper discusses the roles of designers and developers in ensuring AI safety. In your opinion, do policymakers have additional responsibilities in this area, and what might those responsibilities entail?" or "The sample was collected from U.S.-based crowd workers. What potential limitations or biases might this sampling approach introduce, and how could these affect the generalizability and interpretation of the findings?" Each group will then share their key points with the full class. Before leaving, each group must submit a brief written summary of their discussion on paper. No laptops, phones, or tablets are allowed during the student-led discussion portion of the class. The summary must include the names of all group members and will count as the reading commentary for that session.

Grading of Commentaries

The assigned grade for your reading commentary will be one of the following:

• Complete: The commentary is sufficiently detailed, and the included response demonstrates a sufficient understanding of the intellectual content of the reading (1 point). You will receive an additional 0.5 point if your commentary explicitly connects the discussion to lessons learned in the course, with a clear reference.
• Incomplete: The commentary provides incorrect, incomplete, or shallow details about the posed prompt and/or the required reading (0.25 points).

If you miss a class, you should submit your reading commentary to the TA no later than the start of the following session. However, life is full of surprises, which require flexibility. So if, for any reason, you find it challenging to submit your assignments in time, please reach out to the instructor to discuss possible accommodations. Your health and happiness are my top priorities, so if you are experiencing distress about this class (or anything else) and would like to discuss it, the instructor is always available to chat. Just let me know!