Pen and Paper Computing: an old technology in a modern world

A talk by Nadir Weibel from the University of California San Diego - Monday January 30th 2012, Room RLC D1 761 - Access to information is one of the most crucial aspects of everyday life. As computation becomes ubiquitous and our environment is enriched with new possibilities for communication and interaction, the existing infrastructure of science, business, and social interaction is confronted with the difficult challenges of supporting complex tasks, mediating networked interactions, and managing the increasing availability of digital information and technology. Despite the tremendous development in terms of both new digital devices and novel interaction techniques that we all witnessed during the last years, it is almost unbelievable how paper documents and pen-based interaction still represent a very important way of interacting with both physical and digital information spaces. In an effort of re-thinking what pen and paper user interfaces (PPUI) mean in a modern world, we are studying multi-modal interactions with a range of tangible devices at the intersection of the physical and the digital worlds. We do this in a variety of settings, spanning healthcare, accessibility, observational research, social networks, augmented office environments, and communication for early education, older adults and other specific populations. In this talk I will present my latest research around pen- and paper-computing, looking at how multimodal interaction with this "old" technology enables a range of novel affordances and supports communication and interaction.