mostly, i like to try out stuff. i’ve worked in interaction design, trying to find how people really (want to) interact with technology, and exploring new forms of interaction. i’ve dabbled in personal manufacturing, trying to understand the potential impact of things like 3D-printing. i’ve been trying out new forms of teaching and learning with approaches like the radical portfolio.

recent work

recently, my work focusses mostly on molding a new form of introduction to computer science titled ways of thinking in informatics. The original concept is the result of a collaboration with Chris Frauenberger and has grown over the years thanks to contributions from a lot of people.

one of the things i do in this effort is working with naemi luckner (and others) to develop games aligned with the content of ways of thinking in informatics. contrary to many other learning games these games are (a) analog games (card and board games) and (b) they are actually good games that engage you in interesting, entertaining activities. we produce these games ourselves, with financial help from the rectorate. we maintain an online-inventory of our current game stash.

also, i’m in the process of writing a book with that same title, ways of thinking in informatics. i would post an online progress bar if i had any idea how far into the process i am 🤷

other research interests

i’ve been teaching and doing research in various aspects of ICT and society for many years. this has, among other things, led to me being a mentor of responsible research practices at TU wien for the faculty of informatics, and a member of the research ethics comittee at TU wien. since responsible thinking is part of the aforementioned ways of thinking in informatics course, this all ties together nicely.

i believe that research in STS (science–technology–society) falls short if it only focusses on only understanding issues; just trying to understand problems is a bottomless pit. in order to have any impact, STS researchers have to engage in the creation/(re)design/implementation of technology by transforming their understanding into any form of explorative/experimental development and thus grounding the insights in reality. this ties back into the »i like to try out stuff«; also, you can see where the ways of thinking in informatics come from: i see informatics as a transdisciplinary field. as a young discipline, it has a history of piggybacking off of other, more established fields like math, engineering, social sciences or design, incorporating their methodologies and expanding on them. in this sense, i think informatics is best described as an immigration discipline.

Some science i wrote

part of my understanding in this position is that i should enage not only in scientifc but also public outreach. following my idea of informatics as a field of many disciplines, i do not shy away from talking at all kinds of different events, conferences and research groups. also, i sometimes get invited to radio shows, podcasts and sometimes even to TV. these are a couple of talks and/or recordings from the recent past:

i love to teach, and i teach a lot. find some selected courses here. you can find all my courses by using TISS search.

throughout the years, i won the occasional teaching award.