Amy Ogan, HCII (Advisors: Vincent Aleven, Chris Jones)
7th yr PIER*-7th yr HCII
Amy received her undergraduate degree from CMU in Spanish, HCI, and Computer Science. Most recently, she worked for the PSLC to create a guided video viewing system that increases learning through introspective discussion of cultural differences and predictive reflection on feature films. Her ultimate goals are to help instructors integrate cultural knowledge and motivation into the second language classroom, and in doing so improve language learning for students. Professionally, she would like to find a position in academia that would allow her to teach while continuing to develop her research interests.
Amy's current research is focused on teaching cultural skills through educational games. In educational games where skills are ill-defined, students may need help in getting beyond the feeling of “The game is cheating!” to make more productive attributions that allow them to focus on the learning events. Amy enjoys working on a game that is deployed in real classrooms with real students. People would be surprised to know that Amy plays tuba and is a competitive ballroom dancer (but not simultaneously).