Achievement

Pitt and CMU developed a new course entitled Quality of Life Technology Ethnography taught by Dr. Aaron Steinfeld and Dr. Diane Collins. All Pitt IGERT students took the course in its pilot semester. This immersive course teaches and demonstrates ethnographic methodology as applied to understanding context in the lives of individuals with disabilities and older adults. Students were assigned readings both on ethnographic analysis and background readings in areas as diverse as demographics, health care trends, assisted living analyses, etc. The class also examined related technology insertion cases studies. Students worked in teams to evaluate actual conditions at local facilities, and completed a term project in which they characterized specific opportunities for technological intervention.