Blog: Presenting at ACM COMPASS and Exploring Research Opportunities in India

Last month, I (Vikram) had the fantastic opportunity to attend ACM COMPASS in India. During my visit, I was able to (1) present my paper, (2) lead a workshop, and (3) take part in a field visit to rural Bihar.
 
(1) Present a paper
I had the good fortune of presenting a chapter from my PhD thesis, which was accepted into ACM COMPASS 2024. I later presented this work at MSR Research in Bangalore. My paper describes a year-long study.

Teacher professional development is crucial, but in rural areas of the Global South, infrastructural challenges often prevent the formation of traditional in-person communities of practice. These communities are essential for educators to share insights and best practices. However, the advent of digital tools like social media and chatbots offers a new way to create virtual communities, providing a solution for teachers in isolated regions.

We conducted a longitudinal quasi-experiment with 313 teachers in rural Côte d'Ivoire using Facebook Messenger chatbots to explore this potential. Two versions were deployed: one supporting a virtual community and a control version. The results showed that teachers in the virtual community condition experienced modest improvements in motivation and knowledge. These findings suggest that chatbot-supported virtual communities could be useful in enhancing teacher professional development in rural areas.

Short video: Understanding the Longitudinal Impact of a Chatbot

(2) Conducted HCI Across borders @ COMPASS 2024
I was privileged to lead a workshop designed to support early career researchers. The HCI Across Borders (HCIxB) workshop is part of a community that has evolved over seven years through collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts, focusing on connecting research and researchers on the margins across various regions of the world. Originally launched as a consortium at CHI in 2016, it has continued with workshops at CHI from 2017 to 2023. Today, HCIxB has become a shared initiative to foster a cohesive community that transcends geographical, cultural, methodological, and other boundaries. I've volunteered as the lead organizer for five years, and working with early-stage researchers has been incredibly rewarding. This year, at ACM COMPASS, we hosted a panel discussion featuring researchers at various stages of their careers. Coincidentally, it was an all-women panel, which sparked additional conversations around the experiences of early-career women in the field.

 

HCIxB Workshop at ACM COMPASS

(3) Fieldwork in Bihar
 
 
Lastly, in collaboration with colleagues from IIT Delhi and Gram Vaani, I had the opportunity to visit rural Bihar and assist in training community volunteers on an app designed to support participatory planning activities related to water bodies. The Indian government has a scheme that funds the construction and management of assets such as wells and farm ponds. The core-stack team is partnering with communities across northern India to develop an app that educates community members about these assets and introduces scientific methods for planning. My collaborators trained participants on using the app, and we later worked with some members to map assets in their respective villages.
 
 




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