article

Shared family calendars: Promoting symmetry and accessibility

Authors:

Catherine Plaisant,

Hilary Browne Hutchinson,

Benjamin B. Bederson, and

Allison DruinAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), Volume 13, Issue 3

Pages 313 - 346

https://doi.org/10.1145/1183456.1183458

Published: 01 September 2006 Publication History

Abstract

We describe the design and use of a system facilitating the sharing of calendar information between remotely located, multi-generational family members. Most previous work in this area involves software enabling younger family members to monitor their parents. We have found, however, that older adults are equally if not more interested in the activities of younger family members. The major obstacle preventing them from participating in information sharing is the technology itself. Therefore, we developed a multi-layered interface approach that offers simple interaction to older users. In our system, users can choose to enter information into a computerized calendar or write it by hand on digital paper calendars. All of the information is automatically shared among everyone in the distributed family. By making the interface more accessible to older users, we promote symmetrical sharing of information among both older and younger family members. We present our participatory design process, describe the user interface, and report on an exploratory field study in three households of an extended family.

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Chen BLi X(2024)Understanding Socio-technical Opportunities for Enhancing Communication Between Older Adults and their Remote FamilyProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642318(1-16)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Index Terms

Shared family calendars: Promoting symmetry and accessibility
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction devices
      1. Touch screens
    2. Interaction paradigms
  2. Interaction design
    1. Interaction design process and methods
      1. User centered design

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction Volume 13, Issue 3

September 2006

114 pages

ISSN:1073-0516

EISSN:1557-7325

DOI:10.1145/1183456

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Copyright © 2006 ACM.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 September 2006

Published in TOCHI Volume 13, Issue 3

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642318
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