Section: Overall Objectives

But tools also designed for analytic use

Engelbart believed in the coevolution of humans and their tools. He was not just interested in designing a personal computer but also in changing people, to radically improve the way we manage complexity. The human side of this coevolutionary process has been largely ignored by the computing industry which has focused on the development of walk-up-and-use interfaces for novice users. As a result of this focus on initial performance, we are trapped in a “beginner mode” of interaction with a low performance ceiling [5]. People find it acceptable to spend considerable amounts of time learning and practising all sorts of skills. We want to tap into these resources to develop digital skills. We must accept that new powerful tools might not support immediate transparent use and thus require attention. Heidegger used the term vorhanden (present-at-hand) to characterize the analytic relation to things that not only occurs when learning about them, but also when handling breakdowns, when they change or need to be adapted, or when teaching others how to use them. Analytic use is unavoidable and its interplay with transparent use is essential to tool accommodation and appropriation  [47]. We want to study this interplay.