Study Details:

Dr. Elliott Hedman is giving a talk at SXSW Edu on why we need to start listening to High School and College kids about how they use AI and how they want their writing assignments want to change. He has also bene co-creating with students an app: Level Up that gives Writing Feedback in a very different way than ChatGPT.

Interviews will last an hour. We will ask you to try out a new writing app during the interview.

The entire interview will be anonymous, and you can decide what parts you are okay sharing or not.

Rolling Admissions - We will be conducting interviews across multiple months. We will be inviting a small group of students to participate each week and will email you when you have been selected.

Our study will be done either online, at our lab in Boulder, Colorado, or at a place of your choosing in Colorado.

If your comfortable with it, we would like to have you wear emotional sensors while we interview you, that help show parts that are most important to you.

If you have any questions, please contact hedman@buildempathy.com.

Please Share:

We are testing lots of students. We especially want to interview students who are using GenAI to “do” their assignments.

Free Writing Tutoring:

If you are working on a paper, Dr. Elliott Hedman, wants to help you on the writing assignment. To this extent, he is offering an optional, additional 30 minutes of free tutoring after your interview.

About the Researchers:

This research is being conducted by mPath, a Boulder based research company. The head researcher is Dr. Elliott Hedman. Elliott earned his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab where he worked on making better emotional experiences for students with technology. Elliott has been a literacy teacher at the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver and Denver Public School’s after school club.

mPath has helped companies like Starbucks, Hasbro, Lowe’s, Best Buy, and many other’s better understand their customers through user research and co-creation. At mPath, we use sensors, eye tracking, and other ethnographic methods to help children and adults better tell their experiences. You can find out more about mPath at www.buildempathy.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the study start?

February 19, 2025

What grades are you recruiting?

13 -22

If I apply do I have to do the study?

No. We will send a second email if you are selected for you to pick a time. You can opt out at that time or any other time.

An emotional sensor?

Yes. We have an emotional sensor made at MIT that measure’s important moments for students. It’s not invasive, and is worn on the foot. You can find out more at www.buildempathy.com . If you do not want to wear the sensor you will not have to.

Where will this study take place?

The study will take place at your home, a community center, or at our research facility in Boulder, or online.

What Covid-19 Precautions will you be taking?

All researchers are vaccinated.

Where can I sign up to find out about future opportunities like this one?

In the application, you can sign up to be emailed about future research opportunities.

Who are these researchers?

The research group running this is called mPath. mPath is a design research company that works with families and children to better understand what they want.

You’ll likely be working with the founder of mPath, Dr. Elliott Hedman. Dr. Hedman earned his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab where he studied how to measure the emotions of children. He works at the Denver Public Schools and Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Denver.

You can find out more about them at www.buildempathy.com