Ask someone if they have ever been frustrated using a computer, and you'll probably be given many examples. Often this is because computer interfaces have been badly designed, and don't take account of how people think and interact with computers. This exercise turns things around, and uses a deliberately bad design to see how much people are slowed down when given clear but hard-to-process instructions. It's a lot of fun when you're deliberately tricking people, but it sheds light on how important it is that computer interfaces are created so that the user feels the computer is helping, and not hindering them.

Facilitator preparation

• Read through the guide on how to deliver CS Unplugged at a distance content.
• Go through the slides and trial them with the video conference software that you are going to present with.
• If you aren’t familiar with this unplugged activity, review the in-person version in Section 9.1 of the EdX MOOC: Teaching Computational Thinking.
• Create your coloured word list in your participants’ first language (if you use English and it’s not their first language, it can be easier to say the colours, and the point is to make it confusing!)

Supporting Resources

• Online Course (MOOC) - Teaching Computational Thinking (Section 9)
• Computer Science Field Guide - Human Computer Interaction