A significant aspect of this work is the display technique for the user interface. One technique described by the authors is the ramping interface that expresses retrieved information in a way that minimally impacts the primary task. Picard applies machine-learning techniques to the problem of understanding human affect and she leverages the expression of affect in building responsive and appropriate interfaces to a wide variety of tasks. The next group of papers examine the theme of learning through expressing. His approach is to use constructionist activities, but while he advocates providing tools and contexts that facilitate and encourage learning through building and doing, he does not stop there.
Programming is only a means toward a greater end.
Through the use of expressive technological tools, community members have changed in their relationships with each other and the traditional media. They have developed very high expectations regarding storytelling, accountability, and process and they are addicted to discourse, design, and debate. The role of technology here is to lead the active information producer to the sharing of questions and collaborative effort in seeking answers. The authors describe an approach that uses photographs and video as a primary data source for observational inquiry. They have built a framework for students to collaborate around photographs and video, and the collaboration leads to inquiry and the development of explanations.