Practical Course Usable Security
Lecturer: Prof. Florian Alt
Persons in Charge: Katharina Barlage, Sophia Sakel
Hours per week: 4
ECTS credits: 6 (MSc)
Thema
Designing personalized interventions to combat misinformation in social media platforms
Lehrplan
The rapid development of digital technologies and the widespread use of social media have transformed how people access, interpret, and share information. At the same time, the proliferation of misinformation has introduced significant challenges for individuals and society, highlighting the need for user-centered approaches to support informed and critical engagement with digital content.
Within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), one promising direction is the design of personalized interventions that are embedded directly into social media environments. These interventions may take the form of interactive prompts, visual cues, or adaptive feedback systems that respond to users’ behaviors, preferences, and cognitive biases. By leveraging principles such as usability, transparency, and user autonomy, such systems can help users reflect on the credibility of information, make more informed decisions, and develop resilient information practices.
The main objective of this course is to explore the design, prototyping, and evaluation of personalized interventions for misinformation in social media. Students will apply user-centered design methods and critically assess the ethical and societal implications of influencing user behavior. The course aims to support the transition from passive information consumption to active, reflective, and responsible interaction with digital media.
Beschreibung
The objective of this course is to understand how interactive systems can be designed to address misinformation in social media in ways that are effective, user-centered, and ethically responsible. In particular, the course focuses on how personalized interventions can support users in critically engaging with information while preserving usability, autonomy, and trust.
The practical course focuses on applying user-centered design methods to develop novel personalized interventions for social media contexts. In small groups, participants will first ideate and design concepts for interactive systems that address misinformation and then build them as functional prototypes.
Zeitplan
- Termine: Montag, 14-16 Uhr c.t.
- Ort: Frauenlobstr. 7A, Raum 257
| Date | Task |
|---|---|
| 20.04.2026 | Introduction & Research Examples |
| tba | Individual Concept Pitches (90 seconds) + Forming Groups |
| tba | Concept Presentations in Teams (Slides, Timeline) |
| tba | Prototype Presentation (Slides) |
| tba | Intermediate Presentation 1 (Slides, Implementation) |
| tba | Final Presentations (Slides, Demo) |
| tba | Written Report |
Benotung
Die Note basiert auf einem Referat und einer Hausarbeit.
- Das Referat muss 10 bis 20 Minuten Dauern.
- Die Hausarbeit mit der LaTex Vorlage muss 20.000 - 30.000 Zeichen umfassen
Anmeldung
Interested students can apply for this practical course via the central registration process. Details on this will be published via institute's communication channels. Signing up for this course directly is not possible.
