Hi! I'm a full-stack software engineer and UX researcher who likes to build useful applications and tackle challenging problems in interaction design.
In my recent research, I've developed experimental new approaches to software customization in educational technology.
In 2022, I defended my PhD in Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, supervised by Dr. Parmit Chilana and Dr. Joanna McGrenere.
A platform for educators to discover, share, and experiment with useful classroom software customizations
A browser-based strategy game built in 48 hours for a game jam (collab with Nathaniel Hudson)
A community-curated platform for contextual help, with a visual tutorial generator for web applications
An art & visualization tool for exploring various fractals within the browser
CHI 2022
Laton Vermette, Kavana Ramesh, Joanna McGrenere, and Parmit K. Chilana
@inproceedings{Vermette2022Uncovering, author = {Vermette, Laton and Ramesh, Kavana and McGrenere, Joanna and Chilana, Parmit K.}, title = {Uncovering Instructors' Diverse Practices and Perceptions: A Field Deployment of a Customization-Sharing Platform That Supports Course Management}, year = {2022}, isbn = {9781450391573}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3501846}, doi = {10.1145/3491102.3501846}, abstract = {Instructors regularly learn and customize various feature-rich software applications to meet their unique classroom needs. Although instructors often prefer social help from colleagues to navigate this complex and time-consuming learning process, it can be difficult for them to locate relevant task-specific customizations, a challenge only exacerbated by the transition to online teaching due to COVID-19. To mitigate this, we explored how instructors could use an example-based customization sharing platform to discover, try, and appropriate their colleagues' customizations within a learning management system (LMS). Our field deployment study revealed diverse ways that ten instructors from different backgrounds used customization sharing features to streamline their workflows, improve their LMS feature awareness, and explore new possibilities for designing their courses to match student expectations. Our findings provide new knowledge about customization sharing practices, highlighting the complex interplay of expertise, software learnability, domain-specific workflows, and social perceptions.}, booktitle = {CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems}, articleno = {249}, numpages = {15}, keywords = {personalization, educational technology, digital classroom tools, software customization, learning management systems, customization sharing}, location = {New Orleans, LA, USA}, series = {CHI '22} }
L@S 2021
Kavana Ramesh, Laton Vermette, and Parmit K. Chilana
@inproceedings{Ramesh2021Setting, author = {Ramesh, Kavana and Vermette, Laton and Chilana, Parmit K.}, title = {Setting up, Troubleshooting, and Innovating on the Delivery of Online Instruction: A Case Study of an {LMS} {Q\&A} Forum}, year = {2021}, isbn = {9781450382151}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3430895.3460133}, doi = {10.1145/3430895.3460133}, abstract = {With the recent surge in online teaching, increasing numbers of instructors are using learning management systems (LMSs) to migrate their courses online and adapt their teaching methods. Given the steep learning curve for these feature-rich software applications, many instructors turn to online Q\&A forums for help with learning and troubleshooting their LMS. We analyzed the content of 250 posts from a community-based Q\&A forum for Canvas, a widely-used LMS, finding several recurring themes that illustrate how instructors are setting up courses for the first time, facilitating shared experiences between their students, and even seeking innovative ways to customize their course delivery. Our findings shed light on key barriers driving instructors to seek help and to what extent their help needs are actually addressed by the community. We discuss several opportunities for improving the design of LMSs and for better understanding and supporting instructors' custom needs to enhance their course delivery.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Eighth ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale}, pages = {59–67}, numpages = {9}, keywords = {software help forums, learning management systems, software troubleshooting, help-seeking practices, digital classroom tools, instructor communities}, location = {Virtual Event, Germany}, series = {L@S '21} }
DIS 2020
Laton Vermette, Joanna McGrenere, and Parmit K. Chilana
@inproceedings{Vermette2020Peekthrough, author = {Vermette, Laton and McGrenere, Joanna and Chilana, Parmit K.}, title = {Peek-through Customization: Example-Based In-Context Sharing for Learning Management Systems}, year = {2020}, isbn = {9781450369749}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3357236.3395507}, doi = {10.1145/3357236.3395507}, abstract = {Learning to use a learning management system (LMS) can often be complex and challenging for instructors who have little time to explore the application interface. We ran formative interviews (N=10) suggesting that instructors often prefer to consult colleagues to seek examples of customizations and their explanations. Based on our findings, we designed and developed Customizer, an in-context example-based customization sharing platform that runs atop a widely-used LMS and facilitates discovery of relevant customizations shared by peers. Customizer allows instructors to experiment with shared customizations in familiar contexts by copying their course content into on-the-fly testing environments, minimizing any risk of breaking their live course setups. Our usability evaluation (N=10) showed that most users found Customizer intuitive and useful, and that its exploratory interface was helpful in a variety of use cases. Furthermore, many participants saw potential for Customizer to improve their workflows in other applications beyond educational contexts.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference}, pages = {1155–1167}, numpages = {13}, keywords = {software customization, example-centric customization, customization sharing, learning management systems}, series = {DIS '20} }
CHI 2019
Laton Vermette, Joanna McGrenere, Colin Birge, Adam Kelly, and Parmit K. Chilana
@inproceedings{Vermette2019Freedom, author = {Vermette, Laton and McGrenere, Joanna and Birge, Colin and Kelly, Adam and Chilana, Parmit K.}, title = {Freedom to Personalize My Digital Classroom: Understanding Teachers' Practices and Motivations}, year = {2019}, isbn = {9781450359702}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300548}, doi = {10.1145/3290605.3300548}, abstract = {Although modern classrooms are increasingly moving towards digital immersion and personalized learning, we have few insights into K-12 teachers' current practices, motivations, and barriers in setting up their digital classroom ecosystems. We interviewed 20 teachers on their process of discovering and integrating a vast range of productivity software and educational platforms in their classrooms, with a particular focus on how they personalize the UI and content of these tools (e.g., with plugins, templates, or option menus). We found that teachers largely depended on their own experimentation and professional circles to find, personalize, and troubleshoot software tools to support student needs or their own preferences. Teachers were often hesitant to attempt more advanced personalizations due to concerns over student confusion and increased troubleshooting load. We derive several design implications for HCI to better support teachers in sharing their personalized setups and helping their students benefit from digital immersion.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems}, pages = {1–14}, numpages = {14}, keywords = {educational technology, digital classroom tools, personalization}, location = {Glasgow, Scotland UK}, series = {CHI '19} }
