Traditionally, learning in interaction design has focused either on how information is represented for users or on how users perform using a novel interface. The approach argued for in this dissertation differs by analyzing learning in terms of the experience users have instead of the output of their learning. Learning-in-use conceptualizes this learning experience by focusing on the meaningful relationship between user and artifact. Four aspects distinguish learning-in-use from other conceptions of learning including the formation of personally meaningful relationships between user and artifact, the evolution of that relationship over time, the formation of these relationships through negotiations with artifacts, and the requirement for active, engaged interaction in use of that artifact.

This concept was examined through an exploratory study to understand what is entailed by the learning experience. Using an experiential , phenomenological, and longitudinal approach that utilized several standard ethnographic techniques, twelve participants were recruited and monitored for five months. Participants were asked to learn two different artifacts among Photoshop, World of Warcraft, and an iPod Touch. Participants learned the artifacts on their own, recording their own experiences in a virtual diary. They were invited to participate in six periodic interview and observation sessions.

Participants demonstrated both successful and unsuccessful learning-in-use . Fifteen codes recorded their behaviors and perceptions about the artifacts most relevant to learning. Participants demonstrated that the formation of personally meaningful relationships occurred when participants were engaged in the artifacts and when the artifacts satisfied some need. These needs changed throughout the study, and, so, users would constantly re-evaluate their use of the artifact. Artifacts were rarely useful as is requiring that users change their work patterns, perceptions, and expectations based on what the artifacts could offer. In addition to these findings, four phenomena emerged in this study describing learning-in-use: grasping, situating, perceiving-in-use, and making meaning. All four of these phenomena describe situations in which participants were forced to modify some aspect of their relationship with the artifact. This study has contributed to understandings about learning in interaction design, to the experiential perspective in learning and interaction design research, and about the nature of learning-in-use.