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I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Residing at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, Learning Sciences, and Design, my research mainly focuses on studying and designing equitable and playful learning experiences and technologies for young people, investigating the roles that social context plays in supporting such learning, and innovating design research in educational contexts. Some of my research and design practices also go beyond learning contexts and extend to broader design and HCI research, such as reflecting on design methodologies and addressing emergent technology-related challenges in people’s everyday lives.

Before joining PolyU Design, I was a Temporary Research Faculty in the Creative Communities research group at the University of Colorado Boulder and once a research intern in the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. I earned my Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Colorado Boulder, Master's degree in Design from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Zhejiang University.

Selected Projects

Gender-Inclusive STEM Learning Media

Making STEM learning more accessible and equitable for all

Culturally Responsive Learning Technology

Desiging culturally responsive learning media for children

AI Literacy for Children

Promoting AI literacy among young people

Physical Play for Computational Learning

Combining physical play and coding activities for children

Critical Computational Literacy

Cultivating children's critical thinking while learning computing

Joint Media Engagement

Understanding, designing, and theorizing joint media engagement

Peer-Reviewed Publications [Google Scholar]

2023

Technology-Mediated Strategies for Coping with Mental Health Challenges: Insights from People with Bipolar Disorder [LINK]
Tian Xu*, Junnan Yu*, Dylan Doyle & Steve Voida (*: Equal Contribution)
Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 7, CSCW2, Article 240 (October 2023), 31 pages. (CSCW '23)

Exploring Computational Thinking with Physical Play Through Design [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Ronni Hayden & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC '23), Chicago, IL, USA.

Examining Gendered Communications of Coding Kits for Young Children [LINK]
Jingyao Cen & Junnan Yu
In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC '23), Chicago, IL, USA.

Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children [LINK]
Jingyao Cen, Tian Xu & Junnan Yu
In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23), Hamburg, Germany.

Family Negotiation in Joint Media Engagement with Creative Computing [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Sari Widman & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23), Hamburg, Germany.

2022 and Before

Young Children's Perceptions of Coding and Implications [LINK]
Junnan Yu & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC '22), Braga, Portugal.

Parental Facilitation of Young Children’s Technology-based Learning Experiences from Nondominant Groups During the COVID-19 Pandemic [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Julisa Granados, Ronni Hayden & Ricarose Roque
Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW2, Article 307 (October 2021), 27 pages. (CSCW '21)

Parental Mediation for Young Children’s Use of Educational Media: A Case Study with Computational Toys and Kits [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Andrea DeVore & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '21), Yokohama, Japan.

Youth Civic Engagement Through Computing: Cases and Implications [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Janet Ruppert, Ricarose Roque & Ben Kirshner
ACM Inroads. 11, 4 (2020), 42–51.

Considering Parents in Coding Kit Design: Understanding Parents’ Perspectives and Roles [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Chenke Bai & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20), Honolulu, HI, USA.

CodeAttach: Engaging Young Children in Computational Thinking Through Physical Play Activities [LINK]
Junnan Yu, Clement Zheng, Mariana Aki Tamashiro, Chrisopher Gonzalez-millan & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 14th ACM Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI '20), Sydney, NSW, Australia.

A Review of Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children [LINK]
Junnan Yu & Ricarose Roque
International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, (2019) 21: 17–36.

A Survey of Computational Kits for Young Children (Child-Computer Interaction Student Best Paper Award) [LINK]
Junnan Yu & Ricarose Roque
In Proceedings of the 2018 ACM Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC '18), Trondheim, Norway.

Usability Investigation on the Localization of Text CAPTCHAs: Take Chinese Characters as a Case Study
Junnan Yu, Xuna Ma & Han Ting
In Proceedings of the Transdisciplinary Engineering-24th ISPE Inc., International Conference (2017), Singapore.