Coleman is the primary investigator of the Pervasive Media/City as Platform research and design lab at MIT, where she is an assistant professor of comparative media studies. She is a Berkman Center for Internet and Society Faculty Fellow at Harvard University and a Microsoft Research New England Research Fellow.

In this talk, her focus is the arrival of augmented reality technologies in a meaningful and pervasive manner into everyday life. She discusses experimental research on the value of simulated versus real-world engagement, and lays out design principles for accelerated agency and engagement in an age of pervasive media.