Course Description | Resources | Course Schedule | Course Requirements |Course Grading | Policies | Powerpoint Presentations

Course Information

Instructor Information

I. Course Description and Objectives  Top

Description:

This course is a survey of human-computer interaction concepts, theory, and practice. Basic components of human-computer interaction are discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective. The course provides an informed and critical evaluation of computer based technology. A user-oriented perspective is taken with two thrusts: human (cognitive, social) and technological (input/output, interaction styles, devices). Design guidelines, evaluation methods, participatory design, communication between users and system developers are featured. Topics will include design guidelines, interface builders, direct manipuation, interaction devices, design processes, usability testing, documentation and information visualization.

Objectives:

Upon successful course completion, a student will be able to:
1. demonstrate an understanding of principles and theories influencing human computer interaction
2. select an effective style for a specific application
3. recognize and apply principles of user interface design
4. create user interfaces using VB.net environment
5. prepare, test and evaluate a student-selected human computer interaction system

II. Resources  Top

Textbook

Designing the User Interface 4th edition by Ben Schneiderman and Catherine Plaisant. Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN: 0-321-19786-0


• This class requires you to create user interfaces in the visual studio.net environment. You can obtain this environment (VB.net 2003 Professional Version) by going to the Lab Assistants, identifying yourself and burning copies of the six installation CDs. There is no fee for doing this and the Professional version is more complete than that distributed with textbooks.If you have already installed this environment on your computer for previous classes then there is no need to reinstall them. To load the environment your PC must have either Windows 2000 or Windows XP installed. Click here to View the Installation Notes

III.Tentative Schedule  Top

IV. Course Requirements  Top

There will be one midterm, one comprehensive final exam, homework, and a term project.

• Midterm

  The midterm exam will cover Chapters 1, 2, 11 - 14. This exam will be worth 50 points; you will have 1 1/4 hours to complete it.



• Comprehensive Final Examination

  This comprehensive final, worth 100 points, will be scheduled for the last class session. You will have 1 1/4 hours to complete it.

• Homework

  There will be 3 homework assignments totalling 100 points. The first assignment involves critiquing user interfaces; the remaining two assignments require you to create user interfaces in the visual studio.net environment.
1. HW1: Design Critique - worth 20 points More Details
2. HW2: Designing a Symptom Assessment Interface - worth 30 points More Details
3. HW3: Visitor Information System - worth 50 points More Details
   • Student Center Room Information
   • Student Center Floor Plan

• Term Project

  Groups of 5 - 6 students will be required to complete a term project. This project provides hands-on experience in iterative user-centered system design. This term project consists of 5 stages: user needs, first design, task list, usability test and redesign. Each stage is submitted at specific dates throughout the semester. For more details (click HERE)

V.Course Grading  Top

Final grade will be computed as follows:

• Attendance Policy - Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to actively participate in class discussions. "Active participation" means providing substantive, insightful comments about a topic (e.g., quality); asking stimulating and probing questions that further the discussion and everyone's understanding of the topic; and being an enthusiastic participant in cooperative learning exercises.


• Final letter grade determinations will be assigned according to the following points:
  

  Letter Grade	Point Range	Percent Range
  A	372 - 400	>=93%
  A-	360 - 371	90 - 92%
  B+	348 - 359	87 - 89%
  B	332 - 347	83 - 86%
  B-	320 - 331	80 - 82%
  C+	308 - 319	77 - 79%
  C	292 - 307	73 - 76%
  C-	280 - 291	70 - 72%
  D+	268 - 279	67 - 69%
  D	240 - 267	60 - 66%
  F	< 240	< 60%

VI. Policies  Top

• Necessary Prerequisites

  Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class.

• Enrollment Registration

  Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.You are advised to review your official class schedule during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Friday September 9th, 2005 to correct it with your advising office.If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

• Academic Honesty

  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

  Academic honesty is expected and required. HELPING fellow students is acceptable. COPYING IS NOT acceptable, and will result in loss of credit for the assignment, and possibly failure of the course for all students involved. If you give help to another student, then it is your responsibility to make sure they fully understand the concepts.

  If copying is suspected, both (or all) students involved will receive zeros for that assignment at the least, and possibly a failure for the course. DO NOT GIVE OTHERS YOUR WORK .

• Course Withdrawal Deadline

  For Fall 2005 the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday November 9th,  2005 . Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

  Please consult with an academic advisor in the Undergraduate Programs Office (Room 107, BSA -- 330-672-2872) if you are having academic difficulty.

• Students with Disabilities

  In accordance with University policy 3342-3-18, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service Center (330-672-3391) or visit www.kent.edu/sds.

VII. Powerpoint Presentations  Top

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9